1 Corinthians3

Paul addresses the Corinthians as carnal, not spiritual, due to their divisions and factionalism, emphasizing that he and Apollos are merely ministers through whom God gives the increase. He declares that Jesus Christ is the sole foundation, and all subsequent work will be tested by fire. Furthermore, believers are the temple of God, and worldly wisdom is foolishness in God's sight, urging them not to glory in men but to recognize that all things are theirs in Christ.

Carnality and Immaturity in the Church

Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Messiah.

I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready,

for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men?

For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you fleshly?

Ministers are God's Fellow Workers

Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.

So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.

Building on the Foundation of Christ

According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it.

For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Yeshua the Messiah.

But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble;

each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is.

If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward.

If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.

The Community is God's Temple

Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.

True Wisdom and Divine Ownership

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.”

And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.”

Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,

whether Paul, or Apollos, or Kefa, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours,

and you are Messiah’s, and Messiah is God’s.

Study Notes for 1 Corinthians 3

Verse 1

Paul contrasts the 'spiritual' Christian (one guided by the Spirit) with the 'carnal' or 'fleshly' Christian (one still dominated by fallen human nature), identifying the Corinthians as the latter.

Verse 2

The metaphor of 'milk' represents simple, foundational teachings, while 'meat' represents deeper theological or ethical truths. Their inability to handle 'meat' shows their spiritual immaturity.

Verse 3

The practical evidence of their carnality is factionalism ('envying, and strife, and divisions'), which mimics the behavior of the non-believing world ('walk as men').

Verse 5

Paul minimizes the roles of himself and Apollos, emphasizing that they are merely 'ministers' (servants) used by God to facilitate belief.

Verse 6

Using the agricultural metaphor, Paul 'planted' (founded the church), Apollos 'watered' (nurtured the converts), but the growth and results belong solely to God.

Verse 8

The workers are 'one' in purpose and service, yet each will be judged individually and rewarded for the quality and faithfulness of their own labor.

Verse 9

The church is described using two key metaphors: 'God’s husbandry' (a field being cultivated) and 'God’s building' (a structure under construction), highlighting divine ownership and purpose.

Verse 10

Paul identifies himself as a 'wise masterbuilder' (*architekton*), indicating his role in laying the essential foundation of the Gospel in Corinth. Subsequent teachers must be careful how they build upon it.

Verse 11

Jesus Christ is the non-negotiable, singular foundation for the church and all Christian teaching. No genuine spiritual work can be built on any other basis.

Verse 12

These materials represent the quality of ministry, teaching, or works: gold, silver, and precious stones represent enduring, godly work; wood, hay, and stubble represent worthless, superficial, or self-centered work.

Verse 13

The 'day' refers to the future judgment (often understood as the Bema Seat judgment for believers), where the quality of every person’s work will be tested by the purifying 'fire' of God's scrutiny.

Verse 15

The individual whose work fails the test will 'suffer loss' (of reward), but their salvation remains secure, emphasizing the distinction between eternal life and rewards for service.

Verse 16

Paul shifts the metaphor: the collective body of Corinthian believers (plural 'ye') is the holy dwelling place (*naos*) of God’s Spirit, replacing the physical temple in Jerusalem.

Verse 17

This is a severe warning against those who introduce destructive teaching or cause division, thereby 'defiling' or ruining the corporate temple (the church).

Verse 18

Paul returns to the theme of worldly wisdom (2:6), urging believers to reject human intellectual arrogance and embrace the 'foolishness' of the gospel in order to gain true divine wisdom.

Verse 19

Paul quotes Job 5:13 to demonstrate that God actively frustrates the schemes and cleverness of those who rely on their own earthly wisdom.

Verse 21

The conclusion to the factional argument: since all things ultimately belong to the believer through Christ, they have no reason to boast or 'glory' in temporary human leaders.

Verse 22

This radical list affirms the believer's comprehensive ownership of reality—including leaders, the physical world, and even the events of life and death—as a result of their union with Christ.

Verse 23

This verse establishes the ultimate theological hierarchy: everything belongs to the believer, but the believer belongs to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

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1 Corinthians3

Carnality and Immaturity in the Church

Ministers are God's Fellow Workers

Building on the Foundation of Christ

The Community is God's Temple

True Wisdom and Divine Ownership

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