1 Corinthians 3

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.