Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
I—Paul returns to his main subject, his own self-denial, and his motive in it.
run, not as uncertainly—not as a runner uncertain of the goal. Ye Corinthians gain no end in your entering idol temples or eating idol meats. But I, for my part, in all my acts, whether in my becoming "all things to all men," or in receiving no sustenance from my converts, have a definite end in view, namely, to "gain the more." I know what 1 aim at, and how to aim at it. He who runs with a clear aim, looks straightforward to the goal, makes it his sole aim, casts away every encumbrance (Hebrews 12:1-2), is indifferent to what the by-standers say, and sometimes even a fall only serves to rouse him the more [BENGEL].
not as one that beateth the air—instead of beating the adversary. Alluding to the sciamachia or sparring in the school in sham-fight (compare I Corinthians 14:9), wherein they struck out into the air as if at an imaginary adversary. The real adversary is Satan acting on us through the flesh.
Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing 1 Corinthians 9:26:
Ecclesiastes 5:16
Romans 9:16
1 Corinthians 14:9
Galatians 5:7
Philippians 2:12
Philippians 3:11
1 Timothy 4:8
1 Timothy 6:12
2 Timothy 2:5
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