Spiritual or Worldly Members of the Church (3:1–4)
I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly (3:1). Paul is describing the time when he was originally with the Corinthian Christians. He describes them at that time as “worldly”—more accurately “fleshly” or even “those composed of flesh.” The Corinthian Christians may have described themselves as “the spiritual ones” (pneumatikoi). Paul’s implication is that the Corinthian Christians are un-spiritual, by which he means that their lives are unworthy of the Spirit who has made them believers in Christ. The “infants” contrast with the “mature” (2:6). Paul uses imagery found in both Hellenistic34 and Jewish philosophy35 to show the growth of maturity. His argument is that whereas the Corinthians would describe themselves as “spiritual” and “mature,” Paul would describe them as “fleshly” and “immature.”
Not solid food (3:2). Would the Corinthians have accused Paul of not offering them wisdom, which they considered to be “solid food”? Yet if this section develops Paul’s preceding arguments (2:6–16), then the milk is the good news that allowed the Corinthians to become Christians, and the solid food is a developed understanding of the Cross. Paul’s concern is that the Corinthians consume the “solid food” of the gospel (even if in the form of milk!), not the “solid food” of wisdom that inhibits Christian or spiritual growth.
You are still worldly (3:3). “Worldly” contrasts with the Greek word used at 3:1 and here effectively means, “You are still characteristic of flesh.” The Corinthian Christians have not taken on the characteristics of the Spirit but rather of the world.
There is jealousy and quarreling among you (3:3). Paul introduces a new word, “jealousy,” alongside that of “quarreling” (see 1:11). This combination is found elsewhere in Paul (2 Cor. 12:20; Gal. 5:20). Such jealousy is akin to “rivalry,” a characteristic of those who follow the sophists; such behavior can be described as “worldly” (or “fleshly”) or of “men” (i.e., a common human trait). Christian maturity leads men and women to reject the partisanship found in secular society. Faith rests on the power of the Spirit; human values rest on wisdom (1 Cor. 2:4–5). Paul’s imagery sees life as a walk (NIV “acting”), a process informed by sophists or by the Spirit.
“I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos” (3:4). Paul returns to his earlier argument (1:12) and shows that those who seek to follow specific Christian leaders or teachers (as opposed to Christ or the Spirit) are adopting secular values. Paul’s concern is for all Christian people to be recognized and characterized by a spiritual (i.e., Spirit-led) life.
Images of Christian Ministry and the Church (3:5–17)
Paul is concerned that the Corinthian church realizes the meaning of Christian ministry and the church.
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? (3:5). At the beginning of the letter Paul introduced himself as “an apostle of Christ Jesus” (1:1). Now he brackets himself with Apollos—who is not described in the New Testament as an apostle and here is deliberately given primacy before Paul—as one of the “servants” (diakonos, the equivalent of “deacon”). All Christian ministers are primarily subject to God’s authority: God allocates the tasks in his fields (3:9). As a “servant” of the Lord, both Paul and Apollos, indeed all Christian ministers, have a duty to present the Christian gospel so that individuals come to believe in Jesus Christ. Paul emphasizes that Christian belief is not in the minister who brings the good news, but rather through the minister.
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow (3:6). Christian ministers have different functions or ministries; Paul shows the differences between himself and Apollos by using an agricultural metaphor. The territory of ancient Corinth was rich in agriculture. Yet it still needed individuals to plant and irrigate the crop. Without watering, the crop would fail; without planting, there would be nothing to water. Thus both Paul and Apollos have valid and mutually dependent ministries, and both are subject to God, who in fact brings the growth. Christian ministers need to be obedient to the task that the Lord has allocated to them (3:5) in the same way as those working in the fields need to obey the owner if there is to be a crop.
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow (3:7). Individuals at Corinth may say they follow a specific individual, but Paul insists that true Christian ministers are in fact “nobodies” because it is Christ who brings the growth. When we eat a loaf of bread, the name of the man or woman who planted the seed is unimportant. So in the church, the personality who brings the good news is unimportant compared to the God whose Son died on the cross for us.
Each will be rewarded according to his own labor (3:8). Those working in the fields around Corinth have a united purpose: to ensure there is a crop to provide themselves with food and a livelihood; that is their reward (or “pay”). Those ministering in the church likewise have a single purpose; thus, it is foolish to be partisan because all ministers are working—or should be working—toward a common goal.
You are God’s field, God’s building (3:9). Once again Paul emphasizes that all who work in God’s field must have a sense of working together with others who seek to present the same gospel of Jesus Christ. Note too that those who work in the field have no claim to it; that right belongs to God alone—Christian ministers can hold no claim on the church in which they serve. Paul places an emphasis on “we,” not just the minister, but all who are involved in the life of the church. Paul then switches the imagery from the fields of Corinth to a city with God’s building.
I laid a foundation as an expert builder (3:10). Paul uses an image taken from the urban landscape of the Roman colony. Since the creation of the colony in 44 B.C. wealthy benefactors had been giving new buildings, which had decorated the space around the forum at the heart of the colony (see “Buildings at Corinth”). Paul is alluding to such building projects. Like the agricultural metaphor, two people are involved in the construction of the building: the first lays a foundation, the second builds up the walls. As in the previous metaphor, Paul is addressing the issue of how to build up the church at Corinth. The grace of God has been given to Paul specifically to found the church. He describes himself as an “expert” builder, using the Greek word sophos, which resonates and contrasts with the way that the elite members of the church have described themselves (1:20). The word “builder” literally means “chief builder” (i.e., architect), which suggests that Paul has been given specific responsibility for the building project. “Someone else” probably refers to various teachers in Corinth who are moving away from what Paul originally taught.
