1 Corinthians 3

Everything is From God

Paul is writing like a heart broken father pleading with wayward children.  His pleas are a mixed cocktail of rebuke and sadness.  Frankly the church is acting like babies (v1), Paul has not been able to lead them into a deeper understanding of Christ because they have yet to champion simple jealousies and quarrels between whose teachings they follow (v4). Paul calls them “carnal” (v3), still under the control of sin nature.

But everything belongs to God.  In the end, it isn’t the teachers that yield results, it is God (v7).  Those of whom God uses may operate differently but, they are workers of the same harvest, working in the same cause (v8).  Paul wants them to contemplate on this truth to change the dynamics their relationships with one another.  They very well have their preferences of which teacher they like, but there are no factions in God’s kingdom.  Everything anyone may possess is a gift from God, not earned.  The diversity of gifts all work towards His purpose.

But someone might say, “If all gifts are from God working towards one purpose, why then does it appear in the church that some teachings and practices are so divisive and seemingly incompatible?” To this Paul says, “let every man take heed” of how he builds on the foundation he has already laid.  It is correct to say that there will be no factions in Christ’s body, there will be no segregated church.  The foundation of the church is Jesus Christ and everyone in Him is judged equally.  Therefore let everyone involved in the church be careful to what they add to it, or how they build to it.  Certain ministries to have the facade of success according to worldly standards may very well be found wanting in the day of judgment, burnt up and devoured by the fire.  Only those things done according the foundation in Christ will survive the fire and be found valuable.

In this sense every believer is a builder of God’s house (v9). Despite God’s sovereignty, He has here appeared to make His people responsible for their behavior in preparation of His kingdom, of how one will serve to add to His kingdom.  The parables of the 10 virgins, unjust servant, and silver talents come to mind as illustrations that Christians are responsible for their service.  Like the parables ending, Paul says our work will be judged finally (v13).  This judgement is not the matter of being declared righteous in Christ or no, but this is the judgement of Christian servants who were made responsible for the building of the church, according to the gifts God gave each of us (v14-15).

This argument from Paul seeks solve several issues. First, to end the immature quarreling between Paul’s and Apollo’s or anyone else’s disciples (v16). Second, to warn each believer that it matters to God what they do in the church, God will hold each responsible for his or her work (v17). And third, to humble their pride (v18-22).  In their immaturity they are applying worldly wisdom in the church rather than looking at the church from God’s perspective.  They praise men for the results rather than God and create factions among one another based on who’s who.  But Paul reminds them God’s wisdom is greater than they can imagine and urges them to stop looking at His church with the worlds perspective (v19-21).  Everything belongs to God (v23).