Most translations except Good News Bible understand this verse as summing up the previous passage rather than introducing the following section; they show this by beginning a new paragraph with verse 24. If translators understand this verse to refer to the content of the previous verses, they may expand the beginning of the verse slightly; for example, “I do all the things I have mentioned because I want the gospel to go forward…” or “I do all these things to help the Good News about Jesus to spread.”

There is good reason, though, why Good News Bible links this verse with the following section. The last few words have the theme of sharing or participating in the benefits of the Christian message. Paul prepares for this thought in verses 24-25, and develops the theme more carefully in verses 26-27. There were no paragraph divisions in the oldest manuscripts, and transitions were often gradual, as here.

If the translator follows Good News Bible and feels that it all points forward, then one may render this verse in the following way: “I do the following things to help the Good News about Jesus spread, so that I will receive a share in the benefits from its message.”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .