1 Corinthians 3
OGC**Butler’s Comments
Chapter Three
THE PROBLEM OF MINISTRY (1 Corinthians 3:1-23)
IDEAS TO INVESTIGATE:**
Why is ministry a problem with Christians?
How can Paul address these jealous and strife-minded Christians as brethren?
Why does the discussion of survival or destruction of works arise here?
What is God’s temple?
How does one become wise by becoming a fool?
APPLICATIONS:
Servanthood is learned through practice, it is not innate. Jesus had a difficult time teaching his first disciples that greatness was in serving others. He taught it primarily by his own example: The Son of man came to minister, not to be ministered to.. Jesus washed the disciples feet (John 13:1-38) and said they ought have the same attitude toward one another. Paul served the Corinthian Christianshe was not served by them. In fact he refused to take any salary from them for his ministry to them so they might have it as an example (2 Corinthians 11:7-9; 2 Corinthians 12:13-18).
Dissension and the party-spirit in a church or among Christians is a sure sign of worldly-mindedness (i.e., not thinking as God thinks in his word). It is usually a result of refusing to see human beings as God sees them and, rather, seeing them as the world doesobjects to be exploited for one’s own selfish purposes (see 2 Corinthians 5:16-17). It is perpetuated by comparing ourselves. or measuring ourselves by one another instead of by Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:12). Christians can never make spiritual progress or come to maturity until they repent of such worldly thinking.
Every Christian, whether apostle, evangelist, teacher, elder, deacon, secretary, carpenter, custodian, man or woman is simply a laborer in God’s field or on God’s building. Only God and his Son have authority to be boss. Men are simply planters, waterersGod alone has the power (through his word) to produce life and growth.
Every laborer or worker will take care how he works on God’s building if he wants his work to survive and enjoy it:
He will build only on the One FoundationChrist crucified and resurrected.
He will exert every effort to produce quality materials; materials that will survive the fires of temptation and testing. He will recognize that he too is saved by the quality of fire-survival built into his own life.
Christians must believe that the compensations of self-serving are for fools, while the compensations of servanthood for Christ and others are for the wise.
God made everything good and he made it for Christians to exercise dominion over in order to praise and serve him, to enjoy and benefit from, and to use to bring others to salvation in Christ.
APPREHENSION:
How could Paul call these Corinthians brethren and, in the same breath, say they were not spiritual men?
What is a babe in Christ? Should we remain babes in Christ? How does this fit into Christ’s admonition that we must turn and become like little children to enter the kingdom?
Should Christians be fed in stages or phases? Are all Christians ready to receive teaching from the scriptures on the same level?
What is the responsibility of the leaders of the church in this?
What is a clear manifestation of spiritual immaturity?
Do you find this clearly manifested in the brotherhood of Christians today?
Is Paul saying in this chapter we should not show respect or honor to those who teach us the scriptures? What is he saying about human teachers?
What is the one and only essential to church growth?
Where does God put his power to give growth? Are churches and Christian leaders plugging in to God’s growing-power or relying on something else?
If apostles are not anything but planters and waterers, why did God give them powers and authority he gave to no other Christian?
Is God serious about Christians being careful how they build his building?
Name some practical ways we may be careful about how we build!
Have you seen any of your building materials tested in the fire?
Have any failed the test? Have any survived? What made the difference?
Will there be any stars in your crown when you get to heaven?
What will God do with those who destroy his church through division?
Did you realize God was that serious about Christian unity?
Why is it foolish for Christians to be biased in favor of some of God’s servants and reject others?
Do you really believe that all of God’s creation is yours? Are you using it?
**Applebury’s Comments
CHAPTER THREE**
Analysis
A.
The apostle turns his attention to the spiritually immature converts to Christianity at Corinth (1 Corinthians 3:1-4).
He addresses them as -brethren. By so doing he prepares them to accept the correction he is about to give.
The problem he faced when he was at Corinth. (1 Corinthians 3:1-2 a).
a)
He could not speak to them as to spiritual, that is, mature Christians.
b)
He had to speak to them as unto carnal (made of flesh).
c)
They were babes in Christ, that is, just barely beginning their Christian life.
d)
He fed them with milk, not meat, He taught them the elementary things of the gospel, but they were not able to advance to the more mature things of the Christian life.
They were in the same state as he writes to them in this letter (1 Corinthians 3:2 b - 1 Corinthians 3:4).
a)
Ye are not yet able, that is, to accept the advanced teaching. They were still like babes after all the time that had elapsed since their conversion.
b)
Evidence that supports this charge (1 Corinthians 3:3).
(1)
They were still carnal (belonged to flesh) as shown by the jealousy and strife among them.
(2)
They were conducting themselves as mere men, not like spiritual beings, that is, new creatures in Christ.
c)
An illustration of what he meant by this charge is suggested by his question, When one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not men?
B.
He explains the relation of himself and Apollos to the brethren at Corinth (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).
The questions that were designed to make them think: What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? They knew, of course, who they were, but they needed to be reminded of what they were.
The answer to the question:
a)
As to the church, they were ministers (literally, deacons) through whom they had believed on Christ.
b)
As to the Lord, each was doing the task the Lord gave to him: Paul planted, Apollos watered.
c)
As to God, it was He who gave the increase.
d)
As to each other, they are one thing, that is, servants of God. Each of them shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. This dispels any notion that Paul or Apollos approved their saying, I belong to Paul, or I belong to Apollos.
A summary of these relationships shows the reason for what he has just said (1 Corinthians 3:9).
a)
Paul and Apollos are fellow-workers who belong to God.
b)
The church at Corinth is God’s field to be cultivated and God’s building which He builds through His servants, one of whom lays the foundation (Paul) and another (such as Apollos) builds on it.
C.
He calls their attention to a very significant fact: The church is the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:10-17).
Laying the foundation and building on it (1 Corinthians 3:10-11).
a)
As a wise master builder, Paul laid the foundation. He did this by preaching the word of the cross.
b)
Another (such as Apollos or some other faithful teacher of the Word) builds on the foundation.
c)
A word of caution to each who builds on the foundation:
(1)
Let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon.
(2)
The reason for the warning: There is no problem about laying the foundation, for that foundation is Christ; there is no other. The problem had to do with the kind of disciples each teacher had.
Paul explains what he has just said about building on the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
a)
There are two kinds of building materials: gold, silver, costly stones; and wood, hay, stubble. One is fire-proof; the other will burn. These building materials represent the disciples that teachers like Apollos will havesome will be faithful, some will not.
b)
The test that will show which one of these two classes will represent each man’s work will be:
(1)
The day in which each man’s disciples face the trials of the Christian life.
(2)
The trials are like fire that can destroy the wood, hay, and stubble; but not the gold, silver, and costly stones.
(3)
The fiery trials will show just what sort each teacher’s work is, that is, whether his pupils will stand the test or fail.
c)
The effect of the result of these trials on the teacher (faithful men like Apollos).
(1)
If his works remains, that is, if his disciples prove faithful, he will receive the reward of work well done. That will be the joy of seeing those whom he taught remaining faithful to the Lord.
(2)
If any man’s work burns, that is, if his disciples fail in the fiery trials of the Christian life, the teacher suffers loss. His effort is wasted; he has only grief over those who did not remain faithful to the Lord.
(3)
The teacher, that is, the faithful one like Apollos who teaches the truth of the gospel, shall be saved. If he is faithful, he does not go down with his unfaithful disciples. But he has to endure the same tests in his life as a Christian that his disciples face, that is, as through fire.
Paul asks the question that compels the Corinthians to see that all this applies to them (1 Corinthians 3:16).
a)
The two-fold question: Don-’t you know that you are God’s temple? Don-’t you know that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
Then he points out the fate of the one who destroys God’s temple, the church (1 Corinthians 3:17).
a)
God will destroy that one.
b)
He will do so because God’s temple is holy, and such (that is, holy persons) are ye.
