1 Corinthians 3
3
Wisdom applied to divisions in the church
1Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you like spiritual people but like unspiritual people, like babies in Christ. 2I gave you milk to drink instead of solid food, because you weren’t up to it yet. 3Now you are still not up to it because you are still unspiritual. When jealousy and fighting exist between you, aren’t you unspiritual and living by human standards? 4When someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and someone else says, “I belong to Apollos,” aren’t you acting like people without the Spirit? 5After all, what is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants who helped you to believe. Each one had a role given to them by the Lord: 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow. 7Because of this, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but the only one who is anything is God who makes it grow. 8The one who plants and the one who waters work together, but each one will receive their own reward for their own labor. 9We are God’s coworkers, and you are God’s field, God’s building.
10I laid a foundation like a wise master builder according to God’s grace that was given to me, but someone else is building on top of it. Each person needs to pay attention to the way they build on it. 11No one can lay any other foundation besides the one that is already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12So, whether someone builds on top of the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, or hay, 13each one’s work will be clearly shown. The day will make it clear, because it will be revealed with fire—the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. 14If anyone’s work survives, they’ll get a reward. 15But if anyone’s work goes up in flames, they’ll lose it. However, they themselves will be saved as if they had gone through a fire. 16Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and God’s Spirit lives in you? 17If someone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person, because God’s temple is holy, which is what you are.
18Don’t fool yourself. If some of you think they are worldly-wise, then they should become foolish so that they can become wise. 19This world’s wisdom is foolishness to God. As it’s written, “He catches the wise in their cleverness.”#3.19 Job 5:13 20And also, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are silly”.#3.20 Ps 94:11 21So then, no one should brag about human beings. Everything belongs to you— 22Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life, death, things in the present, things in the future—everything belongs to you, 23but you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
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1 Corinthians 3: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
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