I Corinthians 3
3
Sectarianism Is Carnal
1And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to #1 Cor. 2:6; Eph. 4:14; Heb. 5:13babes in Christ. 2I fed you with #Heb. 5:12; 1 Pet. 2:2milk and not with solid food; #John 16:12for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
Watering, Working, Warning
5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but #Rom. 15:16; 2 Cor. 3:3, 6; 4:1; 5:18; 6:4; Eph. 3:7; Col. 1:25; 1 Tim. 1:12ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6#Acts 18:4; 1 Cor. 4:15; 9:1; 15:1; 2 Cor. 10:14I planted, #Acts 18:24–27; 1 Cor. 1:12Apollos watered, #(2 Cor. 3:5)but God gave the increase. 7So then #2 Cor. 12:11; (Gal. 6:3)neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8Now he who plants and he who waters are one, #Ps. 62:12; Rom. 2:6and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9For #Mark 16:20; Acts 15:4; 2 Cor. 6:1we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are #(1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:20–22); Col. 2:7; Heb. 3:3, 4; (1 Pet. 2:5)God’s building. 10#Rom. 1:5According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid #1 Cor. 4:15the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11For no other foundation can anyone lay than #Is. 28:16; Matt. 16:18; 2 Cor. 11:4that which is laid, #Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:4which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13each one’s work will become clear; for the Day #1 Pet. 1:7will declare it, because #Mal. 3:1–3; Luke 2:35it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
16#Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Avoid Worldly Wisdom
18#Prov. 3:7Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, #Job 5:13“He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; 20and again, #Ps. 94:11“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21Therefore let no one boast in men. For #(2 Cor. 4:5)all things are yours: 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. 23And #(Rom. 14:8); 1 Cor. 15:23; 2 Cor. 10:7; (Gal. 3:29)you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
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I Corinthians 3: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
1 Corinthians 3
3
Teachers Are Only God’s Servants
1Brothers and sisters, when I was there, I could not talk to you the way I talk to people who are led by the Spirit. I had to talk to you like ordinary people of the world. You were like babies in Christ. 2And the teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food. I did this because you were not ready for solid food. And even now you are not ready. 3You are still not following the Spirit. You are jealous of each other, and you are always arguing with each other. This shows that you are still following your own selfish desires. You are acting like ordinary people of the world. 4One of you says, “I follow Paul,” and someone else says, “I follow Apollos.” When you say things like that, you are acting like people of the world.
5Is Apollos so important? Is Paul so important? We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do. 6I planted the seed and Apollos watered it. But God is the one who made the seed grow. 7So the one who plants is not important, and the one who waters is not important. Only God is important, because he is the one who makes things grow. 8The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose. And each one will be rewarded for his own work. 9We are workers together for God, and you are like a farm that belongs to God.
And you are a house that belongs to God. 10Like an expert builder I built the foundation of that house. I used the gift that God gave me to do this. Other people are building on that foundation. But everyone should be careful how they build. 11The foundation that has already been built is Jesus Christ, and no one can build any other foundation. 12People can build on that foundation using gold, silver, jewels, wood, grass, or straw. 13But the work that each person does will be clearly seen, because the Day will make it plain. That Day will appear with fire, and the fire will test everyone’s work. 14If the building they put on the foundation still stands, they will get their reward. 15But if their building is burned up, they will suffer loss. They will be saved, but it will be like someone escaping from a fire.
16You should know that you yourselves are God’s temple.#3:16 temple God’s house—the place where God’s people worship him. Here, it means that believers are the spiritual temple where God lives. God’s Spirit lives in you. 17If you destroy God’s temple, God will destroy you, because God’s temple is holy. You yourselves are God’s temple.
18Don’t fool yourselves. Whoever thinks they are wise in this world should become a fool. That’s the only way they can be wise. 19I say this because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, “He catches those who think they are wise in their own clever traps.”#Quote from Job 5:13. 20The Scriptures also say, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise. He knows that their thoughts are worth nothing.”#Quote from Ps. 94:11. 21So there is not a person on earth that any of you should be boasting about. Everything is yours: 22Paul, Apollos, Peter, the world, life, death, the present, and the future—all these are yours. 23And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International