1st Corinthians Chapter
Three
Commentary by Ron Beckham
Verse 1.
"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to
men of flesh, as to infants in Christ."
When Paul called these people
"brethren" there was INSULT and irony in his statement. They were
regarding themselves as "mature" and he called them "babes" in Christ.
God is hard at work in your life and mine, to remove the mask behind
which we hide. And most are likely hard at work, trying to keep it on.
Paul, in the power of the Holy Spirit, rips off the mask and calls them
"babies" in the Lord (a great insult to many people).
Since the human baby is the
example here, what are the marks that say a human person is a baby and
not an adult? 1) A marked inability to receive advanced
instruction. You correct them, and they just look at you. Then, as soon
as you’re out of sight, they do what you don’t want them to do again.
2) There is a spirit of strife or division. Babies are
usually upset about something most of the time. Spiritual babies
are
like this, and they also tend to use carnal methods to reach spiritual
goals.
The key Greek word here is "sarkinois"
for "flesh," connoting earthiness or weakness. Another more harsh word
is used in verse 3, involving the dominance of the lower nature and
antagonism to the spiritual. This verse seems to refer to the person
who wants to be "saved" but for some reason, lacks the desire to grow.
Spiritual midgets who incredibly choose to not grow in the Lord.
Such people require a great deal
of looking after. Often such a person wants high position in the Church
but when they take up a good work, they often put it down again, like a
child who wants to play the part but not do the work. Every source I
read for this section identifies carnal Christians to be quarrelsome
fault finders, not babes in a good sense – these are adult sized babies,
stunted by jealousy and strife. Babies in the bodies of adults are not
pleasant to think about.
Verse 2.
"I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to
receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,"
The young pupils of the rabbis
were called "sucklings" as Paul is indicating by stating they are not
able to eat solid food, which is for full-grown, spiritually mature
people. Our Lord said, "I have many things to say
unto you, but you cannot bear them now" (John 16:12) --- Not
until they received the Spirit. Therefore, He taught them in parables
"as they were able to bear it" (Mark 4:33).
We tend to limit that which God
is able to give us, because we have chosen to not grow in Him. We
really don’t like change, and He tends to not give us that which we
cannot receive. God knows what we need and what we can tolerate, and He
gives us that which is appropriate for each one. Your "diet" and mine in the
Lord may differ, but He gives that which is appropriate. He knows what
we need.
Verse 3.
"for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among
you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?"
"You are still fleshly" or
"carnal." This is the reason for much of our trouble in life. Take a
minute and look into your heart, with the assistance of the Holy
Spirit. Is there envying, strife and division in your heart today?
The literal Greek here is "Are you not men" which is an idiomatic
expressing, meaning "Are you not swayed by mere human passions?" To
walk merely as a human being is to not walk in the Spirit.
The question is raised, did not
Martin Luther create strife in the Church by placing his 95 theses on
the Wittenburg door? The answer is that Luther did not abruptly come
against the Catholic Church or its leaders. Instead he prayerfully
reintroduced the teachings of Paul and questioned the erroneous doctrine
that forgiveness of sin could be based on the payment of money to the
Church. God was not present in the accepted theology of the day, and
the Holy Spirit, in the person of Luther, came to that place of evil
doctrine and bad practice – with the Light of God.
When we see gossip and strife,
bitterness and hatred in the Church, carnality is at its source, on one
side, the other, or both. The person may have been a Christian for a
long time, but still be carnal. Personal progress and church progress,
so important to us all, just do not occur when jealousy and bitterness
are present in the church.
Verse 4.
"For when one says, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are you
not mere men?"
If we follow a man instead of
God, then we tend to be carnal, and to bring envy, strife and divisions
into the body of Christ. The important thing here is not who or what
the preacher is, but whether God is using him. It is Christ we follow,
though we honor and listen to the man He sends. We have the duty to
LISTEN to him, IF he is indeed sent by God to you and to me.
When we meet professing
Christians, a first question is often "Where do you go to church?"
Instantly the label is set and we bend our further questions and tend to
skew our responses to that information. When we regard our church, or
some church, as better than some other, we are probably carnal, at least
in some aspects of our thinking. It’s always time to ignore the label
and simply love others, especially those who are in
Christ.
Both diversity and individuality
are part of the body of Christ. God not only uses different kinds of
gifts, but He uses differing kinds of people, as well. One person
evangelizes, another edifies, still another comforts the sorrowful, but
it is God Who Gives the increase. I am constantly reminded that we must
GO TO HIM, and not trust in ourselves. Our trust must be in Him and not
merely in people.
