Talk 6 1 Corinthians 3:9-23 God’s Holy Temple – the Church
In the last two talks we have been looking at wisdom and contrasting the wisdom of man with the vastly superior wisdom of God.
Paul’s discussion of wisdom is set in the context of the problems of division in the church in Corinth and is probably included there because one of the causes of division may well have been an immature boasting in human wisdom.
The theme of division continues in chapter 3 and (back in Talk 3) we have already considered the first 9 verses in seeking to identify some of the things that were causing that division.
Today we turn our attention to the rest of the chapter where we see that the church is God’s holy temple and that to cause division within it is a very serious matter indeed.
We’ll begin in vv 16-17 and then come back to verse 9 and work through the passage systematically.
The church is God’s holy temple
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
Don’t you know that….
Paul uses this 10 times in this letter – 3:16, 5:6, 6:2, 3, 9, 15, 16, 19, 9:13, 24. Given their own emphasis on wisdom and knowledge this may be more than a rhetorical device.
Rather, Can it be that you who boast in your knowledge do not know that…..?
you yourselves are
Note the plural. Elsewhere the individual is described as the temple of the Spirit (6:19), but here it is the gathered church that is referred to (cf. Ephesians 2:22).
temple
The Greek is naos here, rather than hieron.
This suggests that the inner shrine is thought of rather than the whole temple.
The church is the innermost sanctuary of God – the Holy of Holies
Causing division in the church has serious consequences
17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
To destroy the local church is to ‘touch the ark’ (cf. 2 Samuel 6:6-8).
Their divisions were pulling the church apart.
Barrett sees the activities of the Judaisers here.
In holding their view they destroy the basis of their own salvation.
We are God’s fellow workers and he uses us in building his church
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
Cf Mark 16:20. But here supernatural confirmation of the word is not in mind.
Our being co-labourers with God is one aspect of our identification with Christ. Compare 2 Corinthians 6:1 and the verses that precede it.
We must therefore be careful how we build
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
expert builder
The Greek architekton does not mean architect but rather suggest one who superintends the work of building, a master of works
I laid a foundation i.e. Christ (v 11)
be careful
Who should be careful? Probably those who were currently leading the church. The foundation is all important but in itself it’s not enough.
It’s what’s built on top that matters.
Christ is the only possible foundation for the Christian church (v11)
but even with a right foundation it’s possible to build a useless superstructure.
The church must be built on no other foundation than Jesus Christ
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
It is vitally important that we build with the right materials
12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,
13 his work will be shown for what it is,
Paul list 6 building materials, 3 durable, 3 perishable.
Gold, silver and precious stones occur in the OT to describe the building materials of the Temple.
Paul may well see the Church as the fulfilment of OT prophecies about the Temple.
The Day is coming when our work will be shown for what it is
13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.
Paul is clearly talking about a judgment for Christians,
but it is not the man who is to be judged, but his work.
Neither is it his sin that is to be judged, for that was judged at the cross.
But the Day is coming when every Christian’s work will be shown for what it is by the fire of divine judgment
If what we have built survives, we will be rewarded
14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.
15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
The person who has built with durable materials such as gold, silver etc (i.e. has built with the things of eternal value) will receive a reward (literally, wage). Nowhere are we told what the reward is, but in 4:5 Paul talks about receiving praise from God (cf. Matthew 25:21, 23 ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’).
he will suffer loss
The man who has lived for the perishable things of this world will receive no wage. His work will be lost – but not his soul. See below.
one escaping through the flames
The Day is marked by conflagration. The workman, caught in the flames of his own badly constructed house runs the risk of being engulfed. In fact he will escape, but as one who dashes through the flames. The important thing is to understand that this is a metaphor, pure and simple. Could this be a reference to the Judaisers who built with bad materials on the foundation of Christ?
Summary so far:
- The church is God’s holy temple
- Causing division in the church has serious consequences
- We are God’s fellow workers and he uses us in building his church
- We must therefore be careful how we build
- The church must be built on no other foundation than Jesus Christ
- It is vitally important that we build with the right materials
- The Day is coming when our work will be shown for what it is
- If what we have built survives, we will be rewarded
But finally –
Boasting in human wisdom is totally inappropriate in light of the amazing privileges we have as being part of God’s church
18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”
20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”
21 So then, no more boasting about men! 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 you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
In verses 18-20 Paul returns to the theme of wisdom again. In v 21 he says Don’t glory in men. All things are yours. Don’t limit yourself to one teacher. They’re all yours. The whole ministry is for the whole church.
v18 Do not deceive yourselves
Paul warns that if you think you’re wise, you’re deceiving yourself. In their pursuit of human wisdom and knowledge the Corinthians were actually deluded because they were ignoring the wisdom of God
v19 the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight
Note that Paul has completely reversed the order of 1:18-25 where God’s wisdom is foolishness to the world
v21 all things are yours….
The Corinthians had been saying I belong to Paul. Now Paul says I belong to you!
Verses 22-23 could be summarised as follows:
Why are you quarrelling when everything is yours? All the ministries of the church are yours. The world is yours! Life is yours. Death is yours (the gateway to heaven). You have everything in Christ. You belong to him and he belongs to God. In the light of that, how petty our differences are!