Paul reprimands the Corinthians because of their immaturity. They were once newborn babes when they first believed in Jesus, and yet they have not grown since then. Paul wishes he could teach them deeper spiritual truths, but he is stuck having to teach them basics because of the jealousy and tribalism they are engaged in. Some Corinthians say they only follow Paul, while others only follow Apollos. This is a meaningless argument they are having. Paul shows them they are being sinful, not spiritual.
In 1 Corinthians 3:1-41 Corinthians 3:1-4 commentary, commentary Paul chastises the believers in Corinth for creating divisions among themselves based on the teacher with whom they most identify. Paul continues his letter saying, And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ (v.1).
Corinth was a major city in southern Greece known for its thriving commerce and diverse culture. Paul brought the gospel of Christ to Corinth and founded its church, staying for a year and a half then leaving to establish new churches in places where the gospel had not been preached, as was his practice (Acts 18:1-11Acts 18:1-11 commentary). He now addresses the lack of spiritual maturity in his readers. He calls them infants in Christ. This indicates that they are in the early stages of growth to mature in their faith. Jesus called believing in Him a new birth (John 3:3John 3:3 commentary). As Paul asserts in 2 Corinthians 5:172 Corinthians 5:17 commentary, commentary the new birth results in a new creation that is in Christ. The goal then is for the infants in Christ to grow to maturity.
In ancient Corinth, the dominant Greek culture centered on idol worship, which was basically a moral justification for exploitation and immorality. These infants in Christ came out of and were still surrounded by this culture. So, immorality was unsurprisingly prevalent in the Corinthian church. We will see this later, when Paul will admonish them to deal with blatant immorality within the church body (1 Corinthians 5:1-21 Corinthians 5:1-2 commentary).
The phrase could not speak to you as to spiritual men implies that Paul wished to teach them the deeper truths of God’s Word, but that their present level of maturity could not bear it. When the Corinthians first came to faith, these believers were like a child who cannot yet handle solid food. The Corinthian believers receiving this letter were not ready to receive teaching designed for the mature when Paul lived among them.
That is to be expected. After all, the Corinthian believers were new babies in Christ. However, Paul makes the point that things have not changed. Although they ought to have matured beyond being infants in Christ they are still babes. Paul speaks of their former immaturity and how it has not appropriately progressed:
Paul says I 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 (v. 2).
Paul uses the metaphor of an infant’s diet to illustrate the Corinthians’ capacity for grasping spiritual truths. Just as a baby’s digestive system has limitations, so too do young, immature believers. Just as babes need simple food, spiritual babies need elementary teachings. This infers that what Paul writes next is what he also considers to be elementary.
This indicates that the teaching that is to follow is very basic. It is the ABC’s of the Christian faith. In fact, we might consider that what we will see in this chapter, Paul presents as the basic of basics. We might consider this a summary:
Believers should unite in following Christ rather than divide in following men, even if those men are faithful teachers of God’s word.
Believers should not be focusing on pleasing men or gaining rewards of men but rather upon pleasing God and gaining rewards from Him.
All we do in this life that is not for Christ will not last; it will burn in God’s judgment.
All we do for Christ will endure and be greatly rewarded.
Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and if we defile God’s temple there will be dire consequences.
We are saved through grace by faith based on the finished work of Christ, so none of this affects whether we are God’s child. But we don’t want to merely be saved “though as through fire.” We want to thrive. And we do that by focusing on Christ, not men.
These are the basics: focus on pleasing Christ, both now and in the age that is to come and we will gain the greatest benefit from life, both now as well as in eternity. Hebrews 6:1-2Hebrews 6:1-2 commentary says something similar, calling teaching about “eternal judgment” as being “elementary teaching about the Christ.”
Here in 1 Corinthians, Paul will lay out some basics that prepare the Corinthians to move on to topics fitting to grow them to levels of greater maturity. They need to move from having an earth-centric, temporal view to an eternal perspective on life.
Paul explains, for 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? (v. 3).
To live as mere men is to live the same way they lived before being redeemed though faith in Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Their lives are not being transformed because their minds are not renewed (Romans 12:2Romans 12:2 commentary). They are still being conformed to the world as mere men and are living lives that are fleshly.
The Greek word translated fleshly is “sarkikos.” It is the adjective form of “sarx” which is usually translated as “flesh.” Paul describes the native sin nature all humans are born with as something that needs to be crucified and replaced with the Spirit. In Galatians 5:16Galatians 5:16 commentary, commentary Paul poses the flesh as the inner enemy of the Spirit. Paul provides a mental model for believers that our most basic of daily, even moment by moment, choices is whether to follow the flesh or the Spirit.
