1 Corinthians 3
3
The Problem of Immaturity
1For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ.#1Co 14:20; Heb 5:13; 1Pt 2:2 2I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, 3because you are still worldly. For since there is envy#Jms 3:14,16 and strife#3:3 Other mss add and divisions#Ti 3:9 among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? 4For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,”#Ti 3:13 are you not acting like mere humans?
The Role of God’s Servants
5What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6I planted,#Ac 18:4–11; 1Co 4:15; 9:1; 15:1 Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8Now he who plants and he who waters are one,#3:8 Or of equal status, or united in purpose and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9For we are God’s coworkers.#3:9 Or are coworkers belonging to God You are God’s field, God’s building.#1Pt 2:5
10According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder,#3:10 Or wise master builder and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. 11For no one can lay any foundation#Is 28:16; Rm 15:20; 2Co 10:16; 11:4; Gl 1:6–9 other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. 12If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver,#Jms 5:3 costly stones,#Rv 17:4 wood, hay, or straw, 13each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire;#2Th 1:8; 1Pt 1:7 the fire will test the quality of each one’s work.#Ps 62:12; Pr 24:12; Mt 16:27; 2Co 5:10; 1Pt 1:17 14If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience#3:15 Or suffer loss, but he himself will be saved#Mt 9:22; Ac 16:30; Eph 2:8 — but only as through fire.#Jd 23
16Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple#Lk 1:21 and that the Spirit of God lives in you?#Lv 26:11; Jms 4:5 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him;#Heb 6:8 for God’s temple is holy,#Ps 20:6; 1Co 7:14 and that is what you are.
The Folly of Human Wisdom
18Let no one deceive#2Co 11:3 himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age,#Lk 16:8 let him become a fool#Mt 5:22 so that he can become wise.#Is 5:21; Jr 8:8–9; Gl 6:3 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness#1Co 1:18 with God, since it is written,#Ac 15:15; Gl 4:22 He catches the wise in their craftiness;#3:19Jb 5:13#Jb 5:13; Lk 20:23 20and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings#Mt 15:19; 1Tm 2:8 of the wise are futile.#3:20Ps 94:11#Ps 94:11 21So let no one boast in human leaders, for everything is yours#Rm 8:32 — 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas#Jn 1:42 or the world or life#1Jn 5:12 or death#Mt 10:21; Jn 8:51; Php 3:10 or things present or things to come#Rm 8:38 — everything is yours, 23and you belong to Christ,#Nm 3:12 and Christ belongs to God.
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
1 Corinthians 3
3
1My brothers and sisters, I couldn't talk#3:1. Presumably while he was visiting them previously. with you as spiritual believers, but as worldly people—like baby Christians. 2I gave you milk—I couldn't give you solid food to eat, because you weren't ready for it. 3Even now you're not ready for it, because you're still worldly. Since you're still jealous and argumentative, doesn't that show you're worldly, behaving just like ordinary people do? 4When one of you says, “I follow Paul,” while another says, “I follow Apollos,” doesn't that show you're being so very human?
5Who is Apollos, anyway? And who is Paul? We're just servants through whom you believed. Each of us does the work God gave us to do. 6I did the planting, Apollos did the watering—but it was God who made you grow!
7So the one who does the planting doesn't count for anything, any more than the one who does the watering. The only one who matters is God who is growing you! 8The one planting and the one watering have the same goal, and both will be rewarded according to what they've done.
9We are workers together with God—and you are God's field, his building. 10Through the grace of God that he gave to me, I laid down the foundation like a skilled building supervisor. Now someone else is building on it. Whoever does the building needs to watch what they're doing. 11For no one can lay any other foundation than what's already laid—that is Jesus Christ. 12Those who build on that foundation may use gold, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, or straw— 13but whatever is used to build with will be exposed. For on the Day of Judgment, fire will reveal it and test it. Everyone's work will be shown for what it is. 14Those whose building survives will be rewarded. 15Those whose building is burned up will lose out. They will still be saved, but it will be like passing through fire! 16Don't you know you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17Anyone who destroys God's temple will be destroyed by God, for God's temple is holy, and you are the temple.
18Don't deceive yourselves. If there's any one of you who thinks they're worldly wise, they should become fools so they can become truly wise! 19This world's wisdom is plain foolishness to God. As Scripture says, “He uses the cleverness of the wise to catch them out,”#3:19. Quoting Job 5:13. 20and “The Lord knows the arguments of the wise are pointless.”#3:20. Quoting Psalms 94:11. 21So don't boast about people. For you have everything, 22whether it's Paul or Apollos or Peter—or the world, or life, or death, or the present, or the future. You have everything— 23and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com