1 Corinthians 3:4–22

They were not spiritual but carnal (3:1). How could Paul tell? It was very simple: 'Are you not carnal, and walk as men?' (3:3). Don't we all have to walk as men? Not in the sense the words are used here. Walking as men means living without reference to God and His wisdom and teaching, with the flesh unjudged. This was the deeper reason for the party spirit and contention among them.

The apostle rebukes them for walking not merely as bad men, but "according to man." They lined up under their new favourites, forgetting Christ and abusing their own mercies received through His servants. "Are you not men?" he says, protesting in anger against such a state of things. They were saints and ought to walk as such.

These Corinthian saints fed this spirit of rivalry. They attached themselves to certain gifted teachers. They followed them closely and accepted all they said — not always because it was the truth according to the word of God, but because a favourite teacher had said it. Each one then defended his favourite teacher, and that led to strife, and strife to divisions. Two evils followed: one was sectarianism, which set aside the truth of the church, the other clericalism, which set aside Christ as the Head of the church.

Rivalry and strife were works of the flesh, not fruits of the Spirit. Their existence among them showed how little they walked in self-judgment. It was the party work they were used to in the schools of men. Certainly party zeal for Paul or Apollos was no better than for Plato or Aristotle.

The evidence of their fleshliness was in their rivalry, strife, and factions. The spirit of rivalry is so contrary to Him who, though He is Himself the Highest, has come among us "gentle and lowly in heart." And of course, when one person makes a fleshly effort to reach a high place, it wakes the fleshly resentment of another. Strife follows, and it breaks the people of God into factions.

They stood in the way of their own spiritual growth by encouraging the forming of parties. They also robbed themselves of the value and profit of gifts the Lord had given for building up. If we take up only one line of teaching and follow only one teacher, we lose the benefit we might get from the other gifts given to men.

There are different kinds of workmen, and different lines of truth. It is our happy privilege, and indeed our holy duty, to recognise and rejoice in them all. To be puffed up for one against another is to be "carnal and walk as men." To run down any of Christ's servants is to run down the truth he carries, and to forsake our own mercies.

The apostle was grieved to the heart over the state of things in Corinth. The Spirit led him to rebuke the saints there. Their self-will and their foolish personal preferences were destroying their unity. To be able to speak more plainly, and even vehemently, he transferred these things in a figure to himself and to Apollos. He could not well ask, "Who is this leader or that?" — people would charge him with envy. But he could ask, "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed?" and stir up no opposition.

Boasting in men, however blessed they may be, belongs to the flesh, just as much as self-assertion does. Both are shoots off the same tree. Some men are set up as heads of schools. How could they accept such a false position, for themselves or for their followers, if their eye is single to Christ? And if it is not, can they be trusted?

First, the Apostle asks, "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos?" The Corinthian assembly had been lifting these gifted men into the false position of party leaders. Yet they were, after all, only "ministering servants" by whom the Corinthians had believed.

When someone sends a messenger with a message, it is most unfitting to give the messenger a place of high honour. Respect him for his message, and weigh his message with care. Do not give him the honour that belongs only to his master. Check his message closely: is it simply and only the word of the master, faithfully given?

This true-hearted faithful servant of Christ sought only to bring the souls of his hearers into direct personal contact with God Himself. He did not seek to link them to Paul. "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed." The aim of all false ministry is to attach souls to itself. So the minister is exalted, God is shut out, and the soul has no divine foundation to rest on. True ministry, as seen in Paul and Moses, has one blessed aim: to attach the soul to God. Then the minister gets his true place — simply an instrument; God is exalted; and the soul is settled on a sure foundation that can never be moved.

Was there no difference, then, between Paul and Apollos? As the Lord gave to each. What room is there for boasting about men? Why not boast in the Lord who gave to each? They had thought little about this. Grace unites. Flesh divides and scatters — flesh taken up with this man or that, sometimes, as here, unable to find anything except in its favourites... The fact is that the Lord gives in different ways, nothing that is not good for building up, nothing in vain. It is not His way to form a class of labourers all alike, but to work differently through each one.

Notice the difference between the spiritual gift and the natural capacity of the person... The gifts differed in measure (compare 1 Cor. 3:5), and they were related to natural capacity. For instance, where the Lord makes a man an evangelist, he will be able to address an audience and not have to write out his sermon. But no cultivating of natural ability could turn it into a gift from Christ.

Boasting in men, however blessed those men may be, comes from the flesh, just as much as pushing yourself forward does. The two are branches of the same tree. How could men who are set up as heads of schools accept such a false position, for themselves or for their followers, if their eye is truly fixed on Christ alone? And if it is not, can they be trusted? … Grace unites. Flesh divides and scatters.

Third, not all of these servants had the same service. In a field, one man plants and another tends the plants, but God alone can make the plants grow. So in the Lord's service, God may use Paul to win converts and Apollos to care for the converts, but God alone can give life and spiritual growth.

