1 Corinthians 3:1–23
1 Corinthians 3:1-23
Rethinking Church
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Published October 7th, 2022
Arc
Notes
Arc
editing
NT
1 Corinthians 3:1-23
esv
sbl
But I, brothers, 1 could not address you [all] as a spiritual people,
Κἀγώ, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἠδυνήθην ⸂ λαλῆσαι ὑμῖν ⸃ ὡς πνευματικοῖς
but [I addressed you all] as b people of the flesh, as c infants in Christ.
ἀλλ’ ὡς ⸀ σαρκίνοις, ὡς νηπίοις ἐν Χριστῷ.
alternative
d I fed you [all] with milk,
γάλα ὑμᾶς ἐπότισα,
not solid food,
⸀ οὐ βρῶμα,
for e you [all] were not ready for it.
οὔπω γὰρ ἐδύνασθε.
ground
ideaexplanation
And even now you [all] are not yet ready,
ἀλλ ’ ⸀ οὐδὲ ἔτι νῦν δύνασθε,
for you [all] are still of the flesh.
ἔτι γὰρ σαρκικοί ἐστε.
progression
For while there is f jealousy and strife among you [all],
ὅπου γὰρ ἐν ὑμῖν ζῆλος καὶ ⸀ ἔρις,
are you [all] not of the flesh
οὐχὶ σαρκικοί ἐστε
and behaving only in a human way?
καὶ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον περιπατεῖτε;
series
temporal
For g when one says, “I follow Paul,”
ὅταν γὰρ λέγῃ τις· Ἐγὼ μέν εἰμι Παύλου,
and another, “I follow Apollos,”
ἕτερος δέ· Ἐγὼ Ἀπολλῶ,
h are you [all] not being merely human?
⸂ οὐκ ἄνθρωποί ⸃ ἐστε;
What then is Apollos?
⸀ Τί οὖν ἐστιν ⸂ Ἀπολλῶς;
What is Paul?
τί δέ ἐστιν Παῦλος ⸃ ;
i Servants through whom you [all] believed,
⸀ διάκονοι δι’ ὧν ἐπιστεύσατε, καὶ ἑκάστῳ
j as the Lord assigned to each.
ὡς ὁ κύριος ἔδωκεν.
comparison
questionanswer
k I planted,
ἐγὼ ἐφύτευσα,
l Apollos watered,
Ἀπολλῶς ἐπότισεν,
m but God gave the growth.
ἀλλὰ ὁ θεὸς ηὔξανεν·
concessive
So n neither he who plants [is anything]
ὥστε οὔτε ὁ φυτεύων ἐστίν τι
nor he who waters is anything,
οὔτε ὁ ποτίζων,
but only God who gives the growth [is anything].
ἀλλ ’ ὁ αὐξάνων θεός.
He who plants and he who waters are one,
ὁ φυτεύων δὲ καὶ ὁ ποτίζων ἕν εἰσιν,
and each o will receive his wages according to his labor.
ἕκαστος δὲ τὸν ἴδιον μισθὸν λήμψεται κατὰ τὸν ἴδιον κόπον,
For we are p God’s fellow workers.
θεοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν συνεργοί·
You [all] are God’s field, q God’s building.
θεοῦ γεώργιον, θεοῦ οἰκοδομή ἐστε.
inference
r According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a s foundation,
Κατὰ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι ὡς σοφὸς ἀρχιτέκτων θεμέλιον ⸀ ἔθηκα,
and t someone else is building upon it.
ἄλλος δὲ ἐποικοδομεῖ.
Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
ἕκαστος δὲ βλεπέτω πῶς ἐποικοδομεῖ·
For no one can lay a u foundation other v than that which is laid, w which is Jesus Christ.
θεμέλιον γὰρ ἄλλον οὐδεὶς δύναται θεῖναι παρὰ τὸν κείμενον, ὅς ἐστιν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός·
Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—
εἰ δέ τις ἐποικοδομεῖ ἐπὶ τὸν ⸀ θεμέλιον ⸂ χρυσόν, ἄργυρον ⸃ , λίθους τιμίους, ξύλα, χόρτον, καλάμην,
x each one’s work will become manifest,
ἑκάστου τὸ ἔργον φανερὸν γενήσεται, ἡ
for the Day will disclose it,
γὰρ ἡμέρα δηλώσει·
because it will be revealed y by fire,
ὅτι ἐν πυρὶ ἀποκαλύπτεται,
and z the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
καὶ ἑκάστου τὸ ἔργον ὁποῖόν ἐστιν τὸ πῦρ ⸀ αὐτὸ δοκιμάσει.
conditional
If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives,
εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον μενεῖ ὃ ἐποικοδόμησεν,
a he will receive a reward.
