The Problem of Immaturity
1 For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. q 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, 3 because you are still worldly. For since there is envy r and strife R,s among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? 4 For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” t are you not acting like mere humans?
The Role of God’s Servants
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6 I planted, u Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, S and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s coworkers. T You are God’s field, God’s building. v
10 According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, U and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay any other foundation w than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, x costly stones, y wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; z the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. a 14 If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience V loss, but he himself will be saved b—but only as through fire. c
16 Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple d and that the Spirit of God lives in you? e 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; f for God’s temple is holy, g and that is what you are.
The Folly of Human Wisdom
18 Let no one deceive h himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, i let him become a fool j so that he can become wise. k 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness l with God, since it is written, m He catches the wise in their craftiness; W,n 20 and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings o of the wise are futile. X,p 21 So let no one boast in human leaders, for everything is yours q— 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas r or the world or life s or death t or things present or things to come u—everything is yours, 23 and you belong to Christ, v and Christ belongs to God.