1 Corinthians 9: Run in Such a Way as to Win the Prize

Introduction

"Don't you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win." This is the passage, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, that opens a message preached at the Chiesa Cristiana Evangelica ADI di Parma, in Italy.

In these few verses, the apostle Paul uses two athletes as examples: the runner and the boxer. The runner speaks of the Christian life, while the boxer speaks more of Christian service. That morning, the preacher focuses on the runner. What Paul saw at the Games of his day looks a lot like what happens at the Olympic Games today, and every trait of the runner, once applied spiritually, says something about the Christian race.

"We all want to step onto the track, but don't worry, not in the physical sense." The message follows three stages: there are rules, there is the race, and then there is the prize.

Outline of the Message

1. Rules for Running: Everyone Must Step Onto the Track

A runner has standards that shape his performance, his race and even his life. He has to know them and put them into practice. In the Christian race too, there are rules and principles that God himself has set and revealed for our lives.
The first rule: we must all run. The preacher remembers school races during physical education class: there was always someone who got excused. In the Christian race, nobody can be excused.
We know the motto that came out of the Olympic Games: what matters is not winning but taking part. "For the Christian, on the contrary, what matters is winning." But to win, you first have to take part.
Nobody can say, "I'll stay seated in the stands, I'll hide in the locker room, other people are running anyway." Hebrews 12:1-2 says it: since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance, looking to Jesus.
The preacher makes clear that he is not speaking of "heroes of faith" when it comes to Hebrews 11: "There is only one hero of faith, the others are examples."

2. We Can All Win, and We Must All Win

At school, we knew in advance who would probably win, and above all who would not. In the Christian race, everyone can win. The preacher goes further: "We must all win."
Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:7-8: "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith." The crown of righteousness is reserved for him, "and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing."
"We start by faith, we continue by faith, we cross the finish line by faith," because without faith it is impossible to please God.
To anyone who is not yet on the track, the preacher hopes that they will step onto it by accepting Jesus as their personal Savior, to follow him every day of their lives. To those who have been running for years, he hopes that the Lord will renew their strength to keep going.

3. A Race You Can't Improvise: Discipline and Rigor

At school, nobody trained, we just improvised. For a serious runner, what the public sees in the performance is the fruit of what it doesn't see.
A good runner is disciplined, not with others, but with himself: what he eats, when and how much, his training, an orderly and regulated life, the rest he needs. What a 100-meter sprint uses up in under ten seconds is the fruit of hours, days, months and years of discipline.
Paul goes further than discipline: "I beat my body and bring it into submission." He doesn't beat the air, he knows what he has to strike. We must not let vices, sin, attachments, worldliness or compromise enslave our body and soul, but submit them to Christ: not slaves of sin, but servants of Christ.
"It's as if we were at the gym together, spiritually." There are two training rooms for getting the spirit and soul in shape: the secret room and the upper room.
Consistency matters too. It isn't enough to start with fervor and drop your commitments after a week. In our relationship with God, we can never afford to slacken off.
"Be strict with yourself, not harsh, but strict." The Christian is not strict with others, because he would inevitably become harsh with them.

4. On the Track: Staying in Your Lane and Following in Jesus' Footsteps

The desire to run, the right outfit or good intentions are not enough: you have to step onto the track and take your place on the starting line.
On an athletics track, every lane is marked. In the Christian race, the lane is bounded on both sides by the Word of God. We don't want to leave our lane, we don't want to leave the Word. Let us not move the ancient boundary stones.
On the track, there are also footprints. They are not those of the people who came before us, but those of Jesus, who walks ahead of us. We don't see Jesus physically, but we see his footprints, and they are written in the Scriptures.
The goal, the finish line, is Jesus. Our aim is not the end of the race, nor the ribbon, nor the prize, nor the end of the fatigue: "Our goal is the person of Jesus."
Paul rebukes the Galatians to shake them up: "You were running well. Who interfered with you that you should not obey the truth?" These believers had stopped. He doesn't say the same to the Corinthians, who ran poorly, but who were running. We want to run well, but above all not to stop.