D.
His earnest exhortation (1 Corinthians 3:18-23).
Let no man deceive himself about the question of wisdom (1 Corinthians 3:18-20).
a)
This is directed to the one who thinks he is wise in this age: Let him become a fool, that he may become wise, that is, let him accept the wisdom God has revealed through the inspired apostles and prophets.
b)
The wisdom of this world, that is, of the people who live in it, is foolishness with God. He is able to cope with their craftiness; the Lord knows their reasonings are vain.
Let no one glory in men (1 Corinthians 3:21-23).
a)
The reason for this exhortation: All things are yours.
b)
This includes:
(1)
Men in whom they were boasting, whether Paul, Apollos, or Cephas.
(2)
The world with its supposed wisdom.
(3)
Life and death.
(4)
Things present and things to come.
c)
A most important matter which they were evidently forgetting: You are Christ’S, and Christ is God’S.
Questions
Why does Paul address his readers as brethren since he calls them carnal?
What does he mean by carnal?
With what does he contrast carnal in this context?
What is meant by spiritual?
How does his use of spiritual in this chapter differ from his use of this term in chapter two? To whom does it refer in each case?
What is implied by the expression babes in Christ?
How was Paul forced to conclude that they were babes?
What is meant by milk and meat in this connection?
What is the mark of spiritual maturity?
How long should the brethren remain as babes in Christ?
What is the mark of the carnal Christian?
How does Paul’s use of carnal differ from his use of natural in chapter two?
What does it mean to walk after the manner of men?
What does Paul mean by the question, are ye not men?
What was the relation of Paul and Apollos to the Corinthians?
What is the word that is translated minister in this connection?
What bearing does this have on the party spirit in Corinth?
What division of labor did Paul and Apollos observe?
What was the important thing to remember about their efforts?
What is meant by statement, he that planteth and he that watereth are one?
What is meant by the statement, we are God’s fellow-workers?
What bearing does the remark, ye are God’s husbandry (tilled field) and God’s building, have on the problem of division?
To what did Paul attribute the privilege he had of serving as an apostle of Christ?
What qualification did he have to work in connection with God’s building?
How did Paul lay the foundation?
What is the foundation of the church?
How does this correct the problem of division in Corinth?
What evidence is there to show that Jesus Christ is the only possible foundation of the church?
To whom does Paul refer when he says, another buildeth thereon?
Why the warning about building on the foundation Paul laid?
What are the two classes of building materials and their characteristics?
What has this to do with the warning to the teachers?
What is the day that shows what sort each man’s work is?
In what ways was the early Christian’s faith tried?
What are some things which try one’s faith today?
What is the relation of the day of trial to the Day of Judgment?
Why does Paul speak of fire as that which will show what sort each man’s work is?
When he refers to each man’s work is he speaking of the teacher or of his disciple?
On what foundation is this work built?
How long must it abide for him to receive a reward?
What is the reward of the faithful teacher?
Why may the faithful teacher suffer loss?
What will that loss be?
How can he be saved if his work is burned?
What is meant by the remark, as through fire?
Why does Paul ask, Know ye not that ye are a temple of God?
What are some of the facts of the history of the Jewish temple?
How does this help to understand that God dwells in the temple, His church?
What were the Corinthians doing that was destroying the temple of God?
What is the history of the desecration of the Jewish temple, and how did that compare with what the Corinthians were doing to the church?
What are the characteristics of the church of which it may be said, the Spirit of God dwells in you?
What is the fate of the one who destroys the temple of God?
How could Paul say to the church at Corinth, The temple of God is holy, and such are ye?
Why did Paul say, Let no man deceive himself (1 Corinthians 3:18)?
How is one to become wise?
What is God’s view of the wisdom of the world?
Why did Paul say, Let no one glory in men (1 Corinthians 3:21)?
In what sense did Paul, Apollos, and Cephas belong to the Corinthians?
What bearing did this have on the problem of division?
What important relationship were they missing by practicing division?
For Discussion
What are some of the causes of spiritual immaturity in the churches today?
What can you suggest as a practical remedy for lack of spiritual growth?
1 Corinthians 3:1-4
**Butler’s Comments
SECTION 1
Commence With Spiritual Feeding **(1 Corinthians 3:1-4)
3 But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as men of the flesh, as babes in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not ready for it; and even yet you are not ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving like ordinary men? 4For when one says, I belong to Paul, and another, I belong to Apollos, are you not merely men?
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 a Babyish: It is of first importance to note that while in chapter two the contrast is between uninspired human beings (or psychikos, physical, finite man) and the inspired apostles (or pneumatikos, spirit-guided one), the contrast in chapter three is between Christians who are carnal or fleshly-minded (Gr. sarkikois) and the spiritual maturity they should have attained (pneumatikois). Chapter two deals with divine revelation given by God to some and not to others. Chapter three deals with spiritual maturation which all Christians may attain through study and practice of the written word of God. The use of different Greek words in the two Chapter s makes the difference apparent.
There is, course, an essential connection between the two Chapter s. Paul is connecting his claim (in Chapter s one and two) for the divinely inspired authority of his teaching to the spiritual problem (in chapter three) of the Christians in Corinth. Had they fed themselves on apostolic revelation more than on Greek sophistries, they would not have the problems of immature, fleshly-minded attitudes toward Christian ministry.
There was something wrong with the feeding the Corinthian church was getting. We are what we eat. is an adage some apply to the physical person. The same principle holds true in the spiritual person. Jesus stated this principle very clearly in his great sermon on the Bread of Life (John 6:25-71). Unless a man feeds on the Bread of Life he will have no spirituality in him, and Jesus plainly said that his words were spirit and life (John 6:63). Jesus said his own food was to do the will of the Father who sent him (John 4:31-34). If Jesus found it necessary to feed his mind and life on the will of God, so must we! The explicit work of the Christian ministry is the feeding of the flock of God (see Acts 20:28-32; John 21:15-19; 1 Peter 5:2) to bring it to spiritual maturity (see Ephesians 4:1-16; Colossians 1:24-29; Hebrews 5:11-13).
What is spirituality? Paul clearly defines spirituality as setting the mind on the things of the Spirit (see Romans 8:5-8). Spirituality is not emotionalism. Spirituality is not measured by quantity of good deeds. Spirituality is fundamentally a mind-set. No matter how emotional we may become or how many religious ceremonies we perform, if our motives or our reasons for doing them are carnal (worldly) and selfish, we are not spiritual. Jesus called the very religious Pharisees hypocrites because their reasons for being religious were self-serving (cf. Matthew 6:1-8; Matthew 23:1-39).
If spirituality is setting one’s mind on the things of the Spirit, where do we find the things of the Spirit in order that we may set our minds on them? That is precisely what Paul is talking about in I Corinthians, Chapter s 1 and 2the things of the Spirit are revealed in the teachings of the apostles. The apostles have the mind of Christ and of God because they are the ones to whom the Spirit of God has revealed them! The things of the Spirit are not found innately in man’s heart. The heart of man is deceitful above all things and desperately corrupt (see Jeremiah 17:9). God has not put his mind in every man in some subjective way. God has put his mind in his Word in an objective way through the revelation given to the apostles. Now any man who wants to assimilate the mind of God into his mind may do so by assimilating the objective word of God. This assimilative process involves, of course, putting the things of the Spirit to practice in one’s life. We cannot have Christ in us unless we do his commandments (1 John 2:24; 1 John 3:24). But we cannot know what the will of God for us is until we read, understand and believe the revelation of God made to us in human language by the apostles.
