1 Corinthians 3

1 Corinthians 3:1

“I was hoping I could address you as men and women who are spiritual,” Paul said to those at Corinth"but I can’t because you’re carnal." The Greek word translated “carnal” is sarkinos and means “fleshly.” Thus, a carnal person is one who is dominated by the inclinations of his flesh. This doesn’t mean those at Corinth were new believers, but that they were retarded in their spiritual growth. I love babies. I love their cooing, gurgling, and especially hearing them say, “Da-Da,” for the first time. Babies are wonderful! But if I go home today and my teenager is gurgling in a playpen, even if he stands up and says, “Da-Da,” when I walk in, I would know there was a problem. So, too, Paul is talking not to newborn believers, but to those who should have been moving on in maturity and engaged in ministry. The fact that Paul refers to the Corinthians as being “in Christ” shows they’re saved. But instead of moving on to maturity, they remained spiritually stunted. Why? Because they were mixing the world and the Word. They came to church on Sunday and took in the studies. They clapped their hands in worship and even put money in the offering. But on Monday they were out in the world again. Consequently, they were neither fish nor fowl, miserable because they had too much of the world in them to really enjoy the Lord, yet too much of the Lord in them to really enjoy the world.

1 Corinthians 3:2

The carnal man can only receive milk. Like a baby, someone has to pamper him and burp him, counsel him and constantly explain things to him. The carnal man does not know what it means to open up the Word, seek the Lord, and walk day by day with Him. Here’s a very simple way to evaluate whether you are carnal or not: How is your appetite? Do you crave the meat of the Word, or are you still only able to digest milk? According to Heb_5:10-14, the milk of the Word deals with what Jesus did for us. The meat deals with what Jesus is now doing on behalf of us in heaven presently and the big plan that will unfold eschatologically. The baby Christian only knows, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” But as great a truth as that is, he has not gone on to see who Jesus is presently and what’s ahead prophetically. Do you know more about what Jesus is doing today in heaven and on earth through His church than you did last year? If you do, you’re progressing and growing. Good for you! But if you don’t, then perhaps you might fall into the category of the carnal believer who still has to be fed with milk, who can’t get the meat on his own. Is there any hope for you? Of course there is! The Lord would have you simply confess your carnality. And the good news is that, following confession to the Lord, there is liberation from the Lord. He sets you free. How? Not by positive thinking, not by determining to try harder or do better, but by His Spirit within you. Although a pair of shoes used in the movie The Wizard of Oz cost only nine dollars to make, they were auctioned for over twelve thousand dollars. Why? Because Judy Garland wore them. So, too, it’s the One who brings value and freedom to us as He works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure (Php_2:13). You’re driving home from church, and the Lord says, “Share with Junior something you learned this morning.” At this point, you have a choice. You can either say, “I’m tired. I just want to get home.” Or you can say that magical three-letter word that leads to the Spirit-filled life: “Yes.” You get home and settle in with the Sunday paper, when you feel an impression, a stirring in your heart saying, “Why don’t you pick up the Bible and get a start in 1 Corinthians? Just ten verses.” You can either say, “No, I just got home.” Or you can say, “Snoopy, you’ll have to wait for a few minutes. It’s time to get into the meat of the Word.” You see, spiritual life consists not of your regulations, your rules, or your effort. It simply consists of doing what the Lord tells you to do at any given moment. All you have to do is say, “Yes.” It’s so incredibly freeing. Greek poet, Homer, tells the story of the sailors who were drawn to the island in the Aegean Sea called the Island of Enchantment. Mythical female creatures, called sirens, would sing so beautifully that sailors would be drawn to the rocky island only to smash against the rocks and drown. Although everyone in Greece knew the danger of the sirens, everyone thought he would be the exception. But no one wasuntil Jason came up with a plan. After commissioning a ship to take him to the Island of Enchantment, Ulysses ordered the sailors to put wax in their ears so as not to hear a thing. Then he chained himself to the mast of the ship so he would not have the ability to dive in when he heard the sound of the sirens’ song. As the ship neared the Island, hearing the sirens’ song, Ulysses tried to break out of the chains, but he couldn’t. Thus, the boat sailed by. Bruised, battered, and exhausted by his struggle against the chains, Ulysses returned to Greece. There was another fellow named Odysseus. He also was sailing through the Aegean Sea by way of the Island of Enchantment, but he had a better plan. He took Pan with him as his guest on the ship, a man who played the flute. When they neared the Island of Enchantment, Odysseus ordered Pan to start playingand so beautifully did Pan play that the sailors didn’t even care about the song of the sirens. Those who bind themselves with the rules and regulations of legalism in order to protect themselves from the sirens’ song of the world will have a faith that is bruised and battered, sour and cynical. There’s a better way, for the spiritual man hears a different song altogether. Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal_5:16). Say “yes” to whatever He tells you to doeven as insignificant as it might appearand you’ll find you’re on an adventure that will keep you away from the destructive Island of Enchantment, sailing joyously all the way to Heaven.