5. What Keeps the Runner Going

Breathing. Anyone who plays sports knows it: the secret is learning to breathe at the right moment and in the right way, and fatigue is felt less. The Christian's breathing is prayer. A Christian who lives a life of prayer is easy to recognize: you still see him strong on the track, with energy and enthusiasm.
Nutrition. Is there any better food than the Word of God, with the right proteins, the right carbohydrates and just the right sweetness? "There is no other food."
Strength. It can't be improvised: you either have it or you don't. We receive it when the Holy Spirit clothes us with power. "We don't need new stimulants, or new exhortations, or new incentives; we need a new, fresh and powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit." Even when we are weak, we are strong, because his power is made perfect in weakness. "Let the weak say, 'I am strong!'"
Endurance. Jesus says, "By your endurance you will win your lives." And it is written: "you need endurance." Keep moving forward, keep the pace, don't lose heart, don't look at the stands.
Outfit. Have you ever seen a runner dressed like a mountain climber, with a backpack and heavy boots? A runner's outfit is reduced to the bare minimum, light, so he can move freely. His shoes are those of the readiness that the Gospel gives, and the prophet says, "He makes my feet like deer's feet." Let us throw off every weight, every worry.
Focus. The preacher once asked a professional athlete what he thought about while running. The answer: "At that moment, I have no thoughts. I only think about running." "Brothers and sisters, we must think only about running."

6. The Prize: Crossing the Line, Not Arriving First

The prize is not for the one who arrives first, but for the one who crosses the line. The starting order is when we accept Jesus. The finishing order is the end of our earthly life. "Do you want to arrive first? Be my guest. It only means arriving in heaven sooner."
Paul crossed the line 2,000 years ago. What hope would we have, arriving 2,000 years after him? But victory is not in the finishing order, it is in crossing the line. And Paul, like those who went before us, has not yet received the prize.
"For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:10). The preacher explains that the Greek word Paul uses is the bema. At the Olympic Games, this was the jury that checked whether the runners had run by the rules, before the prizes were awarded. Before the bema of Christ, the Lord will assess whether our race followed the rules.
Hence Paul's warning: "lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified." The preacher says it sadly: we have all known Christians who started the race, then were disqualified, left the track and went back to their old life. "There is nothing worse than being disqualified."
There are those who don't run, those who start without running by the rules, and those who persevere to the line. "If anyone competes in athletics, he isn't crowned unless he has competed by the rules" (2 Timothy 2:5). Let us not worry so much about passing others as about following the rules of the Word and doing God's will.

7. A Crown That Does Not Fade

The promised crown is not set with diamonds: our King wore a crown of thorns. It is a laurel crown, like the ones young graduates wear today.
The preacher, who has several graduated children, looks at their crowns: green and beautiful the day they wore them, they are withered today. The Bible promises an incorruptible crown, one that does not fade.
"When I cross my line, just like you, it will be only me and the Lord." Then the Lord, the righteous judge, will give us the crown on that day.
Before the King of kings, the redeemed of all times and all places will take off their crowns and throw them at the feet of the Lamb, saying: "Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing!"
The final appeal: there is no minimum age and no maximum age for stepping onto the track. Maybe until now you have watched from the stadium, observed, listened: the time has come to step onto the track. And those who are already running pray: "Lord, give us the strength to keep running our race, because we have a goal before us, Jesus Christ, the Lord."

Key Takeaways

In the Christian race, nobody is excused: to receive the prize, you have to step onto the track.
The race can't be improvised. It takes discipline and consistency, with rigor toward yourself and not toward others.
The lane is marked out by the Word of God, and the footprints to follow are those of Jesus, who is also the finish line.
Prayer, the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit are the runner's breathing, food and strength.
Victory is not arriving first but crossing the line having run by the rules, to receive an incorruptible crown.

Personal Application

Are you on the track, or have you stayed in the stands, watching others run?
What vice, attachment or compromise is trying to enslave your body or soul today?
Is your secret room a real training room, or a room you hardly ever go into?
What weight, what worry do you need to throw off to run lighter?
Do you compare yourself to the other runners, or do you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Paul mean by "run in such a way as to win the prize"?

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul uses the image of the runner to speak about the Christian life. The preacher draws three elements from it: rules set by the Word of God, a race to be run with discipline and consistency, and a prize, the incorruptible crown, given to the one who crosses the finish line having run by the rules.

Do you have to finish first to win the Christian race?

No. For the preacher, victory does not depend on the finishing order but on crossing the line. The apostle Paul finished his race 2,000 years ago and has not yet received the prize. There is no need to elbow your way through or to pass others: everyone can win, and everyone must win.

What is the "bema" of Christ?

The word translated "judgment seat" in 2 Corinthians 5:10 is the bema. At the Olympic Games, this was the jury that checked whether the athletes had run by the rules before handing out the prize. Before the bema of Christ, the Lord will assess our race and give the reward, hence Paul's warning not to be disqualified himself.