1 Corinthians 9:27. Lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
In the word “preached” we have reference to the office of a herald. Such an office was employed, not only by kings to announce their decrees, (see Dan. 3:4) and to proclaim their coming (see Mal. 3:1 and note on Isa. 40:3, #513), but also by those who had charge of the ancient games, to which reference has been made in the preceding verses. The herald proclaimed at the opening of the games the name and country of each candidate, and the rules of the contest. Most commentators suppose the apostle here to represent himself as such a herald. He has announced the opening of the contest, and the laws which regulate it; he is now to be careful lest after all he himself should not succeed. For, unlike the herald in the games, he is also a competitor. Bloomfield, however, thinks that there is here, at best, only an “under-allusion” to the office of herald. See his note in loco.