Paul has been cautioning his readers not to think of apostles or teachers in the wrong kind of way. They are not to be elevated to a status equal to or close to that of the status of Christ. All the apostles and teachers are human beings, just like everyone else. All the apostles and teachers once were lost sinners but now are saved by the grace of God and are working to help build up the church of Christ. Paul is worried because the young church at Corinth still seems worldly, plus he is worried that more worldly things will creep in.
"For we are co-workers in God's service; you are God's field, God's building." (1 Corinthians 3:9) Paul is saying, "We apostles are servants of the Lord, doing what He has told us to do. He has told us to work on your behalf, to bring you to Christ and to make you fruitful."
"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:10-11) Any builder with wisdom knows a foundation must be laid first. The structure will not stand unless it is set on a good foundation. Paul is the apostle who laid the foundation in Corinth. He taught them the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the foundation upon which the church stands, and this is the foundation upon which our faith stands. But since Paul departed from Corinth, he knows other teachers have taken up the work, so he cautions everyone who works for the Lord to be careful what he or she is adding to the structure.
"If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, their 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 person's work." (1 Corinthians 3:12-13) It's important to remember Paul is talking about the work that has been done by believers. He's not making threats about the fires of hell, but is using fire as a metaphor for the testing of each person's work. Fire doesn't destroy gold or silver or costly stones, but it does destroy wood or hay or straw.
"If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved---even though only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Corinthians 3:14-15) The judgment of believers has to do with rewards. If a person has built wisely on the foundation, he or she will be rewarded for it. If a person has not built wisely on the foundation---or if a person has not built anything at all---he or she receives no reward. I feel that Bible scholar Adam Clarke explains this concept very well by saying, "The apostle obviously refers to the case of a man, who, having builded a house, and begun to dwell in it, the house happens to be set on fire, and he has warning of it just in time to escape with his life, losing at the same time his house, his goods, his labor, and almost his own life. So he who, while he holds the doctrine of Christ crucified as the only foundation on which a soul can rest its hopes of salvation, builds at the same time, on that foundation, antimonianism (legalism, teaching salvation by keeping the law), or any other erroneous or destructive doctrine, he shall lose all his labor, and his own soul scarcely escape everlasting perdition." In other words, the person is still saved because he does believe in Christ, but he is saved only by the skin of his teeth. He receives no reward for the work he has done on the building, for his work was inferior. Or if he has done no work at all---if he is saved but has done nothing to advance the gospel of Christ---he receives no reward.
"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for God's temple is sacred, and you together are that temple." (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) The Holy Spirit dwells within each believer, so in that sense each person's body is the temple of God and also the church as a whole is the temple of God. Just as God's glory came down in the physical temple at Jerusalem, God's glory has come down to each of us who trusts in Christ. Defiling or destroying the temple was an act worthy of death, and Paul equates the teaching of false doctrine to believers with defiling or destroying the temple. No one should teach anything that frustrates the message of grace. This could cause believers to fall away from the faith, and anyone who causes a person to do that is subject to the harshest penalties.
Paul now circles back around to the current problem at Corinth, which is that the church members are arguing about which apostle or teacher they are disciples of. "Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become 'fools' so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: 'He catches the wise in their craftiness'; and again, 'The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.' So then, no more boasting about human leaders!" (1 Corinthians 3:18-21a) In yesterday's passage Paul told the Corinthian believers that they were still worldly. Here he quotes Job 5:13 and Psalm 94:11 to make his point. The church isn't to be worldly. What the world considers "wisdom" is foolishness to God, and what the world considers "foolishness" (the gospel message) is the wise plan of God by which He extends the offer of salvation to mankind. Gentiles in sophisticated cities like Corinth were used to saying they followed the teachings of this or that philosopher. They spent a great deal of time debating over the teachings of philosophers. But now that they are in Christ they are not to behave the same way in regard to apostles and teachers.
"All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter) or the world or life or death or the present or the future---all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." (1 Corinthians 3:21b-23) In saying "all things are yours", Paul tells the church, "We are all the same family. We are all God's temple. We should be unified, not divided. Together we are the church and everything belongs to the church because everything belongs to Christ and to those who are His."
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