Today we are continuing our conversation and processing through the book of 1 Corinthians. As a reminder, Corinth was a unique place in the region and really in the world. The city was a major crossroads. Because of its location and ports, the world passed through Corinth. As a result, it was a confluence of culture. It was politically Roman and culturally Greek, with many other things mixed in.
Paul lived in Corinth for about 18 months on his second missionary journey. A community of Jesus-followers was formed, and a church was planted. And then, three or four years after Paul left the city, he received an update telling him that the Corinthian church was drifting from focusing on Christ, drifting from keeping Jesus central, so he wrote them a letter.
Paul addresses dozens of issues in this letter, but all of the issues are symptoms of the underlying problem: whether or not Christ is central.
We’ve talked about how, in their culture, the people of Corinth wanted to be impressive. Being impressive was the whole point. And Paul has repeatedly put himself in direct contrast to this:
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. (1 Corinthians 1:17)
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21)
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. (1 Corinthians 1:27)
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I (Paul) came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. (1 Corinthians 2:1)
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. (1 Corinthians 2:6)
In Greek culture, the focus was on being impressive. Human greatness was the center. And Paul is saying that the focus needs to be on Jesus. We need to be built on Christ and directed by the Spirit of God, so Christ is central.
What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. (1 Corinthians 2:12)
1 Corinthians was written in about AD 55. A couple of years later, during Paul’s third missionary journey in about AD 57, there’s a moment I love in Paul’s ministry. We pick it up in Acts 20, where Paul is teaching in Troas, a major port city in modern-day northwest Turkey.
On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted. (Acts 20:7-12)
I love this moment. Paul was trying to get it all said before he left, and he talked Eutychus to death! But he was bailed out by a miracle from God, as Eutychus was raised from the dead—and then Paul continued talking! Hopefully nobody was sitting in the window after that. But in the end, the people went home comforted.
Let’s talk for a moment:
How do you learn most effectively?
How do you learn least effectively?
Today, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, we come to Paul’s declaration that growth is something that comes from focusing on and connecting with God.
I (Paul) planted the seed, 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. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)
The church in Corinth was quarreling and fighting. They were full of divisions built on their following of different people, whether that was Paul or Apollos or someone else. Paul tells them that this fighting is a symptom of what is really central to them, and it’s time to grow up.
A minute ago we talked about how we learn and grow most effectively. I want to add a couple more questions about learning.
What would the impact be if the quality of our learning were completely dependent on the quality of the teacher?
What stands out about someone who is good at learning, regardless of the quality of teaching?
There are two things that stand out to me as I think about this. The first is my personal ability to not learn or grow in a given situation. Perhaps many of us have skills in this area! And the second is that just because I think I’m learning and growing, that doesn’t mean I actually am learning and growing.
Paul started chapter 3 this way:
Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. (1 Corinthians 3:1-2a)
Maybe the first readers of this letter were thinking something like this: Yes, we used to be really immature. We didn’t know better. We had issues. But look at us now! We’ve grown so much! All of us followers of [Paul or Apollos] are really impressive! I bet Paul is about to compliment us!
But Paul continues:
Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? (1 Corinthians 3:2b-3)
Wait, what?? We thought we were impressive!
We’re all capable of thinking we’re growing and doing really well when in reality, we’re absolutely radiating immaturity.
In a moment, we’ll talk about why a person might have a false sense of spiritual health. But before we get there, I want to call your attention to three moments from the Gospels—moments when Jesus’ disciples really thought they were on the right track while they were actually missing it.
The first moment is recorded in Mark 8:33-37, Luke 9:46-48, and Matthew 18:1-5.
Here’s the context: Jesus and his disciples were traveling toward Jerusalem. Peter had just said that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus began explaining that being the Messiah would involve suffering and death. Peter objected and was strongly rebuked by Jesus (“Get behind me, Satan!”). Jesus then taught that following him requires self-denial and taking up one’s cross (Mark 8:34–38; Matthew 16:24–28; Luke 9:23–27)
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
Soon afterward, Jesus again told the disciples that He would be betrayed and killed. They didn’t understand but were afraid to ask Him about it. And in the middle of all this, the disciples showed their maturity (or lack thereof).
