1 Corinthians 3

Fellow Servants of God

1Brothers, I could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to worldly, even as to babes in Christ. # 1Co 14:20 2I have fed you with milk and not with solid food. # 1Pe 2:2 For to this day you were not able to endure it. # Jn 16:12 Nor are you able now, 3for you are still worldly. For while there is envy, strife, and divisions among you, # 1Co 1:11; 11:18 are you not worldly and behaving as mere men? 4For while one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” # 1Co 1:12 are you not worldly?

5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one? # 1Co 3:10; 2Co 6:4 6I have planted, # Ac 18:4–11; 1Co 9:1 Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7So then neither is he who plants nor he who waters anything, # Gal 6:3 but God who gives the increase. 8Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. # Ps 62:12; Mt 16:27 9For we are laborers together with God: # 2Co 6:1 You are God’s field; # Eze 17:8 you are God’s building. # Eph 2:20–22

10According to the grace of God which has been given to me, # Ro 12:3 as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, but another builds on it. # Ro 15:20 Now let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11For no one can lay another foundation than that which was laid, which is Jesus Christ. # Isa 28:16; Mt 16:18; Eph 2:20 12Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble, 13each one’s work will be revealed. # 1Co 4:5 For the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. # 2Th 1:7–10 14If anyone’s work which he has built on the foundation endures, he will receive a reward. # 1Co 3:8; 4:5 15If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss. But he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. # Jude 23

16Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? # 1Co 6:19; 2Co 6:16 17If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy. And you are His temple.

18Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, # Isa 5:21; Gal 6:3 let him become a fool that he may be wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness,” # Job 5:13 # 3:19 Job 5:13. 20and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” # Ps 94:11 # 3:20 Ps 94:11. 21Therefore let no one boast in men. # 1Co 4:6 For all things are yours: # Ro 8:32 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come, all are yours, 23and you are Christ’s, # 2Co 10:7; Gal 3:29 and Christ is God’s.

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1 Corinthians 3: MEV

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1 Corinthians 3

Immaturity and Self-deception

1 So, brothers and sisters,#tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10. I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh,#tn Grk “fleshly [people]”; the Greek term here is σαρκινός (BDAG 914 s.v. 1). as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you milk,#sn Milk refers figuratively to basic or elementary Christian teaching. Paul’s point was that the Corinthian believers he was writing to here were not mature enough to receive more advanced teaching. This was not a problem at the time, when they were recent converts, but the problem now is that they are still not ready. not solid food, for you were not yet ready. In fact, you are still not ready, 3 for you are still influenced by the flesh.#tn Or “are still merely human”; Grk “fleshly.” Cf. BDAG 914 s.v. σαρκικός 2, “pert. to being human at a disappointing level of behavior or characteristics, (merely) human.” The same phrase occurs again later in this verse. For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people?#tn Grk “and walking in accordance with man,” i.e., living like (fallen) humanity without the Spirit’s influence; hence, “unregenerate people.” 4 For whenever someone says, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” are you not merely human?#tn Grk “are you not men,” i.e., (fallen) humanity without the Spirit’s influence. Here Paul does not say “walking in accordance with” as in the previous verse; he actually states the Corinthians are this. However, this is almost certainly rhetorical hyperbole.

5 What is Apollos, really? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, and each of us in the ministry the Lord gave us.#tn Grk “and to each as the Lord gave.” 6 I planted,#sn The expression I planted is generally taken to mean that Paul founded the church at Corinth. Later Apollos had a significant ministry there (watered). See also v. 10. Apollos watered, but God caused it to grow. 7 So neither the one who plants counts for anything,#tn Grk “is anything.” nor the one who waters, but God who causes the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work as one,#tn Grk “are one.” The purpose of this phrase is to portray unified action on the part of ministers underneath God’s sovereign control. Although they are in fact individuals, they are used by God with a single purpose to accomplish his will in facilitating growth. This emphasis is brought out in the translation “work as one.” but each will receive his reward according to his work. 9 We are coworkers belonging to God.#tn Although 1 Cor 3:9 is frequently understood to mean, “we are coworkers with God,” such a view assumes that the genitive θεοῦ (qeou) is associative because of its relationship to συνεργοί (sunergoi). However, not only is a genitive of association not required by the syntax (cf. ExSyn 130), but the context is decidedly against it: Paul and Apollos are insignificant compared to the God whom they serve (vv. 5-8). You are God’s field, God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master-builder I laid a foundation, but someone else builds on it. And each one must be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than what is being laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,#sn The various materials described here, both valuable (gold, silver, precious stones) and worthless (wood, hay, or straw) refer to the quality of work built on the foundation, or possibly to the motivation of those doing the building. The materials themselves have been understood (1) as deeds or (2) as people (since ultimately the passage is addressing those who minister to others). 13 each builder’s#tn Grk “each one’s.” Here “builder’s” is employed in the translation for clarity. work will be plainly seen, for the Day#tn In an attempt to clarify the referent, some translations add “of Christ” after “Day” (so TEV); others specify this as “judgment day” (NLT) or “the day of judgment” (CEV).sn The Day refers to the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1:8; 5:5) when each Christian worker will appear before Christ for evaluation of his ministry. Paul’s constant motivation was to be pleasing to the Lord in that day (2 Cor 5:9-10) and receive his commendation (1 Cor 4:5). will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire#tc ‡ αὐτό (auto) is found at this point in v. 13 in a number of significant witnesses, including A B C P 33 1739 al. But Ì46 א D Ψ 0289 1881 Ï latt lack it. The pronoun could be a motivated reading, designed to intensify Paul’s statement. On the other hand, it could have been deleted because the article alone made the reference already clear. In this instance, the possibility of scribal addition seems more likely than scribal deletion, although a decision is difficult. NA27 includes the word in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.sn It is unclear whether the phrase it will be revealed by fire describes the Day (subject of the previous clause) or each one’s work (subject of the clause before that). will test what kind of work each has done. 14 If what someone has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If someone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss.#tn The translation “[will] be punished” is given here by BDAG 428 s.v. ζημιόω 2. But the next clause says “he will be delivered” and so “suffering loss” is more likely to refer to the destruction of the “work” by fire or the loss of the reward that could have been gained. He himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple#sn You are God’s temple refers here to the church, since the pronoun you is plural in the Greek text. (In 6:19 the same imagery is used in a different context to refer to the individual believer.) and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, which is what you are.

18 Guard against self-deception, each of you.#tn Grk “let no one deceive himself.” If someone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish so that he can become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this age is foolishness with God. As it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”#sn A quotation from Job 5:13. 20 And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”#sn A quotation from Ps 94:11. 21 So then, no more boasting about mere mortals!#tn Grk “so then, let no one boast in men.” For everything belongs to you, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. Everything belongs to you, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

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