Paul declared to the Corinthians that he had to address them as infants (Gr. nepiois) in respect to their spiritual maturation. It was clear to him that they were not setting their minds on the things of the Spirit because they were still thinking as worldly-minded people would. Paul does not mean that he was talking to non-Christians for he plainly calls them brethren. He means simply that having made their initial commitment to Christ and having been baptized into him (cf. Acts 18:8), they did not feed themselves on God’s word enough to bring them to a state of spiritual growth commensurate with their opportunities and privileges. They had not trained their faculties by practice and study of the apostolic message to be able to distinguish good from evil as well as they should (see Hebrews 5:11-14). They were allowing their ways of thinking and living to be dominated more by the habits of their pre-Christian life than by God’s will.
Do not wonder that Paul still called them brethren. Spiritual maturation comes, like physical growth, slowly. We would not throw away a baby brother in our physical family because he did not grow into physical manhood overnight. But we do insist that a baby brother eat, learn, exercise and grow. And we make all kinds of personal sacrifices to see that he does. So must we tenderly feed and strengthen our spiritual brethren, no matter what stage of spiritual growth they may manifest. All of us are spiritually deficient when we compare ourselves to Christ, our Elder Brother. The leadership of the church cannot relax its dedication to the ministry of bringing all members to spiritual maturity in Christ. There may be many causes for Christian immaturity:
a.
Inadequate study of the Bible in the corporate worship of the church; superficial sermonizing, unhermeneutical Bible studies.
b.
Low expectations for individual growth. Teachers and preachers may not expect their Bible students to be able to think deeply. Expect the most from every brother.
c.
Failure of the church leadership to provide opportunities for all members to share in the Lord’s work (each part working properly. Ephesians 4:16).
d.
Failure of the church leadership to accept their call from Christ to exercise firm, but gentle and merciful, moral guidance to church members.
e.
Just plain unwillingness on the part of Christians to give up thinking and doing worldly things. If any one is willing to do Christ’s will, he will mature (see John 7:17).
There was something seriously deficient in the process of Christian maturation within the Corinthian church. Whether it was the fault of those charged with the feeding or of those being fed (probably both) we are not certain. It is certain that it had to do with the teaching and believing of the most fundamental Christian doctrine of allthe resurrection of Jesus Christ (cf. comments on 1 Corinthians 15:33). They were still infantile in their thinking. They were still acting like children, apparently able to be tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. (Ephesians 4:14).
1 Corinthians 3:3 b - 1 Corinthians 3:4 Biased: The party spirit is a sign of spiritual immaturity. Only the carnal (worldly-minded) think of structuring the church in terms of human superiority and arrogance. Paul tells the Corinthian Christians they were behaving like run-of-the-mill (non-Christian) human beings who, through jealousy and strife, scheme and plot to promote their own fame and fortune.
Probably the most crucial issue Jesus had to deal with in his ministry on earth was the nature of the kingdom of God. Most people conceived of the kingdom as a place to establish worldly fame and to promote their own advancement. This involved jealousy and strife by: a.
Mary, the mother of Jesus (John 2:3-4)
b.
Disciples of John the Baptist (John 4:25-30)
c.
Thousands of followers (John 6:15)
d.
The twelve apostles (Mark 9:38-41; Luke 9:49-50)
e.
The disciples wondering who is the greatest (Matthew 18:1)
f.
Jesus-’ own half-brothers (John 7:3-4)
g.
Those dining at the Pharisee’s home (Luke 14:7-14)
h.
James & John (and their mother) asking Jesus for chief honors (Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45)
i.
Pharisees in their love for the places of honor in synagogue (Matthew 23:5-12)
j.
Twelve apostles at the Last Supper arguing about who would be greatest among them (Luke 22:24-28)
k.
Peter, refusing to let Jesus wipe his feet as a servant (John 13:5-11)
These instances do not take into account the multitude of inferences (from Acts through Revelation) that such jealousy and strife arose among the early churches. The life-style of the person whose highest hopes begin and end with this present world and a fleshly existence is one of immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like (see Galatians 5:19-21). Those who belong to Christ have put such a life-style to death (crucified it). Christians, who believe there is a higher plane on which to live than bodily functions and who believe there is another world coming, live a life-style of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. They trust Jesus Christ that this is true and real because he lived such life-style to perfection on earth, was slain because of it, but rose from the dead to vindicate it forever.
Jesus-’ statement, He who would be greatest among you, let him be the servant of all (Matthew 20:27) is proven true by his resurrection from the dead. Those who say, I belong to Paul, or I belong to Apollos are not living in the light of Christ’s truth.
Applebury’s Comments
His Spiritually Immature Converts (1-4)
Text
1 Corinthians 3:1-4, And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not with meat; for ye were not yet able to bear it: nay, not even now are ye able; 3 for ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you jealousy and strife, are ye not carnal, and do ye not walk after the manner of men? 4 For when one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not men?
*Commentary
And I brethren.*Paul continues his rebuke of the sin of division. When he was at Corinth, he found some who were more interested in their own wisdom than in the word of the cross. Some of his converts were spiritually immature. They were divided over loyalties to men. They had evidently failed to heed the plain message of God’s wisdom which Paul preached to them. But he calls them brethren for they were in Christ even though they were only babes so far as development was concerned.
not spiritual, but carnal.Spiritual implies inadequate appreciation of what it means to be a new creature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is not to be equated with mere emotionalism. It begins with an intelligent grasp of the facts of the gospel as proclaimed by the inspired apostles. It is conviction and determination to act in accord with the teaching of Christ. It also implies the stirring of the deepest emotions of which the human heart is capable, that is, Christian love, joy, and peace. See Romans 14:17.
Carnal in this context refers not to the man of the world but to the spiritually immature babes in Christ. There are two words translated carnal in this section. In verse two, the word means made of flesh. In verse three, it means belonging to flesh. The distinction is interesting. Think of Christians who should live in the realm of spirit being made of flesh and belonging to flesh. This was the result of following the teaching of men rather than the word of the cross. Neither of these terms suggests the depravity of human nature inherited from Adam. Both made of flesh and belonging to flesh are used with reference to the state of arrested, development which characterized those who failed to make progress in the Christian life.
A similar situation is described in Hebrews 5:11-14; Hebrews 6:1-8. Some had been Christians long enough that they should have become teachers, but they needed some one to teach them the A B C’S of the gospel. They were like babes who had to be fed on milk, not solid food. They were without experience in the word of righteousness. There is solid food in the gospel for the mature Christian, but the people at Corinth were not able to appreciate it.
In chapter two Paul contrasts the natural man with the one who is spiritual. The context shows that this distinction referred to the uninspired man in contrast to the inspired apostles. In chapter three, however, the contrast is between the one who belongs to flesh and the one who is spiritually mature. It is the contrast between arrested development and normal growth in Christians. To equate carnal with natural and to assume that all men by nature are incapable of responding to the teaching of the Holy Spirit which was revealed through the apostles is to completely ignore the context in which the two terms are found.
Paul proves his charge that they are carnal by reminding them of their jealousy and strife. This is the very opposite of love which, if followed, will overcome strife, faction, division, pride, and jealousy in the church (1 Corinthians 13:1-13).
babes in Christ.According to Hebrews 5:13, the one who is inexperienced in the word of righteousness is a babe. He is the one who is fed on milk, that is, who is to be taught the elementary things of the gospel. Solid food is for the mature Christian. It includes such things as the teaching about Christ our high priest; the necessity of pressing on to perfection; the issues of faith, repentance, and the possession of the promises of God. See Hebrews 6:1-12.
Every new Christian is in a sense, a babe in Christ. Some, of course, begin this experience with greater understanding and appreciation of what it means than others. But all start with the basic elements of the gospelbelief in Christ based on the resurrection (Romans 10:9-10); a determination to forsake sin and to live for Christ (repentance); entering into the agreement with Christ to acknowledge Him as prophet, priest, and king (the good confession); and, as the culminating act of being born into the family of God, being immersed in water in the name of Christ for the remission of sins (baptism). How well one grasps the significance of these things may well determine the rate of his spiritual growth in Christ.
