I
Corinthians 3
The
Carnal Conceit of the Spiritually Immature (vs. 1-4)
1 And
I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual” – these
Corinthians
thought themselves quite above the need of Paul’s
simple teaching - “but as unto carnal” -
they considered themselves superior to Paul but
the elementary character of his teaching
was the result of their
incapacity for anything more profound. As unto carnal. The
true
reading here is sa>rkinov,
— sar’-kee-nos; , fleshen, and
implies earthliness and
weakness and the absence of spirituality; not sarkiko>v, — sar-kee-kos’; , fleshly,
or carnal; the later and severer word is
perhaps first used in v.
3 and involves the
dominance of the lower nature and antagonism to the spiritual - even as unto babes
in Christ.”
The word “babes” has a good and a bad sense. In its good sense
it implies
humility and teachableness, as
in ch. 14:20, “In malice be ye babes;” and in I Peter 2:2,
“As newborn babes, desire the
sincere milk of the Word;” and in Matthew 11:25.
Here it is used in
its bad sense of spiritual childishness. 2 I have fed you with milk” –
The
metaphor is expanded in Hebrews 5:13, “Every one that partaketh of milk is
without experience of the Word of
righteousness; for he is a babe.” – “and not with
meat” - not with solid food, which is
for full grown or spiritually perfect men (Hebrews 5:14)
- “for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, (see John 16:12) neither yet now are ye
able. 3 For
ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and
strife, and divisions” - The two
latter words are omitted in some of the best manuscripts,
and may have been added from Galatians 5:20. Partisanship and discord, the sins of the
Corinthians
— sins which have disgraced so many ages of Church history — are works
of the flesh (ibid. v.19), and involve many other sins (James
3:16), and are therefore
sure proofs of the carnal mind, though they
are usually accompanied by a boast of
superior spiritual enlightenment – “are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 4 For
while
one saith, I am of
Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Religious
partisanship is, in the eye of Paul, simply
irreligious. He sets down party controversies
as a distinct proof of carnality. Those who
indulge in it are men devoid of the spiritual
element.
Jesus Christ, the One Foundation of the Diverse Superstructure (vs.
5-15)
5 Who
then is Paul” - The better reading is what?
(a, A, B). The
neuter would imply a
still greater depreciation of the importance of human
ministers – “and
who is Apollos,
but ministers” - The same
word as that rendered “deacons” – diakonoi - (diakonoi);
“ministers of Christ on
your behalf” (Colossians 1:7) - by whom ye believed, even as
the Lord gave to every man?” – the gifts differ according to the grace given
– (Romans
12:6-8) 6 I have planted” - Paul everywhere
recognized his gift lay pre-eminently
in the ability to found churches - “Apollos watered” – Apollos’ gift
was his special
endowments of eloquence and deep insight into the
meaning of Scripture, enriched
by Alexandrian culture – “but God gave the increase” - The thought
of every true
teacher always is, “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy
Name give the
praise” (Psalm
115:1). 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing” - The
planter and the waterer are
nothing by comparison. They could do nothing without
Christ’s
aid (John 15:6), and
were nothing in themselves (II Corinthians 12:11) -
“neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” - The human
instruments are nothing, but God is everything,
because, apart from Him, no result
would follow. 8 Now
he that planteth and he that watereth
are one” - literally,
one thing. God is the sole Agent; the
teachers, so far from being able to pose as rival
leaders, form but one instrument in God’s hand.
Their relative differences shrink into
insignificance when the source and objects of their
ministry are considered – “and
every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.” - 9 For we
are laborers together with God” - Throughout
the Bible we are taught that God
requires the work of man, and that He will not help
those who will do nothing for
themselves or for Him. The world was to be evangelized, not by
sudden miracle,
but by faithful human labor (Mark 16:20). ye are God’s
husbandry, ye are
God’s
building.” - rather. God’s
field, or tilled land. The
thought which Paul desires again
and again to enforce is that they belong to
God, not to the parties of human teachers.
10 According to the grace of God which is
given unto me” - Paul’s habit of regarding
his whole spiritual life as one summed up in the
one crisis of conversion and baptism.
