1 Corinthians 3:1-23 - Divisiveness And Immaturity

¹ But I could not discuss things with you, my brothers, as spiritual persons; I had to address you as worldlings, as mere babes in Christ. ² I fed you with milk, not with solid food. You were not able for solid food, and you are not able even now; ³ you are still worldly. For with jealousy and quarrels in your midst, are you not worldly, are you not behaving like ordinary men? ⁴ When one cries, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," what are you but men of the world?

⁵ Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are simply used by God to give you faith, each as the Lord assigns his task. ⁶ I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but it was God who made the seed grow. ⁷ So neither planter nor waterer counts, but God alone who makes the seed grow. ⁸ Still, though planter and waterer are on the same level, each will get his own wage for the special work that he has done. ⁹ We work together in God's service; you are God's field to be planted, God's house to be built. ¹⁰ In virtue of my commission from God, I laid the foundation of the house like an expert master-builder. It remains for another to build on this foundation. Whoever he is, let him be careful how he builds. ¹¹ The foundation is laid, namely Jesus Christ, and no one can lay any other. ¹² On that foundation anyone may build gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³ but in every case the nature of his work will come out; the Day will show what it is, for the Day breaks in fire, and the fire will test the work of each, no matter what that work may be. ¹⁴ If the structure raised by any man survives, he will be rewarded; ¹⁵ if a man's work is burnt up, he will be a loser ??and though he will be saved himself, he will be snatched from the very flames.

¹⁶ Do you not know you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells within you? ¹⁷ God will destroy anyone who would destroy God's temple, for God's temple is sacred ??and that is what you are.

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself about this; whoever of you imagines he is wise with this world's wisdom must become a 'fool,' if he is really to be wise. ¹⁹ For God ranks this world's wisdom as 'sheer folly.' It is written, He seizes the wise in their craftiness, ²⁰ and again, The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise is futile. ²¹ So you must not boast about men. For all belongs to you; ²² Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life, death, the present and the future ??all belongs to you; ²³ and you belong to Christ, and Christ to God.