1 Corinthians 3:1-9

1 Corinthians 3:1–9 NASB 2020

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one person says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and the he waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Prayer: O God of great mercy, here my prayer. May we be enriched in You in all speech and knowledge. Confirm the testimony of Christ is us, O great God. May we utilize the gifts that You have given us for Your glory and for the betterment of one another. And may we persevere in this calling unto the end. All for the glory of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

In chapter 2, Paul speaks about what he is teaching and how he is teaching it. He is not teaching them through the power of human wisdom or human innovation. He is coming to them to teach the simple gospel truth: Christ and Him crucified. And he is doing this through the power of God’s wisdom and by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is through these “spiritual thoughts” and “spiritual words” that he is teaching them who Christ is and what He has done for them.

In chapter 3, Paul is longing to go further in his teaching but he is hindered by the jealousy and strife among them, the infantile and fleshly state of the quarrels and divisions that they have created (verses 1-4). Paul is going to deal with their immaturity and sin of jealousy and strife by teaching them six lessons throughout this chapter. In verses 5-7, Paul teaches them that God’s ministers are God’s servants. Neither have power or authority in themselves.

In verses 8-9, Pauls teaches that these ministers act as one. They may work differently or have different giftings, but they are under one Master and are working on the same project. In verses 10-15, Paul teaches that there are specific materials in which to build with: they can build with the inferior materials of human wisdom and innovation (if they do it will be burned up and they will incur severe punishment) or they can build with the precious, durable materials of God’s wisdom in the power of the Spirit (which will survive the fire and be given as a reward). In verses 16-17, Paul teaches that since the church belongs to God and is His project, the ministers working on it will be held accountable for how they worked on that project and the materials that they used. In verses 18-20, Paul again teaches that it is the wisdom of God that must be taught, not the wisdom of man. He must recognize that God’s wisdom is higher than his own and he must turn away from the uselessness of human reasoning. In verses 21-23, Paul teaches that our confidence should not be in God’s ministers, but in God Himself. All things belong to God, therefore, our trust is to be in Him.

Learning these lessons is the cure to infantile behavior and division, and is the road to spiritual maturity. Let’s begin to break this down.

1Corinthians 3:1-4 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one person says, “I am with Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?”

Now when Paul first went to Corinth and preached the gospel there, many came to know Christ. Therefore the church in Corinth began. And when it began, these new converts were considered “infants in Christ,” those who have just become born again. But Paul is not referring to them here in verse one in that way. Time has passed. The church has been established and was growing. Paul here is not using the term, “infants in Christ” as a term of endearment. He is using it as a description of a lack of understanding, when there should have been. Baby Cooper - still a baby/act like a baby, but once he grows up he needs to not be a baby. Paul addresses this later on in

1 Corinthians 13:11 NASB 2020

When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

John Calvin writes: “Here it is asked, whether Paul transformed Christ to suit the diversity of his hearers. I answer, that this refers to the manner and form of his instructions, rather than to the substance of the doctrine. For Christ is at once milk to babes, and strong meat to those that are of full age, (Heb. 5:13, 14) the same truth of the gospel is administered to both, but so as to suit their capacity.” Paul is disappointed that they were still infants in Christ - that they were still childish in their Christian understanding. That they were only able to receive spiritual nourishment that is suitable for children is proved by their worldliness. He attributes this state of mind because they were not “spiritual men,” but “men of flesh.” He is not saying that they are not Christians, for he first calls them brethren, but that they are still fleshly, mired in natural jealousies and strife. Now when Paul says he had to still give them milk and was unable to give them solid food, this does not mean that Paul had to teach them an inferior gospel. There is no such thing. Every doctrine that can be taught to those who are mature is taught to those who are immature. No. Paul is having to deal with them as petulant children in their sibling rivalries. And it is these rivalries, this worldliness, that is causing them to sin against one another. This type of worldliness is something we all must be conscious of regardless of our maturity.

How does Paul deal with this within the Corinthian church? By attacking the object of their rivalry.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7 “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”

Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? You know who they are, they are servants of God. If you are of Apollos, Apollos is a servant of God who has come to serve you, so you be a servant: both of God and one another. If you are of Paul, Paul is a servant of God who has come to serve you, so you be a servant: both of God and one another. And as servants of God, they are under authority to both plant and water, but God is the one who causes fruit to grow. This is important, because it reminds us that the words we speak, the lessons we teach, are to be those taken from the very words of God. It is God’s wisdom that we proclaim, not our own. Paul even says that he and Apollos are nothing. Paul is showing them an example of humility. If we are only thinking of ourselves and constantly putting ourselves above others we are immature. Are you jealous of your Christian brother or sister? Is there jealousy or strife between you and your husband or wife, your neighbor or co-worker, your family member? This is childish behavior. Those who are mature humble themselves before God and one another and go and make peace with those whom they strive against. Humility is the mark of maturity. This is the first lesson given by Paul.

The second lesson is found in verses 8-9: “Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers;” Paul is teaching them that there is no division between him and Apollos. They have one purpose. Charles Hodge writes: “Ministers have the same job, they have the same work; they stand in the same relationship to God and to His Church. They are fellow laborers. To set one against another, therefore, is inconsistent with their relationship to each other and to the people they serve.” Paul is once again showing them, through the example of himself and Apollos, the ministers of God, on how they should act toward one another. They are to be one. They are to work with the same purpose. Even though them may have different functions, they have the same goal. Paul is going to give an example of this later in this letter in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

1 Corinthians 12:12–27 NASB 2020

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; and those members of the body which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.”

Paul is extending this understanding of being one to all of us. Though we may be individual members, we are all a part of the same body, the body of Christ, the Church. We cannot say that we do not need each other or that one member of the body is more important that another. Each has its own function, but we all have the same purpose: that the body of Christ would function here on earth as God has designed it to function. We are all under one head, Christ, and we are all to be working together. Jesus gives us this same example when talking about kingdoms in Luke 11:17

Luke 11:17 NASB 2020

But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls.”

And this is where Paul leaves us in our text today. 1 Corinthians 3:9

1 Corinthians 3:9 NASB 2020

you are God’s field, God’s building.

We are the field of God in which the seeds have been planted and watered by God’s ministers. We are God’s building, God’s house, that must not be divided, lest it fall and is laid waste.

So what are we to take away from this passage? Lesson one: As those who belong to God we are His servants and we are called to not only serve Him, but one another. Find ways to serve God in your homes, your place of business, and within the church. Be about your Father’s business. But also, find ways to serve one another. Whether through prayer for those who are sick or troubled, the gathering together for the study of God’s Word, or bringing a meal to someone in need, serve one another. We are to be instruments in the hands of God. Lesson 2: We are one body and we are to care for one another. The foot needs the eyes. The eyes need the ears. We need each other. Work together. Destroy any hint of jealousy or strife that would cause division within your family and within our church.

This is again what I love about our church. Because I see this happening in our midst. Continue to grow in your love for God as your Master and King and your love for one another in all things.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.