Chapter Three

The reason the Apostle did not proclaim the Gospel in Corinth as wisdom (1–4). The position of preachers in relation to Christian society (5–20). The position of Christian society in relation to preachers (21–23)

1 Cor 3:1-4. The Corinthians, after their conversion to Christ, remained for a long time in the condition of infants, and therefore the Apostle offered them nourishment fitting for their (spiritual) age. He also demonstrates the correctness of this view of the Corinthians by mentioning their quarrels over teachers of the faith.

1 Corinthians 3:1. And I could not speak with you, brothers, as with spiritual people, but as with fleshly ones, as with infants in Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:2. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet able, and even now you are not able, The Apostle, as a spiritual man, understood well that the Corinthian Christians were incapable of receiving the higher wisdom of the Gospel. They were “fleshly” (σαρκικοί — per the Textus Receptus, or better σάρκινοι — “of flesh,” according to the Alexandrian text and our Slavonic). This epithet is less sharp than “soulish” (ψυχικός). A soulish person is a person in his natural state, whereas the Corinthians were people regenerated by holy baptism and already possessed gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 1:5). A fleshly person, however, is simply the designation of a certain necessary stage in the development of a Christian, which here is described as “infancy in Christ.” There is properly nothing bad in this condition — in time, a person will advance from this stage to another, higher one. The Apostle, therefore, is not here rebuking the Corinthians but only establishing the fact that their Christian development has somewhat stalled at its first stage. The Corinthians, even if they are fleshly, are not yet “slaves of the flesh”: they are only too sensitive to pleasant and unpleasant impressions. Thus some of them are too quick to go into ecstasy over what they hear from someone speaking in tongues (1 Cor 14:20) — these, according to the Apostle, are people resembling infants who still often live a fleshly life. Likewise, those who are captivated by the outward manner of a preacher-teacher of the faith and, out of attachment to him, belittle other preachers rightly fall under this category here. — “With milk.” This refers to the simple preaching of the crucified Christ and the consequences of His death for humanity. This was necessary knowledge for every person converting to Christianity. — “Solid food” — that is, the higher wisdom of the Gospel, which gives an understanding of the plans of the divine economy. — “And even now you are not able.” This seems to contradict the fact that in chapter fifteen of the present epistle the Apostle speaks with the Corinthians on questions of Christian eschatology as if he could speak only with people experienced in Christian knowledge. But properly speaking, there is nothing in chapter fifteen that would be inaccessible to ordinary Christians. Moreover, it was already necessary for the Apostle to go into more detailed explanations there, given the denial of the possibility of a universal resurrection. Finally, the Apostle Paul’s statement about the fleshly condition of the Corinthians cannot be understood as applying to all Corinthian Christians without exception...

1 Corinthians 3:3. because you are still fleshly. For if there is envy, strife, and discord among you, are you not fleshly? And are you not acting in a merely human way? 1 Corinthians 3:4. For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not fleshly? The Apostle here describes the behavior of the Corinthians as the behavior of “fleshly” people (in most codices the word σαρκικοί appears here). This is no longer merely a condition of weakness that persists despite the regeneration received, but a direct opposition to the new life. — “Are you not acting in a merely human way...” The Apostle has in mind here the Greek custom of dividing into factions named after various philosophers (Socratics, Platonists, Pythagoreans). — “I belong to Paul... I belong to Apollos.” The Apostle already places Apollos alongside himself here, showing thereby that Apollos was very close to him. It is clear from this that the preceding polemic of the Apostle against worldly wisdom had nothing whatsoever to do with Apollos and his faction. 1 Cor 3:5-20. Depicting the absurdity of the Corinthians’ division into factions, the Apostle says that the proclaimers of the Gospel, over whom the Corinthians were quarreling, are only servants of God in God’s field or in God’s building. Everything — the entire success of the work — depends not on them but on God. In particular, the apostle Paul laid the cornerstone in the building of the Corinthian Church, and other preachers must continue his work, but continue it with great care, taking heed lest unsuitable material be introduced into the construction. They must remember that they are building a “divine” temple and therefore must not bring into it “human” wisdom, which is foolishness before God.