THE FORUM
A portion of the forum with the Apollo temple in the background.
No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid (3:11). Foundations are prepared for specific buildings anticipated by the chief builder; any other construction would be inappropriate. For example, if the architects of Corinth had prepared foundations for a substantial Roman temple and somebody built a house instead, there would have been a scandal. Likewise, Paul has prepared foundations based on Jesus Christ, and those seeking to develop the church must continue to encourage the church to focus on the crucified Jesus (1:23).
Using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw (3:12). All buildings need a foundation, but once that has been established the superstructure can be built from a range of materials. At the bottom end is the simple house of mud-brick, which used hay or straw as a binding agent; the house would be equipped with wooden doors and lintels (which were often removed when the house was abandoned). At the other end of the scale are the major public buildings, which could have gilded features or other metallic attachments. These buildings were made of stone. A particularly wealthy benefactor might bring in marble over some distance to enhance a building; this may be hinted at by the “costly stones.” For example, the temple of Apollo at Delphi had stone brought from near Corinth when it was rebuilt in the fourth century B.C.36 In the Roman period the colored marble laconia was particularly valued and quarried extensively. “Costly stones” may also refer to gemstones used to decorate parts of the building. The range of such materials—gold, silver, and precious stones—may also be a deliberate allusion to the materials used for the temple at Jerusalem (e.g., 1 Chron. 29:2).
The Day will bring it to light (3:13). The “Day” refers to the “day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:8), that is, the Day of Judgment. The fire, which is a Jewish image for what will happen on that day, will reveal whether the superstructure of the building—that is, the body of the believing Christians at Corinth—has been built with gospel or worldly wisdom material.
THE BĒMA
The judgment seat in the forum at Corinth.
If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward (3:14). The architect or chief builder on a project would receive his payment (“reward”) on its completion. Some of the most detailed building accounts from the ancient world relate to the classical period, in particular to projects at Athens like the building of the Parthenon, but also to work at the sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidauros.37 Paul’s comment resonates with the situation at Rome under Tiberius, who “restored all the buildings which had suffered damage (he himself built no completely new building, except the temple of Augustus), he claimed none of them as his own, but rather he bestowed the names of the original builders on all of them.”38 Although the names of architects are rare in the Roman world, it is likely that those involved in major building projects at Corinth would be celebrated by the local community for enhancing their city.
If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames (3:15). In contrast to the architect who completes his project and is paid, if the builder who follows on from Paul uses inappropriate materials, such as wisdom, the day of reckoning will find him out. Certainly the builder has not been saved by his works, but by the grace of God.
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? (3:16). This third image tries to explain to the Corinthian churches what is meant by the “temple of God.” Jewish members of the church will identify “temple” (naos) with the temple at Jerusalem, whereas Gentile members would associate that word with the religious structures that dotted their city, such as the archaic temple dominating the forum. In both cases, it is the place where God or a god dwelt. This new temple is something very different, however, as it is a temple made of living stones, that is, the Christian community at Corinth. The definition of members of the church is that God’s Spirit dwells in them; in other words, they are “spiritual.” “Fleshly” or “worldly” individuals (3:1, 3) need to think whether their lives are suitable for this holy building. There is also the implication that as there can only be one temple of God at Jerusalem or one temple for a particular god in Corinth, so there can only be one church at Corinth.39
APOLLO TEMPLE
If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him (3:17). The jealousy and quarrelling in the Corinthian church (3:3) is damaging God’s holy temple, the body of believers. If there is only one church, partisanship can only be damaging and unworthy of something that is holy. There is a great emphasis on individual members seeking to maintain the unity of the church.
“You Are of Christ” (3:18–23)
This paragraph concludes the argument about those who allow jealousy and quarrelling to divide the church. The section divides into two, introduced by parallel constructions in the Greek that can be translated, “Let no one deceive himself” (3:18 RSV) and “Let no one boast of men (3:21 RSV).
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 (3:18). The deception of the church comes not from outside, but from within the Christian community. Paul returns to the theme he started in 2:8, where wisdom was a sign of Christian maturity, not a mark of the spirit of the age. The foolishness refers back to 1:25, where “the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom.”
The wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” (3:19). Paul reverses the argument of 1:25. The Corinthian Christians are now forced to see their position and quarrelling from God’s perspective. Paul quotes, perhaps using his own Greek translation from the Hebrew, from the words of Eliphaz in Job 5:13; the verse continues “and the schemes of the wily are swept away,” reminding the Corinthians of the foolishness of the position of those who wish to follow human wisdom.
“The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” (3:20). Paul quotes from the LXX of Psalm 94:1, except that he replaces “the thoughts of men” with “the thoughts of the wise,” thereby applying this verse to his specific situation. From God’s perspective a love of the wisdom of the age is foolish or futile.
So then, no more boasting about men! (3:21). Paul returns the Corinthians’ attention to Jeremiah 9:24 (cf. 1 Cor. 1:31), showing that boasting should only be in the Lord. The partisanship of 1:12 with different groups following Paul, Apollos, or Cephas is now obsolete, for Christians are “of Christ.” It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who gives the Corinthian believers their identity.
All are yours (3:22). Paul stresses that allegiance to Christ is universal (lit., the kosmos); it is for all time, even in death, and is as relevant now as it will be in the future without the need for development along the lines of human wisdom.