This phrase is a favorite one with him (I Corinthians 15:10;
Romans 15:15; Galatians
2:9; Ephesians 3:2) – “as a wise master builder” - “Wise” only in the
sense of
subordinating every pretence of human wisdom to the will of
God; and here the
adjective only applies to the wisdom required by a
builder. In other words, “wise”
is here equivalent to “skilful.” Since Paul had received the
grace of God for this very
purpose, he was made “wise” by the knowledge of Christ (for the
metaphor of building,
see Matthew 7:24; 16:18; Ephesians 2:21; I Peter. 2:5) – “I have laid the foundation” –
rather, a foundation. Though in truth
there is but one foundation, as he proceeds to
say in v. 12 – “and another buildeth
thereon. But let every man take heed how he
buildeth
thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid” –
rather, that is lying (comp. I
Peter 2:6). It has not been placed there (teqe>nta)
by any human bands, but lies there by the eternal will – “which is Jesus Christ.”
“The doctrine
of
Jesus Christ is the foundation of all theology; His person
of
all life.”
This is
again and again inculcated in Scripture: Isaiah 28:16, “Behold, I lay in Zion for
a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation.” On
this rock the Church is built (Matthew 16:18: Acts 4:11-12; Ephesians 2:20).
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation
gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, stubble” - These words
seem to symbolize erroneous or imperfect
doctrines, which would not stand the test, and which led
to evil practices. Such were
the “philosophy and vain deceit,” “the weak and beggarly dements,” “the
rudiments of the world,” of which he
speaks in Galatians 4:9; Colossians 2:8.
13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest” - The real
nature, the
worth or
worthlessness — of each man’s work, will be made clear sooner
or later - “for the
day shall declare it” - “The day” can only mean “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(I Corinthians 1:8), which would specially “make manifest the counsels
of the hearts”
(ibid. 4:5), and “judge the secrets of men” (Romans 2:16), and make all men
manifest “before the judgment seat of
Christ” (II Corinthians 5:10) -
“because it
shall be revealed by fire” - rather, because
it is being revealed in fire. The phrase
“is being” is called bad English, but some such phrase is
positively needed to render
the continuous present tense, which here expresses
certainty, natural sequence,
perpetual imminence. This tense is constantly used
to express the continuity and the
present working of Divine laws (comp. Matthew 3:10). As
the nominative is not
expressed, it is uncertain whether “it” refers to
“each man’s
work” or to “the
day.”
Either
gives an apposite sense (Malachi 4:1; II Thessalonians 1:8). Some would make “
He” (namely,
Christ) the nominative, because “the day” means “the day of Christ;”
and in favor of this view they quote II Thessalonians 1:7-8, “The revelation of the Lord
Jesus from
heaven in flaming fire.” But the ellipse of an unexpressed nominative is
harsh.
“and the fire
shall try every man’s
work of what sort it is.” - This is the “probatory”
or testing fire of the day of the Lord, of which we read very
frequently in the Fathers.
The
doctrine of purgatory has been in some measure founded on this verse (Council
of
Florence,
A.D. 1439); but such a view of it cannot be maintained. The reader will find
the subject examined and the quotations from the Fathers given
in the writer’s ‘Mercy
and Judgment,’ p. 69. All that is said here is that the fire of
Christ’s presence — the
consuming fire of God’s love — shall test
the
work, not purge it. The fire is probatory,
not purgatorial, and it is
not in itself a fire of wrath, for it tests the gold and silver as
well as the inferior elements of the structure. It
is the fire of the refiner, not of the avenger.
14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built
thereupon, he shall receive
a reward.”
One of the
teacher’s rewards will be his converts (I Thessalonians 2:19), who will be
“his joy and crown of glorying” (Philippians 2:16); another will be “a crown of glory that
fadeth not away” (I Peter
5:2, 4; Daniel 12:3); yet another will be fresh opportunities for
higher labor (Matthew 25:23). 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he
shall suffer
loss” – He shall not receive the full
reward to which he might otherwise look.
II John
1:8).
