Untitled Sermon (23)
Paul here envisions a scrutinizing of Christian leaders, not a judgment of all Christians, and the fire is not an instrument of punishment (as in Revelation 20), but of purification. It is not a judgment of people but of their work
The judgment in 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 is not of all humankind, of the justified over against (other) sinners, but of wise and unwise builders of the church
God holds Christian leaders accountable for how they build
Paul’s building activities were energized by the grace God has given me. He takes no personal credit for his achievements as a church builder or planter
The analogy of Christian leaders working on a major building project is especially appropriate to Paul’s argument
Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem at the time of Paul was the work of tens of thousands of workers and took over seventy years to build. The same goes for the great cathedrals of Europe built in the Middle Ages.
Paul himself plays a comparable role in both the agricultural and architectural images. Just as ‘the planter’ commences the work in the field, so, as the first builder on the site, Paul lays a foundation. Paul describes himself in this activity as a wise builder
Each member is to play their own role in building up the church
In particular, 1 Corinthians 3:12 alludes to 1 Chronicles 29:2 (esp. LXX): “I have provided for the house of my God the gold … silver … wood … precious stones.
Both “the temple” (1 Cor. 3:16) and its leaders are seen in relation to a judgment that will distinguish valid from ineffectual service
Whether a worker’s task be primarily evangelistic or pastoral, both must be in keeping with the character of the foundation stone, who is Christ
Paul’s words provoke fear in those who will be so judged, and humility in the Corinthians who had presumed to make judgments themselves ahead of time.
The image of a fire ravaging a group of buildings and fully consuming everything save only the most durable materials would have resonated with the Corinthians. Corinth had been destroyed by the Romans in 146 B.C. and its re-founding in 44 B.C. by Julius Caesar probably meant that some buildings in Paul’s day were a patchwork of new and old materials.
The foundation he laid was “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (2:2), and in a manner appropriate to the message (2:1–4)
To spell it out, building materials that will be burned up are those in keeping with human wisdom instead of the wisdom of God, which is the fullness of the message of the cross.
The verb “to suffer loss” does not mean “to punish” but to be “deprived of something
The picture is of someone escaping from a burning building just in time, “saved by the skin of their teeth.”
Whatever its precise nature, its essence is “praise from God” (4:5). We may compare Jesus’ promise in the parables of the Bags of Gold in Matthew and the Ten Minas in Luke: “well done, good and faithful servant!… Come and share your master’s happiness” (Matt. 25:21, 23; cf. Luke 19:17). In both cases the reward for faithful service is the master’s pleasure and his confidence, which leads to a further entrusting of responsibility.
The temple as God’s dwelling and warnings to those who would profane or destroy God’s temple are common in Scripture. Indeed, the conception of the community as a temple is a scriptural theme, where God’s indwelling is not just of a sanctuary, but of a people (Exod. 25:8; 29:45; Lev. 26:11–12; Ezek. 11:16; 37:26–28; Ps. 114:2)
Jeremiah 7:9 states the thought explicitly: “the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, you [plural] are the temple of the Lord.”
3:16 In his discussion of the true nature of Christian leadership, whereas 3:5–15 focuses on the status and role of Christian leaders in the congregation, 3:16–17 switches from third person to direct address in order to describe the Corinthians themselves.
A frequent summary of the logic of Paul’s ethics is the maxim “become what you are.
The way has been paved for Paul’s “startling declaration” that the Corinthian Christians are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst in the unfolding metaphor of the garden-temple in 3:5–15. In this sense v. 16 is no surprise, but merely spells out what has been implicit throughout the passage.
To Paul’s mind, its denouement was not the return from exile, nor the building of Herod’s temple, but the existence of a small squabbling band in Corinth of mainly Gentile believers in Israel’s murdered Messiah: you yourselves are God’s temple.
To destroy God’s temple is to impact a person’s spiritual well-being negatively. It is to rob them of the “grace and peace … from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:2) that is every believers’ inheritance.
In Paul’s dismantling of Corinthian factionalism, the overall focus of 3:5–4:17 is on the true nature of Christian leadership. 1 Corinthians 3:18–23 connects this part of Paul’s argument to what he had to say about the wisdom of the cross and the Spirit in 1:18–3:4
Although the focus of chapters 3–4 is on Christian leaders, Paul’s words here have a broader application and refer not just to teachers or aspiring teachers: if any of you think you are wise
Psalm 94 and early Jewish literature emphasize not only that God thwarts the plans of the wise, but also that there is great blessing for those who are part of and cooperate with God’s plans. Thus, not only does the citation of v. 11 signal the futility of acting or thinking independently of God, but as 1 Corinthians 3:21–23 goes on to celebrate, there are great benefits to those who boast not in human leaders but in God.
Thus, in 3:21 Paul repeats his request in 1:10 that the Corinthians be united by calling on them not to form factions around their favorite leaders. In fact, this verse sums up succinctly both the heart and one of the main grounds of Paul’s appeal: “Stop boasting in your leaders, as if you belong to them, for if anything, they belong to you
How have the Corinthians gained this unassailable position? All things are theirs because in union with Christ they are heirs, the essence of which is possession of an inheritance
Paul’s corrective to divisions throughout the section is not negative or small minded, but rather positive, uplifting, and expansive: believers boast in God (1:31), have the mind of Christ (2:16), and even possess all things. But the ultimate goal goes far beyond them. It is that God be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28).
