1 Corinthians 3
English Standard Version
Divisions in the Church
3 But I, brothers,[a] could not address you as (A)spiritual people, but as (B)people of the flesh, as (C)infants in Christ. 2 (D)I fed you with milk, not solid food, for (E)you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is (F)jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For (G)when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” (H)are you not being merely human?
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? (I)Servants through whom you believed, (J)as the Lord assigned to each. 6 (K)I planted, (L)Apollos watered, (M)but God gave the growth. 7 So (N)neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each (O)will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are (P)God's fellow workers. You are God's field, (Q)God's building.
10 (R)According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled[b] master builder I laid a (S)foundation, and (T)someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a (U)foundation other (V)than that which is laid, (W)which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 (X)each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed (Y)by fire, and (Z)the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, (AA)he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, (AB)but only as through fire.
16 (AC)Do you not know that you[c] are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For (AD)God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18 (AE)Let no one deceive himself. (AF)If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For (AG)the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, (AH)“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, (AI)“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So (AJ)let no one boast in men. For (AK)all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and (AL)you are Christ's, and (AM)Christ is God's.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 3:1 Or brothers and sisters
- 1 Corinthians 3:10 Or wise
- 1 Corinthians 3:16 The Greek for you is plural in verses 16 and 17
1 Corinthians 3
Christian Standard Bible
The Problem of Immaturity
3 For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ.(A) 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, 3 because you are still worldly. For since there is envy(B) and strife[a](C) among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? 4 For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,”(D) are you not acting like mere humans?
The Role of God’s Servants
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6 I planted,(E) Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one,[b] and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s coworkers.[c] You are God’s field, God’s building.(F)
10 According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder,[d] and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation(G) other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver,(H) costly stones,(I) wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire;(J) the fire will test the quality of each one’s work.(K) 14 If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience[e] loss, but he himself will be saved(L)—but only as through fire.(M)
16 Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple(N) and that the Spirit of God lives in you?(O) 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him;(P) for God’s temple is holy,(Q) and that is what you are.
The Folly of Human Wisdom
18 Let no one deceive(R) himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age,(S) let him become a fool(T) so that he can become wise.(U) 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness(V) with God, since it is written,(W) He catches the wise in their craftiness;[f](X) 20 and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings(Y) of the wise are futile.[g](Z) 21 So let no one boast in human leaders, for everything is yours(AA)— 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas(AB) or the world or life(AC) or death(AD) or things present or things to come(AE)—everything is yours, 23 and you belong to Christ,(AF) and Christ belongs to God.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.