1 Corinthians 3
3
1Achim b'Moshiach, I was not able to speak to you as to men of hitkhadshut and ruchaniyut; I had to speak to you as bnei basar, as olalim b'Moshiach.
2Cholov I gave you to drink, not solid okhel (food), for you were not yet able to receive it, but neither yet are you able now.
3For still you are bnei basar (carnally-minded believers). For als (since) there is still kinah and merivah (strife) among you,#3:3 1:11 are you not bnei basar, by the standards of Bnei Adam?
4For, whenever anyone says, “I am of Sha'ul,” but another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not as anshei shechichim (ordinary men)?
5What then is Apollos? And what is Sha'ul? Klei kodesh ministers of Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, through whom you came to emunah, even as to each one a task was given by Adoneinu.
6I planted, Apollos watered, but Hashem gave the increase.
7Therefore, neither is the one planting anything nor the one watering, but it is the One giving the increase — Hashem!
8Now the one planting and the one watering are be'ichud (united), and, each one will receive his own sachar (reward) according to his own amal (toil).#3:8 Ps 18:20; 62:12
9For we are fellow po'alim (workers) of Hashem, you are the sadeh Hashem (field of G-d), you are Hashemʼs binyan (building).#3:9 Isa 61:3
10According to the Chen v'Chesed Hashem having been given to me as a bannai chacham (wise builder), I laid a yesod (foundation), and another builds on it. But, let each one beware how he builds on it.
11For no other yesod other than the one that has been laid can be laid: Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.#3:11 Isa 28:16
12Now if anyone builds on the yesod with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble,
13The ma'aseh (work) of each bannai will become evident, for, haYom#3:13 Yom haDin will make it have its hisgalus, because by Eish (Fire) it is revealed; and the Eish (Fire) itself will test the quality of each oneʼs ma'aseh.#3:13 Num 31:22,23; Jer 23:28,29; Mal 3:3
14If anyoneʼs ma'aseh he built on the yesod will survive,#3:14 Jn 15:16 a sachar (reward)#3:14 Gn 15:1 he will receive;
15If anyoneʼs ma'aseh will be consumed, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved,#3:15 Ep 2:8-9 yet so as through Eish (fire).
16Do you not have da'as that you are a Heikhal Hashem and the Ruach Hakodesh of Hashem dwells in you?
17If anyone attempts to cause churban to the Heikhal Hashem, G-d will destroy this man, for the Heikhal Hashem is kadosh, and you [plural] are that Heikhal.
18Let no one deceive himself: if anyone presumes to be chacham among you in the Olam Hazeh, let him become a kesil (fool), that he may become chacham.#3:18 Isa 5:21
19For the chochmah (wisdom) of Olam Hazeh is narrishkait (foolishness) with Hashem. For it has been written, LOCHED CHACHAMIM BE'ARMAM (He catches the wise in their own craftiness).#3:19 Job 5:13
20And again, HASHEM YODE'A MACHSH'VOT ADAM KI HEMAH HEVEL (The L-rd knows the thoughts of the wise that they are empty vanity).#3:20 Ps 94:11
21So let no one boast in Bnei Adam, for all things belong to you,
22Whether Sha'ul or Apollos or Kefa or HaOlam (the world) or Chayyim (Life) or Mavet (Death) or things present or things to come; all things are yours,
23And you are Moshiachʼs and Moshiach is Hashemʼs.