God does His own work. He chooses and equips His workers as He wills. If Paul plants or Apollos waters, the work of both is in the power of the One who has given to each, and the increase comes from His sovereign will. So boasting has no place in the work of ministry, just as it has no place in the faith that justifies a sinner. Neither the planter nor the waterer is anything, for both might labour and the result be a blight instead of a blessing.

We must always keep in mind that God is the doer of the works done on the earth. If He is pleased to use us, let us never forget that we are only instruments, as helpless and powerless as a poker. No doubt we have enjoyment in the work; but we are not dealing now with the question of enjoyment, but of ability. If any real work is done, God is the doer of it. To Him be all the glory.

Paul hides himself. He had received great revelations from the Lord, and he had a wide range of knowledge. Yet the moment he sees the spirit of setting Paul up creeping in, he says, "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." … If he had put himself forward, Christ would not have been seen.

Paul's founding of the church at Corinth certainly involved hard work and struggle. Apollos would not have watered it with the refreshing ministry of the Word without serious spiritual effort. But they were both servants of one Master. They were united in their labours, not rivals, as the factions at Corinth would make them. And the Corinthians were not told to reward them according to their own estimate of their value. God would do this, according to their labour, after their labour was finished.

Let us cast the seed into the ground and leave the increase to God, who alone can give it. Like the farmer, let us wait patiently for the early rain and the latter rain. It is no use poking the seed with a revival stick. The word of God will never take root that way.

Paul found it unbearable — a heartbreaking sorrow, we might say — that a servant's name should come between the Lord and His people. It did not matter how distinguished that servant was.

They were captivated by the brilliant mind of this one, or the flowing eloquence of that one, or the pushing energy of a third. They should have seen them simply as "ministers" or "servants." These men did have different qualities and different gifts, but even these came "as the Lord gave to every man" (1 Cor. 3:5). So instead of glorifying the Lord who had gifted and enabled them, they glorified the servants, who were only instruments or vessels...

If God gives the increase, then the servants count for very little by comparison. Yet the Corinthians had been lifting them out of their place. Without God they were nothing and their service useless.

God does His own work. He chooses and equips His agents at His will. If Paul plants or Apollos waters, both work by the power of Him who has given to each. The increase comes from His sovereign will. So boasting has no place in the true work of the ministry, just as it has no place in the faith that justifies a sinner. Neither the planter nor the waterer is anything. Both might labour, and the result be a blight instead of a blessing. Only God, who commands the increase, is anything.

Who thinks of praising the poker? Who would say, "My, what a marvellous poker!" It is not the lifeless poker but the living hand that does the work. True, the hand uses the poker; but the poker is useless without the hand.

What can the sower do to make the corn grow while he sleeps? The seed grows, but "he does not know how." I wish that all workers in the gospel paid more attention to passages like 1 Cor. 3 and Mark 4. Let us cast the seed into the ground and leave the increase to God, who alone can give it. Like the farmer, let us wait patiently for the early rain and the latter rain. It is no use poking the seed with a revival stick. The word of God will never take root that way.

Though the servants are one, "each shall receive his own reward according to his own labour." The reward will not match the position man may have given the servant. It will not match man's thoughts about his service either. It will match God's estimate of his labours.

Whoever the servants may be, they belong to God in direct responsibility. In this sense they are not the church's, and still less a party's... They are God's fellow-labourers. He gave them, they do His work, they answer to Him in everything, and in the end they give Him an account.

Though their work differs, the servants "are one". By making them leaders of parties, the Corinthian assembly was setting them against one another. But neither can do without the other. However varied the gifts, as servants they are one.

"He who plants and he who waters are one thing." Here he puts ministry, or ministers, together as "one thing." The result is that God alone matters.

They were united in their work, not rivals, as the factions in Corinth would make them. And no one told the Corinthians to reward them by their own estimate of their value. God would do that, according to their labour, once their labour was finished.

Though they are one as servants, "each shall receive his own reward according to his own labour". The reward will not match the position people gave the servant. It will not match what people thought of his service. It will match God's estimate of his work.

Neither one counts for anything in himself. Both are one in the source of their shared ministry. Yet each keeps his own individuality, both in his responsibility and in his reward. Notice how clearly the apostle states the settled, unbreakable link between service and reward. From Jesus down, this principle holds… The work and its reward will match each other. Each worker will receive according to his own toil.

As for acceptance, we are in Christ, all accepted alike — all to be conformed to the image of the Son — all having Christ for our righteousness. Paul cannot have a more perfect righteousness or a higher glory. But besides this, saints have the privilege of service. They are the vessels of God's love to others… By grace we do receive the reward of labour, and every man his own reward according to his own labour… In short, righteousness is in Christ, the same for all; God rewards service.

In the kingdom, as we are taught in the parable (Luke 19), one is to have authority over ten cities, another over five. But the Father's house stands far above such differences, and all His children share it with Christ alike. It answers, not to their services, but to His redemption, His infinite love and His glory.

