1 Corinthians 3

The Church and Its Leaders

3Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit^o but as people who are still worldly^p—mere infants^q in Christ. ²I gave you milk, not solid food,^r for you were not yet ready for it.^s Indeed, you are still not ready. ³You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling^t among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,”^u are you not mere human beings?

⁵What, after all, is Apollos?^v And what is Paul? Only servants,^w through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶I planted the seed,^x Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.^{y 9}For we are co-workers in God’s service;^z you are God’s field,^a God’s building.^b

¹⁰By the grace God has given me,^c I laid a foundation^d as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.^{e 12}If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³their work will be shown for what it is,^f because the Day^g will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.^{h 14}If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.^{i 15}If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.^j

¹⁶Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple^k and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?^{l 17}If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

¹⁸Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise^m by the standards of this age,ⁿ you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness^o in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”^a;^{p 20}and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”^{bq 21}So then, no more boasting about human leaders!^r All things are yours,^{s 22}whether Paul or Apollos^t or Cephas^cu or the world or life or death or the present or the future^v—all are yours, ²³and you are of Christ,^w and Christ is of God.