1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER THREE - Verse-by-verse



1 CORINTHIANS chapter THREE

JACK

OUTLINE

1. THE FAILURE OF THE CORINTHIANS TO GROW ILLUSTRATED BY THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARD THEIR TEACHERS (VERSES 1-9).

2. The building metaphor and the local church (verses 10,11).

3. The building metaphor and the BEMA (verses 12-15).

4. The building metaphor and the individual believer (verses 16,17).

5. Intellectual arrogance the enemy of reprogramming (verses 18-23).

study of nhpios (nhpioj)

1. USED OF SMALL CHILDREN WHO ARE CAPABLE OF LEARNING BIBLE DOCTRINE (MATTHEW 21:16).

2. Used of positive volition who can learn secrets of the kingdom of God versus men of high I.Q. and academic training who can't due to the fact they are unwilling to become as children and learn (MATTHEW 11:25).

3. Used of men under various teachers before SAJG (ROMANS 2:20; GALATIANS 4:13; EPHESIANS 4:4: unbelievers teaching unbelievers).

Used of a new believer (HEBREWS 5:13).

Used of a believer who has failed to grow up (1 CORINTHIANS 3:1).

Used of coming of age of the Church Age (1 CORINTHIANS 13:11).

Summary verse 1

Paul is referring to his initial ministry to the Corinthians (c. 3½ years).

Paul, a wise master builder, handled these new believers according to their spiritual status.

PRINCIPLE: A PASTOR’S RESPONSIBILITY IS TO READ HIS CONGREGATION AND TEACH WHAT THEY NEED AND CAN HANDLE.

Paul had a group of babies.

Paul tells us that babies spend most of the time in the flesh.

This isn't abnormal, but the standard operating procedure for new believers.

He isn't critical of this since babies and small children will be children.

New believers, though positive, spend a lot of time under the STA.

This counters the idiocy which says new believers don’t desire to sin.

CONCLUSION: NEW BELIEVERS, IN SPITE OF ALL, WILL SPEND A BULK OF THEIR TIME UNDER THE STA.

When teaching new believers:

Recognize you are dealing with a brain computer loaded with false concepts.

Teach doctrine to their frame of reference (first things first) which means that you take nothing for granted.

Had they been “spiritual” that is with a frame of reference, you could have taught doctrine that presupposes past intake.

“Carnal” doesn’t mean they were never under the filling of the Holy Spirit, but were new believers with only the fleshly frame of reference (no grace orientation, no doctrine, goofy ideas, legalism, lust pattern unchecked).

“Spiritual’ here means Bible doctrine in the brain computer which demands the filling of the Holy Spirit (past versus present).

Summary verses 2,3

The “baby” stage is a legitimate period in the believers life.

It is characterized by a restricted diet.

New believers lack the necessary frame of reference to ingest certain doctrines, concepts, and principles.

You can't hurry them but must handle them according to their normal limitations.

A new believers has only a brain computer programmed with human viewpoint evil.

Although positive, he can't appreciate certain areas of Divine viewpoint without a good foundation.

The distinction between milk and solid food isn't between one doctrine versus another, but how a given doctrine is presented.

For instance, Divine essence isn't milk versus meat, but rather in what form it is presented.

When you tell a child what to do, you have to anticipate areas of ignorance in the doing where you wouldn’t so much with an adult.

PRINCIPLE: AN ADVANCE BELIEVER CAN ALWAYS PROFIT FROM MILK, BUT A BABY CAN NEVER HANDLE SOLID FOOD.

It has to be mashed up—puréed.

So a teacher must accommodate—cater to his audience.

If I know your frame of reference, I can take for granted you know certain facts and move on.

If I see new faces, I must on occasion present the information in an elementary fashion.

Milk is:

Doctrine good for all stages.

Doctrine as taught to babies (spiritual).

Doctrine, therefore, with extensive repetition and explanation.

Solid food is:

Bible doctrine.

Taught to older believers.

Doctrine taught taking for granted you know the ABCs. (I can mention the Exodus Generation without all the details; I can teach the Angelic Conflict without all the groundwork.)

The Corinthians four/five years later (51-56):

Had milk, but didn’t apply it; hence failed to grow.

Acted like unbeliever counterparts.

Their collective read-out = STA.

Demanded doctrine in milk form.

But with this twist: their formula had to be modified to take into account their perversions of milk.

Paul had a sick infant on his hands who had repudiated in large measure four years of milk.

It wasn’t the “parents” fault.

First Corinthians is the modified formula. (A formula can be complicate but the baby isn't aware of it.)

There still is no guarantee the child will respond.

As long as they refuse to apply, they must have milk.

Lack of grace orientation resulting in collective STA readout of jealousy and sectarianism is evidence of no growth.

This characterizes children: silly quarrels—so for unbelievers and new believers!

example, people who have never grown up

Summary verses 4-9

This section rebukes the STA attitude which distorts “right-pastor”.

Those who claim loyalty to Paul are not really loyal since they aren't orienting to his message.

Those who pit one over the other aren't profiting from either.

Both men had a ministry to Corinth, and both were grace orientated.

Paul uses a metaphor to make his point (babies).

The Father is the landowner.

Communicators are the hired help.

The land is the local church (soil = volition).

The seed here is Paul's initial ministry of evangelization and teaching.

Water is Apollos follow-up where water = Bible doctrine.

God causing the growth is Romans 8:28 where God provides the daily challenges to apply and grow.

This farming analogy is found in the parable of the sower, Hebrews 6:7,8 and James 5:7.

Each pastor-teacher will be rewarded according to his sowing and watering. (Establishment concept parallels the spiritual.)