Pay never drives the service of love. God does not put reward before the soul as the motive for doing anything. But when we meet difficulties on the path of service, He sets the crown before us to encourage us to keep going.

How cheering this is to the despised but faithful, self-denying and gracious workers! How humbling to Corinthian vanity! It never took into account the one principle the Spirit gives here for the divine and lasting reward. "For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building." Whoever the servants may be, they are directly responsible to God — not, in this sense, to the church, and still less to a party. They are God's fellow workers. He gave them, they do His work, and they answer to Him in everything. In the end they must give Him an account. The emphasis rests on "God's."

We are not fellow-workers with God, but under Him. We are His fellow-workers, but in entire subjection to Him, in no way on a level with Him. The wording in the Authorised and Revised Versions of 1 Cor. 3:9 and 2 Cor. 6:1 is ambiguous and dangerous. Many have read it as putting God and His servants on the same level. Read that way, it is evil and presumptuous.

God's only reward is the doing of His will. The Spirit of adoption leads the feet of God's true children in the steps of Jesus, and so makes them co-workers with Him in His work. It is a wonderful thing to say, but it fits the character of our calling perfectly; for through redemption God calls us into the fellowship of His own Son.

Each, however, had his own distinctive work. In the field, Paul planted and Apollos followed to water the young plants. In the building, Paul was the wise architect who laid the foundation, and Apollos built on it. Their work was different, but their aim was one... So God keeps both unity and variety among His servants, and no one is to be set against another.

They are "God's field" and "God's building". The first picture is a field, where there is fruit, or increase, for God. The second is a temple, where the Spirit of God lives and where there is light for people... The truth Paul used to meet and condemn divisions in those early days still condemns the divisions of Christendom today. If we realise that we belong to God, that we are "God's field" and "God's building", we will refuse to be called by any party name.

Building pictures the raising up of a spiritual house for God, and Christ is its Builder... Others build too, but only as His instruments. Paul calls himself "a wise master builder", or better, "architect", because he laid the foundation of the church well, and that foundation is Christ. The workers are warned about the material they use in building a house for God. Unsuitable materials will not stand the test of fire. Then the builders suffer loss: they see their work burned up and lose their reward.

If it is a question of tillage — it is God's field; or if it is a building, it is God's building — God's temple... This principle makes you independent of everybody. It clears you of every influence but one: "I have to do with God. I must answer to God." It makes no difference whether people praise me or criticise me.

Even the apostle loved to tie his work and his office to the grace of God rather than to bare authority. That instinct has so faded from Christendom that ministry has become a merely human thing and has even taken on a worldly character. The loss to the church is beyond words, and the dishonour to the Lord is most serious... Here we have the responsibility of the one who ministers. The apostle's place stands, but so does responsible service, and that is a serious thing.

Others are builders too, but only as instruments. Paul calls himself a "wise master builder," or better, an "architect," because he laid the foundation of the assembly well. That foundation is Christ.

Jesus Christ must be the foundation. If He is not, then what is built is not the assembly of God... The foundation is the teaching that believers have received into their hearts. When Paul first came to Corinth he preached "Jesus Christ and Him crucified." That was the foundation, and every other part of the building should take its character from it.

In the same way today, whoever the workmen may be, no one can lay any foundation but Jesus Christ. The Lord said, "on this rock I will build my church." For his part, the apostle Paul did this same work as a wise master builder. He laid that same foundation, so no one has the right to lay another.

Paul, as a wise master builder, laid the foundation. When others build, he warns them not to build with wrong materials — wood, hay, straw — which will be destroyed. The building work was put into man's hands as a responsibility, and so it came under judgment. "On this rock I will build my church" gives me Christ's building, and that is still going on; it is not finished yet... All that is Christ's work, what men call the invisible church, and so it is. But on the other hand, "let each one take care how he builds upon it" — that is, on the foundation Paul laid. There you have man's work as a responsible instrument.

The work of Christ in building His Church must be perfect... But, as this passage in 1 Corinthians teaches, He also entrusts the work of building to His servants, and He holds them responsible for the character of their work.

Each builder must keep the character of the foundation in mind. It should control how he builds and also what materials he uses. In verse 10 the Apostle stresses how we build; in verse 12 it is what we build. The builders' motives must fit Christ, and so must the methods and principles that guide them.

Builders may raise very different material on that foundation. Some of it is precious, like the great, costly stones of the temple. Some of it is worthless and vile. And here man's judgment fails. No doubt many a believer at Corinth had prized the hay and straw of human wisdom and looked down on the gold and silver of apostolic truth. So there is need of another day, and of the Lord's own discernment.

It is only in a secondary and relative sense that the apostle can call himself a founder... God's building rests on one eternal truth: the person of Christ. He is now "declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead." That truth is essential and life-giving. Receiving it by faith sets the believer in his place as a stone of God's building.

