1Cor 3 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 1Cor 3:1-9: 3:1–4:7 Having contrasted human and spiritual wisdom, Paul now returns to the divisiveness in the Corinthian church (see 1:10-12 ), particularly their misplaced devotion to himself and Apollos. Summary for 1Cor 3:1-4: 3:1-4 Paul rebukes the Christians in Corinth for their spiritual immaturity. 3:1 The Corinthians’ behavior was not that of the spiritual people whom Paul described in 2:15 , but like that of unbelievers who are attracted to the wisdom and values of this world . • infants in Christ: Though they were converted, their lives and thinking did not reflect maturity in Christ and the transforming perspective of his Spirit.

Summary for 1Cor 3:1-9: 3:1–4:7 ^a Having contrasted human and spiritual wisdom, Paul now returns to the divisiveness in the Corinthian church (see 1:10-12 ^b), particularly their misplaced devotion to himself and Apollos.
Summary for 1Cor 3:1-4: 3:1-4 ^c Paul rebukes the Christians in Corinth for their spiritual immaturity. 3:1 ^d The Corinthians’ behavior was not that of the spiritual people whom Paul described in 2:15 ^e, but like that of unbelievers who are attracted to the wisdom and values of this world.

• infants in Christ: Though they were converted, their lives and thinking did not reflect maturity in Christ and the transforming perspective of his Spirit.
3:2 ^f Because of the Corinthian Christians’ lack of spiritual maturity, Paul was unable to speak about the deeper truths of life in Christ, the solid food (see 2:6-7 ^g) that is reserved for mature Christians. Instead, he had to restrict himself to milk, the basic teachings of the Good News (cp. Heb 5:12-14 ^h; 6:1-3 ⁱ; 1 Pet 2:2 ^j).
3:3 ^k Their jealousy and quarreling (see 1:10-12 ^l) showed that they were still just like unbelievers, controlled by their sinful nature rather than by the Spirit of God (cp. 2 Cor 12:20 ^m; Gal 5:19-21 ⁿ).
3:4 ^o Proudly identifying oneself with a preferred teacher (see 1:12 ^p) was common in Greek culture, but it is not in keeping with the mind of Christ (3:5-9 ^q; cp. Matt 23:8-10 ^r).
Summary for 1Cor 3:5-9: 3:5-9 ^s To identify oneself proudly as a follower of a human teacher is wrong because God does the real work of redemption, so he deserves the honor.

• We are only God’s servants: Cp. 2 Cor 4:5 ^t.
3:6 ^u I planted: See Acts 18:1-11 ^v.

• Apollos watered: See Acts 18:27–19:1 ^w.
Summary for 1Cor 3:10-17: 3:10-17 ^x All people are accountable to God for the way they serve Christ. 3:10 ^y Paul laid the foundation when he first began the church in Corinth. Now others were building on it by what they were teaching the young Christians.
3:11 ^z There can never be any other foundation for the church than Jesus Christ himself (see Isa 28:16 ^aa; 1 Pet 2:4-8 ^ab; cp. Rom 9:33 ^ac), but the Corinthians were in danger of treating a human teacher as their foundation.
Summary for 1Cor 3:12-15: 3:12-15 ^ad Some of the things that people build on the foundation of Christ will endure; other things will burn up in the fire of judgment (cp. Mal 4:1 ^ae). On judgment day, the work of each builder who instructs the church will be assessed (cp. Jas 3:1 ^af; see also Rom 14:10-12 ^ag; 2 Cor 5:10 ^ah). Those whose teachings are faithful and true will receive a reward; the others will suffer great loss, not of their salvation but of their reward. They themselves will be saved, but just barely, like someone pulled to safety through a wall of flames (cp. Amos 4:11 ^ai; Zech 3:2 ^aj; Jude 1:23 ^ak).
Summary for 1Cor 3:16-17: 3:16-17 ^al Christians must be very careful, both in what they teach and in how they relate to one another, because the body of believers is the temple of God, the home of the Spirit of God who lives in them (cp. Eph 2:21-22 ^am), and God’s temple is holy (see 1 Cor 1:2 ^an). There are terrible consequences for anyone who destroys God’s temple by such things as jealousy, argumentativeness, and divisiveness (see 3:3-4 ^ao).
Summary for 1Cor 3:18-20: 3:18-20 ^ap Here Paul returns to the contrast between human wisdom and divine wisdom (see 1:18-25 ^aq). Using Old Testament quotations, Paul encourages the Corinthians to be willing to appear foolish in the eyes of the world so that they may be truly wise in God’s eyes.
Summary for 1Cor 3:21-23: 3:21-23 ^ar As the privileged children of God, they may now lay claim to everything—the world, and life and death, and the present and the future (see Rom 8:38-39 ^as). So there is no point in claiming a particular human leader as their own.
3:23 ^at Just as they may now claim everything as their own, so Christ has claimed them for himself (see Rom 14:7-9 ^au), and in Christ they are ultimately claimed by God (see 1 Cor 6:19-20 ^av; 7:23 ^aw).