1 Corinthians 9:26 Commentary and Bible Study

‘Uncertainly’ translates a Greek compound that means ‘unclearly’, but ‘uncertainly’ is a broader and more acceptable word. Would you run, if you are an athlete, if you could not clearly see where you were supposed to be heading? That is the mean of the Greek word. ‘I keep the destination in view and I run directly at it.’ The athlete must work to maintain his stride, work to maintain his posture, the way he holds himself. He must run a tactical race, knowing when to conserve his energy and when to sprint. He has to have a strategy for the race. ‘So fight I not as one that beateth the air.’ Most of the modern translations have decided that this refers to shadowboxing. Well it may do, but there is another possibility which actually is more likely. However, let us apply it to shadowboxing first. The shadow boxer does not have a real opponent to fight, but he pretends that he does and he punches as if someone was in front of him; he punches the air. But there are problems with shadowboxing. It is not a real battle. It is all pretence. It may do some good; it certainly looks good, because you are not up against real opposition. You can shine in shadowboxing; anybody can. You are not in any danger. This is probably not true for all, but for most, there is no power in it. There is no victory; there is no scoring. It is not achieving anything. That would be a bad picture for the Christian life. You talk much, you attend services, you keep devotions, but you not really fighting Satan, not a blow is landed. Satan lobs temptations in, and you comply; there is no witness to Christ. That would be a fair description of a Christian life which was no more than shadowboxing. But maybe it isn't shadowboxing. A more likely picture, though a very similar one is this: here is a person who is fighting. He is in the Isthmian games, the Corinthian games, or the games in Athens, and he is a boxer. The fight is on. There is no shadowboxing here. But still, he is beating the air. So it is a serious fight, but his punches never land. He does not try quite hard enough; he never gets the length, and so scores nothing. It is a waste of time, and he is getting hurt. That is more the picture. That is the situation so often of our Christian lives. We are just not trying hard enough. Not much lands; not much scores; it is half-hearted Christianity.