The writer of Hebrews chides his readers for still being babes when they had been Christians long enough to have become teachers. Although this condition at Corinth had been produced by jealousy and strife, it is possible that some spiritual immaturity today may arise from other causes. It may be produced by a failure to provide an adequate program of Bible instruction for the whole church. It may be the result of indifference and lack of a real desire to know the rich things of the Word. Too often people have assumed that all the Bible should be as simple as kindergarten lessons. If that were true, it is doubtful if there would ever be such a thing as a fullgrown Christian. Probably one of the greatest causes of spiritual immaturity is the failure of the leadership in the church to provide opportunities for all to share in the Lord’s work. Merely attending worship services and training classes will never do it. Each one, if he is to become a mature servant of the Lord, must be led to share in spreading the gospel by at least making friendly, Christian calls that will demonstrate that the church is interested in others. The very finest of diet without exercise will produce weaklings. There is a crying need today for programs that will help people take an active part in spreading the gospel. The usual Sunday morning scolding which the church receives for not doing this will only make the situation worse. Those who can make calls should take the inexperienced along until they too have learned the value and blessing of actually doing something for the Lord. Putting money into the church treasury to hire a paid caller won-’t accomplish the desired end. There are millions of Christians who have never been directly responsible for the conversion of one soul to Christ. I believe this is largely because they have not been shown how and what to do. It will take some organization, planning, and specific information about when, where, why, and on whom the calls are to be made. With adequate Bible teaching and actual work in sharing the gospel with others, there is no reason why churches cannot be filled with mature Christians.
*not yet able.*It was bad enough that Paul encountered them as spiritual dwarfs; it is a worse tragedy that they remained like that. In view of what is said about them in First Corinthians, it would be necessary for them to get rid of their divisions, immorality, lawsuits before pagan judges, factions that prevented them having the Lord’s supper, and all other things contrary to the gospel before they could be looked upon as mature in Christ.
*I am of Paul.*In spite of all the effort Paul made to exalt Christ, it is strange that some were saying, I belong to Paul. This is the sort of thing that one would expect in the realm of politics, not the church. But because these things were present, the apostle asks, Are ye not men? Evidently the Christian who has God’s revealed wisdom in the Bible should stop conducting himself according to the standards of men. If they were Christians of the sort they should be, that is, proving by their lives that they really belonged to Christ, they would be glorifying God in the body (1 Corinthians 6:20).
1 Corinthians 3:5-9
**Butler’s Comments
1 Corinthians 3:5-9 Builders**: All Christians are workers in God’s fieldbuilders on God’s building. What are apostles? Workers, like every other Christian. They may have gifts from God diverse from ours to equip them for the special job to which God called them, but they are still only workers. Paul calls himself and Apollos servants (Gr. diakonoi, deacons, table-waiters). The apostles were merely messenger-boys, delivering God’s revelation to mankind. They were sent into the world of the first century to serve, not to be served. Paul was a planter (Gr. ephuteusa) and Apollos was a waterer (Gr. epotisen) in God’s field, God is the owner of the field and the Master of the servants. Everyone else is a planter, waterer, cultivator, or a reaper. Some are sent to sow and some to reap (John 4:36-38). Neither one is more important than the other. Since not even one apostle is superior to another, partisan loyalty to one human servant of God or another which creates jealousy and strife is senseless.
The Greek tenses in 1 Corinthians 3:6 point to an interesting emphasis. The verbs used for planted and watered are aorist tense while the Greek verb for gathering (euxanen) is imperfect. Aorist means a single action completed in the past, while imperfect shows continuous past action. It could be translated thus: At one time in the past Paul planted in Corinth, and later Apollos watered there; but God was making growth occur all along during that time. It is also of importance to notice in 1 Corinthians 3:7 that the strong adversative conjunction in Greek, the word alla, puts emphasis on the contrast. 1 Corinthians 3:7 might be translated He who plants is nothing, he who waters is nothing, but (alla) God who is giving growth (Gr. auxanon, present participle) is everything. One planted, some watered, and each was the same as the other-nothing without God for their labors produced only because God made it to be so!
1 Corinthians 3:8 is a reaffirmation of what Jesus taught in the gospels. All Christian servants are equalthey are all servants. Each servant will receive his wages according to faithfulness. Servants do not receive wages according to amount produced for producing is God’s doingGod gives the increase. The servant is responsible only to faithfully use the tools over which he has been given a stewardship. The servant is not responsible for the amount of the crop.
Paul wants to discuss with Corinth the problem of pride as a factor contributing to the schismatism in the church. The attitude of servanthood is part of the answer to division in the church. Involvement, increased work-load or busyness will not produce Christian unity. There can only be real unity when Christians are emptied of self and willingly take the form of servants (Philippians 2:1-11).
1 Corinthians 3:10-11 Boss: The apostle uses two figures of speech (1 Corinthians 3:9) to illustrate the work of ministering the gospel. It is farming and building. Paul called the Corinthian Christians God’s field (Gr. georgion, from which we get the name George, and the word farmer) and he called them God’s building (Gr. oikodome, house, edifice). Paul called himself a masterbuilder working along with his co-laborers erecting God’s building, the church. The Greek word architekton is the word from which our English word architect originates. However the use of the word by the ancient Greeks indicates the word had a wider application than our English word architect. Literally the word comes from, arche, master, superiorand tekton, artificer, skilled craftsman. In the context of this chapter Paul exhorts Christians, Let each man take care how he builds.. The ministry of the gospel demands the best skill in selection and use of building materials. Paul refers to his own extreme care, as if he were a master technician, using precisely and exactly the right material for the foundation of the church in Corinth. Paul used Jesus Christ and him crucified as the foundation.
But the main thrust of this passage is that Paul used the material he was told to use by the Boss (God). Paul writes, According to the grace given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation.. The RSV translates, According to the commission of God given me.. but the Greek word is charin which is translated grace or gift. Of course, Paul often refers to his being called by God to be an apostle (a builder of God’s church) using the word grace (see Romans 1:5; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 1 Timothy 1:12-16, etc.). What Paul is stressing here is that he exercised all the skill he had to follow the orders (or instructions) of God who was gracious enough to employ him as a builder on His building.
Immature, spiritual babies were not ready to really add to the building of God in Corinth which Paul had begun. Paul’s foundation was the sure and solid rock of God’s revelation that Jesus was the Christ. That was what God told Paul to lay as a foundation for the church. Paul did not vary from the instructions of the Boss. Ignorant (1 Corinthians 10:1) and unskilled (in the revelation of God) Christians must not disregard the divinely revealed Word (blueprint) of the Owner concerning the building of the church. All Christians who wish to involve themselves in building the Lord’s church must train themselves (see Hebrews 5:11-14), lest they attempt to lay a foundation other than Jesus as the Christ, or lest they build upon that foundation with unenduring materials.
There is only one foundation upon which the church is builtJesus as the only Anointed of God (and all that implies as to Jesus-’ deity), (see Matthew 16:13-19; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:4-8). To try to build on any other foundation is vain (cf. Psalms 127:1). Actually, God laid (past tense) his Son, the Messiah-Servant, as the foundation of his new covenant people (the church) long before Paul was born. God laid the promises of the Servant as the foundation in the Zion of the Old Testament (see Isaiah 28:16; Psalms 118:22-23; Matthew 21:42). The Jews, for the most part, rejected Jesus as the Messiah and thus rejected the foundation-stone of God. The very foundation-stone God sent became a stone of destruction falling upon those who rejected him!
