Survey of 1 Corinthians 3:1-23
Confronting a divided church
Verses 1-4: Arrested Development
In 1 Corinthians 2, the Apostle Paul went to great lengths to remind his audience that the source of their salvation was the result of the simple proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the miraculous regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. He further explained that all true wisdom was God-given. Since neither salvation nor Godly wisdom has an earthly source, no single believer can rightly take pride in it or expect an unbelieving world to comprehend it since they had become the privileged recipients of the “mind of Christ”. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
Such a stunning revelation should have rightly drawn Corinthian believers towards more humble worship and service. Still, the third chapter immediately reveals the opposite reality as Paul delivers a stinging rebuke to a church that seemed to have forgotten its identity as well as the one who gave it to them.
Time had long passed since God had first used Paul to preach the good news to the lost in Corinth. Those God saved he used to establish a church, which should have been characterized by the one key attribute Jesus identified as the mark of his followers.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:35
Brotherly love, however, had been displaced by jealousy and strife as the church became more deeply divided over individual preaching preferences. Whether one claimed to be on Team Paul or Team Apollos, such bickering revealed the church’s reliance upon worldly wisdom along with a lack of maturity and humility.
Though Paul addressed them as his brothers and sisters, he made it clear that their selfish attitudes and behaviors had severely stunted their personal growth and that they remained spiritual infants as a result. (v.1)
Verses 5-9: The True Source of Growth
Paul points once again to the improper pedestal the Corinthians had given both to him and Apollos. Worldly wisdom had caused church members to view certain types of service as more important than others. Those charged with preaching and teaching were suddenly being viewed as superstars instead of fellow servants whom God had called to fill roles that had been carefully designed to complement one another.
Paul's agricultural metaphors (He planted, and Apollos watered. vs. 6) certainly help his readers understand the necessity of each to produce gospel fruit. However, he makes it clear that neither possessed the power to cause the church to flourish.
The church’s only source and catalyst for its life and growth rested with God and God alone. Without him and his sustaining power, the acts of planting and watering would have been in vain no matter how noble or strenuous the effort.
This echoed the sentiment of Jesus’ own words in John 15:5:
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Paul finishes this thought with a level-setting reminder that they, as the church, had been blessed to serve as co-laborers in God’s eternal kingdom and that each member would be rewarded as such.
Together they existed as God’s field where he grew and cultivated new life, and God’s building which he constructed through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Verses 10-15: A Firm Foundation
Paul then considers the generous outpouring of God’s grace in his own life and how he used his gifts to help lay a foundation for the Corinthian church, rooted in the person and the work of Jesus Christ.
Others would certainly follow to build upon it, but Paul notes with a word of caution that any efforts, tools, or materials used apart from Christ would not stand the test of time.
Here Paul points his reader’s eyes toward the future with a reminder that all believers would one day stand before God to give an account for how they used their spiritual gifts.
Works, though not a means to gain salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10), remain of vital importance for God’s people.
Paul promised a coming day when those who exercise their God-given talents, time, and resources to contribute to his kingdom will be rewarded. In contrast, those who hide, squander, or ignore their responsibilities will suffer great loss, despite their salvation.
Verses 16-17: God’s Holy Temple
The Corinthians had forgotten one key fact that separated them from the rest of pagan society: as God’s building, he lived directly in them and among them.
As Paul told the men of Athens in Acts 17:24-28:
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for
“‘In him we live and move and have our being’;
as even some of your own poets have said,
“‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
The Holy Spirit’s presence within a believer’s life changed everything and compelled and equipped them to add to that Christ-centered foundation as joyful servants.
Paul assures his readers that those who remained intent on tearing down God’s temple would ultimately be met with destruction.
Verses 18-23: Godly Foolishness vs. Worldly Wisdom
Paul closes out this third chapter with a reminder that God’s kingdom and righteousness run completely against the logic of the natural world and that any efforts to employ its standards and metrics for success within the church would result in frustration and futility.
True wisdom begins when God’s people embrace his so-called “foolishness” and reject the prevailing culture’s “wisdom” which places fallen humanity and vain pursuits at its nucleus.
Though the world in all its wisdom would never understand, disunity could not rightly continue within a church whose greatest commands were to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love their neighbor as their self. (Mark 12:30-31)
Genuine peace and productivity among Christian brethren begins with the humble realization that each possesses the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and has been equipped to play an essential role in the church’s growth and construction.
Questions for Consideration
Read James 4:1-10. According to James, what are the main problems for divisions between men? How could this have been manifesting itself within the body of believers in Corinth?
Read Matthew 16:25, Colossians 3:1-4, 1 Corinthians 6:20. What is the foolishness of God, and how does it contrast with the Christ-follower’s identity and purpose according to Scripture? What does it mean for the Christian when Paul says that “all things are yours” in 1 Corinthians 3:21?