1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ.
2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready,
3for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?
4For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
5What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
6I planted the seed and 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.
8He who plants and he who waters are one in 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.
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 must be careful how he builds.
11For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,
13his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.
14If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward.
15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames.
16Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in 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.”
20And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”
21Therefore, stop boasting in men. All things are yours,
22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All of them belong to you,
23and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
1 Corinthians 3 Verse Notes
1 Cor 3:2
Pauline Character of First Peter
First Peter exhibits a strong Pauline character in its tone, language, and theological concepts, using expressions like 'in Christ' and echoing Paul's teachings on not returning evil for evil and describing basic Christian teaching as 'milk.' This similarity is so pronounced that some scholars suggest if Peter's name were absent, the letter might be mistaken for one of Paul's.
Summarized by AI · The New Testament: Exploring the Christian Bible · Lecture 25: The Other Apostles Speak | The Letters of Peter · watch the clip
Paul's Beheading and Milk in Acts of Paul
The Acts of Paul recounts Paul's martyrdom by beheading, a method traditionally associated with Roman citizens. Unusually, milk, not blood, spurts from his neck. This is interpreted as a sign of new life or a symbol of his teachings, as Paul referred to feeding Corinthians with the 'milk' of his teachings.
Summarized by AI · Bart D. Ehrman · YouTube · Were Peter & Paul Really Martyred? History vs. Legend · watch the clip
1 Cor 3:6
Paul Writes First Corinthians from Ephesus as Apollos Divides Corinth
Hugo Mendez uses 1 Corinthians 16 to place Paul in Ephesus when he wrote: the churches of Asia and Aquila and Priscilla send greetings, Paul says he will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, and he plans to visit Corinth after passing through Macedonia, perhaps for the winter. He notes that Acts 19:1 puts Apollos at Corinth while Paul came to Ephesus, which looks like this same moment, and that in 1 Corinthians 3:6 Paul says he planted and Apollos watered. The arrival of Apollos, a young charismatic figure drawing his own following, had led to fractures and factional rivalry in the church at Corinth.
Summarized by AI · The New Testament: Exploring the Christian Bible · Lecture 19: Paul’s Churches | Inventing Christian Communities · watch the clip
Factions and Rivalries in the Corinthian Church
The Corinthian church experienced divisions and factionalism, partly due to the arrival of Apollos, a charismatic figure who attracted his own following. Paul addresses this, noting that some members identified with him, others with Apollos, Cephas (Peter), or Christ, indicating a struggle for loyalty and leadership within the community.
Summarized by AI · The New Testament: Exploring the Christian Bible · Lecture 19: Paul’s Churches | Inventing Christian Communities · watch the clip
1 Cor 3:16
Old Testament Themes Reshaped in the New Testament
New Testament authors reshape significant Old Testament themes around Jesus. For instance, the concept of the 'Son of Man' draws on Ezekiel and Daniel, and Matthew's genealogy highlights the theme of exile. Paul's teaching that believers are the 'temple of the Holy Spirit' reframes the Old Testament's emphasis on the physical temple.
Summarized by AI · Jesus and the Old Testament · Lecture 1: Introduction to Jesus and the Old Testament · watch the clip