1 Corinthians 3:5. Who is Paul? Who is Apollos? They are only servants through whom you came to believe, and each only insofar as the Lord granted. “Who is Paul?” In place of this reading from the Textus Receptus, other codices read: “What is Paul?” — that is, what is he by his calling? — “They are only servants” — that is, not heads of schools, not founders of religious societies acting in their own name, but simply workers employed in the service of another. — “Through whom.” This expression points to Paul and Apollos as mere instruments. — “Each only insofar as the Lord granted.” Their personal gifts owe their origin to the will of the Master or Lord — that is, Christ, who in the New Testament is often so called.

1 Corinthians 3:6. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth; 1 Corinthians 3:7. so neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. “I planted” — that is, I founded the Church in Corinth. — “Apollos watered” — that is, contributed to the expansion and strengthening of the Church. The Apostle speaks of such ministerial significance only with respect to himself and Apollos, not including the Apostle Peter, because the Judaizers might otherwise have said that he was deliberately belittling the Apostle Peter, whose authority they often set against the authority of the Apostle Paul. — “Is nothing” — more precisely: is not something (special).

1 Corinthians 3:8. The one who plants and the one who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. In contrast to the Corinthians’ striving to establish some kind of opposition between the activity of Paul and that of Apollos, the Apostle here points to the unity of his own goals with the goal Apollos had in view. Both cultivate the same field of God — “but each will receive a reward according to his labor,” that is, in proportion to how faithful he was in fulfilling the duties the Lord laid upon him. The Corinthians compare one preacher with another and can therefore only make a comparative evaluation of their activity, whereas God will reward each one in proportion to how much each has made use of the abilities given to him by God.

1 Corinthians 3:9. For we are fellow workers with God; you are God’s field, God’s building. Three times here the Apostle mentions the name of God. By this he wants to show that God alone can be the judge of the workers. — “Fellow workers with God” — more precisely: fellow workers of God, that is, we labor with God in one and the same work (cf. v. 6). — The “field” is represented by the Apostle as still being cultivated, and the “building” as still under construction.

1 Corinthians 3:10. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. But let each one take care how he builds. The Apostle compared the Church to a building. Now he compares himself to a builder and affirms that he did his work as required. — “Like a skilled master builder.” The Apostle showed his wisdom by preaching in Corinth only what the Corinthians needed to know in order to believe in Christ. He did not want to open before them prematurely the depths of Christian contemplation (cf. 1 Cor 2:1-5). — “Someone else... each one.” The Apostle refers here to various teachers of the faith and ordinary Christians who did not have the special gifts of the Holy Spirit by which they served the cause of Christian growth among their brethren (cf. Rom 12:6 and following).

1 Corinthians 3:11. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one that has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. The Apostle’s task was actually straightforward: he had before him a foundation already laid by God Himself — namely, the work accomplished by Christ. His task was only to transfer this divine work into the hearts of his hearers as the basis for their Christian development, and this he did. The continuers of his work face a more complex task.