μισθὸν λήμψεται·
If anyone’s work is burned up,
εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον κατακαήσεται,
he will suffer loss,
ζημιωθήσεται,
though he himself will be saved,
αὐτὸς δὲ σωθήσεται,
b but [he will be saved] only as through fire.
οὕτως δὲ ὡς διὰ πυρός.
c Do you [all] not know that you [all] 1 are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you [all]?
Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ναὸς θεοῦ ἐστε καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ ⸂ οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν ⸃ ;
If anyone destroys God’s temple,
εἴ τις τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φθείρει,
God will destroy him.
φθερεῖ τοῦτον ὁ θεός·
For d God’s temple is holy,
ὁ γὰρ ναὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἅγιός ἐστιν,
and you [all] are that temple.
οἵτινές ἐστε ὑμεῖς.
situationresponse
e Let no one deceive himself.
Μηδεὶς ἑαυτὸν ἐξαπατάτω·
f If anyone among you [all] thinks that he is wise in this age,
εἴ τις δοκεῖ σοφὸς εἶναι ἐν ὑμῖν ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ,
let him become a fool
μωρὸς γενέσθω,
that he may become wise.
ἵνα γένηται σοφός,
actionpurpose
For g the wisdom of this world is folly with God.
ἡ γὰρ σοφία τοῦ κόσμου τούτου μωρία παρὰ τῷ θεῷ ἐστιν·
For it is written,
γέγραπται γάρ ·
h “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”
Ὁ δρασσόμενος τοὺς σοφοὺς ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτῶν·
and again, i “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
καὶ πάλιν· Κύριος γινώσκει τοὺς διαλογισμοὺς τῶν σοφῶν ὅτι εἰσὶν μάταιοι.
So j let no one boast in men.
ὥστε μηδεὶς καυχάσθω ἐν ἀνθρώποις·
For k all things are yours [(plural)], whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours [(plural)],
πάντα γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν, εἴτε Παῦλος εἴτε Ἀπολλῶς εἴτε Κηφᾶς εἴτε κόσμος εἴτε ζωὴ εἴτε θάνατος εἴτε ἐνεστῶτα εἴτε μέλλοντα, πάντα ⸀ ὑμῶν,
and l you [all] are Christ’s,
ὑμεῖς δὲ Χριστοῦ,
and m Christ is God’s.
Χριστὸς δὲ θεοῦ.
discourse
Notes
Arcing Notes: Every instance of “you” in 1 Corinthians 3 is plural, thus the addition of [all] or [plural] to the ESV translation in my arc. Paul is addressing the whole Corinthian church collectively, not merely individual Christians. 3:5–17: There are three main parts to this section: 1) the agricultural metaphor of the church (3:5–9), the construction metaphor of the church (3:10–15) and the church as the temple. If Gregory Beale is correct that the garden of Eden was a temple, then Paul combines the two metaphors (agricultural [church as a field] and construction [church as a metaphorical building]) into a garden-temple in 16–17. I have arced this section to reflect this. 3:21: The conjunction ὥστε (so) is an inference. The question is, The question is, “What material supports it?” How far back does it go? In its most immediate context, it is an inference of 3:18–20, and this is how I have arced it. Most modern translations (as well as the Greek NA28 & GNT-T) put verse 21 in the middle of the paragraph that begins in verse 18, suggesting is a logical deduction for Paul’s argument beginning there. The fact that he mentions Paul, Apollos and Cephas in the next verse suggests to me that Paul builds off of material at least as far back as 3:1 (grounded in 3:3–4, which mentions Paul and Apollos) and, more likely, as far back as 1:10 (explained by 1:12, which also mentions Paul, Apollos and Cephas [as well as Christ]). So I think it's best to understand this inference as directly connected to 3:18–20 and more broadly connected to 1:10–3:20. Naselli and Thiselton both see this inference connecting back to 1:10.[1] 1. Andrew David Naselli, “1 Corinthians,” in ESV Expository Commentary: Romans–Galatians , ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton, Jr., and Jay Sklar, ESV Expository Comentary 10 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 245; Anthony C. Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians , NIGTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013), 324.
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