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Brothers and sisters, I couldn't speak to you as people who live by the Holy Spirit. I had to speak to you as people who were still following the ways of the world. You aren't growing as Christ wants you to. You are still like babies. 2 The words I spoke to you were like milk, not like solid food. You weren't ready for solid food yet. And you still aren't ready for it. 3 You are still following the ways of the world. Some of you are jealous. Some of you argue. So aren't you following the ways of the world? Aren't you acting like ordinary human beings? 4 One of you says, ‘I follow Paul.’ Another says, ‘I follow Apollos.’ Aren't you acting like ordinary human beings? 5 After all, what is Apollos? And what is Paul? We are only people who serve. We helped you to believe. The Lord has given each of us our own work to do. 6 I planted the seed. Apollos watered it. But God has been making it grow. 7 So the one who plants is not important. The one who waters is not important. It is God who makes things grow. He is the important one. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose. The Lord will give each of them a reward for their work. 9 We work together to serve God. You are like God's field. You are like his building.
3:1–9 The Corinthian believers hadn't grown up spiritually or grown strong in their faith. Paul said that they were still like babies in their faith. They had heard about Jesus and believed in him. But they weren't living like people who were filled with the Holy Spirit. They were still living the way they had before they trusted Jesus. This was why they were jealous and argued. Paul said that they were acting in the ways of the world. He was talking about sinful ways of living. Those ways kept the believers from growing into healthy and strong followers of Jesus. Then Paul explained that the believers were like a field. When people tell others about Jesus, it's like they plant and water seeds in the field. Paul and Apollos had done that for the church in Corinth. The field belongs to God. God makes the seeds grow into healthy plants. This is a picture of how believers grow as they trust in Jesus and follow him.
10 God has given me the grace to lay a foundation as a wise builder. Now someone else is building on it. But each one should build carefully. 11 No one can lay any other foundation than what has already been laid. That foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 A person may build on it using gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay or straw. 13 But each person's work will be shown for what it is. On judgment day it will be brought to light. It will be put through fire. The fire will test how good each person's work is. 14 If the building doesn't burn up, God will give the builder a reward for the work. 15 If the building burns up, the builder will lose everything. The builder will be saved, but only like one escaping through the flames.
16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple? Don't you know that God's Spirit lives among you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. God's temple is holy. And you all together are that temple.
18 Don't fool yourselves. Suppose some of you think you are wise by the standards of the world. Then you should become ‘fools’ so that you can become wise. 19 The wisdom of this world is foolish in God's eyes. It is written, ‘God catches wise people in their own evil plans.’ (Job 5:13) 20 It is also written, ‘The Lord knows that the thoughts of wise people don't amount to anything.’ (Psalm 94:11) 21 So no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours. 22 That means Paul or Apollos or Peter or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All are yours. 23 You are joined to Christ and belong to him. And Christ is joined to God.
3:10–23 Believers who share the good news about Jesus are builders for God. That is how Paul described them. When they tell people about Jesus, it's like they lay the foundation for the building. Paul did this for the Corinthian church. Paul asked the Corinthians what they were building on the foundation he had laid. He was talking about how they were putting their faith into practice. God will test and judge what people think and what they do. Teachings about Jesus that aren't true will burn like a building that catches on fire. Work that isn't based on God's Spirit will also burn up. What is true and based on Jesus will last on judgement day. It will be blessed by God. Paul wanted the Corinthians to be like the wise builders that Jesus taught about (Matthew 7:24–29). Wise builders listen to Jesus and obey him. Foolish builders follow their own ideas or those of other human teachers. The building that Paul talked about was the temple. Jesus is the foundation. Jesus' followers are the building itself. The Holy Spirit lives among them. This is a picture of how God is present on earth through believers.