Jesus Christ must be the foundation, otherwise what is built is not the church of God. There are many other kinds of institutions in this world... but only what rests on the foundation of Jesus Christ is God's church. The foundation is the doctrine received into the hearts of those who have believed, and when Paul first came to Corinth he preached "Jesus Christ and him crucified." That was the foundation, and every other part of the building should take its character from it.

As to Peter being the foundation, except as a mighty instrument in God's hands, I do not believe it for a moment, because Paul says, "no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."... I could not trust my soul to any foundation but Christ. None has died for me but He. None is the truth but He... Besides, if Peter was the foundation, how can the pope be so now? The foundation of the church cannot be laid now.

Are you thoroughly satisfied with God's foundation? Or are you trying to add something of your own? Your own works, your prayers, your church rituals, your vows and resolutions, your religious duties? If so, if you are trying to add the smallest bit to God's Christ, you may be sure you will be put to shame. God will not allow such dishonour to be offered to His tested, chosen, precious cornerstone... He is enough for God, and He may well be enough for us.

That foundation must be divine, the work of God's Holy Spirit. Thank God for that. We begin with an unchangeable, eternal foundation. The work in the soul of the believer must be on the basis of the work accomplished at Calvary for God's glory and our eternal salvation. That foundation can never, thank God, be destroyed.

The house that Christ builds in grace is permanent and eternal. What man builds in responsibility is another thing altogether. The one is unfailing, the other utterly failing, and so it will be judged... Paul laid the true foundation; no other could be laid. Other builders might build "gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw." Fire would test everything. Whether the work lasted depended on the materials. The teaching of the servants brought in souls according to its own character.

But in 1 Corinthians 3 we have human builders, and a temple or building which is then in existence. As a wise master-builder, Paul had laid the foundation; the work was well done; but here man's responsibility comes in. Every man must take care how he builds on it. A builder may put wood, hay, or straw into the building. Then the work comes to nothing, though the builder himself is saved — saved only as through fire. A third case is also mentioned: the man who corrupts the temple of God, and God will destroy him… Now in all this we have a temple whose state depends on builders or corrupters. Man's responsibility comes into it, and the state of things depends on his faithfulness. So the building may be built badly, or corrupted. This cannot be where Christ builds.

The foundation, as he says, is Christ — the truth about Him which the first inspired teacher communicated. All later building is by teaching. That teaching shapes and forms everyone who accepts it. So building and building people up are the same thing — in the original, the same word. The care was to be about the material used: "gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw" (v. 12). So these materials refer first of all to doctrines.

Gold, silver, and precious stones will survive the fire. In fact the fire will make them shine more brightly. The gold speaks of the glory of God. What has been done for His glory will receive a reward. Silver speaks of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. What has been done out of appreciation for His sacrifice will receive a reward. Precious stones speak of the fruit of the Spirit reflected in the believer, and this too will receive a reward.

It is putting wood, hay, or straw on the foundation instead of gold, silver, or precious stones. That is, it is bringing souls into the assembly of God who have no divine life. This can happen in two ways. The first is the preaching of false doctrines. Such doctrines overturn the truths of Christianity. They set aside, for example, the need for the new birth, or the need for cleansing by the precious blood of Christ. Teaching like that brings natural men into the Church — men who do not have the Spirit of God. The second way is openly bringing into the assembly people who are not saved through faith in the Lord Jesus.

A man may teach sound doctrine, or he may teach what is worthless. And the images used — "gold, silver, precious stones" — suggest that the doctrines taught differ in value. In the same way, "wood, hay, straw" suggests that some errors are worse than others.

Men may build very different material on that foundation. Some of it is precious, like the great and costly stones of the temple. Some of it is worthless and vile. And here man's judgment is at fault. No doubt many a Corinthian believer had prized the hay and straw of man's wisdom, and looked down on the gold and silver of apostolic truth. So we need another day, and the Lord's discernment.

Gold, silver, and precious stones do not make nearly as great a show as wood, hay, or straw. What a great pile of hay we may gather, boasting of how much we have done! But what anguish of heart when the fire tests it and it all burns up.

The "day" (v. 13) always has to do with judgment. It is the day that tries the work; it is simply and entirely judgment. The day will be revealed in fire, and that fire will test people's work. No doubt this will happen when Christ is revealed... The work might be tested any day. But when that day comes, God will bring to light the purposes of their hearts, for they are stewards of the mystery of Christ.

The day of trial will test the work of each one... Anything built with wood, hay or stubble will not stand the fire of judgment. Souls may be held together for a time with false doctrine, as we see on every hand in Christendom, but such work will not stand the fire.

In 1 Corinthians 3:13 he had told us that "each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it." Here we have THE DAY when God's opinion will be heard. This is MAN'S DAY, when people insist on making their opinion heard. That day is completely against the Apostle and everyone who thinks like him. The opinion of "man's day" was a very small thing with Paul.

At the judgment seat of Christ, the fire of infinite holiness will test everything. It will destroy all that was not the fruit of the Spirit. Notice, that "the fire will test what sort of work each one has done." It does not say "how much it is." The question is quality, not quantity. That day will destroy a vast amount of so-called Christian work, but all that has truly been for Christ will stand the test.