The credit goes to God without whom there would be no laborers, field, or harvest.

Summary verses 10,11

Paul's initial evangelizing ministry at Corinth is compared to laying a foundation for a new ministry.

The foundation is the correct presentation of Christ as the only Savior, and the mechanic of salvation (ACTS 16:31).

Paul, as apostle, was the master-builder of the Corinthian ministry and was always the ultimate authority there.

Even when Apollos and others were teaching there.

He further states that he was wise, indicating that he followed the Architect’s blueprints to the letter.

He is not responsible for their distortions.

Another building on it is Apollos and whoever else ministered there.

So “build upon” refers to the further instruction of the Corinthians by men such as Apollos.

Paul warns would-be teachers to exercise caution in respect to their content.

As sub-contractors, they will be graded on content as to accuracy, balance, and compass.

Each pastor-teacher has to do this for himself in his own study.

He must approach the Word prayerfully, under the filling of the Holy Spirit, claiming John 14:26, with the correct hermeneutic (includes ICE), with diligence, and self-discipline (2 TIMOTHY 2:15), and with verse by verse tandem teaching applying 2 Timothy 3:16,17.

He must not teach as to men.

Paul implicitly warns those who like him would “lay a foundation’ that there is only one.

Matthew 7:24-27 is a parabl4e warning pseudo-Christian ministries which don’t have the Person of Christ as the only foundation.

The individual believer via positional truth are securely associated with the foundation Christ as living stones (1 PETER 2:5 compare

MATTHEW 16:18).

Foundation without the definite article refers to a legitimate local church with a pastor-teacher and with born again members.

In verse twelve Paul uses the definite article with foundation to apply the building metaphor to the church corporate—universal.

building on the eternal foundation

Summary verses 12-15

After warning about an erroneous foundation or ministry not based on salvation by faith apart from works, Paul warns against building erroneously on the true foundation.

So these verses deal with believers only.

Ever believer in the Church Age must appear before Christ at the Rapture

(2 CORINTHIANS 5:10).

The purpose is to evaluate the individual believers total production, not whether he is saved.

Paul says your total production falls into two general categories: gold, silver, precious stones versus wood, hay, straw.

Called Divine good verse human good.

Gradations occur in each general category to show that each work is graded separately and each varies in Divine worth and estimation.

Even human good has variations.

Each of us will come face-to-face with our total Ph2 production. (God will somehow make it real.)

Then it will be subjected to a test associated with fire.

After the burning, what remains will be credited with an increment of SG3 called reward.

It will be a suspenseful time, both the fiery test and the distribution of rewards. (two-fold suspense)

The day of the Lord is indeed a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Some will face only one suspenseful moment and will be ashamed (see

1 JOHN 2:28).

Some will experience super +H when they behold SG3 in His presence (see JUDE 24).

How to guarantee SG3 and avoid loss.

Associate regularly with a ministry teaching sound doctrine (verse by verse, tandem, documents its beliefs).

Utilize 1 JOHN 1:9 and stay under the filling of the Holy Spirit;

1 JOHN 2:28 “abide in Him” (compare 3:16,17).

Apply Bible doctrine to your circumstances.

Pray for self.

The indwelling Holy Spirit determines Divine good versus human good

Summary verses 16,17

Paul now applies the building metaphor individually to each believer.

The temple motif helps us see our new relationship to God.

We are all indwelt but not necessarily filled. (Compare Solomon’s Temple filled with the glory of God.)

Filling is to isolate the STA.

The temple and its ministers, ritual, and furnishings was to teach doctrine.

We are, therefore, to learn Bible doctrine and apply it as priests.

Failure desecrates the temple and incurs Divine discipline.

Defile it:

Monetary reversionism.

Phallic reversionism.

Religious-legalistic.

Mental attitude sins.

Quenching and grieving leads to sin unto death if not arrested by rebound and reversionism recovery.

Failure to isolate leads to Divine discipline, E2, E3, E4 with loss at the BEMA.

intellectual arrogance leads to sin and failure to reprogram the brain computer (verses 18-23)

Summary verse 18

Self-deception is when the STA tells you that you are wise (fueled by human achievement, ability) and you conclude your wisdom will enable you to excel in the Christian way of life.

Intellectual arrogance is the leading enemy to spiritual advancement.

Intellectual arrogance is unteachable, non-objective, and non-grace oriented.

When you refuse to learn from someone based on personality, rather than content, you shut down the ministry of the Holy Spirit via GAP.

So don’t rely on I.Q., academia, to understand doctrine.

Rather set aside this worldly wisdom which excludes grace and become foolish.

This attitude says, “I am a dummy and have much to learn in the Word.”

True wisdom before God is to say:

Human systems of evaluating reality are preempted by the indwelling STA.

True wisdom is to approach the Plan feeling your inadequacy before the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Summary verses 19-23

Cosmic wisdom, no matter how prevalent, ingrained, and persuasive, is doomed to frustration.

Wherever man pursues the STA with its lusts the end is personal loss.

Those who sow evil for evil, or evil for good, will be taken by Divine justice.

When a man fails to adjust to any given doctrine, the result is loss.

We must exercise patience as we witness E4 under the permissive will.

We must take this to heart; that our own failure to orient will lead to loss.

Corinthians problem with pastor-teacher.

Those who boast in men aren't going to be open to others and will be exposed at the BEMA.

Grace orientation excludes boasting.

We have a great inheritance in Christ, both reality and Ph1.

Every aspect of the believers existence is covered by grace.

In grace we are given spiritual leaders, Ph2 life, dying grace, blessings in time, eschatological blessing.

“The world” is a reference to our possession of all things in Christ.

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