1 Corinthians 3:12-17 Building: Paul had laid God’s foundation. Apollos had continued to instruct the new converts. Now, some of the Christians of the congregation in Corinth were beginning to teach and lead in building the church. But it was evident to Paul that care was not being taken in their building. They were producing disciples who were jealous, indifferent to immorality in the church, bringing litigations against one another in pagan courts, careless about marriage, uncaring about weaker brethren, disrespectful in the corporate worship of the church and toward God ordained structures of human authority, both prideful and envious in the matter of supernatural gifts, teaching confusion about the bodily resurrection, and slack in matters of Christian stewardship. The teaching leadership of the Corinthian church was constructing God’s building with weak and unendurable material. They were not building up Christian people who had strong, self-disciplined, servant-minded faith in Christ and his Word.
There are two classes of building materials (disciples, Christians); fireproof and flammable. Some Christians will be able to stand the scorching heat of persecution and testing while others will wither under it and die (cf. Matthew 13:5-6; Matthew 13:20-21). Paul’s main concern in this exhortation is the ability of the Corinthian Christians to withstand the fiery trials which were coming upon the whole first-century world of Christendom (see 1 Corinthians 7:26; 1 Peter 2:20-23; 1 Peter 4:12-13). John the apostle writes in the book of Revelation about the great tribulation coming upon the Roman Empire of the first and second centuries. Christians had been put to the fires of testing ever since the Day of Pentecost when the church was begun (see Acts of the Apostles). And physical or economic hardships are not the only forms of testing the Christian must prepare to meet. There is also the seductiveness of fleshly self-indulgence and the deceptiveness of false religious teaching.
A day of testing comes to every follower of Jesus, in every age. The word hemera, Greek for day, is not capitalized in the Greek text, although it is preceded by the definite article. That, however, does not necessarily mean he hemera (the day) is pointing to the final Judgment Day of God. The Old and New Testament both have many references to specific, past, historical judgments of God upon the earth and use the term, day of the Lord or, the day of the Lord. Many days of testing (in fact every day) are in the Christian’s life. Paul is probably referring to a specific era of testing (perhaps the Neronian persecutions or those later under Domitian).
Paul was concerned from the reports he had received of conditions in the Corinthian church that many of the Christians there were wood, hay and stubble as far as their spiritual substance was concerned. Paul knew that Christians then faced an impending distress. Their spirituality was about to be proven (Gr. dokimasei, tested) or disproven by some fire (Gr. pyri). Paul comes back to this subject of testing and temptation for the Corinthian Christians in chapter ten where he uses the tragic story of the Israelites in the wilderness as a case in point. Some of the Christians at Corinth will withstand the impending distress and others will be consumed.
The trials of the Christian life (whether persecution or temptation) will prove not only what the material (disciple) is, but it will also prove how careful the builder (teacher) has been with the material. The day will disclose each teacher’s work! Temptations, trials and tests of faith are very revealing. Every preacher, Sunday School teacher, Christian parent, elder, deacon, and Bible college teacher who has ever sown the seed of God’s word anywhere will have his work tested. Fires of persecution and temptation are so certain to come Peter chides Christians for being surprised, or acting as if these fires were something strange (1 Peter 1:7; 1 Peter 4:12-13). It was predicted that the Messiah would bring the fires of testing to mankind (cf. Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:1-5). Jesus himself said he came to cast testing-fire upon the earth (Luke 12:49). God will not have any person built into his church as a living stone who has not been tested. The wood, hay, stubble kind of disciple is illustrated by Jesus in his parable of the soils and the rocky ground which has no root in itself so when the scorching heat of tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word immediately he falls away; or in the thorny ground which lets the word be choked out by the cares of the world and the delight in riches. The gold, silver and precious stones kind of disciple is like the good ground of the parable or one who hears the word and holds it fast in an honest and good heart bringing forth fruit with patience (see Matthew 13:1-23; Luke 8:4-15).
Thoughtless building, using shallow and superficial materials (as some teachers at Corinth appear to have been doing) will program the structure for demolition when the inevitable fires of testing come. But there will be reward for the worker in God’s farm or God’s building who builds with depth and discipline. Such a worker’s materials will survive (Gr. menei, remain)they will not perish in the scorching pressures of temptation and trial. Paul’s reward or crown was seeing his converts survive (see Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). The apostle John expressed the same joy that his converts were remaining true to Christ (cf. 2 John 1:4; 3 John 1:3-4). The teacher who uses superficial materials will suffer the loss of this reward but he will be saved even if his part of the building (disciples) cannot survive the fiery trials. Even the best teachers cannot be sure those whom they teach and to whom they give their best will withstand temptation and persecution. Jesus lost Judas as well as many thousands of disciples who left him and followed him no more (cf. John 6:66 ff.). Paul lost Demas (2 Timothy 4:10). John lost Diotrephes (2 John 1:9). The seven churches of Asia Minor lost members (Rev. ch. 2-3). However, the teacher’s own salvation does not depend on the faithfulness of his disciples, but on his own faithfulness to Christ. Every teacher will face trials and hardships, discouragements and heartaches. The teacher, too, must go through the fire. He will be saved only if he is built of enduring material. The teacher, also, is a part of God’s building, having been built into it by someone else. Every human being will survive God’s testing-fires according to his own faith. No one will be condemned for someone else’s lack of faith. Some may be saved and experience joy that others they pointed to Christ were saved also. And some may be saved and experience loss that those they pointed to Christ refused to be saved.
The honest and sincere builder (teacher) will be saved, even if some of his material (pupils) does not endure the testing. But the one who deliberately takes up the work of wrecking God’s building will most certainly be destroyed. In this context, the entire church is being called God’s temple (see also Ephesians 2:19-22). This is not a reference to the individual Christian as in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, and it should not be used as such. This refers to the jealous and striving brethren at Corinth who were quarreling (1 Corinthians 1:11-17) and dividing the church into separate parties following human leaders. There is no excuse for separating the local, or universal, church of Jesus Christ into factions following human leaders or using human names. Not even the name of Christ may be used to separate oneself from anyone else who is sincerely trying their best to be obedient to Christ’s teachings. The only reason by which a Christian may justify separating himself from one who claims to be a follower of Jesus is deliberate, demonstrable, provable false teaching or licentious living. Even then such separation must have as its goal the reclamation of a brother or sister straying from Christ, (2 Thessalonians 3:14; 2 Corinthians 2:5-11; 1 Corinthians 5:3-5).
God will not tolerate those who wreck his church by willful division. One must be either a builder or a wrecker. There is no middle ground. Every man or woman either gathers with Christ or scatters (Matthew 12:30). All people fall into one of two categories: either a citizen of God’s kingdom making every effort to build it, or an alien enemy trying to destroy it. How terribly awesome is the sin of those who rebelliously and deliberately perpetuate divisions among believers in Christ. Division is perpetuated when unscriptural doctrine is wilfully perpetuated; when party-spirit or partiality is perpetuated; and when legalism is perpetuated. For further study of Christian unity see Learning From Jesus, by Seth Wilson, College Press, pgs. 412-430.
Applebury’s Comments
The Relation of Paul and Apollos to the Church (5-9)
Text
1 Corinthians 3:5-9. What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? Ministers through whom ye believed; and each as the Lord gave to him. 6 I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: but each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow-workers: ye are God’s husbandry, God’s building.
*Commentary
What then is Apollos?*The Corinthians had made men (Apollos and Paul are mentioned to illustrate the point) heads of the parties that divided the church. But what had God intended men to be in relation to His church? Ministers through whom ye believed. There is no possible suggestion in this term that God approved the claim of the Corinthians to belong to Apollos or to Paul or to any other man. The human tendency is to strive for greatness by exalting one man above another. Christ, however, showed that the way to true greatness is the way of humility and service. He said, the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). The word which He uses in this statement is the verb form of the word deacon. For Paul and Apollos to be called ministers or deacons of Christ was all the honor a faithful servant of Christ could ask for. Brethren expresses the relation between members of the church; deacon expresses the relation to Christ of those who are engaged in performing a service under His direction.
