1 Corinthians 3

Introduction

• What marks of wisdom do we typically use to measure someone in the world today?

• What marks of wisdom do we typically use to measure someone in the church today?

Memory Verse

1 Cor. 3:19

For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” (ESV)

Lesson

Coming into chapter 3 Paul compares the spiritual and natural person. In particular, Paul argues that the Spirit of God dwelling within the believer changes them. In chapter 3 Paul expands but adds the concept that an individual can be a spiritual infant despite being a spiritual person. The main point of the chapter is that a Christian needs to live as the spiritual person they are an mature in Christ rather than quarreling over meaningless things.

Recall that the problem in Corinth seemed to be the presence of multiple factions. People were choosing sides making "tribes" and Paul comes down hard on such behavior.

Spiritual Infants (1-4)

Verse 1 is nothing short of harsh. Paul has no patience for people who are divisive and try to divide the church into groups. The church is to be marked by unity not a bunch of individuals following their own human factions.

• What images does Paul use in verses 1-4 to describe people?
  • Infants
  • Milk instead of solid food
    • In 1 Cor. 2:16 Paul used a 1st person plural but now he switches back to a first person singular. He is directly challenging the Corinthians and wants them to pay attention to what he has to say. Paul is careful not to call the Corinthians unspiritual but rather to emphasize that they are not acting in a spiritual way.

• Is milk inherently bad? What does Romans 12:2 tell us about the right trajectory for a christian?
  • Milk is not inherently bad. New converts should not be expected to achieve complete sanctification. However, there is an expectation that growth occurs. In verse 2 Paul uses a very strong contrast ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ἔτι νῦν (but not even now). The NIV translates this as indeed ... still which I don't think is really strong enough to convey Paul's disappointment. We should be careful to not over apply milk and food. It is not that a new convert cannot understand deep theology like predestination but rather that a new convert may not completely apply the gospel to their life. i.e. The gospel brings unity but a new convert may not be ready to give up everything for unity. As a convert matures they should look more and more like Christ.

• The term sanctification is complicated and often misunderstood. What are the differences between positional sanctification, progressive sanctification, and perfective sanctification?

• What does verse four reveal about the problems the Corinthians faced?
  • They were focussed on following men!

Misunderstanding Ministry (5-9)

• According to verse 5. What is the identity of a minister?
  • A minister is a servant of God who God gifts for specific tasks. In 1 Cor. 12:1-4 Paul is later going to argue that every individual has been gifted. The idea here is that the minister is only doing what God has called them to do.

• According to verse 6-9, who holds responsibility?
  • God is the one who holds responsibility. In verse 6, the strong adversative ἀλλʼ ὁ θεὸς ηὔξανεν (but God gave the increase) makes it clear that it is all about God.

• What are the practical applications of this for ministers? For the congregation?

The Building Metaphor (10-17)

• According to verse 10, what various responsibilities exist in ministry?

• What priority is given in verse 11?

• What do you believe is represented by gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw in verse 12?

• What three types of builders are discussed in verses 12-17 and for what are they a metaphor?
  • Expert (14)
  • Unwise (15)
  • Destructive (17)

• What do we learn about soul security from 1 Corinthians 3:13-15?

• How do we make sense of the destruction mentioned in verses 16-17? In particular, verses 13-15 suggested soul security but verse 17 makes it sound like destruction is possible?
  • The you in verse 16 is actually plural. That is, this refers to the church not an individual. It is possible for an individual to destroy a local church.

An Incredibly Strong Warning for Pastors (18-23)

• The phrase "Do not deceive yourselves" gives the idea of "watch out!" this is for you too!