Rome has famously built one of its main proofs of purgatory on this passage. But that idea is itself a sample of the rubbish the apostle warns against... a day of sifting judgment is meant and not some intermediate state now after death. Fire is a picture of His judicial action, which burns up all dross. It is not punishment for the spirit or soul separated from the body, and it is not a process of purifying it... Besides, the fire tests the work of each one. It tests the apostle's work as surely as the work of his critics. Gold, silver, and precious stones go into the fire just as much as the material that burns.

No doubt we will review our whole path here in the light of that judgment seat. All that has been of the flesh will be loss then... Fire signifies the trial of the judgment of God. "Our God is a consuming fire." "Everyone will be salted with fire." But this applies to the Christian's ways and work, not to the Christian himself.

Whatever is "of faith" will both stand and be unerringly appreciated in the coming day. All that is not of faith, though acceptable in the eyes of men, will surely disappear before the face of Him who is as a consuming fire to the flesh. But until that day comes, no one can settle the quality of much that is done, day after day, in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the claimed interest of truth... Christian opinion is not fire; nor is popularity an unerring proof of worth.

In 1 Corinthians 3, the wood, hay and stubble are not sins. He is speaking of preaching and teaching. A man may be a real Christian on the foundation, and yet all his labour may be bad labour, because he taught nonsense and empty ideas — even if it was not heresy. When trial tests it, it all goes. He is not lost, but his work is, and he is badly shaken. Paul is speaking of his own work, or the work of Apollos or others — not of their sins.

First, if a man's work survives, he will receive a reward (v. 14). The man is saved, and his work stands... Second, if a man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, only as through fire (v. 15). The man is saved, but his work is all lost. There is no reward. Suppose I have been busy building something up, and in the day of the Lord I find it was all a mistake. What loss I will suffer!... Third, if anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him (v. 17). The man is lost, and his work is lost.

It is well known that Rome has built on this passage one of its chief proofs of purgatory... But clearly the faithful in general and their ways are not in question here. Ministers and their teaching are. And the day meant is a day of sifting judgment, not some in-between state after death. Fire is the picture of God's judicial action, which burns up all the dross. It is not punishment for the spirit or soul on its own, and it is not a process of purifying it. "Saved, but only as through fire" marks how hard the escape is... Besides, God tests each man's work this way — the apostle's work as surely as the work of the men who ran him down. The fire tests gold, silver and precious stones no less than the material that burns... The real danger is bringing rubbish in where the true foundation is owned — not fundamental error or teaching against Christ, but airy notions and loose rules about practice, which the day of trial would expose and destroy.

They will be saved, but only as through fire. Think of Lot, who escaped out of Sodom. His righteous soul was tormented there, and everything he had built up in Sodom burned. But a believer's salvation does not depend on his service and work.

The believer is saved because the foundation under him cannot be destroyed. But how sad that so much of what filled his time should be destroyed in judgment, and that fire should be his salvation. The question here is not eternal salvation through the atoning work of the cross. It is salvation under God's government — rescue from the tangles that would keep the soul out of its inheritance.

The work of some stands, and they receive a reward straight from the hand of the Lord who was once pierced for their sins at Calvary. Others will see their work burned up. They "suffer loss," which means they lose the promised crown. They are saved, but only as through fire. They just get into heaven, and that is all. There is no rich welcome for them. It was the rock under their feet that saved them.

We should seek to make a holy use of these verses by keeping pressure on our nature in all its vanities, lusts and tempers. That is how the Lord meant us to use them. He never meant us to use them in a legal way, to shake our confidence in Christ and His full salvation... The deepest sense of grace, and the clearest grasp of our perfect justification as sinners, will never weaken our sense of how solemn the judgment seat of Christ is.

The apostle now appeals to the Corinthians, briefly but with energy, about the character of this building he has been speaking of. He is not announcing a new truth to them. It was something very well known, which they still did not value as they should. What a marvel of divine grace that they should be indwelt by the Spirit of God! We know it as a doctrine just as well as they did. Has the wonder of it grown less with us? Do we need to be urged about our responsibility in view of this relationship to the Supreme?

So God has His temple on earth now as surely as He had of old in Israel… It was always the presence of God that made God's temple. Its true glory was not the costly stones, nor the splendour of gold or silver. It was the cloud in which the LORD was pleased to come down… So now it is not just that there are Christians. God has His house, or temple. It is the assembly. Not the people taken one by one, but those built together for that purpose by the Spirit… The Spirit does dwell in each believer, but that is another truth… How solemn that a divine Person, the Holy Spirit, dwells where Christians are — and this because of redemption!

The Holy Spirit is not in an assembly as God's house or dwelling. He is in the assembly… The assembly is as much the house, or temple, of God as it is the body… And if the Holy Spirit dwells in that dwelling place, is He to do nothing there, or to direct everything?

