1 Corinthians 3
3
Chapter 3
God wants his people to grow as believers
1My Christian friends, I could not teach you as I would teach people who have God's Spirit. I had to teach you as people who belong only to this world. You were like little children who could not understand the message about Christ very well. 2I had to teach you things that were easy to understand, like a mother gives milk to a baby. You were not yet ready to receive proper food. And you are still not ready to receive God's complete message! 3You still do what your human nature wants to do. You are jealous of each other, and you quarrel with each other. Yes! This shows that you do what your human nature wants to do. You live like people who do not know God. 4Some of you say, ‘Paul is my leader.’ And other people say, ‘Apollos is my leader.’ When you speak like that, you are talking like people who belong to this world.
5Is Apollos important? Is Paul important? No! We are God's servants. We told you God's good news and you believed it. Each of us is doing the job which the Lord has given to us. 6When I told you God's good news, I was like someone who planted seeds. Then Apollos was like someone who gave water to the young plants. But it was God who caused everything to grow. 7The person who plants the seeds is not important. The person who gives water to the plants is not important. The important person is God, because he causes everything to grow. 8The person who plants and the person who gives water both have the same purpose. God will pay each person what is right for their work. 9Apollos and I work together as God's servants. You are like God's field that we work in.
You are also like a building that belongs to God. 10I am like a good builder. God has given that job to me and he has helped me to do it well. I was the person who built the foundation. Now other people are building on that foundation. #3:10 Paul was the first person to tell God's good news to the people in Corinth. Other people, like Apollos, helped the believers to understand more about God's message. But each person must be careful how he builds. 11God has already put Jesus Christ as the only foundation of this building. So nobody can put any other foundation there.
12People may build on this foundation with gold, silver or valuable stones. Or they may build on it with wood, dry grass or leaves. 13One day, God will show clearly how good each builder's work is. God will put each person's work into a fire on that great day. #3:13 That is the day when Christ will return and judge everyone. The fire will show whether their work is good or bad. 14If the fire does not destroy the work, then that builder will receive good things from God. 15But if the fire destroys a builder's work, that person will lose everything. The person himself will be safe. But he will be like someone who has run through the fire to a safe place.
16You surely know that you are like God's special house. As God's people, God's Spirit lives in you. 17If anyone destroys God's special house, then God will destroy that person. And you are like that house. You belong to God in a special way.
18Be careful! Do not think that you are better than you really are. Maybe you think that you are wise, like people today want to be wise. But if you want to become truly wise, be ready for other people to think that you are a fool. 19People in this world think that some people are wise. But God thinks that those wise people are fools. It says in the Bible:
‘God causes the clever thoughts of wise people to confuse them.’ #3:19 See Job 5:13.
20In another place, the Bible says:
‘The Lord knows that the thoughts of wise people have no value.’ #3:20 See Psalms 94:11.
21Because of that, you should not be proud of any human leader. All leaders are there to serve you, as God's people. 22Do not be proud of Paul, Apollos or Peter. We belong to you. All of this world, and life and death belong to you. The things of today and tomorrow belong to you. Everything belongs to you, 23you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
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MissionAssist 2018
1 Corinthians 3
3
You Belong to Christ
1Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you as spiritual people but as people still influenced by your corrupt nature. You were infants in your faith in Christ. 2I gave you milk to drink. I didn’t give you solid food because you weren’t ready for it. Even now you aren’t ready for it 3because you’re still influenced by your corrupt nature.
When you are jealous and quarrel among yourselves, aren’t you influenced by your corrupt nature and living by human standards? 4When some of you say, “I follow Paul” and others say, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting like ⌞sinful⌟ humans? 5Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are servants who helped you come to faith. Each did what the Lord gave him to do. 6I planted, and Apollos watered, but God made it grow. 7So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is important because ⌞only⌟ God makes it grow. 8The one who plants and the one who waters have the same goal, and each will receive a reward for his own work. 9We are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field.
You are God’s building. 10As a skilled and experienced builder, I used the gift #3:10 Or “grace.” that God gave me to lay the foundation ⌞for that building⌟. However, someone else is building on it. Each person must be careful how he builds on it. 11After all, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that foundation is Jesus Christ. 12People may build on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw. 13The day will make what each one does clearly visible because fire will reveal it. That fire will determine what kind of work each person has done. 14If what a person has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15If his work is burned up, he will suffer ⌞the loss⌟. However, he will be saved, though it will be like going through a fire.
16Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him because God’s temple is holy. You are that holy temple!
18Don’t deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise in the ways of this world, you should give up that wisdom in order to become really wise. 19The wisdom of this world is nonsense in God’s sight. That’s why Scripture says, “God catches the wise in their cleverness.” 20Again Scripture says, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are pointless.”
21So don’t brag about people. Everything belongs to you. 22Whether it is Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life or death, present or future things, everything belongs to you. 23You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
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