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1 Corinthians 3: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
1 Corinthians 3
3
1#The Corinthians desire a sort of wisdom dialogue or colloquy with Paul; they are looking for solid, adult food, and he appears to disappoint their expectations. Paul counters: if such a dialogue has not yet taken place, the reason is that they are still at an immature stage of development (cf. 1 Cor 2:6). Brothers, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people,#Spiritual people…fleshly people: Paul employs two clusters of concepts and terms to distinguish what later theology will call the “natural” and the “supernatural.” (1) The natural person (1 Cor 2:14) is one whose existence, perceptions, and behavior are determined by purely natural principles, the psychē (1 Cor 2:14) and the sarx (flesh, a biblical term that connotes creatureliness, 1 Cor 3:1, 3). Such persons are only infants (1 Cor 3:1); they remain on a purely human level (anthrōpoi, 1 Cor 3:4). (2) On the other hand, they are called to be animated by a higher principle, the pneuma, God’s spirit. They are to become spiritual (pneumatikoi, 1 Cor 3:1) and mature (1 Cor 2:6) in their perceptions and behavior (cf. Gal 5:16–26). The culmination of existence in the Spirit is described in 1 Cor 15:44–49. as infants in Christ. 2I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now,#Heb 5:12–14. 3for you are still of the flesh. While there is jealousy and rivalry among you,#Jealousy, rivalry, and divisions in the community are symptoms of their arrested development; they reveal the immaturity both of their self-understanding (1 Cor 3:4) and of the judgments about their apostles (1 Cor 3:21). are you not of the flesh and behaving in an ordinary human way?#Jas 3:13–16. 4Whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?#1:12.
The Role of God’s Ministers.#3:5–4:5] The Corinthians tend to evaluate their leaders by the criteria of human wisdom and to exaggerate their importance. Paul views the role of the apostles in the light of his theology of spiritual gifts (cf. 1 Cor 12–14, where the charism of the apostle heads the lists). The essential aspects of all spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:4–6 presents them as gifts of grace, as services, and as modes of activity) are exemplified by the apostolate, which is a gift of grace (1 Cor 3:10) through which God works (1 Cor 3:9) and a form of service (1 Cor 3:5) for the common good (elsewhere expressed by the verb “build up,” suggested here by the image of the building, 1 Cor 3:9). The apostles serve the church, but their accountability is to God and to Christ (1 Cor 4:1–5). 5What is Apollos, after all, and what is Paul? Ministers#Ministers: for other expressions of Paul’s understanding of himself as minister or steward to the church, cf. 1 Cor 4:1; 9:17, 19–27; 2 Cor 3:6–9; 4:1; 5:18; 6:3–4; and 2 Cor 11:23 (the climax of Paul’s defense). through whom you became believers, just as the Lord assigned each one. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.#Acts 18:1–11, 24–28. 7Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth. 8The one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive wages in proportion to his labor. 9For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.#Eph 2:20–22; 1 Pt 2:5.
10#There are diverse functions in the service of the community, but each individual’s task is serious, and each will stand accountable for the quality of his contribution. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, 11for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. 12If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13the work of each will come to light, for the Day#The Day: the great day of Yahweh, the day of judgment, which can be a time of either gloom or joy. Fire both destroys and purifies. will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one’s work.#Mt 3:11–12; 2 Thes 1:7–10. 14If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. 15But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved,#Will be saved: although Paul can envision very harsh divine punishment (cf. 1 Cor 3:17), he appears optimistic about the success of divine corrective means both here and elsewhere (cf. 1 Cor 5:5; 11:32 [discipline]). The text of 1 Cor 3:15 has sometimes been used to support the notion of purgatory, though it does not envisage this. but only as through fire. 16Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?#6:19; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:20–22. 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.#Holy: i.e., “belonging to God.” The cultic sanctity of the community is a fundamental theological reality to which Paul frequently alludes (cf. 1 Cor 1:2, 30; 6:11; 7:14).
18Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise.#8:2; Is 5:21; Gal 6:3. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written:#1:20 / Jb 5:13.
“He catches the wise in their own ruses,”
20and again:
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”#Ps 94:11.
21#These verses pick up the line of thought of 1 Cor 1:10–13. If the Corinthians were genuinely wise (1 Cor 3:18–20), their perceptions would be reversed, and they would see everything in the world and all those with whom they exist in the church in their true relations with one another. Paul assigns all the persons involved in the theological universe a position on a scale: God, Christ, church members, church leaders. Read from top to bottom, the scale expresses ownership; read from bottom to top, the obligation to serve. This picture should be complemented by similar statements such as those in 1 Cor 8:6 and 1 Cor 15:20–28. So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,#4:6 / Rom 8:32. 22Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, 23and you to Christ, and Christ to God.
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