Where He dwells, God is necessarily everything. His dwelling is holy. All His name and nature are displayed there. Man may not put his folly on show there. There is no room for rival schools and religious pride. Who is Paul? Who is Apollos? Glory itself belongs to that temple.

The apostle is not speaking of practical holiness here. He means the holiness that comes from the Spirit dwelling in them. And that indwelling is the power of practical holiness. He presses the responsibility of those who act in arrogant defiance of Him. In grace He has taken this place of relationship with the redeemed people of God.

And notice, these words describe not what the church will be by and by, but what it is now. How loudly such facts call for holiness of heart and life! They call for "truth in the inward being," and for conformity to His will in everything! Could anything be more solemn, and yet could anything be more blessed? To have a place there, to be at home with God in His holy temple, to live where "God's Spirit dwells" — that is our highest dignity and richest blessing on earth.

Two thoughts go with the House of God: approach and display. We see the first in the Tabernacle and the second in the Temple of Solomon. As far as we know, the term "House of God" is never used of any local company of saints, but the temple is, as we have it here. It views the saints in Corinth as the shrine from which God showed Himself. The New Testament uses two words for "temple", hieron and naos. The first takes in all the temple buildings; the second only the sanctuary or inner shrine. It is naos here.

Paul addressed this to the saints at Corinth as a body. What was true of the saints at Corinth is true of the local assembly in any city. The Holy Spirit is not only in each one who composes the assembly, but He dwells in the assembly as a company. It is this that makes it such a serious matter for anyone to defile the temple of God.

"Defile" and "destroy" in this verse are the same word and warn that God would repay with justice anyone who defiled this temple. Such a person would not have the knowledge of God. His presence in that company was spoiling the pure display of God's nature and character, either by bad doctrine or by bad practice. Take a person in that company who could only corrupt, by his teaching and his practice. God would corrupt him in the end. Such a one would be like a weed among the wheat.

God's holiness attaches also to His temple... But what exactly does the apostle mean, and who takes on this guilt? To answer that, we must first ask another question: what makes the temple holy? Paul says, "you are God's temple." But how did they become that? The answer is, "through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth." God's temple is founded on His truth. So it is false teaching, above all, that defiles it. Moral debasement and corruption always follow false teaching, and they defile it too. Holiness can only live with truth.

Verse 17 however does not speak of a builder, but a destroyer, and therefore not a believer at all. Some people outside are willing to do Satan's work of destruction. Sometimes "fierce wolves" come in among the saints, meaning to destroy... This refers to an enemy. Even so, let the believer be careful not to look like a destroyer in the slightest way.

There is the enemy at work, using men who bear the Lord's name, to corrupt or destroy. For God speaks of evil doctrine according to its own nature, if it works unhindered... Awful end! Could the holy God feel or act otherwise? It is useless to plead love; for in truth the blow of love, caring for the objects it loves, is beyond everything to be feared. He will surely destroy those whom Satan uses in this way, under whatever disguise, to pollute the very streams of life and blessing for souls.

God's dwelling-place holds this holy and exalted position. So it is clear that nothing unholy, in principle or in practice, must be tolerated. Everyone connected with it should feel the weight and seriousness of that word: "the place on which you are standing is holy ground."... Most weighty words these, for every member of God's assembly — for every stone in His holy temple!

The verse seems to hint that unconverted men had already found a place among the believers there, through an outward acceptance of the Gospel. On the strength of their supposed intelligence, they were taking the place of teachers in the Church. Nothing is easier than deceiving yourself; nothing is harder than really judging yourself. What Paul rejects here is any recognition of natural gift or influence as carrying weight in the Church of God. True grace in believers will freely admit the many social differences among those whom God has called. But to use natural ability, or the accident of birth or social position in the world, as a way to get ahead or to gain personal influence in the Church means forgetting completely what God's house is. It means forgetting the presence and the holiness of Him who lives there by His Spirit.

It is possible, then, to deceive yourself that what is being taught is true, when in fact it is worthless. The great source of deception is trying to stand well with the world by fitting Christianity to the wisdom of this world. The servant who will stand for the truth must be willing to become a fool in the eyes of the world. Then, indeed, he will have the wisdom that is true in God's sight.

We have to remember that knowledge and wisdom are different things. Knowledge covers far more ground in our day than in the first century, yet the Apostle could write, "We all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up" (1 Cor. 8:1). There is nothing wrong with real knowledge. But the men who gain it are fallen sinners, and it puffs them up to their own ruin. Wisdom is the ability to apply and use knowledge well. That ability fallen man has not.

How much better and safer it is to become a fool, so that you may be wise! That was the path the apostle took, in obedience to the vision from heaven. Did he not seem foolish in the eyes of all with whom he broke? Was he not wise, whatever a Festus might say? What and where is Festus now? And Agrippa and Bernice? And the high priest and the accusing chiefs of the Jews? They thought themselves wise. So did others in the Corinthian church who brought in the wisdom of the schools to dodge the cross and stand well with the men of their time.