It should be noted that Apollos who was not an apostle was called a minister (deacon) just as Paul was. The tendency of some to make a distinction of rank between the elder and the deacon violates this principle. Both of these terms refer to functions to be performed under the Lord and not to rank. Note that the apostle Peter, in addressing the elders, calls himself a fellow-elder (I. Pet. 1 Corinthians 5:1).
*God gave the increase.*As God servants, men are under obligation to do His will, but it is God who gives the increase to their efforts. God gives the increase when the Word is planted by faithful preaching and teaching. Paul, who first preached the gospel at Corinth, is likened to the one who sows the seed. Apollos, who followed him and taught the new converts, is likened to the one who did the irrigating. Each did the work the Lord gave him to do, and God gave the increase. There is, therefore, no occasion for strife, jealousy, and division over any man. Let the glory be given to God; let Christ and His Word be exalted in the church; then will the sin of division that is causing the church to be like babes in Christ be overcome.
*Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one.*That is, they are one thing: ministers or deacons of Christ. And as ministers, each is to receive the reward for faithfulness to the Lord.
*For we are God’s fellow-workers.*Paul and Apollos were fellow-workers who belonged to God. Since they were partners, there was no reason for anyone to say, I belong to Paul or I belong to Apollos.
*ye are God’s husbandry, God’s building.*The field and the building are God’S. The church belongs to God, not men. Since the workers also belong to God, why divide the church over them?
1 Corinthians 3:5-17
**Butler’s Comments
SECTION 2
Consists In Spiritual Work For God** (1 Corinthians 3:5-17)
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7So 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 equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor. 9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. 11For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw13each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17If any one destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are.
1 Corinthians 3:10-17
Applebury’s Comments
The Church is the Temple of God (10-17)
Text
1 Corinthians 3:10-17. According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 But if any man buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 each man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire. 16 Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye.
*Commentary
According to the grace of God.*Paul looked upon his ministry as favor God had extended to him. His attitude was one of humility. His example would have helped the church to see the error of dividing the body of Christ through exalting one leader above another.
*a wise masterbuilder.*Paul had spoken of himself in relation to the church as a minister (deacon) of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 4:15, he refers to himself as a teacher and father. The figure of masterbuilder fits this context since the church is presented as a temple. But he is a wise masterbuilder. As the apostle of Christ, he spoke the revealed wisdom of God rather than the wisdom of men. The foundation of the temple of God could not be laid in any other way, for it was God who was building the church through His workers.
*I laid a foundation.*The Corinthians are reminded that the foundation of their Christian life was laid by one who knew how to lay a proper foundation, Their spiritual immaturity could not be blamed on the foundation or the one who laid it. Paul laid the foundation by preaching Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2); by showing that it was necessary to believe the word of the cross in order to be saved (1 Corinthians 1:21); by instructing the believer to be baptized, not in his but in the name of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-2; 1 Corinthians 12:13).
*another buildeth thereon.*This is a reference to Apollos and other faithful teachers like him who instructed the new converts at Corinth. It has nothing to do with false teachers or to building on a false foundation.
*let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon.*It was just as important for the builder of the superstructure to exercise every care in his work as it was for the one who laid the foundation. The foundation that Paul laid was the true foundation. That, however, did not guarantee the success of the building that was to be erected upon it. Consequently, the apostle warns other faithful teachers to take heed as to kind of building materials (disciples) they use.
*foundation. is Jesus Christ.*The temple of God can have only one foundation, Jesus Christ. The rock upon which Jesus said He would build His church is the truth that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter’s own statement should be considered when interpreting what Jesus said to him (Matthew 16:18). He speaks of the Lord as a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God, elect, precious (1 Peter 2:4-8). See also Isaiah 28:16 and Psalms 118:22 from which Peter quotes. In the light of these remarks, it is difficult to see how Peter could be considered as the foundation of the church. The reference to the foundation of the apostles and prophets in Ephesians 2:20 is to the foundation which they laid by preaching the Word.
*gold, silver, costly stones; wood, hay, stubble.*These are the two classes of building materials. One is fireproof, the other will burn; one is costly, the other is relatively inexpensive. The point of the apostles-’ concern, however, is their ability to withstand fire. These building materials represent two classes of disciples a teacher may have. Some are like fireproof materials for they will withstand the fiery trials through which they are to pass. Others are like wood that can be destroyed by fire. They will not stand the trials that come upon them to prove them (1 Peter 4:12-13).
*the day will declare it.*Of course, each one will face the Day of Judgment and give account of the deeds done in the body (2 Corinthians 5:10). But in all probability, the day to which Paul is referring is the Christian life with its fiery trials. In Paul’s time, many were called upon to give their lives for their faith in Christ. Some were burned at the stake; some were tortured to death; some fought with wild beasts in the arena to the amusement of heartless spectators. The ancient martyrs, of course, were not the only ones to face persecution for the sake of Christ. The test that comes to most Christians today is the test, not of dying, but of living for Christ. We are reminded of the trials of Israel in the wilderness that caused many of them to fail to enter the Promised Land (1 Corinthians 10:5-10). For a list of the sufferings of Paul, see 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 and 1 Corinthians 4:9-13.
*the fire will prove each man’s work.*The trials of the Christian life will demonstrate what sort the teacher’s disciples are. Will they be destroyed like wood, hay and stubble, or will they withstand the fiery trials like gold, silver and costly stones? This was the problem at Corinth. The foundation had been laid by Paul. Apollos and others like him had continued to instruct the new converts. But they had not grown to maturity; they were filled with jealousy and strife; they were a disappointment to their teachers; they were not standing the test.
*if any man’s work shall abide.*The task of the faithful teacher is not completely discouraging. Apollos and others like him could look with confidence to the faithful endurance of trials by some of those who had been instructed in the gospel by them.
God’s Word is complete in matters pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). It tells how to become a Christian and how to live the Christian life. It furnishes the Christian with the whole armor of God that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). It equips him with the shield of faith with which he is able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). Paul warns against overconfidence, but he also shows that the way of escape has been provided that the man of faith may be able to endure the trials of the Christian life (1 Corinthians 10:12-13). Peter points out the course to follow to make sure of entering the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-11).
*he shall receive a reward.*The reward that the faithful teacher receives is the joy of knowing that he has been faithful to the Lord and the joy of seeing those whom he has instructed serving Christ, remaining true to Him through the trials of life (Philippians 4:1).
*if any man’s work shall be burned.*Even faithful teachers cannot be sure that those whom they instruct will withstand the fiery trials. Jesus faced this in His ministry. Judas betrayed Him; Peter denied Him. At one time, the crowds who had been fed on the loaves and fishes deserted Him to such an extent that He said to the apostles who remained with Him, You wouldn-’t go away also, would you? (John 6:66-69) Paul wrote with an evident note of sadness of Demas who had forsaken him because he loved this present age (2 Timothy 4:10). The writer of Hebrews warns of the peril of those who were once enlightened and then fell away (Hebrews 6:4-8).
*he shall suffer loss.*The teacher should do everything possible to help those whom he instructs to stand the trials of the Christian life. Nothing short of declaring the whole counsel of God will accomplish this (Acts 20:27).
Perhaps teachers should ask themselves if they are like the father Jesus mentioned who, when his son asked for bread, gave him a stone (Matthew 7:9-10). But the teacher will suffer loss if the pupils fail. That loss may be the grief over the unfaithful one as opposed to the joy over those who remain true; it may be the loss of time and effort that could have been spent on others who might have responded more favorably. It is a hard thing for a teacher to know when to apply the rule Jesus gave when He said, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs; neither cast your pearls before swine, lest haply they trample them under foot and turn and rend you (Matthew 7:6).
*be himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire.*The teacher’s own his own faithfulness to Christ. He too faces trials and hardships, dissalvation does not depend on the faithfulness of his disciples, but on couragements and heartaches. Thus he is to be saved as through fire just as anyone else.
