1 Corinthians 3
3
Following Men Is Wrong
1Brothers, in the past I could not talk to you as I talk to spiritual people. I had to talk to you as I would to people of the world—babies in Christ. 2The teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food. I did this because you were not ready for solid food. And even now you are not ready. 3You are still not spiritual. You have jealousy and arguing among you. This shows that you are not spiritual. You are acting like people of the world. 4One of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos.” When you say things like this, you are acting like worldly people.
5Is Apollos important? No! Is Paul important? No! We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do. 6I planted the seed of the teaching in you, and Apollos watered it. But God is the One who made the seed grow. 7So the one who plants is not important, and the one who waters is not important. Only God is important, because he is the One who makes things grow. 8The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose. And each will be rewarded for his own work. 9We are workers together for God. And you are like a farm that belongs to God.
And you are a house that belongs to God. 10Like an expert builder I built the foundation of that house. I used the gift that God gave me to do this. Others are building on that foundation. But everyone should be careful how he builds. 11The foundation has already been built. No one can build any other foundation. The foundation that has already been laid is Jesus Christ. 12Anyone can build on that foundation, using gold, silver, jewels, wood, grass, or straw. 13But the work that each person does will be clearly seen, because the Day# The day Christ will come to judge all people and take his people home to live with him. will make it plain. That Day will appear with fire, and the fire will test every man’s work. 14If the building that a man puts on the foundation still stands, he will get his reward. 15But if his building is burned up, he will suffer loss. The man will be saved, but it will be as if he escaped from a fire.
16You should know that you yourselves are God’s temple. God’s Spirit lives in you. 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him, because God’s temple is holy. You yourselves are God’s temple.
18Do not fool yourselves. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this world, he should become a fool. Then he can become truly wise, 19because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. It is written in the Scriptures, “He catches wise men in their own clever traps.”# Quotation from Job 5:13. 20It is also written in the Scriptures, “The Lord knows what people think. He knows they are just a puff of wind.”# Quotation from Psalm 94:11. 21So you should not brag about men. All things are yours: 22Paul, Apollos and Peter; the world, life, death, the present, and the future—all these things are yours. 23And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
1 Corinthians 3
3
Paul and Apollos, Servants of Christ
1Dear brothers and sisters,#3:1a Greek Brothers. when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people.#3:1b Or to people who have the Spirit. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. 2I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? 4When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
5After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
10Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.
12Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
16Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in#3:16 Or among. you? 17God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say,
“He traps the wise
in the snare of their own cleverness.”#3:19 Job 5:13.
20And again,
“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise;
he knows they are worthless.”#3:20 Ps 94:11.
21So don’t boast about following a particular human leader. For everything belongs to you— 22whether Paul or Apollos or Peter,#3:22 Greek Cephas. or the world, or life and death, or the present and the future. Everything belongs to you, 23and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
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