“but he himself shall be saved” - It is an inexpressible source of comfort to us,
amid the weakness and ignorance of our lives, to
know that if we have only erred
through human frailty and feebleness,
while yet we desired to be sincere and
faithful, the work will be burnt, yet the workman will
be saved – “yet so
as by fire”.
rather, through or by
means of fire (dia< puro>v). We may
be, as it were,
“snatched as a brand from the burning” (Zechariah
3:2; Amos 4:11; Jude 1:23), and
scarcely” saved (I
Peter 4:18). Similarly it is said in I Peter 3:20 that Noah was saved
“through water” (di u[datov). The
ship is lost, the sailor saved; the workman is saved,
the work is burned.
The
Peril and Folly of Glorying in Men (vs. 16-23)
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you?
“Ye,” both collectively
(Ephesians 2:21) and individually; “God’s shrine;”
not built for men’s glory. The word “temple” in the Old
Testament always means the
material temple; in the Gospels our Lord “spake
of the temple of His body;” in the rest
of the New Testament the body of every baptized Christian is the
(I Corinthians
6:19), because “God
dwelleth in him” (I John 4:16; comp. John 14:23
–
“If a man
love me, he will keep my words:
and my Father will love him, and we will
Come unto him, and make our abode
with him” - Just
think, God has the desire
and the ability to live in every person at the same time – HE IS VERY
GREAT –
CY – 2010). In another aspect Christians can be regarded as
“living stones in one
spiritual house” (I Peter
2:5). The temple; rather, the shrine (uses) wherein
God
dwells (naiei), and which
is the holiest part of the temple (hieron) 17 If any man
defile the
next clause, and should be rendered, If
any man destroy the
word is perhaps too strong, and the word “mar”
or “injure” might better convey the
meaning (Olshausen). The
two
verbs are brought into vivid juxtaposition in the
original: “God shall ruin the ruiner of His temple.” St. Paul
was, perhaps, thinking
of the penalty of death attached to any one who
desecrated the
Inscriptions on the chel, or “middle wall of
partition,” threatened death to any Gentile
who set foot within the sacred enclosure - “for
the
temple ye are.”
Paul is here referring to the Church of Corinth, and to the
false
teachers who desecrated it by bringing in “factions of destruction” (II Peter
2:1).
Ideally the
Church was glorious, “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing”
(Ephesians 5:27). 18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man
among you seemeth
to be wise
in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. 19 For the
wisdom of this world is foolishness with
God.” Here the word for “world” is
kosmos, in the last
verse it was aion. Kosmos is the world regarded objectively; aion
the world regarded in its moral and intellectual aspect. “For it is written,
He taketh
the wise in their own craftiness.” This is one of the few references to the Book of
Job in the New Testament. It comes from the speech of Eliphaz
in Job 5:13, but
Paul
substitutes the words - drassomeno>v - drassomenos – take - “clutching” - and
– panourgia - (panourgia) “craftiness”
for the milder katalabon
and phronesei
of the Septuagint. 20 And again, The Lord knoweth
the thoughts of the wise,
that they are vain.” A quotation
from Psalm 94:11. Paul substitutes “the wise” for the
“men” of the
original, because the psalmist is referring to perverse despisers of God -
dialogismo>v, — dee-al-og-is-mos’; debate: dispute, doubtful (-ing),
imagination,
reasoning, thought.
Dialogismoi is rather “reasonings” than
“thoughts.” It is used in a
disparaging sense, as in Romans 1:21; Ephesians 4:17. 21 Therefore let no
man glory in men. For all things are your’s” -
It
is always a tendency of
Christians
to underrate the grandeur of their privileges by exaggerating their
supposed monopoly of some of them,
while many equally rich advantages
are
at their disposal. Instead of becoming partisans of special
teachers,
and champions of separate doctrines, they might enjoy all that
was good in the
doctrine of all teachers, whether they were prophets,
or pastors, or evangelists
(Ephesians
4:11-12). The true God gives us all things richly to
enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17).