*ye are a temple of God.*All that the apostle had said about builders, foundations, and buildings is suddenly focused on the Corinthians themselves. Don-’t you know that you are God’s temple? Evidently they were not aware of it. The church to them was more like an ordinary political assembly. They had failed to see that it was the assembly of those who had been called out of the world of sinners by the preaching of the gospel to enjoy the rights and privileges of free citizens of the kingdom of heaven. How could they have missed this when they had been taught the revealed wisdom of God by His inspired apostle? But they did.
This rebuke is probably the strongest blow the apostle strikes against the sin of division. What an awful thing that they should desecrate the spiritual temple of God! The desecration of the Jew’s temple by Antiochus Epiphanes is one of the outstanding atrocities visited upon ancient Israel. See 1Ma. 1:1-64. This pagan ruler dared to change the laws of God pertaining to worship and sacrifice. It was especially insulting to the Jews and to their God for him to order them to use swine’s flesh in their sacrifices. The cleansing and rededication of the temple following this incident was commemorated by the Jews in the feast of dedication (John 10:22).
At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the passover feast. There He found that men had turned the sacred area of the temple into a place of merchandise (John 2:13-16). He cleansed the temple and reminded the people that they were not to make His Father’s house a house of merchandise. But in three short years it had again been put to the same use. Jesus cleansed the temple again and said to the money-changers, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer (Matthew 21:12-12).
Wicked as all these sinful deeds were, they did not compare with the sin of division that was destroying God’s temple, the church. The solution to the problem of division in Corinth begins with the correct view of the church as God’s temple. Paul speaks of it as the temple where the Spirit of God dwells. To profane this temple is to deserve the destruction that will surely come to the guilty ones.
*the Spirit of God dwells in you.*It will help us to understand this expression if we look at the camp of Israel with the tabernacle in its midst. The tabernacle was called the tent of meeting because God met His people there, and through His appointed servant, Moses, He spoke to them, giving direction for conduct that would let the nations about them know that He was the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel. The ark of the covenant which was kept in the holy of holies further emphasizes the presence of God in the midst of His people. Within the ark, among other things, the tables of the law were kept. Through the law Israel was taught that they should love God with all the heart, soul, and mind, and that they should also love their neighbors as themselves (Matthew 22:37-40).
When Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem that took the place of the tabernacle, he made it a thing of splendor, fitting, within the limits of human endeavor, as a house of God. But long after that, Stephen said, Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands for heaven is His throne and the earth His footstool (Acts 7:48-49).
The church that honors God by exalting Christ; that obeys His Word rather than the doctrines of men; that is transformed by the renewing of the mind so that the members approve the will of God, the thing that is good, complete, and acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1-2) can truly say that God is in its midst. See comment on 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 where the body of the believer is called the temple of the Holy Spirit.
*If any man destroyeth the temple of God.*In a sense, the church cannot be destroyed because it is divine. Paul said he made havoc of the church, that is, he was attempting to do so by persecuting the church (Galatians 1:13). But it is true that the effectiveness of the church can be destroyed by the sin of division. The sin of division dishonors Christ, the head of the church; it dims the glory of the church, the bride of Christ; it tends to neutralize the message of the church, the gospel of Christ; it weakens the believers who are members of the body of Christ.
*him shall God destroy.*For the fate of the Israelites who displeased God, see 1 Corinthians 10:5-10. For the fate of those who trample under foot the Son of God, see Hebrews 10:28-31. For the punishment of the sin of Nadab and Abihu, see Leviticus 10:1-3. For the punishment of Uzzah who acted with every good intention when he touched the ark in violation of God’s law, see 2 Samuel 6:6-7. For the story of Uzziah the presumptuous king who undertook to perform the task of the priest contrary to God’s law and was punished by being stricken with leprosy unto the day of his death, see 2 Chronicles 26:16-21.
Paul declares that God will destroy those who attempt to destroy His temple, the church. This should make the promoters of division stop and think. God has never permitted man to desecrate holy things and go unpunished.
*such are ye.*What an exalted view of the church this isye are the temple of God! But how could the apostle refer to people who were so far from the ideal of Christ as the temple of God? Perhaps it was to remind them of what God intended them to be, that is, new creatures washed in the blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11). Perhaps it also expressed the hope of the apostle that they would respond to the instruction for overcoming their spiritual immaturity.
As to a practical application of this important point, think of the church today with its many divisions often warring against each other rather than carrying on the good fight of the faith (1 Timothy 6:12). But concerned men are doing much to lead the church toward the goal for which Christ prayed when all who believe on Him through the word of the apostles may be one (John 17:21). Men who have caught the vision of the church as the temple of God are pleading for the restoration of the church that is described in the New Testament in its doctrine, its ordinances, and in its life. A return to the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3) would present the church, even today, as the glorious church Christ intended it to be.
1 Corinthians 3:18-23
**Butler’s Comments
SECTION 3
Concludes With Spiritual Compensation** (1 Corinthians 3:18-23)
18 Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, He catches the wise in their craftiness, 20and again, The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile. 21 So let no one boast of men. For all 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 you are Christ’S; and Christ is God’S.
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 Nothing: The man who thinks he is following the way of wisdom by dividing the church into factions striving against one another for superiority is self-deceived. The Greek word exapatato is intensive and means thoroughly deceived; it is related to the word apatao, meaning to cheat. The man who is looking to glorify himself or some other man in the church is only cheating himself of the real reward from God. The wisdom of this doomed world is foolishness. The world that refuses to see through the perspective of God’s revealed truth is a world that cannot know what is real and abiding. Christians do not see anything from a human standpoint of view (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:16-17). Christians are the ones who are wise; all who are not Christians are cheating themselves of God’s divine wisdom. These are being blinded by the devil (2 Corinthians 4:3-6) and deceived into thinking that following Christ is foolishness. It is true, he who would be greatest in the kingdom must be the servant of all (Mark 9:35; Luke 22:24-27).
If we are to follow Christ and have his reward we must be ready to be considered a fool by the worldly-wise. Those who give their money to see that the gospel is proclaimed and to minister to people’s physical needs in the name of Jesus are fools according to the worldly-wise. The smart thing to do, according to the worldling, is to keep one’s money and invest it for one’s future security. The Christian who is willing to take the lowliest task or position, and let others receive the credit and applause, is a fool according to the world. But the worldling is a fool! No human being can out-fox God. Paul says all wisdom in this world not focused on knowing God and doing his will is foolishnessbut how many people believe that? God traps all the worldly-wise in their craftiness. The Greek word panourgia is translated craftiness. Literally, it means, all working, that is, a crafty person is one who is versatile and clever in everythinghe thinks! The word panourgia is applied to the subtlety of the devil in deceiving Eve (2 Corinthians 11:3) and to the methods of teachers who deceive immature Christians with false doctrines (Ephesians 4:14). Christian teachers renounce the very idea that they need to practice such human cleverness (2 Corinthians 4:2). The Christian does not need the clever subtleties of falsehood and deception to feel secure in this world. He has the faithful, never changing word of God which makes him happy and secure. The one who lives by deceit and dishonesty is caught in the trap of guilt, shame, and destruction of selfhood. That is the way God governs his creation, (cf. Romans ch. 1 and 2).
1 Corinthians 3:21-23 Everything: While the non-Christian thinks the Christian is a fool and has nothing, Paul says the Christian has everything! Everything God has made belongs to the Christian to use to glorify God and thus be glorified by God. God has given everything to the Christian because only the child of God has surrendered his evaluation and use of everything to the revealed will of God. The Christian is the only person who knows what everything in God’s creation is for! To surrender one’s mind to human leaders is really a kind of self-impoverishment. Human wisemen who deny God understand nothing about what God has made. They will eventually use what God made for good to produce evil, But the Christian, in harmony with Christ’s will, has opened up to himself the whole universe as his servant. Everything God has made is good (cf. Genesis, ch. 1-2; 1 Timothy 4:4-5). God intended his creation for man’s benefitto make man a spiritual partner with him and to give man enjoyment. When a man uses all that God has made to promote good, truth, purity, holiness and mercifulness, he is rewarded with glory and happiness.