1 Corinthians 3:12. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — 1 Corinthians 3:13. each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. The homes of wealthy people in the East were built from precious materials (gold, silver, precious stones). The homes of the poor were built from wood, earth with reeds, and straw, which was used to cover the roof. God, the master of the Church, which is to become His dwelling, is depicted here under the image of a Master who has made a contract with a certain number of builders, each of whom must complete the portion of the building entrusted to him. Naturally, they must use the finest and most durable materials. What then does the Apostle mean by “gold, silver,” and so forth? Most naturally, this refers to the religious and moral fruits that the preaching of one or another preacher bears in the Church. These fruits may be good or bad. The former result from preaching whose ideas are realized by their author in his own life; the latter appear where a preacher delivers brilliant speeches but is not himself deeply convinced of the truth of what he says. The latter may attract a great number of hearers, but all such a movement will be external and superficial. The flock of such a preacher or pastor will have faith but devoid of active power, love without readiness for self-sacrifice, hope without the joy that illumines life. Unfortunately, as is clear from chapters twelve through fourteen of 1 Corinthians, the continuers of the work of Paul and Apollos in the Corinthian Church for the most part acted in the latter direction. “Each one’s work will become manifest.” Before accepting the construction, the Master will want to test it, and this testing of its durability will be accomplished through the use of fire. — “The Day will disclose it.” This is the day of Christ’s second coming to earth for judgment over the world (cf. 1 Cor 1:8). — “It will be revealed by fire.” Since the building that undergoes testing is only an “image” of the Church, “fire” too must obviously be understood in a figurative, metaphorical sense. The Apostle means to say by this that the Lord’s judgment will be entirely just with respect to every human action, and the activity of a bad pastor will be subject to strict condemnation. Not for nothing does John the Theologian say in the Apocalypse that the Son of God — the Judge of the churches — has “eyes like a flame of fire” (Rev 2:18). Before the fiery gaze of such a Judge, nothing in the activity of any given pastor will remain hidden. — “It will be revealed.” This expression must be understood as impersonal — that is, through fire things are disclosed as they truly are.

1 Corinthians 3:14. If the work that anyone has built survives, he will receive a reward. 1 Corinthians 3:15. But if anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; though he himself will be saved, yet as if through fire. Here the Apostle depicts the twofold result of this testing by fire. — “A reward.” This cannot be salvation, because the faithful worker already possessed this good during the course of his work. It is better to understand here a special reward — a special, exalted position in the future kingdom of Christ (cf. Luke 19:17). — “The work is burned up.” By this work, which is destined to be burned up, we must understand Christianity without humility, without self-denial, without personal communion with Christ. It is founded exclusively on a temporary emotional excitement produced by the preacher’s speech and renews neither the mind nor the will of the hearers. — “Loss.” The work of such a pastor, who cares only about outward success, will be declared worthless, and he himself will be passed over for the reward that pastors of the opposite direction will receive. — “Though he himself will be saved.” According to the interpretation of Chrysostom and other ancient church commentators, instead of “will be saved” one should read: “will be preserved” or “will remain” (that is, in hell, to experience constant torment). But the pronoun “himself” gives a clear hint that this clause contains a thought opposite to that expressed in the preceding clause. If there the talk was of “loss,” or of punishment, then here the discussion is obviously of the opposite. Furthermore, the verb “to save” (σώζειν) is always used in the sense of: to benefit, to help. Finally, the expression “as through fire” (διά πυρός) is not the same as the expression “in fire” (εν πυρί). Therefore, it is best to understand the passage — “though he himself...” — as follows. A pastor or preacher who builds the structure of the Church on the one foundation common to all churches — Christ — but uses unsuitable materials for this construction, will not be condemned by Christ at the last judgment, but will face the prospect of seeing for himself how worthless were the means he used for building the Church. He will see that his spiritual children are unable to withstand the final testing at Christ’s Judgment, and his conscience will tell him that it was he who was to blame for their ruin. The fire, so to speak, will then pass through his very bones... With what eyes will he face the impartial Judge? According to Catholic interpretations, this passage contains a reference to the so-called purgatorial fire in which the souls of the deceased are cleansed of sins not purged during earthly life. But the following circumstances contradict such an interpretation: 1) the fire, like the building, is only a figure; 2) the discussion here concerns only preachers or pastors, not all Christians; 3) the testing by fire is not yet purification; 4) this fire will be kindled only at Christ’s second coming, whereas purgatorial fire, according to Catholic belief, burns even now; 5) the worker’s salvation is accomplished not through fire but, as correctly translated in Russian, “from” fire.