Bring man's wisdom into the preaching of the gospel, and it empties the cross of Christ of its power. Bring it into the teaching of God's truth, and it causes strife and sects, and puts "philosophy and empty deceit" in the place of that mystery in which "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Bring it into the ordering of the Church, and it pushes out the directions of Scripture for rules and forms that men have invented.

Worldliness and worldly wisdom were dangers to the believers at Corinth. So the Apostle shows them that it was the worldly wise, the rulers of this age, who crucified the Lord of glory. And He is the hidden wisdom of God, the One whom God has made wisdom to us who are in Christ Jesus… "So let no one boast in men." Why? Because we have the Lord Himself, whom men crucified, to boast in; and we belong to Him. And since we are His, the Apostle adds, "All things are yours. You are Christ's, and Christ is God's."

Paul had to say that the wisdom of this world is folly with God. Now the word he uses for "world", kosmos, means the world as an ordered system. All human wisdom has been at work ordering that system. Well, what a mess the world is in! There will be no way out of it until Divine power, working in Divine wisdom, steps in.

The world had plenty of time to develop its wisdom. The result was that all the wisdom of the philosophers proved to be folly, because it left man in complete ignorance of God. The end of all man's wisdom is that "the world by wisdom knew not God". It was not that the world failed to know God through ignorance or stupidity; it was by its wisdom that it did not know God. All the wisdom of the ages — the combined efforts of the keenest minds in the world — leaves man in utter ignorance of God, and in utter ignorance of himself.

People have written whole volumes to prove — as if that were possible — that Job never existed, and that the book is only a page of Arabian romance. But Ezekiel among the prophets (Ezek. 14:14, 20), and James among the apostles (James 5:11), guarantee the life, trials, and death of Job. And Paul confirms the divine character of the book by quoting from it, introducing the quotation with the usual formula "it is written" (1 Cor. 3:19, with Job 5:13).

The wisdom of this world commands the respect of the natural man. At times it may look very attractive even to the Christian, as it did to the believers at Corinth. Still, it is folly with God. The very wisdom of the world becomes its undoing, for it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness". The wisdom of this world is mere craft, and it traps those who boast in it.

But everywhere, outside even more than inside, "the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God"; yet nowhere is its character so exposed, nowhere is indulging it so dangerous, as in the temple of God — the church. So it is written in Job and in Psalm 94. Whether one looks back on past experience or forward to the kingdom, it makes no difference: least of all can human craft or clever reasonings suit God's temple, and those who trade in them there will not escape His judgment.

"The temple of God" is in view. As I come up to this building — and it is God's building — I see written over the entrance, as it were, these words: "He catches the wise in their craftiness." It says this to me: if you bring the wisdom of the world into this building, you will be found out. Remember, this is God's temple, and what is of the world — what is human — will all be found out and judged. Human wisdom is of no use there.

It is possible, then, to deceive oneself that what is being taught is true, when, in fact, it is worthless. The great source of deception is trying to stand well with the world by fitting Christianity to the wisdom of this world. The servant who will stand for the truth must be content to become a fool in the eyes of the world; then, indeed, he will have the true wisdom according to God.

The wisdom of this world wins respect from people who do not know God. At times it can look very attractive even to a Christian, as it did to the believers at Corinth. Still, it is foolishness with God. The very wisdom of the world becomes its undoing, for Scripture says, "He takes the wise in their own craftiness." The wisdom of this world is mere craft, and it traps those who boast in it. The Lord knows that the "reasonings" of the wise are vain.

Thoughts are hidden inside the heart, and one of man's strange delusions is that they are therefore hidden from God, who knows all things. Yet Scripture says, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are vain" (1 Cor. 3:20; Ps. 94:11). The Son, come as man, had this same complete knowledge and showed it. Simeon told Mary that one purpose of His mission was that "the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed" (Luke 2:35).

Everywhere — outside the church even more than inside it — "the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God." Yet nowhere is its true character so exposed, and nowhere is giving in to it so dangerous, as in the temple of God — the church. Whether you look back at past experience or forward to the kingdom, it makes no difference. Human craft and clever reasonings least of all suit God's temple, and those who deal in them there will not escape His judgment. And why should people boast, when with Christ they have all things?

The Corinthians were a clever people in this world, and they were beginning to bring their own cleverness and energy into the temple of God; they had not learned to become fools that they might be wise. Our own wise thoughts are our greatest hindrance.

It is very important to remember this, because a spirit of mental arrogance is the special mark of the present age. Men have made such wonderful discoveries. They have solved such difficult problems and built such complex, highly imaginative philosophies, that they feel completely competent to set themselves up as masters of the Christian faith. They claim the liberty to criticise it and change it as they please. In the end they only give an excellent modern example of how true the inspired words are.

