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1 Corinthians 3: Servants and One Foundation

Paul calls the still-fleshly church to stop boasting in leaders, who are only servants, and to build carefully on the one foundation, Jesus Christ.

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1 Corinthians 3 (WEB)

1 Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.

2 I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready,

3 for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men?

4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you fleshly?

5 Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?

6 I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.

7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

8 Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.

10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it.

11 For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble;

13 each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is.

14 If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward.

15 If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.

16 Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

17 If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.

18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.

19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.”

20 And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.”

21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,

22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours,

23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Summary

Paul tells the Corinthians plainly that he could not address them as spiritual people but as fleshly, as infants in Christ. He fed them milk, not solid food, because they were not ready—and they still are not, for their jealousy and strife prove they are walking like mere people of the world. The slogans I follow Paul and I follow Apollos expose the problem: these are only servants through whom they believed. Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth, so neither planter nor waterer is anything—only God who gives the increase matters. They are God's field and God's building. As a wise master builder, Paul laid a foundation, and that foundation is Jesus Christ; no other can be laid. Each one must take care how he builds on it, for the Day will test every person's work with fire, revealing whether it is gold and precious stone or wood, hay, and stubble. The builder whose work survives will be rewarded; the one whose work burns up will suffer loss yet be saved as through fire. Paul warns that they are God's holy temple, indwelt by the Spirit, and God will destroy anyone who destroys it. So let no one deceive himself or boast in human leaders, for all things are theirs—and they are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

Main Characters

  • Paul and Apollos — Fellow workers and servants of God, one planting and one watering, neither of whom deserves the loyalty the church gives them.
  • God — The one who gives the growth, owns the field and the building, and will test every worker's labor by fire on the Day.
  • The immature church — Believers still fleshly and infantile, whose jealousy and strife reveal they are walking like the world.
  • Christ the foundation — Jesus, the one and only foundation on which the whole church must be built and to whom the church belongs.

Key Verse

1 Corinthians 3:6 (WEB)

I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.

Lessons Learned

  • Jealousy and quarreling are signs of spiritual immaturity, not strength.
  • Ministers are only servants; God alone gives the growth and deserves the credit.
  • There is only one foundation for the church, and that is Jesus Christ.
  • Our work will be tested, so we should build with what lasts rather than what is showy.
  • Strife reveals immaturity. “For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly?” (1 Corinthians 3:3, WEB). Spiritual maturity shows itself in unity, not rivalry.
  • God gives the growth. “So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:7, WEB). The harvest is his work, not ours.
  • Build on Christ alone. “For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11, WEB). Every life and ministry must rest on him.
  • You are God's holy temple. “Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16, WEB). The church is sacred and not to be divided or defiled.
  1. What evidence does Paul give that the Corinthians are still spiritually immature?
  2. How does the picture of planting and watering put church leaders in their proper place?
  3. What does it mean that Jesus Christ is the only foundation, and how do we build on it?
  4. How does the coming testing by fire shape the way we should serve and build now?
  5. Where do you see jealousy or comparison in your own heart, and how does remembering that God gives the growth free you from it?
  1. Their jealousy, strife, and party slogans show they are walking like ordinary worldly people, still on milk rather than solid food (3:1-4). Maturity is measured not by knowledge or gifts but by love and unity, which were exactly what they lacked.
  2. Planter and waterer both depend entirely on God, who alone makes things grow (3:6-8). The image dethrones celebrity leaders and frees the church from comparing them, since every servant is simply doing his small part under God.
  3. Christ is the foundation already laid, and no substitute will hold (3:11). We build on him by grounding all teaching, ministry, and life in the crucified and risen Lord rather than in human wisdom or personalities.
  4. The Day will test each one's work with fire, revealing what endures (3:13-15). This sobers us to build with gold rather than straw—faithful, Christ-centered, loving work—while assuring genuine believers they are saved even when their work fails.
  5. This is a personal-application question. Invite members to name where comparison steals their joy, and to rest in the truth that fruit is God's gift, not their achievement. As leader, keep the focus on freedom and gratitude rather than guilt.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), the King James Version (KJV), and the American Standard Version (ASV), all of which are in the public domain.