1 Corinthians 3:3

In addition to an inability to take in the meat of the Word, carnality manifests itself in envy, strife, and division. Envy always wants something else, which leads to strifealways finding something wrong, which leads to divisionalways looking for something new. This is what was happening in the church at Corinth as carnal believers fought with and split from one another.

1 Corinthians 3:4

You’ll know you’re in a carnal church when there’s factions and fighting within the congregation.

1 Corinthians 3:6

“Why are you splintering?” Paul would ask the Corinthian Christians. “Apollos and I are in this together. We both have a part to play. We simply plant and water. It’s God who works the miracle of germination.”

1 Corinthians 3:9

If you don’t think the Lord uses different kinds of people to do His work, ask Ezra or Nehemiah. Ezra had brought a group of Jewish men out of captivity in Babylon in order to establish a priesthood in Jerusalem. Brokenhearted to discover that they had married heathen women, he plucked out his own beard in sorrow (Ezr_9:3). Years later, Nehemiah also came upon Jews who had married heathen women. But what did Nehemiah do? He pulled out not his own hairbut the hair of the men (Neh_13:25). Who was rightEzra, who in his brokenhearted tenderness and sensitivity plucked out his own beardor Nehemiah, who plucked out the hair of others? The answer is both were right. God used both, for in both cases the people repented. Some people are sensitive and tender, and pluck out their own beards. Others are strong and expressive and pluck the beards of others. And because the Lord uses all kinds of different people to accomplish His purposes, I can be who I am and appreciate the brothers or churches that may be a different flavor than I am as we both labor together with God. Perhaps your margin correctly renders the word “husbandry” as “tillage” or “field.” Feel like you’ve been tilled a bit this week? Don’t be surprised. You’re God’s field. The good news is that when fields get plowed, it means something excellent is about to be planted. Although we read in Gen_1:1 that God created the heavens and the earth, in Gen_1:2, we read that the earth was “without form and void.” What happened? Many Bible scholars, with whom I’m inclined to agree, believe that it was between Gen_1:1 and Gen_1:2 that, after launching a rebellion in heaven, Lucifer was cast to earth. The result was that our planet became “without form and void.” In Gen_1:3, we see God re-creating earth as the Spirit moved upon the face of the waters. So, too, I suggest if you wonder why your life has been overturned and plowed, if you feel that suddenly your world is without form and voidtake hope! If He’s turned the topsoil of your life, God is getting ready to plant something wonderful. He’s in the process of re-creating that which will supersede all that you enjoyed previously. Here, Paul shifts analogies from agriculture to architecture.

1 Corinthians 3:10

The foundation upon which Paul built was not principles, but a PersonJesus Christ. “Upon this rock will I build My Church,” Jesus said. What rock? The rock of Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ (see Mat_16:18). When Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. You’re the Hope, the Promise, the One,” Jesus had a foundation upon which to build His church. The true church of Jesus Christ is not built upon, “Let’s get together and make something happen politically,” or, “Let’s launch a moral crusade,” or, “Let’s be socially responsible.” It’s based upon Jesus Christour Hero, our Savior, our Friend, our coming King.

1 Corinthians 3:12

Once one realizes that Jesus is the Christ, everything he does from that point on builds upon that foundation. And the material is either wood, hay, and stubbleor gold, silver, and precious stones. Every day I live, I build upon the foundational principle that Jesus is the Christ, that He is my Lord. The question is, do I build with gold, silver, and precious stonesor with wood, stubble, and hay? What is the telling difference between these materials? Gold, silver, and precious stones don’t burn. I used to picture the fire of which Paul speaks as a big oven into which are shoved all the prayers we’ve prayed, Bible studies we’ve attended, and witnessing we’ve ever done. But because John speaks of Jesus’ eyes as a flame of fire (Rev_1:14), when we see Him, the look He will give us will warm us as it melts all the junk in our lives that drew attention to ourselves or was done to impress othersleaving only the gold, silver, and precious stones of what we did only in and for Him.

