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
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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