In Romans 6:13Romans 6:13 commentary, commentary Paul presents the same mental model, describing the basic choice of a believer as being whether to present the “members” of our body “to sin” as “instruments of unrighteousness” or rather to “present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” In the biblical mental model, there is no third way. The “I will do it my way” choice is to follow “sarx,” the flesh. It is to obey unrighteousness.
Biblical righteousness is simply walking according to God’s design. His design is for us to walk in harmony with Him. So when we walk apart from harmony from Him, following our own way, we are following Satan’s way and doing his will. Jesus showed this to the Apostle Peter, saying “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Matthew 16:23Matthew 16:23 commentary).
As evidence that the Corinthian believers are living in a fleshly rather than godly manner, Paul cites that there is jealousy and strife among you. In Galatians 5:15Galatians 5:15 commentary, commentary Paul sets forth that walking in the flesh leads to a pattern where people “bite and devour one another.” Paul also lists the “deeds of the flesh” as including “enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissentions, factions” (Galatians 5:20Galatians 5:20 commentary). These are actions that stem from a perspective that “I win when you lose.” Or stated more fully, “I win at life when I exploit, ruin, or denigrate another.”
This is a false perspective—a perspective that is from the fleshly desires of men rather than the true perspective of God. In God’s economy, life comes from serving, loving, and giving. In the world’s economy, life comes from extracting, exploiting and abusing.
Accordingly, when these Corinthians exhibit jealousy and strife, they are walking like mere men rather than like royal children of the King of kings and Lord of lords who has redeemed them and endowed them with His resurrection power.
So Paul will remind them of some basics which will set the foundation for them to shift their behavior. And the key basic Paul will remind them of is this: every action we take will be judged by Christ, so our eyes should be upon Him (1 Corinthians 3:13-141 Corinthians 3:13-14 commentary).
Paul now cites the specific source of their division, stating, For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not mere men? (v. 4).
We are not told where Paul gained information about this division. But we can imagine that some of those saying I am of Paul might have asked for his help in contending against those who said I am of Apollos. When we live with a fleshly perspective it is natural for us to expect that others will also have a fleshly perspective. Those saying I am of Paul likely would have expected to win favor with Paul by letting him know “We are with you, Paul.”
Instead, Paul focuses on the reality that this is a perspective that is fleshly. Paul himself is not of Paul. Paul is of Christ. It is not natural for someone to tell people following them “You should not follow me.” It is more natural, in this world, for leaders to seek to accumulate and grow followers. It would seem that one of the reasons Jesus greatly complimented John the Baptist was because he properly played his role and did not succumb to those who desired him to claim to be the messiah and create a following for himself (John 1:21-23John 1:21-23 commentary).
But Paul does not want to be of this world. He does not want to live as a mere man and he does not want the Corinthian believers to live as mere men. He wants them to live transcendent lives in the resurrection power of Jesus. He wants them to live with their eyes on Jesus rather than himself or any other person.
By aligning themselves with either Paul or Apollos, the Corinthians were fracturing the church community.
Apollos was a learned Jewish Christian who played a significant role in the early church, having an eloquent way of teaching (Acts 18:24-28Acts 18:24-28 commentary). Paul will not say anything negative here about Apollos. He will only say that Apollos is a fellow servant of Christ who helped the Corinthians grow in their faith.
Paul was not bashful about calling out false teachers. Some examples follow:
In Romans 2:24Romans 2:24 commentary and 3:83:8 commentary, commentary Paul condemns some competing Jewish “authorities” for being hypocrites who blasphemed and who falsely slandered the gospel of grace.
In Galatians 1:7-9Galatians 1:7-9 commentary, 5:105:10 commentary, 1212 commentary, Paul confronts false teacher(s) for preaching a different gospel and leading the Galatian believers astray, saying these teachers should be “accursed.”
In 2 Corinthians 11:32 Corinthians 11:3 commentary, commentary Paul confronts “false apostles” who are exploiting and misleading the Corinthians.
In Titus 1:10-16Titus 1:10-16 commentary, commentary Paul identifies men who are “rebellious” and who “must be silenced because they are upsetting whole households.”
