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Chapter 3
- Like the Corinthians, we need today to ponder the real meaning of the gospel message for our lives: the divisions
among us today betray our inadequate understanding of what it means to be the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12-31).
The Corinthians could easily have nodded sagely to Chap 2 as applicable only to “spiritual people like us”, so
Chap 3 jolts them out of this complacency - they are not people to whom Paul can talk “as people who have the
spirit” - quite a shock, for them. And for us? Paul confronts them: if they thought themselves perfect, Paul sees
them as infants; they consider themselves wise, but Paul exhorts them to be fools.
- 1 After addressing them as “brothers and sisters” - ie equals - he then calls then infants. Having distinguished
between natural and spiritual people (Chap 2), Paul now asserts that the Corinthians, who thought themselves as
sophisticated, mature and wise, are really immature, and of the flesh, deceiving themselves and so lacking
fundamental knowledge. They judge by transitory standards. Therefore he cannot give them solid food - ie a
mature wisdom dialogue, as they wish. Again we need to understand what Paul means by “fleshly”: not so much a
part of human nature, but the whole person seen from a particular point of view, ie as a creature. But the meaning
varies with the context: (a) neutral, ie according to what is outward or visible, eg “human standard” (1:26); (b)
fleshy, made of flesh, can’t help it: humanity as distant from God, mortal, frail and vulnerable (EG Rom 6:19; 8:3;
2 Cor 4:11); (c) fleshly, characterised by flesh, can/should help it: frail humans are also sinners, in opposition to
God (EG Rom 7:5, 18; 8:3-12). Here the meaning appears to be (b), ie frail, immature, but not blameworthy or in
opposition to God, simply behaving as if they had not received the Spirit at all.
- 2 They ought by now to be mature enough for solid food (Cf Heb 5:12), but they are not, so perhaps more blame?
Maybe they had dismissed Paul’s gospel as mere milk for babies, but Paul asserts that he could not give them
anything stronger - quite a shock for their self-esteem. But in fact the gospel of the crucified Christ is all the
strong meat one could imagine, if only they could understand it. While castigating them for their immaturity, Paul
is expressing his nurturing, maternal attitude to them.
- 3 Their jealousy and divisions are symptoms of their arrested development, revealing immaturity both of their self-understanding (v 4) and their views of the apostles (v 22). Here Paul is moving towards meaning (c) of the flesh -
in their contentiousness they are opposing God. If they had true unity they would not speak in terms of division.
- 4 Are they not all too human, and therefore sinful in this behaviour?
- 5 “What” draws attention to their functions, not “who” which would emphasise their persons, which Paul wishes
not to do. The Corinthians should not evaluate their leaders by human wisdom, but according to Paul’s theology
of spiritual gifts/charisms (12:4-6), ie as grace, service (for the common good) and activity. The apostles serve the
church, as deacons, but are accountable to God (4:1-5). Each apostle has carried out the tasks assigned to him.
Christian leadership consists in service (Cf Lk 22:24-27). Paul shows true modesty, but not a false modesty: we
should accept and use the gifts we have been given, and not hide them by false modesty. Who would set servants
on pedestals? Apostles are not to be idolised, but they are not insignificant.
- 6 Paul does not compare his ministry with that of Apollos - both are important. He does not minimise the
contributions by the Apostles, which vital - God has no hands but ours. He continues the nurturing, pastoral image
of a farmer planting and watering.
- 7 Only God causes the growth, however much we plant and water.
- 8 Neither contribution is to be seen as greater - they work as a team, doing God’s work. In opposing Paul to
Apollos the Corinthians are working against God’s plan. Each will be rewarded fairly for his work - but for his
labour, not for his success!!
- 9 Paul changes the image of the community from a garden to a building. “God’s co-workers” is a startling image -
not just “working together for God”, but a greater dignity: “Without God, we cannot; without us, he will not”. Our
work is required, it is not optional help. Paul closes his agricultural imagery by calling them God’s field - both
God’s possession and God’s work.
- 10 Paul now uses construction imagery. There are diverse but complementary functions, but each task is serious,
and each individual will be held accountable for the quality of his contribution, which will inevitably be revealed
in the final judgement. But it is the whole building that matters. Paul claims to have laid the foundation, but
immediately in v 11 says the foundation is Jesus Christ. His self-description as “master-builder” (sophos
architekton) brings back the wisdom motif of previous chapters. (Note many major churches in the East called
Hagia Sophia = Holy Wisdom)
- 11 And the only foundation is Christ, the foundation laid by God. No other foundation is possible for the true
Church, and there is but one Church of God at Corinth. Possibly a salutary reminder to those who may have been
extolling Peter as the rock, upon which the church is built (Matt 16:13-20). [We may see here also some of the
tensions between different models of church structure, from the very relaxed unstructured Johannine model,
through Paul’s apparently pragmatic, pastoral approach, to the strict hierarchical church under James in Jerusalem
- with parallels today].