An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. (Luke 9:46)
They had to be having this fight because they thought they were doing so well! But Jesus responded this way:
Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” (Luke 9:47-48)
After this, they learned their lesson, right? Well…
The second moment I want to call your attention to is recorded in Mark 10:35-45 and Matthew 20:20-28. Jesus and the disciples were still on their way to Jerusalem. Jesus had just told them for the third time that He would be betrayed, condemned, mocked, flogged, killed, and rise again. And right after that, James and John approached Him.
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
“What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” (Mark 10:35-37)
Really?
And then the other disciples heard what had happened and were upset with James and John. But again Jesus’ response was a call for humility:
“and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:44-45 )
They learned the lesson this time, right?
The last moment I want to highlight is from Luke 22:24-27. Jesus and the disciples were at the Last Supper in Jerusalem, and Jesus told them that He would be betrayed and is about to die. And then the disciples began arguing about which of them is the greatest:
A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. (Luke 22:24)
Wait, what?? Really?
Once again, I’m sure they were having this argument because they knew they were on the right track and were doing a great job. And how did Jesus respond?
“For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22:27)
When this story is told in the book of John, this is the moment when Jesus washed their feet. And then He said this:
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:14-17)
Now it’s time to have that discussion:
What sets a person up to have a false sense of spiritual health?
In a culture where being impressive was everything, Paul writes this:
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)
Paul alludes to his time there in Corinth as a foundation and then says that it didn’t (and shouldn’t) end with his coming or going but that each person should build with care, keeping Jesus as the foundation. How do we do that?
What helps a person keep focus on Christ?
What helps a person help others keep focus on Christ (the “building with care” thing)?
Rewind to the start of the chapter. Paul writes this:
Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling 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,” are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. (1 Corinthians 3:1-6)
Some plant and some water, or some people introduce a person to Jesus while others help understanding grow. But God is the one who actually makes things grow.
As I mentioned earlier, I have a remarkable ability to not grow in a given situation, whether the teacher is good or bad. And we saw how the disciples thought they were amazing while missing the point—I have that skill too! Maybe you’re like me in all of that. Maybe you have other areas where you’d like to grow.
I’d like you to grab a piece of paper and take a minute to think about this question. Write out your answer as a prayer.
What personal traits, attributes, character qualities, or areas of maturity do you want God to grow in you?
As we close, I want to take you back to the Last Supper. Jesus has told His disciples that He is leaving them and that they will experience grief, opposition, and persecution, and the disciples are struggling to understand what Jesus is telling them. I love Jesus’ words to them:
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:12-13)
Let’s end with this conversation:
Where do you need the Spirit to guide you?
How could that impact your relationship with God and with others?
Take It Deeper Questions
Read Ephesians 1:15-23.
If you were going to explain prayer to a 9 year old, what would you say? How would you know if they understand your explanation?
Paul prays for the church in Ephesus:
Know God more deeply
See spiritual reality more clearly
Live with a deep sense of hope
Understand personal identity and inheritance
Experience God’s power
Live with confidence rather than fear
Recognize Jesus’ authority
Know that they belong to something much bigger than themselves
Which of these prayers would you like to have prayed for you?
How would it change you if that prayer were answered?
How are you challenged, focused, encouraged, and/or confused by Paul’s prayer?
Bible Reading Plan
1 Corinthians 3 • God’s Building
1 Corinthians 4 • Servants of Christ
Ephesians 2 • Made Alive in Christ
Romans 8 • Life by the Spirit
Colossians 1 • The Supremacy of Christ
1 Corinthians 12 • One Body, Many Members
Philippians 3 • Knowing Christ
2 Corinthians 4 • Eternal Perspective