Verse 5.
"What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you
believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one."
The best translations read "WHAT
is Paul?" (some say "Who"), with the neuter giving the best reading, for
elevating a minister is much like worshipping a stone idol – no help at
all in finding God. Note again that Paul condemns his "own" party as
much as any other. The word "servants" or "diakonoi" (some translations
"ministers") is translated "deacons" in other places. It is interesting
that the words we so carefully define, Paul often used interchangeably
without regard to such fine shades of meaning – If you belong to God,
let God in you be the ultimate Decider of what is meant in His Word.
There is no "servant" in God’s
garden, who does the work alone. The key phrase here would be
"co-servants" or "co-ministers" for we must labor TOGETHER, according to
the Will of God. It is always God Who Gives the increase in His garden,
and it’s God who wants us to be "one" in
Him (John 17).
Verse 6.
"I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth."
Paul was primarily called to be
an evangelist. That is, his chief mission from God was to bring many,
particularly non-Jews, to true faith in Jesus Christ. Apollos
apparently had, as a central gift from God, a ministry of teaching those
who already knew Christ.
The garden of God requires many
laborers, and it is interesting that we use some of them (the gifts; the
laborers) but not all. Here are the gifts we tend to use: evangelism,
teaching, and administration. In churches where "tongues" are used,
there is likely a prophetic response to the utterance but not the
interpretation – tongues is prayer and praise, and prophesy is God’s
response. Sometimes you may find the gift of healing, but that is becoming increasingly
rare.
One author compares the ministry
to farming. The work in farming, he said, is varied, with differing
tasks for different people, and all must work together as a team. The
work of farming, he says, is important – the harvest feeds and clothes
people. It is honorable work. The farmer is NOT INDEPENDENT, whether
planting earthly seeds or the seeds from the Spirit, it is God Who Gives
the increase. Let us work together with everything we have, giving God
the glory for the work in our lives.
Verse 7.
"So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything,
but God who causes the growth."
In John 15:16, we see that
Jesus chose us, and though we may think we did the choosing, it is
not us who chose Him. He said in that section of John, that we are to
be very much like a tree which is to bear fruit for God. We also are a
lot like faucets, in that we are conduits that are designed to let the
"water of life" flow through us (not "from" but THROUGH us, into the
lives of others). We do not create the living water, we merely pass it
along. It is the same with the "fruit", the good grain of God, it just
grows NATURALLY within the life consecrated to the use of God.
Verse 8.
"Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his
own reward according to his own labor."
If we are His true workers,
though we are many, we are literally "one thing" or one tool (a
multiple-function tool) in the Hand of God. Jesus prayed in John 17,
that we may be "one" in Him. There are
other minor topics in that chapter, but His key prayer for us today is
that we may become ONE people in Him, in service to God and in love for one another.
To be "one" is very difficult
for us, for we like sheep, tend to go our own way. And Satan likes to
counterfeit the good things of God – just like the $20 dollar bill
should be examined before it is placed in the cash register, so we should
closely examine doctrines and dogma to see if our Lord is truly the
author of them.
God does want us to be one in
His love, each performing the work assigned to Him; not condemning the
other person.
Verse 9.
"For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building."
When you think of it, it’s
really strange and wonderful that God allows us to be workers in His
field. It’s also incredible that He hears (and answers) our prayers.
In the parable of the "sower who went forth to sow" (Matthew 13:3 &
context), we are the ground, the dirt, if you will, into which the seed
is placed. Using the analogy that we are like "soil," nobody knows the
soil like its Creator, and nobody knows its present condition like God
its Sustainer. He knows what you and I need. Not all seed (or shudder,
fertilizer) is the same, and He knows what is just right for each one.
I really don’t know what the proper nutrients for the soil are, but
He does.
As the ground is created for
seed, we are created to receive God in Christ.
We are also God’s building, and
nobody knows what is needed in its construction better than the
Architect. To build without a Plan, leads to chaos --- it is well for
us to look to the Master Planner if our building is to stand.
I still think it’s incredible
that He uses us. It is very much like the Farmer asking the soil to do
some work, or the Builder beseeching the walls to participate in
construction. We are sinners, and yet He uses us in His kingdom.
Verse 10.
"According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master
builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each
man must be careful how he builds on it."
