1 Cor 3:1-9 - You Are Fleshly

Chapter 3 Outline:
3:1-9 - You Are Fleshly
3:10-15 - Built on Christ’s Foundation
3:16-17 - Temple of God
3:18-23 - You Belong to Christ

1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ.
2 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,
3 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?
4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.
7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Don’t Be Trapped By Your Fleshly Desire

V. 1 - “I could not speak to you as to spiritual men” - The sentence could easily start with “But I, brethren...“. Paul just discussed how spiritual people could “hear” spiritual words and spiritual wisdom, because spiritual people have the mind of Christ. But Paul could not dive right into some of the spiritual instructions. He could not because they were not ready to hear them. (See: 1 Cor. 2:15, 14:37; Gal. 6:1) Just as you would not take someone who has only had a couple of golf lessons to Augusta to play in The Masters. The old adage, “Taking a sip from a fire hose” fits here. The believers could be overwhelmed and discouraged from continuing on.

“but as to men of flesh” - Paul sought to bring them along slowly and steadily. (See: Rom. 7:14-15) He will share the basics with them:

1. God loves you and wants you to have an abundant life here and now. 
2. As a natural man, you cannot meet God’s plan. 
3. God has provided the way for you to meet His plan for you. It is Jesus Christ as Savior. 
4. You can live the abundant life, if you will believe and accept Jesus Christ as your own Savior.

The deeper things, such as: resurrection of the believers; Christ’s triumphant return; Great White Throne judgment, etc., - these can be pursued and studied later, when they are ready.

“as to infants in Christ” - God knows and understands us. He knows that we must be taught in stages. Just like elementary school - letter names and sounds, consonants, vowels, letter combinations making single syllable words, sentences, paragraphs, and “War and Peace” (maybe that’s too big of a jump - perhaps start with “Dick and Jane” first). They were not ready for wisdom (See: 1 Cor. 2:6).

V. 2 - “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food“ - The idea that new believers need to be taught and guided is seen in other writings. (See: Heb. 5:12, 13)

“you were not yet able to receive it” - Too much, too soon can lead to confusion and discouragement. Without sufficient tutoring, the new believer can be misled, and end up taking a path that will hinder their growth and success in Christian life. (See: Eph. 4:14) Paul wants them to be successful, encouraged and longing for more spiritual truths. (See: 1 Pet. 2:2) He wants their attitude to be, “I can’t get enough of you, Jesus. May I have some more?”

“even now you are not yet able” - These Christians appeared to not be growing in Christ. They had to be reminded of the basic truths. It’s kind of like the question once asked of another person, “You say you’ve been a Christian for 15 years, is that 15 years of growth, or one year’s experience 15 times?” The writer of the letter to the Hebrews had the same opinion as Paul - they were not maturing in Christ. (See: Heb. 5:12, 13).

V. 3 - “for you are still fleshly” - Paul’s reason was not just a wild guess. He had plenty of evidence of ‘failure to thrive’. Their behavior was a good indicator they were not controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

“and are you not walking like mere men?” - He is asking them to examine themselves, to “see” what everyone else knows: that they are not demonstrating Jesus’ power and abundant life.

"Jealousy and strife" - They are not “bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you” (Col. 3:13) Also they were to “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Eph. 4:32)

This is a theme that is also seen in 1 Cor 6:7-8, and elsewhere. That is: you are not behaving like Christians, but like unbelievers.

V. 4 - “are you not like mere men?” - The repetition of the phrase “mere men” emphasizes is they are acting like natural men, or normal non-believers. Position, pride, dominance - all are on display here. The Corinthians were focused on the wrong thing. They were very aware of from whom they had heard the gospel - either Paul or Apollos. Who preached had taken on more importance than the gospel itself. Salvation preached by Paul could save you, but salvation preached by Apollos could not! Things have not changed much in the 2000 years since this letter was written. We still divide into factions.

Here Paul goes back to the issue brought up in 1:10-13 - the arguments between the church members over who was the better disciple based on who led them to Christ.

V. 5 - “Servants through whom you believed” - Paul debunks the idea that the gospel from Paul is effective, whereas the gospel from Apollos is not! (And, vice-versa.) Apollos and Paul were merely (!) conduits through which the power of God came into the Corinthian believers’ lives. Paul says, “I am not the message! I am the lucky guy who got to share the message of God’s love with you!”

“Even as the Lord gave opportunity” - The same was true for Apollos - and any other minister, preacher, evangelist, missionary, Sunday school teacher, or Bible Study leader. The servant is not the message - salvation through Christ alone is the message. The messenger can impede the delivery, and thereby the acceptance of the message by misbehavior, etc. Our life in Christ, lived out in our daily activities, should never conflict with the message we are sharing with others. That is part of the problem the Corinthian church had, their squabbles, quarrels, and divisions was in direct conflict with the message of peace in and through Jesus Christ.

V. 6 - “God causing the growth” - Here, and in verse 9, Paul strengthens the point using additional imagery - first servants, then gardening/farming, and finally, building. Apollos and Paul are servant messengers who took the opportunity God presented to them. In this verse, Paul likens his missionary calling (and Apollo’s) to growing vegetables, or gardening. Paul plants the seed. Apollos steps up to water the plants so they will grow. But all that is useless if God does not cause the life to grow. Otherwise it is like watering a rock, and expecting it to grow into a diamond.

V. 7 - “neither the one... is anything” - God gets all the glory! Don’t glorify Paul or Apollos, because anyone could have done what they did. That being said, I am not denigrating the call by God to a missionary or pastor. And Paul places claim on his authority as an apostle to preach and correct the local churches in other writings. (See his salutation at the beginning of almost every letter he wrote. Plus he defends his apostleship: Rom. 11:13; 1 Cor. 9:1; 2 Cor. 12:12; 1 Tim. 2:7.) The Corinthian church was placing too much emphasis on persons of Paul or Apollos rather on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior and Messiah. Jesus saves, not Paul. God justifies, not Apollos.

V. 8 - “each will receive his own reward” - Each person has his job to do, and will be recompensed for job well done (assuming that is the case). Faithful servants of the Lord will receive the commendation, “Well done...”! (See: Matt. 25:21ff; Luke 19:17.) We are to seek God’s approval, not man’s. We accomplish that by doing what His Holy Spirit directs us to do.

V. 9 - “God’s workers... God’s field... God’s building” - God directs us to spread His Word about salvation through Jesus Christ. You, the people around us are the field into which the Word is cast. Jesus builds His church from those who have heard, believe and accept Him into their lives. (See: Matt. 13:3-8, 19-23; Mark 4:5ff.)

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