1 Corinthians 3
3
Divisions in the Church
1But I, brothers,#3:1 Or brothers and sisters could not address you as #ch. 2:15; Rom. 7:14 spiritual people, but as #[ch. 2:14] people of the flesh, as #Heb. 5:13; [ch. 2:6]infants in Christ. 2#Heb. 5:12, 13; 1 Pet. 2:2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for #John 16:12you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For while there is #Gal. 5:19, 20; [ch. 1:11; 11:18; Rom. 13:13]jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4For #See ch. 1:12 when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” #[ver. 3]are you not being merely human?
5What then is Apollos? What is Paul? #2 Cor. 6:4; Eph. 3:7; Col. 1:25; [2 Cor. 3:3] Servants through whom you believed, #See Rom. 12:6as the Lord assigned to each. 6#ch. 4:15; 9:1; 15:1; Acts 18:4-11; 2 Cor. 10:14, 15 I planted, #Acts 18:27 Apollos watered, #[ch. 15:10; Col. 1:18]but God gave the growth. 7So #2 Cor. 12:11; Gal. 6:3; [Gal. 2:6]neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8He who plants and he who waters are one, and each #ver. 14; ch. 15:58; 2 John 8; [ch. 4:5; Gal. 6:4, 5]; See Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6will receive his wages according to his labor. 9For we are #Mark 16:20; 2 Cor. 6:1 God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, #Eph. 2:20-22; Col. 2:7; [ver. 16; Ps. 127:1]God’s building.
10 # [2 Pet. 3:15]; See Rom. 12:3 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled#3:10 Or wise master builder I laid a #ver. 11, 12; Rom. 15:20; [Rev. 21:14] foundation, and #[ch. 4:15]someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11For no one can lay a #Isa. 28:16 foundation other #[2 Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:6, 7] than that which is laid, #[Eph. 2:20]which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13#ch. 4:5 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed #ver. 15; 2 Thess. 1:8 by fire, and #1 Pet. 1:7the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, #See ver. 8he will receive a reward. 15If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, #[Ps. 66:12; Isa. 43:2; Jude 23]but only as through fire.
16 # ch. 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21 Do you not know that you#3:16 The Greek for you is plural in verses 16 and 17 are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For #[2 Cor. 7:1]God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18 # [Isa. 5:21; Gal. 6:3] Let no one deceive himself. #[ch. 8:2; Jer. 8:8, 9]If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19For #See ch. 1:20 the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, #Cited from Job 5:13“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20and again, #Cited from Ps. 94:11“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21So #ver. 4-6; ch. 1:12; 4:6 let no one boast in men. For #Rom. 8:28all things are yours, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23and #2 Cor. 10:7; Gal. 3:29 you are Christ’s, and #[ch. 11:3]Christ is God’s.
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