1 Corinthians 3
On Divisions in the Church
1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"[a]; 20and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."[b] 21So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas[c] or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
Footnotes:
[a] 1 Corinthians 3:19 Job 5:13
[b] 1 Corinthians 3:20 Psalm 94:11
[c] 1 Corinthians 3:22 That is, Peter
3 comments:
Hi Guys.
My prayer for us is to plant and water. I know the Lord has a plan and I know we are supposed to plant and water. He also warns that our work will be tested. Are you guys ready? I know I am trying, but I am not sure how I would do under major pressure. I do know that I am creating an infra-structure of Christian brothers to rely on.
Paul also reminds us that we are Christ's temple. How often I forget that. We are only stewards here on this planet. I normally equate that with my earthly possessions. Amazing!
I guess I am pretty guilty of fooling myself that I am wise at times as well, but the Lord knows that all I have is from Him
In Christ,
c
1 Cor 13
I love it! This verse sums up so many questioning feelings I've been having in my life...
18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"[a]; 20and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."[b]
We can't think, argue or reason our way to eternity with the Father. So, does this mean that we shouldn't study this world's wisdom as well as the Spirit? No, we should definitely become wise and proficient at what we do. Look at all the craftsmen God needs:
12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light
God will see what we've done here. He wants spiritual warriors, but he also needs craftsmen. He's given us talents which either indirectly (providing to raise a family), or directly (working in the church or missions) benefit Him. I decided a while ago that I won't let the talent God gave me be wasted due to arguments that the Devil has planted in my head. But moreover, it is vastly more important to understand His truth, that we may not forget where we are headed, our purpose as brothers, and to have an argument for those who call us foolish. If we cannot argue with His word as ammunition, we truly are fools.
While I'm certainly not ready for food:
2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
I certainly am thirsty for His milk.
Lord, help us to gain Your wisdom, and give us the strength to understand Your word and fight off the Enemy's arguments, and may our lives as your temple glorify You.
In Christ,
Amen
How amazing that Paul, after affirming the christians in Corinth for having such a rich depth of spiritual gifts, turns around and says they are "Worldly" and "immature." Why? Because they are focused on status and self-elevation, rather than Christ-glorifying lifestyles. I tend to really admire people who manifest gifts and somehow believe they are at a peak of spiritual maturity, and then Paul strolls into the room and says, "Not so fast. Where is your heart. For whose glory do you use your gifts?"
The fact that the "Lord assigned to each his task" is quite liberating for me. So is the truth that God "makes things grow." In a world of performance incentives and competition it is simply awesome to be a role player on the team alongside of God.
Does that mean I can sit back and be a slacker or be reckless in my lifestyle? vs.10-15 slap that idea to the ground so quickly. It really makes me realize that there is not a trivial relationship in my life. Each relationship is sacred. Each will be judged. Each should reflect Christ. I will be honest to say that my difficulties with my In-Laws, which has proven to be difficult on my marriage as well, must come under the Lordship oif Christ. I would greatly appreciate your prayers in that area. I know that right now, my anger and frustration (even apathy at times)is sin.
vs. 18-23 are a great encouragement to me as I learn to be obedient, even when it doesn't make sense to me. Almost like the coach telling the athlete to run the play and that whatever the outcome is the coach will take the responsibility/blame...yet share the Glory if it works. I don't know if that makes any sense or not, but that is what I take from these verses.
Lord, I praise you that you are sovereign and above all. I praise you that you did not leave us to grope in the dark for you...to build a way to you in our futile thoughts, but that you graciously opened up the gates of heaven in Christ. Father, help us to live for you in the uncertainty of struggles and in the assuredness of our faith.
In the name of Christ,
a-men
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