Paul and Apollos God's Fellow Workers
1And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 4For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
Christ the Only Foundation
(Isaiah 28:14-22; 1 Peter 2:4-12)
10According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
You are God's Temple
(Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
16Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
18Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
Worldly Wisdom is Foolishness to God
19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. 20And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. 21Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
God’s Fellow Workers
(Hebrews 5:11–14)
1 Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not with meat; for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, not even now are you ready, 3 for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you fleshly?
5 Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him? 6 I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.
Christ Our Foundation
(Isaiah 28:14–22; Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Peter 2:1–8)
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble; 13 each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. 14 If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.
God’s Temple and God’s Wisdom
(Romans 12:1–8; 1 Corinthians 6:18–20)
16 Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.” 20 And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.” 21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, 23 and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
God’s Fellow Workers
(Hebrews 5:11–14)
1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, 3 for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man? 4 For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. 6 I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, a and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
Christ Our Foundation
(Isaiah 28:14–22; Ephesians 2:19–22; 1 Peter 2:1–8)
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 must be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames.
God’s Temple and God’s Wisdom
(Romans 12:1–8; 1 Corinthians 6:18–20)
16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple, and that God’s Spirit dwells in b you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If any of you thinks he is wise in 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.” c 20 And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” d
21 Therefore, stop boasting in men. All things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas e or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All of them belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Footnotes:
8 a Literally are one
16 b Or among
19 c Job 5:13
20 d Psalm 94:11
22 e That is, Peter
Paul and Apollos God's Fellow Workers
1And I, brethren, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly -- as to babes in Christ; 2with milk I fed you, and not with meat, for ye were not yet able, but not even yet are ye now able, 3for yet ye are fleshly, for where there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not fleshly, and in the manner of men do walk? 4for when one may say, 'I, indeed, am of Paul;' and another, 'I -- of Apollos;' are ye not fleshly?
5Who, then, is Paul, and who Apollos, but ministrants through whom ye did believe, and to each as the Lord gave? 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God was giving growth; 7so that neither is he who is planting anything, nor he who is watering, but He who is giving growth -- God; 8and he who is planting and he who is watering are one, and each his own reward shall receive, according to his own labour, 9for of God we are fellow-workmen; God's tillage, God's building ye are.
Christ the Only Foundation
(Isaiah 28:14-22; 1 Peter 2:4-12)
10According to the grace of God that was given to me, as a wise master-builder, a foundation I have laid, and another doth build on it, 11for other foundation no one is able to lay except that which is laid, which is Jesus the Christ; 12and if any one doth build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw -- 13of each the work shall become manifest, for the day shall declare it, because in fire it is revealed, and the work of each, what kind it is, the fire shall prove; 14if of any one the work doth remain that he built on it, a wage he shall receive; 15if of any the work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; and himself shall be saved, but so as through fire.
You are God's Temple
(Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
16have ye not known that ye are a sanctuary of God, and the Spirit of God doth dwell in you? 17if any one the sanctuary of God doth waste, him shall God waste; for the sanctuary of God is holy, the which ye are.
18Let no one deceive himself; if any one doth seem to be wise among you in this age -- let him become a fool, that he may become wise,
Worldly Wisdom is Foolishness to God
19for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it hath been written, 'Who is taking the wise in their craftiness;' 20and again, 'The Lord doth know the reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.' 21So then, let no one glory in men, for all things are yours, 22whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things about to be -- all are yours, 23and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
1 Corinthians 3: Unity and Maturity in Christ
¹ Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as spiritual people but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready! ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?
The Foundation of Faith
⁴ When one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? ⁵ 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. ⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. ⁹ For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
Building on the Foundation
¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
God’s Temple
¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
Wisdom and Foolishness
¹⁸ 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. 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 human leaders! 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.
Footnotes
3:1: Paul addresses the Corinthians as spiritual infants, indicating their immaturity in faith.
3:4: The division among the believers highlights the human tendency to align with different leaders.
3:6: Emphasizes that God is the ultimate source of growth and fruitfulness in ministry.
3:10: Paul presents himself as a wise builder laying the foundation of faith.
3:14: The quality of each person’s work will be revealed and tested by God.
3:16: The believers collectively represent God’s temple, stressing their importance and sacredness.
3:18: Highlights the theme of true wisdom, which contrasts with worldly standards.
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