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The Apostle Paul's First
Epistle to the Corinthians |
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Chapter
3
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1And I, brethren,
could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but
as to men of flesh, as to infants in Messiah. 2I
gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you
were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even
now you are not yet able, 3for you are still
fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife
among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not
walking like mere men?
As we saw in chapter 1, there had been reports
of quarrels among the believers in Corinth
likely over matters of ritual immersion
(baptism) and how the good news message was to
be presented. Paul addressed the Corinthians as
brothers, indicating that he indeed considered
them genuine believers but they were not acting
in accordance with their new creation identity.
Instead of speaking to them as if they were
people who could discern spiritual truth, he had
to speak to them as if they were unbelievers. He
likened them to babies because though babies are
indeed legitimately a part of a family, they do
not actually contribute to the family's
well-being. In the past, Paul gave them milk to
drink not solid food, meaning he taught them the
very basics of the Scriptures and not the depth
of the teachings of the Scriptures. He informed
the Corinthians that even at this point, they
were not able to be instructed as mature
believers. Paul pointed to the jealousy and
strife among them as evidence that they were
acting like unbelievers more so than believers.
4For when one says, "I am of Paul," and
another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere
men? 5What then is Apollos? And what is Paul?
Servants through whom you believed, even as the
Lord gave opportunity to each one.
That the Corinthians were breaking up into
fabricated factions, further proved that they
were being immature in their faith. It was not
that Paul and Apollos were actually on opposite
sides, gathering disciples unto themselves, it
was that the Corinthians were using each leader
to establish their particular point. Paul sought
to remind them that both he and Apollos were
both servants of the same Master, each being
granted the opportunity to serve by HaShem
Himself.
6I planted, Apollos watered, but God was
causing the growth. 7So then neither the one who
plants nor the one who waters is anything, but
God who causes the growth. 8Now he who plants
and he who waters are one; but each will receive
his own reward according to his own labor. 9For
we are God's fellow workers; you are God's
field, God's building.
Paul then continued to explain that God's
servants were not to be the focus but rather God
Himself. In his explanation, he provided us with
a beautiful illustration of God's sovereignty in
salvation. Here we find the necessity of human
involvement in the process of salvation but that
ultimately the success of evangelism and
discipleship is left to God. Though there is
certainly the need for someone to "plant" and to
"water," neither are the actual cause for the
blossoming of faith within an individual outside
of God's sovereign will. Here, Paul established
that we will not be rewarded according to the
success we see with our eyes but according the
work we've put in. We are simply God's fellow
workers and those that come to faith are God's
own construction. As long as we focus on the
one, we will be unified in our service to Him.
10According to the grace of God which was
given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a
foundation, and another is building on it. But
each man must be careful how he builds on
it. 11For no man can lay a foundation other than
the one which is laid, which is Yeshua Messiah.
Paul went on to emphasize the importance of
putting all one's effort into serving God. As
Paul usually did, he first highlighted the
sovereignty of God, noting that grace was given
to him in regards to his abilities. Though the
abilities themselves are graciously given to us
by God, it is up to each person to then use
those abilities. Paul knew that he used his
God-given abilities well, especially in the area
of laying a foundation for a believing
community. Paul pointed this out not to
perpetuate the divisions among the Corinthians
but rather to point out the importance of
putting effort into serving God and that we all
have a duty to work hard in that service. This
is even evident in the Greek word behind the
translation "master builder," since the word "architekton"
refers to someone who plans and then actively
builds something. No one is allowed to just sit
back and enjoy the show, so to speak. Instead,
each person should be contributing to building
of each believing community, though each person
should also be cautious as to how the build.
Every person must be sure that they are building
upon the firm foundation of Yeshua the Messiah
Himself. Outside of direct discipleship to the
Master Yeshua, even the most concentrated effort
is wasted. |
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12Now if any man
builds on the foundation with gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13each man's
work will become evident; for the day will show
it because it is to be revealed with fire, and
the fire itself will test the quality of each
man's work. 14If any man's work which he has
built on it remains, he will receive a
reward. 15If any man's work is burned up, he
will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved,
yet so as through fire.
