Paul focuses on the congregation as a whole in the first part of the letter; the focus switches to individuals in 1 Corinthians 6:19. Baby Christians are never ready for meat; they thrive on strife and quarrels, and they enjoy factions, exalting man above God. Paul has some strong words for them early in this chapter. Then Paul turns to an illustration – that of a building made to last for eternity. Finally, Paul reveals an important piece of knowledge to his audience, something they thought they knew but obviously didn’t, though they should have. Let’s take a look.
On Divisions in the Church
1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?
5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
Though the Corinthian believers had the Holy Spirit, they were living so inconsistently that Paul had to address them as natural. He had to give them the basics of the gospel, rather than the solid food that brings greater growth. Note that these are “brothers,” though they are immature in the faith – and that by their own choice! It would be like a 40-year-old man wearing a diaper to work and a bib to the lunch table and drinking from a bottle, all by his own choice. There is a time when all Christians are immature; but spiritual growth comes quickly (by God’s grace), and Christians are to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). Yet the Corinthian believers, who needed and received milk from Paul earlier, still needed milk, and that should not have been the case, for this is 3-5 years since they became believers. Therefore Paul rebukes them harshly in v3; they weren’t applying their knowledge. Rather, their knowledge had puffed them up – they were big babies, and acting like it. They were “acting like mere men,” which speaks back to the “natural” men mentioned in chapter 2. They lacked the wisdom they thought they had, or at least they were failing to apply it.
Calvin notes, “The beginning of the third chapter contains the application of this last department of the subject to their case. For Paul complains, that, being carnal, they were scarcely capable of learning the first rudiments of the gospel. He intimates in this way, that the distaste which they had contracted for the word, arose from no fault in the word itself, but from their ignorance; and at the same time he indirectly admonishes them, that they need to have their minds renewed, before they will begin to judge aright. He afterwards shows in what estimation the ministers of the gospel ought to be held – that it ought to be in such a way, that the honor given to them does not in any degree detract from the glory that is due to God – as there is one Lord, and all are his servants: all are mere instruments; he alone imparts efficacy, and from him proceeds the entire result.”
Paul ridicules them for dividing over preferences and disputable matters in v5-8. They should realize that God is sovereign, and that He accomplishes His will through His Spirit working in the work of His people (John 3:21), namely Paul and Apollos in this case. And furthermore, the Corinthians failed to see the truth of reward in endeavoring for the Lord (v8). Therefore, Paul points in v9, with the phrase “God’s fellow workers,” to the truth that “we work with God,” or that “we who all belong to God work together.” Paul will elaborate significantly in this letter on individual believers all being crucial parts of the One Body of Christ. Paul wraps up v9 by mentioning “God’s field, God’s building.” He discussed the farming illustration here, and he expands the building illustration in the next passage.
10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
“By the grace God has given” Paul, he “laid a foundation as an expert builder” in Corinth. He’s alluding to his earlier discussion of true wisdom with an illustration of a building. God established His Body in Corinth through the words of Paul. Now they need to be on guard, because “someone else is building on it.” The foundation of Christ is settled and won’t be destroyed, but what gets lumped on top of that foundation can be destroyed if it’s worthless; therefore, “each one should be careful how he builds” (v10). To build up the Church ought to be their aim. Calvin says of Paul, “He takes occasion from this to point out the true and proper method of building aright. It is to have Christ alone as the foundation, and the entire structure harmonizing with the foundation. And here, having stated in passing that he is a wise master-builder, he admonishes those that come after him to make the end correspond with the beginning.”
We are the Temple of God (v16), and as we build ourselves up (which we do, whether intentionally or subliminally) while covering the race (agony) marked out for us, we either store up treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, or we store up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-21). In other words, in this passage Paul is not so much concerned with the salvation of the Corinthians’ souls; he is confident that they are saved by grace through faith, apart from works so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). But he is greatly concerned with their buildings come Judgment Day. Paul doesn’t want them to get into heaven “by the skin of their teeth” (Job 19:20), or “as one escaping though the flames” (v15). He wants them to receive reward for their holiness and the love displayed in their lives. Right now, he’s not seeing those elements, and it’s painful to him. Similarly, pastors want to see their congregations thriving in service to God; it must be painful when that is not so evident.
There is much that could be said regarding the building materials mentioned in v12. You have the imperishable group and the perishable group. The Church ought to be built up with lasting materials (1 Chronicles 22:14-16). One commentator has noted that to get the imperishable materials, you have to dig deep, excavate the foundation, while to get the perishable materials, you don’t have to work very hard since they are lying around. The implication is that we ought to strive to build ourselves with imperishable materials – service to God for His glory, seen through love toward all people. We may – I know I do – regret or loath the missed opportunities of the past, but we must fight on, knowing that each day is new and that the Lord renews His love for us each morning.
16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"[1] ; 20and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."[2] 21So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas[3] or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours, 23and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
Paul begins this passage by speaking of a very important knowledge that the Corinthians (who were commended earlier by Paul for their knowledge) apparently didn’t know. They are God’s temple, and the Holy Spirit indwells them (1 Corinthians 6:19)! There are 2 Greek words for temple; one speaks of the physical building (as in John 2:14-15) and the other, which Paul uses here, speaks of the spiritual reality (as in John 2:19-21). But keep in mind the seriousness of being Coram Deo, in the very presence of God, in the Holy of Holies at all times! Priests would have a rope tied around their leg entering God’s presence so that in case they were killed by their ungodliness, someone else who wasn’t allowed to enter God’s presence could pull them out. It’s a big deal! And Paul realizes that. Thus in v17, Paul alludes to the fact that some have infiltrated the Church and are trying to destroy it from the inside; this is the worst thing, from Paul’s perspective, and he says that God won’t spare them at judgment time (Think of Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6 and Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5 and the words of Jesus in Matthew 18). God will not spare those who attack His Temple – and that’s you! Corruption in the Temple of God is not to be tolerated. Be holy!
Calvin concludes, “He exhorts also the Corinthians not to allow their souls to be desecrated by corrupt doctrines, inasmuch as they are temples of God. [In v18-21] he again brings to naught proud fleshly wisdom, that the knowledge of Christ may alone be in estimation among believers.” Paul returns to the contrast between human (worldly) wisdom and divine (spiritual) wisdom. The Corinthians didn’t appreciate their privileges in Christ, and they were corrupting the church by trying to combine worldly wisdom with spiritual wisdom; that doesn’t work. Paul quotes a number of verses to make that point, and he wraps up by displaying the foolishness of human wisdom compared to true wisdom. In v21-22, Paul says, “All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future – all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.” The Corinthians argued that they were in the Paul group, or the Apollos group. That’s earthly wisdom, and it’s foolishness. Paul says that he and Apollos belong to the Corinthians. He flips around their understanding, and that’s true wisdom. Christ is all and is in all. And we are one in Him. We are coheirs of all things with Him. Thank God for His Spirit, by whom true wisdom belongs to believers.
Footnotes
- 3:19 Job 5:13
- 3:20 Psalm 94:11
- 3:22 That is, Peter
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.