- 12 The contrast here is partly between the particular materials used - flammable and non-flammable, and partly
that all of them are required. But the contribution each builder makes towards the building varies: the
contributions by some builders will be seen to have cost a great deal (eg martyrdom), those by others less. Each
will receive a just reward matching their contribution (v 14).
- 13 Everyone’s work will be revealed on “the Day” - ie the Day of Judgement - when it is revealed in fire. Fire
destroys, and will burn off all work that is shoddy or insubstantial and not firmly based on the gospel. But fire also
purifies metals (early smelting consisted simply in melting an ore in a fire to yield gold, etc). It was - and is -
common practice for final payment to the builder to be witheld until the final inspection, and reduced for poor
work. They/We should evaluate our work in the light of the eschaton - “the Day”.
- 14 Each builder was - and is - also responsible for making good any damage he did to previous work by others.
The early Church seems to have had many false teachers who made the sin of their disbelief worse by leading
others astray. (Cf 1 Jn 2:26; 3 Jn 9). They were condemned by Jesus (Matt 18:6; Mk 9:42).
- 15 “as through fire” - sometimes wrongly used to support the idea of purgatory, but this idea only appeared much
later. The image is that the fire tests rather than purifies. Although Paul envisions harsh divine punishment, he
appears optimistic that God’s corrective methods will be successful (5:5; 11:32). But the nature of reward and
punishment envisioned by Paul is not clear: not the same as salvation or damnation, since even the Christian
jerrybuilder will escape with his life, but only after passing through fire, as it were dashing through the flames to
safety. Salvation is sure for those who remain fathful: fire appears not as precursor to scales weighing between
salvation and damnation, but rather as determining how much reward or penalty each will receive. It is the
building that may be burned up, not the builder.
- 16 They should know, hence the rebuke. No “the” in the Greek: “you (plural) are temple (singular) of God”. The
Greek used here means the sanctuary, where God is, rather than the whole building including its precincts. “Spirit
of God” does not appear much in bible: emphasises connection with the Father and the deity of the Spirit. The
Spirit is God as he dwells in the church.
- 17 “you are the temple of God” - ie holy, set apart, belonging to God, because the Spirit dwells in the community.
We may think we have chosen God, but really He has called to do His work. Paul often emphasises the cultic
sanctity of the community. This may well underlie has horror that they have not expelled the wanton sinner (5:1-13). [Vatican II brought back this emphasis on the gathering of the people into the community for worship,
attaching importance to joining in the community worship rather than praying individually during such worship].
“God will destroy that person” - worse (?) than damnation? More likely that Paul means God will damage a
worker who has damaged the building - but it will be damage equal to what has been caused. A common theme in
this letter is that the punishment will fit the crime - an eye for an eye - the law of retaliation. This warning is
directed to a community which appears to be presumptive, puffed up.
- 18 A 2nd use of the imperative, and in the singular: each and every one of them is urged to follow his example and
become foolish to become wise - by accepting Christ crucified as Saviour..
- 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolish. Job 5:13.
- 20 Ps 94:11. The quotes have been modified by Paul to be interpreted in the light of each other.
- 21 So don’t boast about any human being. Don’t glory in the creature: the Christian glories in the Creator. It is
not that “I belong to Paul” etc, which is limiting, but that each leader belongs to the community - all are God’s gift
to them. Indeed all - the world, life and death, the present, the future - all are yours! Even our death is a gift, to be
used wisely or not, with God’s ever-present grace.
- 22 Following 1:10-13: if the corinthians were genuinely wise (Vv 18-20), their perceptions would be reversed, and
they would see everthing and everyone in their true perpective, ie church leaders are to serve the community,
which serves Christ, who serves God.
- 23 But you are not your own masters: bountiful grace is inseparable from vocation: “all are yours” must be held in
tension with “you belong to Christ”. Christ is both Saviour and Lord. God both gives us succour and makes
demands on us. Only through recognising God’s demands are we saved with his help. But as with John, Christ
remains the obedient Son sent by the Father. The only “belonging” that matters is “all belong to you, you belong
to Christ, and Christ to God”.