All things belong to the Christian. Some in Corinth had been saying, I belong to Paul, others, I belong to Apollos. But the truth was that Paul and Apollos belonged to the Christians as their servants to bring them into a glorifying, enjoyable relationship with Christ. The world was theirs to use in service to God by serving men. In this they would be exalted and find satisfaction. Life was theirs to live in harmony with God’s truth and holiness and in so doing find purpose and fulfillment. Even death belonged to them. Death belongs to the Christian as a release from the trials and tribulations of this world and a door opening into eternal bliss (Philippians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:1). He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? (Romans 8:32) Christians are stewards of the whole universe. It belongs to their Father. He has given it into their hands for faithful use. He did not give it to them to be enslaved. They are to control it as men made free by Christ to enjoy and praise the name of their Master. They will be asked for an accounting when the Master returns. They will be asked only if they honestly used it to the best of their abilities according to his will.
The fact that God has given the Christian everything in his creation in no way gives the Christian room to be arrogant or boastful. With great privilege comes great responsibility. It is only by virtue that the Christian is in Christ that God gives these things. Having been united in Christ by faith and obedience the Christian has victory over death, life, present, future and everything else. Man had been given dominion over God’s creation in the Garden of Eden, but man lost it by believing the devil and rejecting God. The Son of man (God incarnate) won that dominion back for man by his life of perfect faith and obedience (see Hebrews 2:5-18). We share in what Christ has won for man only if we hold our faith in him firm to the end (Hebrews 3:14).
To minister or not minister has been a problem with God’s covenant people from the time Israel left Egypt until now. In old Israel (from Moses to Malachi) the majority of priests, prophets and kings were self-centered. There were always a few saintly exceptions. Among the thousands of Israel who assumed the offices of ministry, only a few heroic individuals really ministered God’s will to God’s people. There was Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Elijah and Elisha; there was David, Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah; there was Isaiah, Amos, Jeremiah and the other faithful prophets. These ministered in times of great distress, devastation and discouragement. But for the most part the whole nation of Israel defaulted on its call from God to minister to the nations around themthey begged, rather, to be ministered unto. So God said through the old prophets that he would form a new nation a new Israel out of every nation on earth who would be ministers unto him and the world (cf. Isaiah 66:18-23, etc.). The church of Christ is that new nation of priests (1 Peter 1:9-10). Every Christian is called to be a minister. Every Christian is a priest offering the sacrifices of praise and confession with the lips and of good deeds toward those in need (see Hebrews 13:15-16). When every Christian is committed to ministry rather than being ministered to, the problem of division in the church will disappear.
Applebury’s Comments
The Apostles Earnest Exhortation (1 Corinthians 3:18-23)
Text
1 Corinthians 3:18-23. Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinketh that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He that taketh the wise in their craftiness: 20 and again, The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise, that they are in vain. 21 Wherefore let no one glory in men. For all things are yours; 22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23 and ye are Christ’S; and Christ is God’S.
*Commentary
Let no man deceive himself.*The rebuke for the sin of division has been clearly stated. The remedy for the condition is apparent: Make the church what God intended it to be, His holy temple wherein dwells His Spirit.
This appeal is three-fold: (1) Let no man deceive himself (1 Corinthians 3:18); (2) Let no one glory in men (1 Corinthians 3:21); and (3) Let a man account of as ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 4:1).
The first is an appeal for clear thinking about the world’s wisdom in contrast to the message of the cross. The word of the cross is wisdom for the mature. God is able to adequately cope with the cleverness of the crafty, worldly-wise man. God knows the futility of the thoughts of men when compared with His thoughts.
*all things are yours.*This is the reason for the second appeal: Let no one glory in men. Some had been saying, I belong to Paul, others, I belong to Cephas. But the truth was that Paul and Apollos and Cephas were theirs, that is, they were their ministers through whom they had believed (1 Corinthians 3:5). But more than that, the world was theirs too. God created it for man and placed in it all the things needful for his welfare. The world was theirs as their sphere of activity for God, not a thing to conquer them and make them slaves of sin. Even life and death belonged to them. Life was theirs to be lived for Christ, not to be wasted in endless discussions of man’s wisdom and the sinful practices that grew out of them. To the Christian, the apostle said, Death is yours. It is true that he calls death an enemy to be abolished (1 Corinthians 15:26). But death belongs to the Christian as a means of release from the trials of life and of entrance into the presence of Christ (Philippians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:1). Both the present and the future are yours in which to serve Christ and praise Him. The apostle rebukes those who had been practicing division in the church and claiming to belong to Paul or Apollos. To whom did they belong? Ye are Christ’S, and Christ is God’S. Thus the word of God presents the solution to the problem of division.
Summary
The Corinthians were more interested in their own wisdom than in the wisdom of God. They looked upon the message of the cross as foolishness. It is not surprising that some of Paul’s converts failed to reach spiritual maturity. When he was with them, he had spoken to them about the elementary things of the gospel because they were not able to appreciate the things that belong to the mature Christian life. Even as he was writing to them, he realized that they were still unable. His teaching had been like milk for those whom he calls babes in Christ. Some of them were saying, I belong to Paul and I belong to Apollos. Their jealousy and strife clearly shows that they were acting as men and not as new creatures in Christ. Paul turns now to the corrective measures that were designed to lift the church out of this condition. There are three steps in his plan to correct the sin of division. The first step shows the correct relationship leaders to the church. The apostle asks, What is Paul and what is Apollos? They are ministers through whom you believed. They are not masters; they are not heads of political groups; they are the Lord’s servants performing a task for the sake of His Body, the church. They were fellow-workers who belonged to God. Their task was to work in God’s field and to build God’s building. The second step in the apostles-’ plan to overcome division is this: The church is the temple of God. Leaders, of course, have their place in relation to the temple. Paul says, I laid a foundation and another built on it. After he had started the work at Corinth, another teacher such as Apollos had followed him. His task was to instruct the new converts. He was building on the foundation Paul had laid. That foundation was Christ; there could be no other foundation for the temple of God. Paul solemnly warns the teachers to exercise care as to the kind of disciples they may teach. This is not a warning to false teachers, but to faithful teachers like Apollos who built on the foundation which Paul had laid. Some of their disciples would be like gold, silver, and precious stones. They would stand the fiery trials of the Christian life. Others would be like wood, hay, and stubble. They would be destroyed in the same fiery trials, and the teacher would lose the reward for his efforts. These are the carnal, factious, jealous ones who remained as babes when they should have been mature Christians. The faithful teacher does not share the fate of those who refuse to heed his message of truth, that is, if he conforms to the gospel standard of character and conduct. After discussing the relation of the leaders to the church as the temple of God, Paul reminds the brethren that they are the temple of God. Its sacredness is indicated by the fact that the Spirit of God dwells in His temple. Paul warns that God will destroy anyone, leader or follower, who through faction or division or other sin, destroys God’s temple. A third corrective step is given in the closing exhortation of the chapter: Avoid being deceived by leaders and their pretended wisdom. Those who think they are wise are urged to become fools by rejecting their own wisdom and accepting the word of the cross. Let no one boast in men, for all things belong to the faithful Christian. Instead of saying, I am of Paul or I am of Cephas, they are to remember that Paul and Apollos and Cephas belong to them as the Lord’s servants through whom they believed. The world is theirs, for God made it to be used by His people and not that they should become slaves of the world of sin. Even life and death are theirs. But (and here is a thing they were forgetting) they belong to Christ, and Christ to God.