Continuing the building analogy,
Paul Saw that the strife and tension among those people in Corinth (just
like with us), was caused by some kind of construction fault, in
relation to its’ connection to the Foundation (on which the "building"
was supposed to rest).
There are all sorts of
counterfeits for the Foundation of Jesus Christ. Some build on
experiences, some build on secular ideas (or even "christian" ideas that
are really just some doctrinal or theological concept). Some on
personal, human ambition. We must build our building on Jesus Christ
and on Him alone.
We just cannot have unity,
except in Him. Why does my organization and yours not get along?
Perhaps both organizations are not truly built on the Foundation
which is Christ. Again, we must build on Jesus Christ and on Him alone.
The key word in this verse is
"grace" --- all that we build is allowed because of His grace. In Him,
we have all the proper building materials we will ever need.
Verse 11.
"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which
is Jesus Christ."
The Lord is the only "foundation" that
can bear the weight of those in this world. If our belief system rests on human opinion,
or our own works, the words of others, or some idea about the general
mercy of God (from perhaps a "new age" perspective), the foundation will
eventually collapse --- We must build on Him.
Paul correctly made Jesus Christ
the foundation of all his work. This little man continues to lead
literally millions of people to Christ --- Martin Luther is a great
example of someone who found Christ through the ministry of Paul. We
must do the same as Paul (and Luther) did, and let Christ be our
foundation. Whether our ministry is large or whether it is little (to
us); even whether it is to our liking or not. It is not enough to just
work, for we must work in Him, our Lord, who is our source of Strength
and our Joy.
Some "other" foundation would be
like the "different" gospel in Galatians 1:9. There IS no other good
news, for there is "no other name" given in which we may be saved. Only
Christ. This "temple" that is being built is made of human souls,
inhabited by the Holy Spirit, called into existence by the ministry and
mediation of Jesus Christ - NOTHING can destroy this temple, because it
rests upon Him.
Verse 12.
"Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, straw,"
J. Vernon McGee said, "a
little piece of gold is not as visible as a hay stack", and further that
"you can see a hay stack for miles." He then concluded the analogy with
the following: "Fire improves the little piece of gold (by removing
its’ dross) but destroys the haystack." The large and impressive is not
necessarily lasting.
In the Midrash Tehillin, the
words of false teachers are compared to hay. "Gold" to them, was pure
scriptural teaching, fully within its context, correctly interpreted by
the Holy Spirit of God. "Wood" represents human opinions and
speculations about God’s truth. The precious metals and stones that God
builds into our lives indicate to us that what He does in us, will last
--- for all eternity. We must build as taught and led by God.
Verse 13.
"each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because
it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the
quality of each man's work."
The "work" we must do is to
trust and follow the Son of God. This is clear in John 6:29, "This
is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." We
must abide in our Lord, if we want our work to last.
Everything we do will be
revealed for what it is, sooner or later. In the Nixon administration
(U.S.),
one by one, his lieutenants were revealed for what they were and started going to jail.
Every administration has had interesting similarities. For
someone like Nixon’s Charles Colson, he was better exposed (as a
criminal) now than later, for the disaster in his life led him to
Christ. If God tries to take off your mask, whatever it is, let Him
take it, no matter what the cost.
There seems to be a literal,
elemental FIRE in the future of this world, as seen in Malachi 4:1, II
Thessalonians 1:8, and II Peter 3:7, 10. Greater and more searching
even than just plain fire, is the Holiness of God, which gets right into
us and finds us out. The doctrine of "Purgatory" by the way, was in
part founded on this verse (Council of Florence, 1439).
Ordinary fire can be
devastating, such as in the Great Chicago Fire, in which even brick and
stone were burned up. In the fire of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, very
little was left. God has such a fire in store for the whole world.
It’s a good time to come into the safety of Him right now; and remember,
what you build on Him will last forever.
Every work is in question, yours
and mine, for we are all human and subject to error. I think the key
to this "fire" is shown by the first words: "Each one’s work will
become manifest" --- Our works and thoughts will be exposed to the
bright light of day in the sight of God. Nothing that is not of God can
stand in that Light. Our work will be shown to be from His Spirit or
not, and if it is not, it will simply cease to exist.
Verse 14.
"If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a
reward."
Any "true" work (that which is
of the Lord) will ultimately lead to HOLINESS in our character, and
UNITY among those believers who participate in the work. There is a
variety of people among us and variety is good (and "unity" does not
mean we are all alike).