We can infer from this that here in this letter to the Corinthians, Paul was not trying to be nice. Rather, he was simply identifying the reality that he and Apollos had different roles serving God. But the key was just that; they both were servants of God. They were not to be followed. Rather, they were to be instruments to help the Corinthian believers learn to walk by faith in following Christ.
As Paul will soon emphasize, Christ is the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:111 Corinthians 3:11 commentary), and it is in Christ alone we truly find our ultimate identity. Paul does not want followers who say I am of Paul. He wants to point the Corinthian believers to Christ, for it is He to whom they will give an account.
And, as Paul will note, he also will give an account to Christ (1 Corinthians 3:131 Corinthians 3:13 commentary). Paul will emphasize this in the other letter recorded in the New Testament that he wrote to the believers in Corinth (2 Corinthians 5:102 Corinthians 5:10 commentary). Paul himself is looking at Christ, which is why he does not support the development of people who say I am of Paul. He wants to point all men to Christ.
Set to dark mode
1 Corinthians 3:1-4 meaning
In 1 Corinthians 3:1-41 Corinthians 3:1-4 commentary, commentary Paul chastises the believers in Corinth for creating divisions among themselves based on the teacher with whom they most identify. Paul continues his letter saying, And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ (v.1).
Corinth was a major city in southern Greece known for its thriving commerce and diverse culture. Paul brought the gospel of Christ to Corinth and founded its church, staying for a year and a half then leaving to establish new churches in places where the gospel had not been preached, as was his practice (Acts 18:1-11Acts 18:1-11 commentary). He now addresses the lack of spiritual maturity in his readers. He calls them infants in Christ. This indicates that they are in the early stages of growth to mature in their faith. Jesus called believing in Him a new birth (John 3:3John 3:3 commentary). As Paul asserts in 2 Corinthians 5:172 Corinthians 5:17 commentary, commentary the new birth results in a new creation that is in Christ. The goal then is for the infants in Christ to grow to maturity.
In ancient Corinth, the dominant Greek culture centered on idol worship, which was basically a moral justification for exploitation and immorality. These infants in Christ came out of and were still surrounded by this culture. So, immorality was unsurprisingly prevalent in the Corinthian church. We will see this later, when Paul will admonish them to deal with blatant immorality within the church body (1 Corinthians 5:1-21 Corinthians 5:1-2 commentary).
The phrase could not speak to you as to spiritual men implies that Paul wished to teach them the deeper truths of God’s Word, but that their present level of maturity could not bear it. When the Corinthians first came to faith, these believers were like a child who cannot yet handle solid food. The Corinthian believers receiving this letter were not ready to receive teaching designed for the mature when Paul lived among them.
That is to be expected. After all, the Corinthian believers were new babies in Christ. However, Paul makes the point that things have not changed. Although they ought to have matured beyond being infants in Christ they are still babes. Paul speaks of their former immaturity and how it has not appropriately progressed:
Paul says I 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 (v. 2).
Paul uses the metaphor of an infant’s diet to illustrate the Corinthians’ capacity for grasping spiritual truths. Just as a baby’s digestive system has limitations, so too do young, immature believers. Just as babes need simple food, spiritual babies need elementary teachings. This infers that what Paul writes next is what he also considers to be elementary.
This indicates that the teaching that is to follow is very basic. It is the ABC’s of the Christian faith. In fact, we might consider that what we will see in this chapter, Paul presents as the basic of basics. We might consider this a summary:
These are the basics: focus on pleasing Christ, both now and in the age that is to come and we will gain the greatest benefit from life, both now as well as in eternity. Hebrews 6:1-2Hebrews 6:1-2 commentary says something similar, calling teaching about “eternal judgment” as being “elementary teaching about the Christ.”
Here in 1 Corinthians, Paul will lay out some basics that prepare the Corinthians to move on to topics fitting to grow them to levels of greater maturity. They need to move from having an earth-centric, temporal view to an eternal perspective on life.
Paul explains, for 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? (v. 3).
To live as mere men is to live the same way they lived before being redeemed though faith in Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Their lives are not being transformed because their minds are not renewed (Romans 12:2Romans 12:2 commentary). They are still being conformed to the world as mere men and are living lives that are fleshly.
The Greek word translated fleshly is “sarkikos.” It is the adjective form of “sarx” which is usually translated as “flesh.” Paul describes the native sin nature all humans are born with as something that needs to be crucified and replaced with the Spirit. In Galatians 5:16Galatians 5:16 commentary, commentary Paul poses the flesh as the inner enemy of the Spirit. Paul provides a mental model for believers that our most basic of daily, even moment by moment, choices is whether to follow the flesh or the Spirit.
