1 Corinthians Chapter 3

Christ, Not His Messengers

¹ Members of Christ’s family, I couldn’t talk to you like spiritual people, but like material-minded ones, like infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food. You couldn’t eat solid food and still can’t. ³ You’re still material minded. While jealousy and conflict exist among you, aren’t you material minded and act like typical people? ⁴ When any of you says, “I’m with Paul,” “I’m with Apollos,” aren’t you material minded and act like typical people? ⁵ What’s Apollos? What’s Paul? Ministers that led you to faith. ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God made it grow. ⁷ So the one that plants or waters isn’t important, but God who makes it grow. ⁸ The one that plants and the one that waters combine their efforts, and God will pay each one for his own work. ⁹ We’re God’s fellow workers; you’re his field, his building.   

1 Cor 3:1-9

Christians as God’s Temple

            ¹⁰ By God’s grace, like a skilled general contractor, I’ve laid a foundation, and others are building on it. They need to be careful how they do that. ¹¹ Nobody can lay any other foundation than the One I’ve laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If you^sg build on it with gold, silver, precious stones—wood, hay, straw, ¹³ time will tell how good your work proves to be; fire will test it and make that obvious. ¹⁴ If your^sg work lasts, you’ll get paid. ¹⁵ If it burns up, you’ll take a loss, but you’ll be saved—but as through fire. ¹⁶ Don’t you^pl know you’re^pl God’s temple, and God’s Spirit lives in you^pl? ¹⁷ If you^sg destroy his temple, he’ll destroy you^sg. His temple is holy; that’s what you^pl are.                                                                                          

            ¹⁸ Don’t kid yourselves. If any of you think you’re wise in the world, you need to become “foolish” to become wise. ¹⁹ The world’s wisdom amounts to foolishness as far as God’s concerned. Scripture says,

                        “He traps the crafty in their craftiness” [Job 5:13];

²⁰ and,

                        “The LORD knows that the speculations of the wise are meaningless” [Ps 94:11].

²¹ So, don’t anyone take pride in other people. Everything belongs to you: ²² Paul, Apollos, Cephas; the world, life, death; things present, things to come. They’re all yours, ²³ you’re Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.                                  

1 Cor 3:10-23