1 Corinthians 3:15

Everyone who understands that Jesus is the Foundation of life will be saved. But some shall be saved as by fire. They’ll make it into heaven. They’ll be warmed when they see Jesus’ face, but they’ll look around and say, “Oh no, everything on earth I did vaporized before His eyes, and now I have no crown to cast at His feet.” Because God shall wipe away every tear (Rev_7:17), there will be tears in heaven. For what will they be shed? Not for the bigger house we wish we had built, not for the newer car we wish we had purchased, not for the nicer clothes we wish we had wornbut for the opportunities we missed to lay up treasure there. “Dress me up in my best suit,” said the man who knew he was about to die. His wife complied. “Now fill my pockets with gold,” he said, “and sew them closed.” When he died shortly thereafter, he went to heaven, and was pleased to feel the bulges in his pockets. “I made it! I did it!” he exclaimed. “Who said you can’t take it with you?! Look at this!” he said to Peter, opening his pockets. And Peter said, “Why did you bring asphalt up here?” That which we are so interested in, fighting for, and worried about here on earth is mere asphalt in heaven. Although the primary reference of verses 1Co_3:13-15 is to the bema seat, where we will be rewarded for that which we’ve done on earth, I believe a secondary reference is to the fires the Lord allows to sweep through our lives presently. “You’re fired,” your boss says to you. And now you get a chance to see how much of your character is gold, silver, and precious stones, and how much is wood, hay, and stubble. In ministry, in relationships, and on the job, fires will break out around you that you might think you have to put out immediately. But I have found that when you sense a wildfire starting, it’s a good idea to be careful before you grab your bucket and shovel and try to put it out in your own energy and by your own wisdom. If you have good people skills, you can meet with people, try to reason with them, and maybe control the fire for a year or two. But more often than not, it will explode eventually with a flame more devastating than the original. Thus, when fires come, I am slowly but surely learning to let them burn. I don’t defend myself. I don’t defend my church. I don’t try to soothe feelings or calm tension. I let the fire burn. And when the fire is over, I poke around and see if any gold, silver, or precious stones are left with which to rebuild. To you who are involved with people in your family or in ministry, I suggest letting any given fire burn. And when you see what’s left, you’ll either know you were building with gold, silver, and precious stonesor with the wood, hay, and stubble of your own self-importance.

1 Corinthians 3:16

The Greek word translated “temple” is not the usual word hieron, which refers to the whole temple, but rather naos, which speaks of the Holy of Holiesthe part of the temple wherein dwelt the shekinah, the chabod, the visible perception of the presence of God. Because the word “ye” is plural, Paul is saying, “Don’t you know that together you are the holy of holies, where the glory, the weight, and the reality of God are enjoyed and perceived?” Paul develops this analogy further when he tells the Ephesians they “grow unto an holy temple in the Lord” (see Eph_2:21). The church grows because we are living stonesand this presents some interesting challenges. Dead stones fit together nicely. Living, squirming stones, however, tend to rub one another the wrong way. Yet in this we can rejoice, for the Lord knows there are rough edges that need to be knocked off us blockheads. That is why it is the mature believer who says, “Okay, Lord, I’m not going to try to change my location or situation. Instead, I’m going to stay right here and allow You to do Your work through people who might irritate me in order that I might be more like You.”

1 Corinthians 3:17

The Greek word translated “destroy” doesn’t mean “damned.” It means “diminished.” Taken in context, Paul is saying he who defiles the church by either overtly or subtly causing division within the church, by coming down on the church, or by pulling away from the church will himself be diminished. His ability to know the Lord, walk with the Lord, and be used by the Lord will decrease perceptibly. Why? Because the Lord is very protective of His church. He is madly, outrageously, head-over-heels in love with His bride. What does it mean to be holy? When Moses realized he was in the presence of the Lord, he was told to take off his shoes because the ground he was on was holy ground (Exo_3:5). As he overlooked the city of Jericho, Joshua had an encounter with the Lord and was also told to take off his shoes (Jos_5:15). Therefore, since the church is holy, it would seem fitting that we take off our shoes as well. How? After walking through mud on their way home from school, our kids take off their shoes before walking into the house so they don’t bring the mud in with them. So, too, when we come together as a body, we are to leave the mud of the world at the door. We’re to leave behind grudges and pride, attitudes that are amiss, and hearts that are quick to judge. But there’s another reason to remove our shoes. Even if my shoes are clean, I take them off at home because I’m comfortable there. So, too, when we fellowship with the body, we don’t have to keep our guard up or our best foot forward. We can relax in God’s amazing love for us and for one another. Concerning His priests, God said, And it shall come to pass, that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come upon them, whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within. They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.Eze_44:17-18 God’s desire is that, rather than causing us to be uptight, upset, or hot under the collar, our service for Him and fellowship with Him cause us to be relaxed, refreshed, and renewed.

1 Corinthians 3:18

With regard to the Corinthian problem of division within the body, Paul will give three strong exhortations… First, the Corinthians were to stop extolling themselves, thinking they alone had been given insights into deeper spirituality. When the first three letters blew off of the sign on a Jesus Only churcha denomination which, among other things, holds to the erroneous belief that baptism is not to be in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but in the name of Jesus onlyits true nature came to light when its name inadvertently became “Us Only.” Second, the Corinthians believers were to stop exalting others. “Wilt thou be made whole?” Jesus asked the lame man. “I have no man to help me,” he answered" (see Joh_5:7). How long will we remain in a lame condition spiritually because we are depending on or exalting men in a way that ought not be? Third, the Corinthians were to stop excluding their brothers. Before entering the Promised Land, the Lord instructed His people to be careful that they didn’t let their axes fly indiscriminately in the heat of battle, cutting down trees that could later provide fruit for them (Deu_20:19). The same is true spiritually. If we’re not careful, we will find ourselves chopping down trees that, although they may not be our flavor, are fruitful nonetheless. “Don’t pick at them;” the Lord would say to us. “Pick from them. Become enriched as you listen to them. You’re one body, one temple, one church.”