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Dhe unë, o vëllezër, nuk munda t’ju flas si njerëz frymëror, por ju fola si njerëz të mishit, si foshnja në Krisht.

Ju dhashë qumësht për të pirë dhe nuk ju dhashë ushqim të fortë, sepse nuk ishit në gjendje ta asimilonit, madje edhe tani jo, sepse jeni akoma të mishit;

në fakt sepse midis jush ka smirë, grindje e përçarje a nuk jeni të mishit dhe a nuk ecni sipas mënyrës së njerëzve?

Sepse, kur dikush thotë: “Unë jam i Palit,” dhe një tjetër: “Unë jam i Apolit,” a nuk jeni ju të mishit?

Kush është, pra, Pali dhe kush është Apoli, veçse shërbëtor me anë të të cilëve ju besuat, edhe ashtu si Zoti i dha gjithsecilit?

Unë mbolla, Apoli ujiti, po Perëndia i bëri të rriten.

Kështu, pra, as ai që mbjell, as ai që ujit, nuk është gjë, por Perëndia që rrit.

Por ai që mbjell dhe ai që ujit janë një, dhe secili do të marrë shpërblimin e vet sipas mundit të tij.

Ne, pra, jemi bashkëpunëtorë të Perëndisë; ju jeni ara e Perëndisë, ndërtesa e Perëndisë.

10 Sipas hirit të Perëndisë që më është dhënë, si arkitekt i ditur, unë kam hedhur themelin dhe një tjetër ndërton mbi të; por secili të ketë kujdes se si ndërton mbi të,

11 sepse askush nuk mund të hedhë themel tjetër përveç atij që është hedhur, i cili është Jezu Krishti.

12 Dhe, në qoftë se dikush ndërton mbi këtë themel ar, argjend, gurë të çmuar, dru, sanë, kashtë,

13 vepra e secilit do të shfaqet, sepse dita do ta tregojë; sepse do të zbulohet me anë të zjarrit, dhe zjarri do të provojë veprën e secilit e ç’lloji është.

14 Në qoftë se vepra që dikush ka ndërtuar mbi themelin qëndron, ai do të marrë një shpërblim,

15 në qoftë se vepra e tij digjet, ai do të pësojë humbje, por ai vetë do të shpëtohet, si përmes zjarrit.

16 A nuk e dini ju se jeni tempulli i Perëndisë dhe se Fryma e Perëndisë banon në ju?

17 Në qoftë se dikush e prish tempullin e Perëndisë, Perëndia do ta prishë atë, sepse tempulli i Perëndisë, i cili jeni ju, është i shenjtë.

18 Askush të mos mashtrojë vetveten; në qoftë se ndonjë nga ju mendon se është i urtë në këtë kohë, le të bëhet i marrë, që të mund të bëhet i urtë.

19 Sepse dituria e kësaj bote është marrëzi pranë Perëndisë, sepse është shkruar: “Ai i zë të urtët në dinakërinë e tyre”;

20 dhe përsëri: “Zoti i njeh mendimet e të urtëve se janë të kota.”

21 Prandaj asnjë të mos mburret në njerëzit, sepse të gjitha gjërat janë tuajat;

22 Pali, Apoli, Kefa, bota, jeta, vdekja, gjërat e tanishme dhe gjërat e ardhshme, të gjitha gjërat janë tuajat.

23 Dhe ju jeni të Krishtit dhe Krishti është i Perëndisë.

Sectarianism Is Carnal

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to (A)babes in Christ. I fed you with (B)milk and not with solid food; (C)for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and [a]behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

Watering, Working, Warning

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but (D)ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? (E)I planted, (F)Apollos watered, (G)but God gave the increase. So then (H)neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, (I)and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

For (J)we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are (K)God’s building. 10 (L)According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid (M)the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than (N)that which is laid, (O)which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day (P)will declare it, because (Q)it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

16 (R)Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone [b]defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Avoid Worldly Wisdom

18 (S)Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, (T)“He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; 20 and again, (U)“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For (V)all things are yours: 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. 23 And (W)you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 3:3 Lit. walking according to man
  2. 1 Corinthians 3:17 destroys

The Church and Its Leaders

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit(A) but as people who are still worldly(B)—mere infants(C) in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food,(D) for you were not yet ready for it.(E) Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling(F) among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,”(G) are you not mere human beings?

What, after all, is Apollos?(H) And what is Paul? Only servants,(I) through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed,(J) Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.(K) For we are co-workers in God’s service;(L) you are God’s field,(M) God’s building.(N)

10 By the grace God has given me,(O) I laid a foundation(P) as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.(Q) 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is,(R) because the Day(S) will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.(T) 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.(U) 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.(V)

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple(W) and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?(X) 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise(Y) by the standards of this age,(Z) you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness(AA) in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”[a];(AB) 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”[b](AC) 21 So then, no more boasting about human leaders!(AD) All things are yours,(AE) 22 whether Paul or Apollos(AF) or Cephas[c](AG) or the world or life or death or the present or the future(AH)—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ,(AI) and Christ is of God.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 3:19 Job 5:13
  2. 1 Corinthians 3:20 Psalm 94:11
  3. 1 Corinthians 3:22 That is, Peter