A "reward" for an evangelist is
those who are his converts (1 Thessalonians 2:19, Philippians 2:16).
There are no "accidents" with God – we are placed with people who are
given to us, just as we are given to them. We are Given to one another
in His love, for His glory and for the good of all.
Verse 15.
"If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself
will be saved, yet so as through fire."
The "fire" of God can be
extremely positive, including the elimination of works that are not of
Him. Compare the Shekinah Glory in Solomon’s temple with the wind,
fire, and tongues on the Day of Pentecost. The "fire" of God purified
His people. The Holiness of God, by itself, is a very great reward.
"Fire" in our lives can
include: Time (which ultimately "burns" away all in us that is
not of the Lord), difficult circumstances, and afflictions of
life. The greatest effect for the Christian is that he shall not
receive the full reward to which he might otherwise obtain (II John 8);
but it is an honor to be ANYWHERE in the spiritual house of God. Note
that only work which glorifies Christ, only that which is wrought in the
Holy Spirit, can survive the Holy Fire of God.
Verse 16.
"Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God
dwells in you?"
If you have received Christ, you
are a "temple" of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you. You are the
residence of God, a place where God chooses to live. Either God lives
in you, in this manner, or you are not part of His temple. But if you
are part of His temple, you are the special meeting place where God
meets other men. If God lives in us, then our need for holiness
becomes very great, for God is here!
The temple in Jerusalem was
beautiful. If we are the temple, and we are, we must want the beauty of
God’s temple to be seen by a hungry world. Things like true faith,
loving one another, an honest hope in God --- these are beautiful
adornments and must be worn by those in Christ. Strife and jealousy are
ugly, and are at their worst in a place where beauty should be seen.
Verse 17.
"If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for
the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are."
See Leviticus 16:2 & forward;
also Exodus 28:42-43. Aaron the High Priest could not come into the
Holy Place, without the blood and appropriate clothing. So it is with
us --- we must be covered with the Blood of Christ Jesus and clothed in
His righteousness. In Him, we can enter the Holy Place of God.
Here are some of the things we
(the visible church) act out that tend to defile the temple of God:
false doctrine, unchristian thoughts and actions, personal unholiness,
producing unholiness in others; failing to do the work God has called us
to do.
The temple at Jerusalem was
holy. It was constructed according to divine plan, and it was
consecrated by divinely appointed sacrifices and services. But what
really made it holy was the Shekinah Glory, the Presence of the Living
God. Just like this temple, when we are in Christ. The temple,
amazingly enough is US – you and me, when we are in Him. The offerings
are obedience and praise, the incense is our continuing prayer, and the
Holy Spirit lives here! We should stay on our knees and never stop
thanking Him --- to be in Christ is the only way to fullness of life.
Verse 18.
"Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise
in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise."
It is PRIDE which is at the root
of the party spirit (that which likes one doctrine over another). A
carnal man wants to be separate from his brothers and be superior to
them. The cure for this problem is to go to Christ and surrender
ourselves to Him.
Note that we as people are VERY
prone to self-deception (1 John 1:8, "if we say we are without sin we
deceive ourselves"; Galatians 6:3, "if I think I am something when I am
nothing, I deceive myself"). We tend to overrate what we accomplish, to
think we are more important than we are. Becoming a "fool" is only so
in the eyes of the world --- It is important to note we are only
"foolish" in order to receive a much greater wisdom from Almighty God.
Actually, we are all pretty
foolish. Any other conclusion just doesn’t address the human
condition. All our great ideas, like socialism, democracy, capitalism;
all our psychological and sociological theories, at their best, are
sadly insufficient. We need the Lord to see us through.
Verse 19.
"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is
written, ‘He is The One who catches the wise in their craftiness;’"
Take a look at modern
education. At the heart of teacher training is existentialism, which
espouses the idea that there are no absolutes at all --- Each one can do
whatever they want, whenever they want to do it. It's no wonder we are
in such a mess, for there really are absolutes, and to ignore them is to
court disaster for our society.
Here in this verse the "world"
is the Greek "kosmos" whereas in the previous verse, the word selected
was "aion." The difference is that the first relates to the physical
world, whereas this one is the world in its moral and intellectual
sense. Paul here quotes Eliphaz, in Job 5:13, a man who was eventually
caught in his OWN craftiness and lack of understanding (though God later
FORGAVE him & the other "friends" of Job).