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things
present, or things to come; all are your’s; 23 And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is
God’s.” because “Christ is equal to the Father as touching his
Godhead, but inferior
to the Father as touching His manhood.” Hence in ch. 11:3 he says, “The head of Christ
is God;” and in ch. 15:28, we read
of Christ resigning His mediatorial kingdom, that
God may be
all in all. Perhaps Paul implies the thought that Christ belongs, not to a
party, but to God, the Father of us all.
ADDITIONAL
NOTES
The One Foundation (v.11)
There was a
tendency on the part of the Corinthians to exalt their favorite teachers
and leaders. Such exaltation could not but be at the expense
of the Lord Jesus Himself.
In
dissuasion from such a course of Church thought and
practice, the inspired Apostle
Paul puts
in a just and clear light the relative positions of the teachers, the taught,
and
the great theme of all Christian instruction. He makes use of a
familiar figure of speech,
based upon the common craft of masonry. Christ is the Foundation; the people of
Christ are the stones of the structure reared
thereon; and the apostles and other teachers
are builders of the spiritual edifice. It
is of the Foundation that the text especially treats.
ü The temple
is composed of human souls, fashioned into a Divine unity
and endowed with a Divine life.
ü The temple is
inhabited and inspired by the Holy Ghost consecrating
and honoring it.
ü This temple
has actually and historically been called into existence by
The ministry and mediation of Jesus Christ, who
has thus constituted
Himself its Foundation. As Son of
God and Son of man, as the
accepted Mediator, as the
authoritative Teacher and rightful Lord,
He is the Author and the Basis of the true Church.
ü Christ is a
Foundation deep and strong enough to support the fabric
reared upon Him. No fear need be
entertained as to the permanence of
Christ’s Church. It may be assailed by the
storms of persecution, it may
Be threatened by the decaying force of time; but “the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it.” It rests
on Christ, and the Foundation
standeth sure.
ü Christ is a Foundation broad
and comprehensive enough to underlie the
widest, stateliest structure. None who
is conversant with the character,
the designs, the promises of Jesus Christ, can
question this. In our day,
all systems that are narrow are doomed to contempt
and destruction.
This fate Christianity need not fear; it has
only to be true to the Divine
Head and Lord, and nought can overturn
it or even injure it.
text lays an especial stress.
ü No other is permitted by
God. It would be dishonoring to the Father to
suppose that His Son can be replaced or
supplemented by any other; the
sufficiency of the
Divine provision does not admit of question.
ü No other
is needed by man.
ü NO OTHER IS
POSSIBLE. Any other than the Divine Foundation must
be of man’s appointment, must be indeed merely
human. (The Bible
teaches that the plan of salvation, which
included the sacrifice and death
of Jesus Christ was agreed upon before the making
of the world –
Revelation 13:8 – Mr. Spurgeon said that there is nothing
new in theology
except that which is false – CY –
2010) The apostle teaches that he and
Apollos were only builders upon the
Foundation, and could not therefore
be the Foundation itself.
ü All
Christians are represented as living stones built upon Christ. Each
has his own place and his own use; but all are
alike in this fact — they
support themselves upon the strong foundation laid in Jesus.
ü All
Christian pastors and teachers are building upon Christ. The question
for them to ask is this: Are we
building into the walls of the temple such
material as will endure the test of
trial and the test of time? (vs. 12-15)
BUILT ON THIS FOUNDATION SHALL RE TRIED. (vs. 13-15)
“Every
man’s work shall be made manifest.” Heaven has appointed a day
for testing character. Individually, it
is the day that dawns at the end of our
mortal life; universally, it is
the day that dawns at the end of this world’s
history.
ü This day
will be injurious to those who have built on this foundation
with worthless materials.
Ø They will
suffer loss — the loss of labor, opportunity, position.
Ø Though
they suffer loss, they may be saved —
“saved, yet so
as by
fire.” Though his favorite theories and cherished hopes
shall burn like “wood and hay,” yet he himself may
survive
the flames.
ü This day
will be advantageous to those who have built on this
foundation with right materials. “If any man’s work abide
which he
hath built
thereupon, he shall receive a reward.”
Humanity the
Temple of God (vs. 16-17)
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and
that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God,
him shall God destroy;
for the
those who were spiritually perfect; on the
contrary, to those who were
characterized
by most salient moral defects. Yet he says, “Ye are the temple of God.” Let us,
therefore, look at man:
temple?
