In our study of 1 Corinthians chapter three, we look at the differences between spiritual and carnal Christians. We will also look at the coming judgement of believers.
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As for me, brothers, I couldn't talk to you as spiritual people but as worldly people, as babies, so far as experience with the Messiah is concerned.
In chapter 2, we saw that true wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit. Here, Paul helps us to see that there are in fact two types of Christians which are spiritual and carnal (worldly). We are reminded that we all have a battle going on inside of us between the flesh which is of the world and the spirit which is of God. We see from this verse that we all start as worldly Christians and that, through growth prompted by the Holy Spirit, we become more spiritual and mature.
I gave you milk, not solid food, because you were not yet ready for it. But you aren't ready for it now either!
Just like a baby feeds on milk and not solid food, a new Christian feeds on the basic truths of the Word. As we mature in our walk with the Lord, we are able to understand more of the nature of Christ and more of His desire for us. That is the "solid food" that Paul is talking about. This is also a reminder for teachers of God's word that only the Holy Spirit can prepare God's children to hear and understand the things of God. Paul recognized that the Corinthian believers were still struggling to grasp the basics of their faith and so he continued to teach on the fundamentals of a relationship with Jesus Christ.
For you are still worldly! Isn't it obvious from all the jealousy and quarrelling among you that you are worldly and living by merely human standards? For when one says, "I follow Sha'ul" and another, "I follow Apollos," aren't you being merely human?
How do you tell whether a Christian is worldly or spiritual? We see, from this passage, that we can tell by the actions of the individual. The believers in Corinth were quarreling about who they should follow instead of realizing that they were all to follow Jesus Christ. This is the most basic of teachings and their lack of understanding demonstrated the immaturity of their faith. This is a very big problem in the body of believers today as so many people get caught up in the personality of the teacher instead of the wisdom of God. It is evident with a number of "rock star" preachers who put on a great show but the teaching never moves past the point of "milk" to the point of "solid food". The direct result of this is the fact that there are way more "infants in Christ" than there are walking Christians in the congregations of these pastors.
After all, what is Apollos? What is Sha'ul? Only servants through whom you came to trust. Indeed, it was the Lord who brought you to trust through one of us or through another. I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. So neither the planter nor the waterer is anything, only God who makes things grow -
It seems that many times we forget the most important thing and, here, Paul reminds the believers that it is not about who led them to the Lord but it is about God who called them. Without God's call on our lives, we would not come to Him no matter what anyone else did.
planter and waterer are the same. However, each will be rewarded according to his work.
Both the preacher and the teacher have the same purpose and that is to help people in their walk with the Lord. It is not a contest as each will be rewarded for how they used their gifts for this purpose (see Revelation 20).
For we are God's co-workers; you are God's field, God's building.
Its all about building up God's people which is "the church". We see, here, that Paul never looked at the church as a building so we must ask ourselves why so many think of it that way today. When you start to think of the church as a building, then, you get the struggles between different buildings that are each trying to be "the church". That division is the same thing that was going on here in Corinth and it is not of God but of the enemy.
Using the grace God gave me, I laid a foundation, like a skilled master-builder; and another man is building on it. But let each one be careful how he builds.
Paul explains that he led people to Jesus (evangelist) which is the foundation of our faith. Then, others (pastors) were raised up to help them in their day to day walk in the faith. Paul was responsible for the task that God gave him and those that were called to be pastors were responsible for that task. The same goes for us today in that we are only responsible for what God tells us to do and we are to do it well because it is for Him.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Yeshua the Messiah.
Although, today, many are trying to make it seem like there are many paths to a right relationship with God, the foundation of faith is and always will be Jesus Christ. There is no other way or basis for salvation.
Some will use gold, silver or precious stones in building on this foundation; while others will use wood, grass or straw. But each one's work will be shown for what it is; the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire - the fire will test the quality of each one's work.
Our salvation is on the foundation of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection on our behalf. The things that we do after we come to Christ are what we build with. If we spend our new life (in Christ) seeking things for ourselves and serving ourselves, it is like building with hay or straw. If, after we come to Christ, we serve Him and concentrate on fulfilling the Great Commission, it is like building with precious durable things. On judgment day, each of us will have our works judged and the things made of hay and straw will burn up. This is what John is talking about in Revelation 20.
If the work someone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward; if it is burned up, he will have to bear the loss: he will still escape with his life, but it will be like escaping through a fire.
If we are productive in our new life as a Christian, then we will be rewarded for our service just as a worker receives wages for his work. This is the judgment of believers that John refers to in Revelation 20. Paul reminds us that, if our work is good as directed by God (see Ephesians 2:10), we receive a reward. Although we do not know what those rewards are, we know that it is not salvation as we are saved by grace and not of works (see Ephesians 2:8 & 9). If it is work directed by self and the flesh, then the things that we have worked for will be burned up in the final judgment but we will be left with our salvation.
Don't you know that you people are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? So if anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you yourselves are that temple.
This passage has been used for many weight loss programs as well as to condemn those who have committed suicide but that is not what it is talking about. What it is talking about is the works of our life after we come to the Lord.
Let no one fool himself. If someone among you thinks he is wise (by this world's standards), let him become "foolish," so that he may become really wise. For the wisdom of this world is nonsense, as far as God is concerned; inasmuch as the Tanakh says, "He traps the wise in their own cleverness," and again, "ADONAI knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless."
This inferior building that Paul has been talking about is based on human wisdom and understanding. Even today, you have many who think they are so wise and will try to build faith on some obscure teaching instead of on the grace of God through Jesus Christ. You have all kinds of people chasing this earthly wisdom with all kinds of college degrees (even Bible college degrees) and in the process they forget that wisdom comes from God through the Holy Spirit and not by man. Those who simply focus on the Word of God are commonly called "fools" or "holy rollers" or some other name but, as Paul says here, we should become "fools" so that we can have the wisdom that is from God.
So let no one boast about human beings, for all things are yours - whether Sha'ul or Apollos or Kefa or the world or life or death or the present or the future: they all belong to you, and you belong to the Messiah, and the Messiah belongs to God.
This passage speaks of true unity in the faith and the fact that what matters is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We have all things because He is the owner of all things and we are His heirs. Our relationship with him is our greatest reward but He also throws in other things because of His love for us.
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