1 Corinthians 3:16. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:17. If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him, for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. John 14:23. All the more liable to punishment is the one who damages a building already constructed, which is none other than the temple or dwelling of God Himself. — “And the Spirit of God dwells in you.” These words the Apostle added to explain how believers — each individually and all together as the Church — became the dwelling of God. This came about, in accordance with the promise of Christ the Savior, because the Spirit of God took up residence in them (cf. Jn. 14:23, 26). — “God will destroy” — more precisely: will destroy (φθερεῖ), just as a person “destroys” (φθείρει) the temple of God. — “Holy” — that is, consecrated and belonging to God. — Whom does the Apostle here so sternly condemn? In Corinth the majority of Christians were, in the Apostle’s words, “fleshly” people, infants in Christ (1 Cor 3:1-4). To such people the Apostle could not have addressed such a stern verdict. But there was a certain number of people there whom the Apostle calls “soulish” (1 Cor 2:14). These were the so-called “Christ’s party,” who were carried away by the wisdom of this age and were introducing it into the life of the Christian community. With this wisdom they were poisoning the religious and moral life of the Corinthian Christians and were ruining the work of establishing the Church in Corinth, so well begun by Paul and strengthened by Apollos. — Why does the Apostle not address directly the instigators of the discord, but the entire Christian Church? Probably because among the Corinthian Church there was already sacred indignation against the faction of the “Christ’s party” (cf. Phil 3:2 “beware of dogs, beware of evil workers.” Here the Apostle does not find it necessary to use such strong expressions, because the false teachers had less success than in Philippi). 1 Corinthians 3:18. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish so that he may become wise. 1 Corinthians 3:19. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, as it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness. 1 Corinthians 3:20. And again: “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are futile. 1 Cor 3:21-23. Having shown what the relationship of preachers to Christian society ought to be, the Apostle now speaks of how Christians should relate to their pastors. Believers must not consider themselves as belonging to teachers of the faith — on the contrary, teachers of the faith belong to the believers, and the believers belong to Christ and to God.

1 Corinthians 3:21. So let no one boast in men, for all things are yours: “Let no one boast in men” — see 1 Cor 1:12. — “All things are yours.” The Stoics said that the wise man possesses all things (omnia sapientis sunt). With even greater reason Christians can repeat these words about themselves, because they belong to God, and God gives all things for their use; everything is directed toward their salvation.

1 Corinthians 3:22. whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours; The Corinthians were somehow diminishing their own dignity by thinking of themselves as servants of their teachers. The Apostle wants to restore their self-respect and for this purpose changes only the slogan they had adopted. They said, “I belong to Paul, I belong to Apollos, I belong to Cephas!” — whereas the Apostle advises them to say the reverse: “Our Paul, our Apollos, our Cephas!” Indeed, every preacher serves the Christian community in his own way, with his own particular gifts, just as everything in the world serves the good of the Christian community: “the world” — that is, all creation, animate and inanimate, which is subject to Christ and in Christ to the Church (Eph 1:22); “life” and “death” — that is, all the phenomena of life — health, creativity, and so forth — and all the phenomena of death — illness, suffering, dissolution of the body; “the present” and “the future” — in a word, everything in the world, by God’s will, serves the good of those who believe in Christ. All the more is this true of preachers! — Why did the Apostle not mention the “Christ’s party” here? Of course, if the “Christ’s party” were preachers of the true Christ Jesus, the Apostle would have had full reason to change their slogan as well into another: “Christ is yours!” — but, as shown above (see 1 Cor 1:12), the “Christ’s party” saw in Christ something entirely different from what other believers saw...

1 Corinthians 3:23. and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. “And you belong to Christ.” Here one may see a hint at the absurdity of the existence of a separate faction of the “Christ’s party.” All believers belong to Christ, not only those who prided themselves on their own wisdom: this is the right of the entire Christian community. — “Christ belongs to God.” In order to remove every support for human self-glorification, the Apostle says that even the One of whom all humanity might rightly be proud belongs, so to speak, not to Himself but to God, and therefore all glory and praise belong to God as well (1 Cor 1:31). The most ancient church commentators refer this saying to the eternal generation of the Son from the Father; more recent ones — to the state of Christ after the Incarnation. It seems more correct to combine both interpretations and say that Christ — in general — glorified and glorifies the Father (Phil 2:11).