The Bible — World English Bible

1 Corinthians 3

In brief

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul speaks to a divided Church, where each person claims a favorite preacher. He tells them they are still babies in the faith and that leaders are only servants: one plants, another waters, but God gives the growth. Jesus Christ is the only foundation, and each person must take care how he builds. Believers are the temple of God, where his Spirit lives, and everything is theirs, because they belong to Christ.

The chapter in 5 parts

  1. v. 1-4Milk, not solid food: jealousy and factions in Corinth
  2. v. 5-9Paul plants, Apollos waters, God gives the growth
  3. v. 10-15Jesus Christ the only foundation, and the work tested by fire
  4. v. 16-17You are the temple of God
  5. v. 18-23The wisdom of the world is foolishness: all things are yours, you are Christ's

1Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.

2I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, you aren’t ready even now,

3for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men?

4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you fleshly?

5Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed, and each as the Lord gave to him?

6I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.

7So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

8Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

9For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.

10According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it.

11For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble,

13each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is.

14If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward.

15If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.

16Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.

18Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.

19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.”

20And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.”

21Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,

22whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours,

23and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Key verses

Verse 6-7
I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

Paul puts the leaders in their place: they planted and watered, but only God gives the growth. The verse removes from churches the temptation to form clans around their favorite teachers.

Verse 11
For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.

No one can lay any other foundation than the one that has been laid, Jesus Christ. Every teaching and every ministry is judged first by this foundation, before its impact or its fame.

Verse 12-15
But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble, each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.

The material of what each person builds will be tested by fire: gold, silver and costly stones on one side, wood, hay and stubble on the other. The text says that the one whose work is burned will be saved, but as through fire. Christians discuss the exact scope of this passage.

Verse 16
Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

“Don’t you know that you are a temple of God” is said to the Church in Corinth, and the “you” is plural. Many also read in it a dignity for each believer, in whom the Spirit lives, while others stress the unity of the community.

Verse 21-23
Therefore let no one boast 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.

Do not boast in people, because all things are yours: Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life, death. And you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. The end of the chapter replaces rivalry with belonging.

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What the sermons say

You Are God's Temple: Waking Up to Your Sacred IdentityJames Hutinet puts verse 16 as a question: do you know that you are the temple of God? He draws from it a dignity to live out everywhere, the image of the orchestra for the way gifts complement each other, and a call to build well on Christ.Read the summary →Clear-Eyed Maturity: Christ Alone Is the FoundationThe message follows Paul's three clear-eyed views: on leaders, on ministry, on pride. It reminds us that Christ is the only foundation, that God alone judges the value of a work, and that everything we have is received.Read the summary →God Doesn't Invest in Stone : He Invests in YouThe preacher starts from 2 Samuel 7: God invests in a people more than in a building. He concludes with 1 Corinthians 3:16: the Church is the temple where the Spirit lives and that is sent out on the roads of the world.Read the summary →After the Rapture: What Awaits You in HeavenJean-Claude Villa reads 1 Corinthians 3:8 and 12-15 as a promise of reward: each will receive according to his labor, and the fire removes what has no value. He sees in it a revealing of the motives behind our works, not a condemnation.Read the summary →

Frequently asked questions about 1 Corinthians 3

What does “Don’t you know that you are a temple of God” mean in 1 Corinthians 3:16?

Paul tells the Church in Corinth that it is the place where the Spirit of God lives. The “you” is plural: he speaks first of the community. Christians also see in it a dignity and a responsibility for each believer: we do not treat lightly what God lives in, nor the unity of the Church.

What does it mean that the work will be tested by fire?

Paul compares ministry to a building made of solid or fragile materials. On the day of judgment, the quality of what each person has built on Jesus Christ will be put to the test. The work that stands receives a reward, the work that burns is lost, but the one who has Christ as his foundation is saved. Christian traditions understand this fire in different ways.

Why does Paul call the Corinthians babies in Christ?

He does not doubt their salvation, but their behavior: jealousy, quarrels and factions around Paul or Apollos show that they still live in the manner of the world. He gave them only milk because they could not bear solid food. The problem is thinking you are mature when you are not.

What is the main message of 1 Corinthians 3?

That the Church belongs to no leader: it is God's, built on Jesus Christ alone. Servants are useful but are not the source of life, and each person must take care how he builds. This invites humility, unity and patience with others.

Articles quoting 1 Corinthians 3

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World English Bible translation — public domain.