“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Cor. 9:27 KJV)
Paul mentions THE BODY, NOT THE SPIRIT in this verse. He is not writing about Salvation.
The Greek word translated ‘castaway’ is ‘adokimos’ and means ‘not standing the test, not approved’.
The only test for salvation by Jesus’ own words is belief (John 3:16, 6:28-29, 6:37-40) and the only way to be disqualified is to refuse to believe on Christ (John 3:18) .
In 1 Cor. 9, Paul compared a believer’s life to an athlete’s attempts to achieve victory in a race. Both involve bringing one’s body into subjection. This is not a precondition for salvation, but a way to achieve victory over the flesh (wrong beliefs in the mind) after we have been saved.
So, this verse is not about salvation, but about living right outwardly. It in no way teaches against the eternal security of a believer. In his other writings Paul explains how to live right outwardly. We need to renew our Mind by God’s Word (Romans 12) and walk in the Spirit to avoid the lusts of the flesh (Gal. 5:16).
