1 Corinthians 3–16

THE PROBLEM OF IMMATURITY

3For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ.^{z 2}I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, ³because you are still worldly. For since there is envy^aa and strife^Fab among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? ⁴For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,”^ac are you not acting like mere humans?

THE ROLE OF GOD’S SERVANTS

⁵What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. ⁶I planted,^ad Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. ⁷So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸Now he who plants and he who waters are one,^G and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. ⁹For we are God’s coworkers.^H You are God’s field, God’s building.^ae

¹⁰According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder,^I and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other^af than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. ¹²If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver,^ag costly stones,^ah wood, hay, or straw, ¹³each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire;^ai the fire will test the quality of each one’s work.^{aj 14}If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience^J loss, but he himself will be saved^ak—but only as through fire.^al

¹⁶Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple^am and that the Spirit of God lives in you?^{an 17}If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him;^ao for God’s temple is holy,^ap and that is what you are.

THE FOLLY OF HUMAN WISDOM

¹⁸Let no one deceive^a himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age,^b let him become a fool^c so that he can become wise.^{d 19}For the wisdom of this world is foolishness^e with God, since it is written,^f He catches the wise in their craftiness;^{Kg 20}and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings^h of the wise are futile.^{Ai 21}So let no one boast in human leaders, for everything is yours^j—²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas^k or the world or life^l or death^m or things present or things to comeⁿ—everything is yours, ²³and you belong to Christ,^o and Christ belongs to God.

THE FAITHFUL MANAGER

4A person should think of us in this way: as servants^p of Christ and managers^q of the mysteries of God.^{r 2}In this regard, it is required that managers be found faithful.^{s 3}It is of little^t importance to me that I should be judged^u by you or by any human court.^B In fact, I don’t even judge myself. ⁴For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I am not justified^v by this. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵So don’t judge^w anything prematurely, before the Lord comes,^x who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.^y

THE APOSTLES’ EXAMPLE OF HUMILITY

⁶Now, brothers and sisters,^z I have applied these things to myself and Apollos^aa for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.” The purpose is that none of you will be arrogant, favoring one person over another. ⁷For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it? ⁸You are already full! You are already rich! You have begun to reign as kings without us—and I wish you did reign, so that we could also reign with you! ⁹For I think God has displayed us, the apostles, in last place, like men condemned to die: We have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people. ¹⁰We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ!^ab We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! ¹¹Up to the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty; we are poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless; ¹²we labor, working^ac with our own hands.^ad When we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³when we are slandered, we respond graciously. Even now, we are like the scum of the earth, like everyone’s garbage.^ae

PAUL’S FATHERLY CARE

¹⁴I’m not writing this to shame you, but to warn you as my dear children.^{af 15}For you may have countless instructors in Christ, but you don’t have many fathers. For I became your father^ag in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶Therefore I urge you to imitate me. ¹⁷This is why I have sent^ah Timothy to you. He is my dearly loved and faithful^ai child in the Lord. He will remind you about my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

¹⁸Now some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹But I will come to you soon,^aj if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk, but the power of those who are arrogant. ²⁰For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. ²¹What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod,^ak or in love and a spirit of gentleness?^al

IMMORAL CHURCH MEMBERS

5It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality^am among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even tolerated^A among the Gentiles^an—a man is sleeping with his father’s wife.^{ao 2}And you are arrogant! Shouldn’t you be filled with grief^ap and remove from your congregation the one who did this? ³Even though I am absent in the body, I am present in spirit.^aq As one who is present with you in this way, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who has been doing such a thing. ⁴When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵hand that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,^ar so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.^as

⁶Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven^at leavens the whole batch of dough?^{au 7}Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ our Passover lamb^av has been sacrificed.^{C 8}Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil,^a but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

CHURCH DISCIPLINE

⁹I wrote to you in a letter not to associate^b with sexually immoral people.^{c 10}I did not mean the immoral people of this world or the greedy^d and swindlers^e or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world.^{f 11}But actually, I wrote^D you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister^g and is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard^h or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. ¹²For what business is it of mine to judgeⁱ outsiders? Don’t you judge those who are inside? ¹³God judges outsiders. Remove the evil person from among you.^Ej

LAWSUITS AMONG BELIEVERS

6If any of you has a dispute against another, how dare you take it to court^k before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? ²Or don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the trivial cases? ³Don’t you know that we will judge angels—how much more matters of this life? ⁴So if you have such matters, do you appoint as your judges those who have no standing^l in the church? ⁵I say this to your shame!^m Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who is able to arbitrate between fellow believers?^{n 6}Instead, brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers!^o

⁷As it is, to have legal disputes against one another is already a defeat for you.^p Why not rather be wronged?^q Why not rather be cheated?^{r 8}Instead, you yourselves do wrong and cheat—and you do this to brothers and sisters! ⁹Don’t you know that the unrighteous^s will not inherit God’s kingdom?^t Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters,^u adulterers,^v or males who have sex with males,^{Aw 10}no thieves,^x greedy^y people, drunkards, verbally abusive people,^z or swindlers^aa will inherit God’s kingdom. ¹¹And some of you used to be like this.^ab But you were washed, you were sanctified,^ac you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

GLORIFYING GOD IN BODY AND SPIRIT

¹²“Everything is permissible^ad for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything. ¹³“Food^ae is for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will do away with both of them. However, the body is not for sexual immorality^af but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.^{ag 15}Don’t you know that your bodies are a part of Christ’s body?^ah So should I take a part of Christ’s body and make it part of a prostitute? Absolutely not! ¹⁶Don’t you know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For Scripture says, The two will become one flesh.^{Bai 17}But anyone joined^aj to the Lord is one spirit^ak with him.

¹⁸Flee^al sexual immorality! Every other sin^C a person commits is outside the body, but the person who is sexually immoral^am sins against his own body. ¹⁹Don’t you know that your body is a temple^an of the Holy Spirit^ao who is in you,^ap whom you have from God? You are not your own, ²⁰for you were bought^aq at a price. So glorify God with your body.^D

PRINCIPLES OF MARRIAGE

7Now in response to the matters you wrote^E about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”^{F 2}But because sexual immorality is so common,^Gar each man should have sexual relations with his own wife,^as and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband. ³A husband should…