1. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Haven't I seen Jesus our Lord? Aren't you the result of my work for the Lord?
2. Even though others may not think of me as an apostle, I am certainly one to you! You are the proof that I am the Lord's apostle.
3. That is what I say to stand up for myself when people judge me.
4. Don't we have the right to eat and drink?
5. Don't we have the right to take a believing wife with us when we travel? The other apostles do. The Lord's brothers do. Peter does.
6. Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to work for a living?
7. Who serves as a soldier but doesn't get paid? Who plants a vineyard but doesn't eat any of its grapes? Who takes care of a flock but doesn't drink any of the milk?
8. Do I say that from only a human point of view? The Law says the same thing.
9. Here is what is written in the Law of Moses. "Do not stop an ox from eating while it helps separate the grain from the straw." (Deuteronomy 25:4) Is it oxen that God is concerned about?
10. Doesn't he say that for us? Yes, it was written for us. When a farmer plows and separates the grain, he does it because he hopes to share in the crop.
11. We have planted spiritual seed among you. Is it too much to ask that we receive from you some of the things we need?
12. Others have the right to receive help from you. Don't we have even more right to do so? But we didn't use that right. No, we have put up with everything. We didn't want to keep the good news of Christ from spreading.
13. Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple? Don't you know that those who serve at the altar eat from what is offered on the altar?