ü Man is a
special residence of God. God is in
all material objects, but
He is especially in moral mind.
ü Man is a
special manifestation of God. God is
seen everywhere in this
world, but never so fully as in the
mind of man. “We are all his off-
spring,” and we are like the Father in essence,
conscience, and freedom.
ü Man is a
special meeting place with God. The temple
at Jerusalem was
God’s special meeting place with man. “There will I commune with
thee.” Man can
meet with God in material nature, but not so fully and
consciously
as in mind. “The highest study of mankind is man.”
defile [destroy] the
mean the destruction of all its parts, but the
destruction of its use. Man
might live forever, and yet be destroyed as the
residence, manifestation, and meeting
place of God. Now, mark, this
destruction, if it takes place, is not by
God. He will not destroy the temple,
only by man. “If any man defile [destroy]
the temple.” Alas! men are
destroying this temple, i.e.
destroying
their natures as the
An awful work this!
DESTROYED BY GOD HIMSELF. “Him
shall God destroy.” Destroy, if
not his existence, all that makes existence worth
having or even tolerable.
(Consider the truth of Revelation 11:18 – “and shouldest
destroy them
which destroy the earth” – may I opine
that the immorality of the people
of the earth will long destroy it before global
warming has a chance – today,
by our immoral, in your face immorality, we are
bringing on the judgment of
God! – CY – 2010) “He that soweth to
the flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption.” (Galatians
6:8) “The temple of God is holy,” that is, ideally
holy, ought to be holy.
Worldly
Wisdom (vs. 18-20)
“Let no man deceive himself. If any man among
you seemeth to be wise in this
world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
For the wisdom of this world is
foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
And again, The Lord knoweth
the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” The
“wisdom” here
referred to is what Paul calls elsewhere
“fleshly
wisdom,” the “wisdom
of the world,” or of the
age. It is the same wisdom as he
refers to in ch. 1:20. The
“wisdom of this world” may be
regarded as mere intellectual knowledge, applied to
secular and selfish ends; however vast and varied its
attainments, it is worldly in the
apostolic sense; it is “earthly,” “sensual,” “devilish,” – (James 3:15) not like the
“wisdom which is from
above,” which is “first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, and
easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good
fruits.” (ibid. v. 17) - In relation
to this wisdom three remarks are here suggested.
among you seemeth to be wise in
this world,”:
ü This
worldly wisdom deceives a man, inasmuch as it leads him to
overrate
the value of his attainments, he imagines that this kind of
knowledge,
“wisdom,” is
everything for a man. Hence the enthusiastic
promotion
of secular schools and colleges. But all such knowledge is of
no
value to man as man, and beyond his brief and uncertain earthly, life.
He deceives himself in
its value.
ü This
worldly wisdom deceives a man, inasmuch as it leads him to
overrate
his own importance. He is “vainly puffed by his earthly mind,” as
Paul says elsewhere (Colossians
2:18). Such a man imagines himself to
be
very great; he becomes a pedant; he “struts and stares and a’ that.”
must “become a fool, that he may be
wise.” Two things are here implied:
ü That with
all his wisdom he is already really a “fool.” He is a “fool;” for
he
looks for happiness where it is not to be found. Happiness does not
spring
from a man’s brain, but from his heart; not from his ideas, but from
his
affections. Moreover, he is a “fool” because he practically ignores the
chief
good, which is love for, resemblance to, and fellowship with, the
great
God. Hence God esteems this wisdom as foolishness. “The wisdom
of this world is foolishness with God.” The most
illustrious scholar, sage,
orator,
who is considered by himself and by most of his contemporaries to
be
a man of wonderful wisdom, to the eye of God is a fool, especially
when
he says in his heart “there is no God”. (Psalm 14:1)
ü It is ULTIMATELY
CONFOUNDING. “It is written, He taketh the
wise in their own craftiness.” It must
confound a man sooner or later,
either:
Ø here in his
conversion, or
Ø yonder in his retribution.