Introduction: In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul deals with the issues of division and spiritual immaturity among the Corinthian believers. He urges them to unify and grow in their understanding of God’s work through them as His servants. Paul emphasizes their role in building the church and the importance of laying a proper foundation, which is Jesus Christ. The end of the chapter warns believers to take care in how they build upon this foundation and reminds them of their identy as God’s temple. This encouragement should move the Corinthians toward spiritual maturity and deeper gratitude for their role in God’s plan, as it should move us this way in year 2024.
I. Division and Spiritual Immaturity (1 Corinthians 3:1-4)
Paul scolds the Corinthians for their jealousy and bickering, which show they are acting like worldly people, not spiritual people. Their allegiance to different leaders—Paul, Apollos, or Cephas—reveals their spiritually immature understanding of church unity. Hebrews 5:12 makes the point that Christians need to grow in spiritual maturity, else they will be like children arguing over toys. In Romans 12:2, Paul writes about the transforming one’s mind for spiritual growth, bickering is of the world, not of the Spirit, and 1 Peter 2:1-2, the Bible says we should desire the sincere milk of the Word, so we can grow up.
II. Servants Planting and Watering (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)
Paul explains that he and Apollos are only servants through whom the Corinthians believed, each playing a different role. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth and gets the increase. So neither the planter nor the waterer is anything but a servant, so only God, who gives the increase, is of consequence. We read in Ephesians 4:11-12, God gives leaders to equip His people for service, they don’t own the people, only equip them for service. The workers purpose is seen in Colossians 2:7, leading people to be rooted and built up in Christ, and Acts 18:24-28, the Bible speaks of Apollos’ role in spreading the gospel. He and Paul were the planters and waterers, they in essence, were workers in the field like you and I.
III. The Church’s Foundation: Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-15)
Paul uses a building construction to describe the church’s growth. As a skilled master builder, he laid the foundation, which is Jesus Christ, and then others begin building on it. He warns every builder to take care in how they build. On Judgment Day, each person’s work will be tested by fire, trying it to see what sort of work it is, selfish or spiritual. Ephesians 2:20 tells us the Jesus is the main cornerstone of any church, and Matthew 7:24-27, speaks of building one’s life on the teachings of Jesus which is the cornerstone. If laid right in a church, it will stand the storms of this world according to 2 Timothy 2:19, he writes, the firm foundation of God stands.
IV. God’s Temple and Holiness (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in them. If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person, for God’s temple is sacred, and that is what the people (not the building) of Corinth are. Ephesians 2:21-22 tells us that Christians (believers) are a temple and the habitation of God through the Holy Spirit, and 1 Peter 2:5 speaks of believers as living stones in a spiritual house, take care what you do in that house. Also plainly put in Corinthians 6:16, we are the temple of the living God).
V. The Folly of Human Wisdom (1 Corinthians 3:18-23)
Paul warns against self deception and the appeal of worldly wisdom. He exhorts the Corinthians to become fools in the eyes of the world to become truly wise. Everything belongs to them because they belong to Christ as stated in John 17:10, it reads all belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. We can read a comparison of worldly wisdom and God’s wisdom in James 3:13-17, one is devilish and one is righteous.
Conclusion: 1 Corinthians 3 reminds believers to unite in their faith, and recognize that they are co workers in God’s service, building upon the only true foundation, Jesus Christ. This chapter encourages Christians to value spiritual growth over human wisdom and to honor themselves (as a group) as the dwelling place of God’s Spirit. By understanding these truths, believers are encouraged to work together with the right motives and to see themselves as a vital part of God’s eternal plan, which transcends human divisions and limitations.
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