1 Corinthians 3 "Jesus Christ Our Foundation"

Introduction & Review

To pick up in Chapter 3 we remember that “them folks” from Chloe’s family and some others told Paul about “divisions” in the church coming from people in the church following particular men rather than Christ.

I wondered about this a bit this week.

I’ve heard and said the church today is all divided today and my nature is to attach these deep theological questions that can come out of an honest reading of the Bible that truly believes The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. The same questions saved, born again believers have been arguing about for centuries.

Then this week I started thinking I’m giving us, true children of God and yet descended from Adam, WAY too much credit.

Just a question to think about but rather than those deep doctrines of the faith, are we more like the church in Corinth and just divided along the lines of denominational traditions, preachers and personalities than we are by honest, charitable, inter-family, biblical discussions about the application and interpretation of the scriptures.

But I’ll get off your toes so I can get off my own!

So coming out of Chapter 2 Paul has told the church he came to them with a simple message: Christ and Him crucified. He didn’t use the fancy words or try to be like the popular speakers they were used to in the city, he just came preaching the Gospel. Not just the Gospel though, also that the cross was not only the true way to become a Christian, but the cross and the Holy Spirit were two of the means God uses to teach Christians how to act like Christians.

Paul ended by saying:

1 Corinthians 2:14–15 “14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.”

John 15:15 “15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

we are given the “mind of Christ’ when we are saved and given the Holy Spirit who uses scripture, preaching, and conscience to teach us how to do the will of God Romans 12:2 “2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Paul goes on...

1 Cor. 3:1-4 On Having the Spirit and Being Divided

1 Corinthians 3:1–4 KJV

1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

1 Corinthians 3:1–2 “1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.”

in 1 Cor 2:6 Paul talked about being mature. He couldn’t talk to them as mature Christians but had to give them a bottle instead of steak and potatoes. And can’t now either.

1 Corinthians 3:3–4 “3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?”

carnal is fleshly (of this world) immature Christians that still look like the world for a time while progressive sanctification is occuring.

He can’t talk to them as adults now because they are still acting like baby Christians that haven’t grown any and still act like they acted when they were lost and worldly. His proof they are carnal is how they are claiming the authority of preachers rather than Christ. Just like the rest of the people in Corinth claim a teacher or speaker and try to explain how theirs is the best, smartest, or always right.

1 Cor. 3:5-17 Correcting a False View of Church and Ministry

1 Corinthians 3:5–17 KJV

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, 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 by fire. 16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1 Corinthians 3:5 “5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?”

What more than preachers are Paul and Apollos? They were only giving the same good news God has given all of us.

1 Corinthians 3:6–8 “6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”

Paul gives a metaphor of plant husbandry all the 1st century people would have been more familiar with than a lot of us are today.

The planter to be in competition with the waterer is silly. They work for the same boss and for the same purpose. They both work for God to grow food to be fed with. The same is true with those ministering in Corinth.

1 Corinthians 3:9 “9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”

He then gives them the metaphor of all of the building of the church there in Corinth as GOD’s building.

1 Corinthians 3:10–11 “10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

The image is of building a house. Paul is the architéktōn, the principal build specialist sent to Corinth by the God, the lead architect. He gave them the gospel as a foundation and those other God ordained and sent men used scripture and preaching to build the church into what God wanted it to be. But Jesus is the true foundation, the Rock on which the church resides.

1 Corinthians 3:12–15 “12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, 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 by fire.”

fire refines gold, silver, and precious stones but it consumes wood, hay, and stubble. The fire shows what’s real and not.

“for the day shall declare it”: Paul is using a reference they would have thought of as the “day of the Lord” he mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1:8 “8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul

The styles, or intelligence, or how “hard” a man preached or what he sounded like, all these are shifting sands that if the church is built on then rather than Christ it crumbles because they can’t hold up to what’s coming.

Glory to God and the Holy Spirit moving Paul along to write this when he did. Paul is specifically talking about when the Lord returns, but I promise you there were those that remembered the very moment this letter was read in the church when they received the news that Jerusalem had been mostly leveled and most of those living in Jerusalem killed or taken as slaves!

The church built on those things rather than Christ cannot survive the test of the world or the trials of God and will crumble into nothing!

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 “16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

They’ve done got Paul worked up in a lather. “Know ye not” is a rhetorical device he’ll use nine more times in this letter. He’s not gently reminding them of something they did or should know. he uses “For you yourselves know” is how he does that in Thessalonians and Philemon and Romans. No, here he’s saying “DON’T YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE? DOGGONE IT, THE CHURCH IS GOD’S BUILDING AND THE HOLY SPIRIT IN IT! IF YOU DON’T START ACTING LIKE IT, GOD WILL SAVE YOUR SOUL BUT I GIVE YOU NO PROMISES HE WON’T DESTROY THE BUILDING THERE”

1 Cor. 3:18-23 Conclusion of the Matter—All Are Christ’s

1 Corinthians 3:18–23 KJV

18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. 21 Therefore let no man 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.

1 Corinthians 3:18–20 “18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”

Just Jesus! Keep all fancy in perspective and only use it when it’s needed because it’s the cross and Jesus dying on it that saves men’s souls

1 Corinthians 3:21–23 “21 Therefore let no man 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.”

Keep the main thing the main thing. Make much of Jesus and not of buildings or preachers. Do this, and no matter what happens you all will be OK because God keeps and grows and takes care of His own!

Conclusion

carnal is “in the flesh”

No such thing as a “carnal Christian’.

There are plenty of Christians that slip up and act more like Adam than Jesus. Plenty of Christians who are young in the faith, really are babes in Christ that just don’t know any better yet and sin and repent when they learn. There are even plenty of Christians that struggle with sins of their past fail and are convicted by their sin then repent and try again tomorrow and by the grace of God grow in the knowledge of truth and over time look more like Jesus than they might today.

What there aren’t are people who do and act and talk and look exactly the same as the world looks and do so without conviction who are Christians. the word for those people is lost and what they are in need of is the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:10–12 “10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”