In Romans 6:13Romans 6:13 commentary, commentary Paul presents the same mental model, describing the basic choice of a believer as being whether to present the “members” of our body “to sin” as “instruments of unrighteousness” or rather to “present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” In the biblical mental model, there is no third way. The “I will do it my way” choice is to follow “sarx,” the flesh. It is to obey unrighteousness.
Biblical righteousness is simply walking according to God’s design. His design is for us to walk in harmony with Him. So when we walk apart from harmony from Him, following our own way, we are following Satan’s way and doing his will. Jesus showed this to the Apostle Peter, saying “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Matthew 16:23Matthew 16:23 commentary).
As evidence that the Corinthian believers are living in a fleshly rather than godly manner, Paul cites that there is jealousy and strife among you. In Galatians 5:15Galatians 5:15 commentary, commentary Paul sets forth that walking in the flesh leads to a pattern where people “bite and devour one another.” Paul also lists the “deeds of the flesh” as including “enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissentions, factions” (Galatians 5:20Galatians 5:20 commentary). These are actions that stem from a perspective that “I win when you lose.” Or stated more fully, “I win at life when I exploit, ruin, or denigrate another.”
This is a false perspective—a perspective that is from the fleshly desires of men rather than the true perspective of God. In God’s economy, life comes from serving, loving, and giving. In the world’s economy, life comes from extracting, exploiting and abusing.
Accordingly, when these Corinthians exhibit jealousy and strife, they are walking like mere men rather than like royal children of the King of kings and Lord of lords who has redeemed them and endowed them with His resurrection power.
So Paul will remind them of some basics which will set the foundation for them to shift their behavior. And the key basic Paul will remind them of is this: every action we take will be judged by Christ, so our eyes should be upon Him (1 Corinthians 3:13-141 Corinthians 3:13-14 commentary).
Paul now cites the specific source of their division, stating, For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not mere men? (v. 4).
We are not told where Paul gained information about this division. But we can imagine that some of those saying I am of Paul might have asked for his help in contending against those who said I am of Apollos. When we live with a fleshly perspective it is natural for us to expect that others will also have a fleshly perspective. Those saying I am of Paul likely would have expected to win favor with Paul by letting him know “We are with you, Paul.”
Instead, Paul focuses on the reality that this is a perspective that is fleshly. Paul himself is not of Paul. Paul is of Christ. It is not natural for someone to tell people following them “You should not follow me.” It is more natural, in this world, for leaders to seek to accumulate and grow followers. It would seem that one of the reasons Jesus greatly complimented John the Baptist was because he properly played his role and did not succumb to those who desired him to claim to be the messiah and create a following for himself (John 1:21-23John 1:21-23 commentary).
But Paul does not want to be of this world. He does not want to live as a mere man and he does not want the Corinthian believers to live as mere men. He wants them to live transcendent lives in the resurrection power of Jesus. He wants them to live with their eyes on Jesus rather than himself or any other person.
By aligning themselves with either Paul or Apollos, the Corinthians were fracturing the church community.
Apollos was a learned Jewish Christian who played a significant role in the early church, having an eloquent way of teaching (Acts 18:24-28Acts 18:24-28 commentary). Paul will not say anything negative here about Apollos. He will only say that Apollos is a fellow servant of Christ who helped the Corinthians grow in their faith.
Paul was not bashful about calling out false teachers. Some examples follow:
We can infer from this that here in this letter to the Corinthians, Paul was not trying to be nice. Rather, he was simply identifying the reality that he and Apollos had different roles serving God. But the key was just that; they both were servants of God. They were not to be followed. Rather, they were to be instruments to help the Corinthian believers learn to walk by faith in following Christ.
As Paul will soon emphasize, Christ is the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:111 Corinthians 3:11 commentary), and it is in Christ alone we truly find our ultimate identity. Paul does not want followers who say I am of Paul. He wants to point the Corinthian believers to Christ, for it is He to whom they will give an account.
And, as Paul will note, he also will give an account to Christ (1 Corinthians 3:131 Corinthians 3:13 commentary). Paul will emphasize this in the other letter recorded in the New Testament that he wrote to the believers in Corinth (2 Corinthians 5:102 Corinthians 5:10 commentary). Paul himself is looking at Christ, which is why he does not support the development of people who say I am of Paul. He wants to point all men to Christ.