भाष्य सध्या फक्त इंग्रजीत उपलब्ध आहे. मराठी भाषांतर प्रगतीपथावर आहे.
1 Corinthians 3 — Ye Are God's Building
I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. For ye are yet carnal: there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions. I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. We are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it. Ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. Let no man deceive himself. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas... all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
— 1 Corinthians 3:11
- v.1-9 Carnal believers; one God-given growth
- v.10-15 The foundation and the testing fire
- v.16-17 Ye are the temple of God
- v.18-23 All things are yours
No other foundation. The exclusive structural foundation. Build on Him, or build on nothing that will last.
The verse rules out adding alternative bases — programs, methods, leaders. Only Christ supports the church.
Corporate temple. The church together is God's dwelling, not just individual believers (cf. 6:19, individual emphasis).
A reframe of church. Not a building people enter; a people in whom God dwells.
The chain of ownership ends well. The believer belongs to Christ; Christ to God. The little disputes about Paul or Apollos shrink in this light.
A balm for identity questions. Your deepest belonging is to Christ; through Him, to God.
Verse 11 tests what you are building on. Examine the foundations under your spiritual life — your church, your ministry. If anything besides Christ is functioning as the foundation, the structure will fail the test in verses 12-15. Build on Him; nothing else qualifies.
1 Corinthians 3 makes Christ the foundation, the temple's presence, the Lord of His people. The chapter's divisions over leaders are answered by the chapter's closing — ye are Christ's. When the center is settled, the periphery quiets.
The principle of Christian ministry. Servants do their work; God produces the harvest. The credit belongs at the throne.
A check on celebrity culture in the church. Whoever planted and whoever watered — the increase is God's.