Let us not think that what we do in this life
does not matter in eternity. On the contrary,
our actions here dictate the position we will
enjoy in the Messianic kingdom. Each disciple of
the Messiah builds upon His teachings, but in
the grand scheme of things, what each person
does differs in worth. In the end, each believer
will be judged to see if their actions in their
lives had great worth (gold, silver and precious
stones) or little worth (wood, hay, straw). It's
not that wood, hay and straw are bad things;
believers will not be judged for sin since the
judgement of sin was taken care of by the Master
on the cross. Instead, it will become evident
that what some believers did throughout their
lives had no impact on eternity and were
ultimately worthless. Service to God through
discipleship to the Messiah is not something we
should take lightly. Our "building" needs to be
fitting for the who our foundation is; we should
be building with gold, silver and precious
stones, meaning we should put great and sincere
effort in our service to God. Again, this
judgement is not about punishment but about
reward; only that which can survive the fire
will be rewarded. It's actually very liberating
to know that we do not have to worry about
ultimate punishment from God for sin but instead
we can focus on building the kingdom. The Master
Yeshua put it this way: "Whoever then annuls
one of the least of these commandments, and
teaches others to do the same, shall be called
least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever
keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great
in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19).
All genuine disciples will have a place in the
kingdom but some since they did not teach and
keep God's commandments will be called least,
while those who did teach and keep God's
commandments will be called great.
16Do you not
know that you are a
temple of God and
that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If any
man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy
him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is
what you are.
Moving to a different illustration, Paul
reminded the Corinthians that believers make up
the spiritual temple of God. Just as the holy
Temple in Jerusalem housed and will house the
divine presence of God, each member of the body
of the Messiah houses the Spirit of God. His
point was that each of us has a responsibility
to sanctify this world. Anyone who is a
detriment to the work of God in this world shows
that they are not of God and secure condemnation
upon themselves. Just as desecration of the holy
Temple in Jerusalem secured punishment, so too
will those who desecrate the people of God be
punished.
18Let no man deceive himself. If any man
among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he
must become foolish, so that he may become wise.
19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness
before God. For it is written, "He is THE ONE
WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS"; 20and
again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the
wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS."
Continuing on, Paul then returned to the
language he used in the previous chapters. The
key to obtaining true knowledge does not lie in
becoming wise according to this world's
standards. Instead, if one wants to become truly
wise, he must recognize his own deficiency. In
essence, every person must realize that when it
comes to knowing God and knowing the purpose of
life, we must recognize that without God the
best of human wisdom is stupidity. Only when we
humble ourselves, recognize our shortcomings and
submit to God's will and wisdom can we truly be
wise. In good Jewish fashion, to prove that
man's wisdom is foolishness before God, Paul
quoted the Tanakh, specifically
Job
5:13
and Psalm 94:11. Both quotes drive home
the point that human wisdom is no match for
God's wisdom and that without God's wisdom the
thoughts of man are worthless.
21So then let no one boast in men. For all
things belong to you, 22whether Paul or Apollos
or Cephas or the world or life or death or
things present or things to come; all things
belong to you, 23and you belong to Messiah; and
Messiah belongs to God.
Since there is no true wisdom except in that
which comes from God, why would anyone then
boast in a particular teacher over another? Paul
then communicated a beautiful truth that, as
believers, we have all things at our disposal to
benefit from. Whether teachers or the things of
this life and of the life to come, whatever they
may be, God is causing all things to work
together for good for those that love Him and
are called according to His purpose (cf.
Romans 8:28). In the Messiah, who Himself is
in God, we have the strength to face anything
that comes our way and through the Spirit we
have the ability to sanctify God's Name in every
situation. |
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