1 Corinthians 3–16

Divisions in the Church

3But I, brothers,¹ could not address you as ^aspiritual people, but as ^bpeople of the flesh, as ^cinfants in Christ. ^2dI fed you with milk, not solid food, for ^eyou were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³for you are still of the flesh. For while there is ^fjealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? ⁴For ^gwhen one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” ^hare you not being merely human?

⁵What then is Apollos? What is Paul? ⁱServants through whom you believed, ^jas the Lord assigned to each. ^6kI planted, ^lApollos watered, ^mbut God gave the growth. ⁷So ⁿneither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸He who plants and he who waters are one, and each ^owill receive his wages according to his labor. ⁹For we are ^pGod’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, ^qGod’s building.

^10rAccording to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled² master builder I laid a ^sfoundation, and ^tsomeone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹For no one can lay a ^ufoundation other ^vthan that which is laid, ^wwhich is Jesus Christ. ¹²Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ^13xeach one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed ^yby fire, and ^zthe fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, ^ahe will receive a reward. ¹⁵If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, ^bbut only as through fire.

^16cDo you not know that you³ are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For ^dGod’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

^18eLet no one deceive himself. ^fIf anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹For ^gthe wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ^h“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” ²⁰and again, ⁱ“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” ²¹So ^jlet no one boast in men. For ^kall things are yours, ²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³and ^lyou are Christ’s, and ^mChrist is God’s.

The Ministry of Apostles

4This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and ⁿstewards of the mysteries of God. ²Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. ³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ^4oFor I am not aware of anything against myself, ^pbut I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵Therefore ^qdo not pronounce judgment before the time, ^rbefore the Lord comes, ^swho will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. ^tThen each one will receive his commendation from God.

⁶I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers,¹ that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may ^ube puffed up in favor of one against another. ⁷For who sees anything different in you? ^vWhat do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

⁸Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! ⁹For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, ^wlike men sentenced to death, because we ^xhave become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. ^10yWe are fools for Christ’s sake, but ^zyou are wise in Christ. ^aWe are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. ¹¹To the present hour ^bwe hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and ^cbuffeted and ^dhomeless, ¹²and we ^elabor, working with our own hands. ^fWhen reviled, we bless; ^gwhen persecuted, we endure; ¹³when slandered, we entreat. ^hWe have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, ⁱthe refuse of all things.

¹⁴I do not write these things ^jto make you ashamed, but to admonish you ^kas my beloved children. ¹⁵For ^lthough you have countless² guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For ^mI became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶I urge you, then, ⁿbe imitators of me. ¹⁷That is why ^oI sent³ you Timothy, ^pmy beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,^{4 q}as I teach them everywhere in every church. ¹⁸Some are ^rarrogant, ^sas though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹But ^tI will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. ²⁰For ^uthe kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. ²¹What do you wish? ^vShall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?

Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church

5It is actually reported that there is ^wsexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, ^xfor a man has his father’s wife. ²And ^yyou are arrogant! Ought you ^znot rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

³For though ^aabsent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. ⁴When you are assembled ^bin the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵you are ^cto deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so ^dthat his spirit may be saved ^ein the day of the Lord.¹

^6fYour boasting is not good. Do you not know that ^ga little leaven leavens the whole lump? ⁷Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸Let us therefore celebrate the festival, ^hnot with the old leaven, ⁱthe leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

⁹I wrote to you in my letter ^jnot to associate with sexually immoral people— ^10knot at all meaning ^lthe sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, ^msince then you would need to go out of the world. ¹¹But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone ⁿwho bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. ¹²For what have I to do with judging ^ooutsiders? ^pIs it not those inside the church² whom you are to judge? ¹³God judges³ those outside. ^q“Purge the evil person from among you.”

Lawsuits Against Believers

6When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous ^rinstead of the saints? ²Or do you not know that ^sthe saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? ³Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! ⁴So if you have such cases, ^twhy do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? ^5uI say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, ⁶but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? ⁷To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. ^vWhy not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? ⁸But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even ^wyour own brothers!¹

⁹Or do you not know that the unrighteous² will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: ^xneither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,^{3 10}nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹And ^ysuch were some of you. But ^zyou were washed, ^ayou were sanctified, ^byou were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Flee Sexual Immorality

^12c“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. ^13d“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one ^eand the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but ^ffor the Lord, and ^gthe Lord for the body. ¹⁴And ^hGod raised the Lord and ⁱwill also raise us up ^jby his power. ¹⁵Do you not know that ^kyour bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶Or do you not know that he who is joined⁴ to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ^l“The two will become one flesh.” ¹⁷But he who is joined to the Lord ^mbecomes one spirit with him. ¹⁸ⁿFlee from sexual immorality. Every other sin⁵ a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person ^osins against his own body. ¹⁹Or ^pdo you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? ^qYou are not your own, ^20rfor you were bought with a price. ^sSo glorify God in your body.

Principles for Marriage

7Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: ^t“It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” ²But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. ^3uThe husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ^5vDo not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, ^wso that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

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