UNFORTUNATELY THEIR PRESENT BEHAVIOUR IS A SIGN OF THEIR IMMATURITY FOR THE OBJECTS OF THEIR DEVOTION ARE BUT INSTRUMENTS OF GOD. THEIR EYES ARE FIXED IN THE WRONG PLACE (3:1-7) ‘And I, brothers, could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly (sarkinos), as to babes in Christ. I fed you... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For when one says, “I am of Paul.” And another, “I am of Apollos.' Are you not men?' Instead of concentrating on learning about and knowing Christ, and loving one another, and pleasing God, and dying to themselves, they have taken sides supporting one or another particular approach to things, and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Ministers through whom you believed, and each one as the Lord gave to him. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.' Elsewhere Paul will tell Christians that they must honour those who labour in preaching the Gospel and teaching the church the word... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So then neither is he who plants anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.' So while we must properly appreciate what ministers do, if they do it humbly and faithfully, we must remember, and they must remember, that they are merely earthly vessels. Sometimes their work will pros... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now he who plants and he who waters are one. But each shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are God's fellow-workers. You are God's prepared land, you are God's building.' Paul continues his illustration and then changes it to a new illustration. He is dealing first with... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT IS WHY THESE TEACHERS ARE UNITED IN THEIR WORK KNOWING THEY MUST ACCOUNT TO GOD FOR THEIR MINISTRY (3:8-15). Paul now puts all these teachers, including himself, firmly in their place. They are but domestic servants whose responsibility is to point to the foundation Jesus Christ and to build o... [ Continue Reading ]
‘According to the grace (of God) which was given to me, I laid a foundation like a wise master-builder, and another builds on it. But let each man be very careful how he builds on it.' Following up the illustration Paul sees himself as the wise master-builder. This is a reminder of the high position... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For no man can lay another foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.' But now we come the crux of the illustration, there is only one foundation. All centres on Christ. They all profess to be labouring for God but woe betide them if they build on any other foundation. For there is... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But if any man builds on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble, each man's work will be revealed for what it is, for the day will make it clear to us, because it is tested out in fire, and the fire will prove each man's work of what sort it is.' He now moves on to consider... [ Continue Reading ]
‘If any man's work shall remain which he has built on it, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned he shall suffer loss. But he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.' The fire tests the work, it does not destroy the men (that is referred to later as a possibility for so... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and you are that temple.' ‘Do you not know.' A favourite expression to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1Co 5:6;... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CHURCH IS GOD'S SACRED SANCTUARY FOR THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN THEM AND THEY ARE HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD. LET DIVISIVE TEACHERS THEREFORE BEWARE (3:16-23). Paul now applies his building analogy to the idea of the Temple. When men seek to establish a religion they build a Temple. Well this is wh... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Let no man deceive himself. If any man thinks that he is wise among you in this world (or ‘age'), let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.' Paul comes back to what has been his theme all along. The need to recognise the wisdom of God, tha... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For it is written.' Paul now establishes his position from Scripture. This is not just an afterthought. He has been leading up to this. What he has been saying is in fact what the Scripture, God's revealed word to man, itself says, and that is that man's wisdom can only get him into trouble when he... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Wherefore let no one glory in men. For all things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, and you are Christ's and Christ is God's.' So their eyes are not to be turned on men and their supposed wisdom, nor... [ Continue Reading ]