So he says, "The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise that they are vain. So let no one boast in men" (1 Cor. 3:20, 21). Why? Because we have the Lord Himself whom men crucified to boast in; and we belong to Him. And since we are His, the Apostle adds, "All things are ours. You are Christ's, and Christ is God's."

So in 1 Corinthians the apostle meets an unspiritual preference for one servant of Christ over another. It was unspiritual because it shut the others out. Against it he presses the broad and blessed truth, "All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas." What Paul rebuked was a sectarian spirit about those who ministered.

Let us not glory in men. Some of those in whom the Corinthians had been glorying may have been men of a very poor kind. But let us not glory in the best of men. On the one hand, no man is worth it, as 1 Corinthians 1 showed us. On the other hand, as emphasised here, grace has given us a place which should put us far above glorying in a mere man.

Taking up the apostle's figure, those who said they were of Paul lost Apollos and Cephas. Those who said they were of Cephas lost Paul and Apollos. Why not benefit by all the gifts an ascended Lord has seen fit to give to His church? The church is a whole.

So we as Christians are warned against glorying in men. To do so would put us in the false position of seeming to belong to those we glory in. As Christians we do not belong to men. All things belong to us, in the sense that we belong to Christ and are set above them all. The Corinthians were lining up under certain teachers as if they belonged to different gifted men. No, says the Apostle, they all belong to you.

How are they ours? Verse 23 answers that. They are ours because we are Christ's, and Christ is God's. All things are God's. No one can dispute that, and there we begin. But then God has His Christ, who is the Heir of all things. And, most wonderful to say, Christ plans to take real hold of His mighty possessions by putting His own people in possession of them.

The wealth of the world passes into the hands of the people of God. People outside of Christ have a right to nothing, and so they own nothing. In the end that is how it will turn out. Those who go out of the world as pilgrims still carry all the good of the world with them. The world that wants to enjoy it must hand it over to them. To him who belongs to the world the world cannot belong.

While we belong to no one but Christ, all things belong to us. "Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas," and so on. They are all in the place of servants to us, no longer as masters. Even death itself has lost the mastery. It is now to the believer, not a master, but a messenger of peace — his servant. It can no longer look on me as its prey; the world can no longer say I am its own.

Before we reach the striking statement at the end, we are told, "All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours." Popular Christianity would crown this glorious wealth by saying, "And best of all, Christ is yours." But the Scripture does not say that at all. What it says is, "YOU ARE CHRIST'S, and Christ is God's."

As Christians, then, we are warned against boasting in men. To do so would put us in the false position of belonging to the men we boast in. As Christians we do not belong to men. All things belong to us, in the sense that we are set above everything because we belong to Christ. The Corinthians were lining themselves up under certain teachers, as if they belonged to different gifted men. No, says the Apostle, they all belong to you.

Suppose that in our relationship to the Church of God we treat any people as our people. Then we will always be jealous about them. We will always be afraid of their listening to anybody but ourselves. We will always be anxious to shape their opinions to fit our own, perhaps very narrow, minds. In any case, no man — I do not care how great he is — no man has all the gifts... All things are ours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas. So anything that hinders the working of all the gifts God gives for God's people is false in principle.

Writing to non-Jews, he wants them to know that they have the same interest in what Peter taught as in the words of their own God-inspired apostle. For Peter, the apostle to the Jews, was, like his "beloved brother Paul," a minister of Christ.

The Lord's chosen servants are not the only possession of His saints. The world too, and all it contains, is theirs, for Jesus has overcome the world... He is already crowned on high with all dominion. But so far He has only claimed this world; He has not yet enforced that claim... For this very reason, those whom the Spirit leads keep away from the world and its honours until its rightful owner comes.

Christ's victory has completely changed how death looks to His believing people. It is no longer "the king of terrors" (Job 18:14) to us. On the contrary, death is ours, as the rejoicing apostle tells us in 1 Cor. 3:21-22. In other words, it is a servant that serves for our blessing.

Death is mine in the highest sense; not merely in the lower sense, that, as it is appointed to men once to die, I may have to die; but, in the highest sense, Death is mine; for death itself, in the divine use of it — in the way God has used it — has been, and is marvellously mine, my own: my boast and my song.

For the believer who wants to walk godly in Christ Jesus, present things are more often painful than pleasant. Yet he carries peace within him, and by faith he already holds immortality and glory. While he suffers the troubles allotted to him, he knows that all things work together for his good... The man without Christ holds only an uncertain allowance from time. The believer holds the earth and all its fullness by his Redeemer's title.

How are they ours? Verse 23 answers that. They are ours because we are Christ's, and Christ is God's. All things are God's... But God has His Christ, who is the Heir of all things. And, most wonderful to say, Christ plans to take hold of His own mighty possessions by putting His saints into possession.

Popular Christianity would crown this glorious wealth by adding, "And best of all, Christ is yours." But Scripture does not say that at all. What it says is, "You are Christ's, and Christ is God's." Christ was and is and always will be completely at God's disposal, the willing Servant of His good pleasure. In the same way, we are to be at Christ's disposal.