Verse 20.
"and again, ‘The lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are
useless.’"
Sooner or later, human craftiness,
mere human reasoning, catches up with us. As teenagers, we played
tricks on each other. One time I checked out some public library books
in the name of my friend Ed, who found about it when he received (ha,
ha) a notice of "overdue books." He did not think it was funny and I
lost a friend.
The carnal are often very, very
busy, with many schemes. The tendency, whether in Churches, businesses
or government, is to want PROGRAMS before anything else. The spiritual
want the 1) Word of God, 2) the Will of God, and 3)
the love of God, to come before anything else.
At some time in the future, only those three "programs" will survive
anyway --- Why not turn to them now?
Verse 21.
"So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you,"
"Boast (or glory) in men."
There are at least two kinds of error in listening to a Christian
minister: 1) Liking the doctrine because we like the
teacher, and 2) Liking the teacher because we like the
doctrine. There is a third kind of listening, which is good,
3) Listening because we are drawn by the Spirit of God. Only
the third brings any true results.
"All things belong to you." The
ministry is for the Church and for each person in the Church. It’s aim
is to bring the likeness, the image of God, in Christ, to the human
person. The man in the pulpit is God’s GIFT to you and to me. If
we are
in "pulpits" --- it is for one another. I am your servant. You
are mine. Therefore we
should be thankful for all ministers (and not prefer one man over another).
The whole world is for the
Church (for you and for me). Years ago, when I worked for the Long
Beach Municipal Court, in the Criminal Department, a guy in prison kept
writing long letters to the Judge who sentenced him. His letters were
full of religious references. His position (He, by the way, was
sentenced because he was found in a Sears store, after it was closed,
with merchandise in his arms), was that there is no such thing as
"private property" & therefore, he had every right to be there, and take
whatever he wanted.
Like this man’s mistake, we tend
to look at possessions in the carnal sense of MY house, or MY car, MY
family, MY job --- MY minister is a much more important possession (one
we normally don’t think of as a "possession" at all). This is the man
God has given us so we might grow into persons who can love others
and minister to those in need. Christ is the Owner of all that is, and
we do not seek the "things" of this world at all, for we simply want
everyone in the world to come to Him, who truly owns us all. (He bought
us; He paid for us; we are His).
Verse
22. "whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or
death or things present or things to come;
all things belong to you,"
LIFE is ours and so is DEATH.
Life is given in a manner we never even thought existed, before we were
in Christ. We have fellowship with Him and He is life indeed. Some
would say that Joni Erickson, because she is paralyzed, does not have
life, but I say, because she has such a large measure of our Lord, she
has LIFE like few of us ever know. And we have DEATH, which is also our
property, in that it is the doorway God has created which releases us
from all that is imperfect in our present life. In death (as it will
be with the "rapture"), we are set free to be with Him.
Note, however, that "all things"
are only ours IN HIM. The ministry is not "mine" alone. Life is not
"mine" without Him. Death is only "mine" because we are in Christ. The
present and the future are all ours but only so long as we are in Him.
And that leads to the key verse; verse 23 --- It is so important that if
we understand this, we have it all.
Again, we are not the pastor’s,
the pastor is ours, for Christ gives him to us. He is ours to pray for
and to love. We are not to mistreat him because he is our servant ---
We must remember that each of us is also a servant of Christ and this
man is only "mine" in Him. Party spirit, preferring one man over
another, makes us disciples of people --- We instead are to follow
CHRIST. Life, death, things present, things to come, all things
belong to you and to me in Him.
Verse 23.
"and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God."
We are Christ’s because He
created us. We are Christ’s because He Died for us. He bought us with
His Blood. We are Christ’s because we say "yes" to Him. Calvin is
great, Luther is wonderful, Paul is our teacher, Wesley is important. I
like Billy Graham, but my Leader, my Owner, if you will, is Christ. He
is God’s Revealer, God’s Message to you and to me.
And Christ is God’s. He is the
One Who Followed God the Father. Jesus Christ, the Servant of God the Father, is
our model that we might learn to serve in and through Him. We are in Christ and therefore, in
God. What more could ANYONE ever need? Nothing at all, for the peace,
the joy, the forgiveness and the love, are all ours in Him.
Thank You, Lord God. In Jesus
Name. Amen.
Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
www.FridayStudy.org
Write to:
Letters@FridayStudy.org
"While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8)
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