1 Corinthians 3

Translator Notes

1. The Greek sarkinois ('made of flesh, fleshly') describes their condition at the time of Paul's first visit — they were new believers, still operating from natural capacities. The word nēpiois ('infants, babies') is not pejorative in itself — newborn faith is expected — but the problem, as verse 2 will reveal, is that they have not grown. Paul had addressed them as 'saints' in 1:2; now he calls them babies. The tension is deliberate.

Translator Notes

1. The milk/solid food metaphor appears also in Hebrews 5:12-14. Gala ('milk') represents foundational teaching, brōma ('food') represents mature doctrine. The sting is in the final clause: 'even now you are still not ready' (all' oude eti nyn dynasthe). Years have passed since Paul's initial visit, but the Corinthians remain spiritual infants.

Translator Notes

1. Paul shifts from sarkinois (v. 1, 'made of flesh' — a description) to sarkikoi ('characterized by flesh' — a critique). The evidence of their immaturity is not theological ignorance but relational failure: zēlos ('jealousy') and eris ('strife'). The phrase kata anthrōpon peripateit ('walking according to human standards') means behaving no differently from those without the Spirit.

Translator Notes

1. Paul reduces the four slogans of 1:12 to two — focusing on himself and Apollos, the figures he can address without causing offense. The question ouk anthrōpoi este ('are you not merely human?') equates factionalism with sub-Christian behavior. To be 'merely human' for Paul is to fall short of what the Spirit makes possible.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek ti ('what') rather than tis ('who') is deliberate — Paul does not ask about their personal identity but their functional role. They are diakonoi ('servants, ministers') — the word from which 'deacon' derives, originally meaning table waiters. This radically deflates the Corinthians' celebrity culture around leaders. The phrase hekastō hōs ho kyrios edōken ('as the Lord gave to each') attributes all ministry effectiveness to divine assignment.

Translator Notes

1. The agricultural metaphor assigns complementary roles: Paul as church planter and Apollos as nurturer. The imperfect tense ēuxanen ('was causing growth') for God's action — versus the aorist (punctiliar) for human actions — suggests that God's growth-giving is continuous and ongoing while human contributions are discrete, limited events.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase oute...estin ti ('is not anything') is deliberately stark — Paul and Apollos are 'nothing' in comparison to God's agency. This is not false humility but theological precision: in agriculture, the farmer contributes labor but cannot make a seed grow. The parallel to ministry is exact.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek hen eisin ('are one') means 'are one thing' — they share a single purpose and status. This undercuts any ranking system the Corinthians have constructed. Yet individuality is preserved: each receives misthos ('reward, wages') according to their own kopos ('labor, toil'). Unity of purpose does not erase individual accountability.

Translator Notes

1. Three possessive genitives — theou synergoi ('God's co-workers'), theou geōrgion ('God's field'), theou oikodomē ('God's building') — all emphasize that God is the owner and ultimate agent. Synergoi does not mean Paul and Apollos are God's equals but that they work alongside each other in God's service. The shift from agricultural to architectural metaphor (geōrgion to oikodomē) transitions to the next section.

Translator Notes

1. The Greek architekton ('master builder, architect') is the origin of the English word. Paul claims the role not by self-promotion but kata tēn charin ('according to the grace') — his skill is a gift. The warning blepetō pōs ('let him watch how') shifts responsibility to subsequent builders. The foundation is already laid (aorist ethēka); the construction continues (present epoikodomei).

Translator Notes

1. This is a categorical statement: the foundation is non-negotiable and irreplaceable. The present participle keimenon ('the one lying, the one that has been laid') indicates a foundation already in place — Jesus Christ is not one option among many but the only possible basis for the community's life.

Translator Notes

1. Six building materials descend in value and fire-resistance: gold, silver, and precious stones survive fire; wood (xyla), hay (chorton), and straw (kalamēn) do not. The metaphor concerns the quality of ministry work built upon the Christ-foundation, not the personal salvation of the builders. Kalamē ('straw, stubble') was used for cheap construction and burns almost instantly.

Translator Notes

1. The definite article hē hēmera ('the Day') refers to the eschatological day of judgment without needing further specification — a concept well established in both Old Testament prophetic literature (the 'day of the LORD') and early Christian expectation. The verb dokimasei ('will test, will prove') is used for testing metals by fire — the metaphor is of assaying, not punishment. The fire reveals quality, not guilt.

Translator Notes

1. The verb menei ('remains, survives, endures') is the test — will the work still be standing after the fire? The misthos ('reward') is distinct from salvation itself; it concerns the recognition of effective, lasting ministry. The nature of this reward is not specified.

Translator Notes

1. This verse has been central in debates about purgatory. The Greek zēmiōthēsetai ('will suffer loss') refers to the loss of the work and its reward, not the loss of salvation — as the next clause clarifies: autos de sōthēsetai ('the person will be saved'). The phrase houtōs de hōs dia pyros ('but as through fire') suggests a barely-escaped salvation, like someone fleeing a burning building with nothing but their life. The emphasis is on the waste of poor-quality ministry, not on post-mortem purification.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. The Greek naos ('temple, sanctuary') refers specifically to the inner sanctuary where God's presence dwelt — not the broader temple complex (hieron). The pronoun 'you' (este, oikei en hymin) is plural throughout — this is not about individual bodies (as in 6:19) but about the community as a whole being God's dwelling place. The question ouk oidate ('do you not know') implies this should be obvious.

Translator Notes

1. The verb phtheirō means 'to corrupt, to ruin, to destroy' — Paul uses the same verb in both clauses, creating a precise retributive parallel: the one who destroys will be destroyed. In context, 'destroying the temple' means tearing apart the community through factionalism. The word hagios ('holy') echoes the Hebrew qadosh — the temple is set apart, consecrated. To violate it is to invite divine judgment.

Translator Notes

1. The imperative mōros genesthō ('let him become a fool') demands a voluntary surrender of worldly-wisdom status. This is not anti-intellectualism but a call to abandon the specific kind of rhetorical-philosophical posturing that was fracturing the Corinthian church. True wisdom, in Paul's paradoxical theology, begins with accepting the 'foolishness' of the cross.

Translator Notes

1. Paul quotes Job 5:13 — the only direct quotation from Job in the New Testament. The original speaker is Eliphaz, whose theology is partly refuted by the end of Job, yet Paul adopts this particular statement as valid. The verb drassomenos ('catching, seizing') pictures God grabbing the wise in the very trap of their own cunning (panourgia, 'craftiness, shrewdness').
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Job 5:13. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.

Translator Notes

1. Paul quotes Psalm 94:11 (93:11 LXX), slightly modifying it — the psalm has 'the thoughts of humans' (anthrōpōn) while Paul substitutes 'the wise' (sophōn), sharpening the application to the Corinthian situation. The word mataioi ('futile, empty, vain') denotes not just incorrectness but ultimate pointlessness.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Psalms 94:11 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.

Translator Notes

1. The conclusion mēdeis kauchasthō en anthrōpois ('let no one boast in human beings') directly addresses the faction problem. Paul's reasoning is paradoxically generous: you do not need to choose between leaders because all of them — and everything else — already belong to you in Christ. Factional loyalty actually diminishes what the Corinthians already possess.

Translator Notes

1. The list expands breathtakingly from named individuals to cosmic categories. Paul, Apollos, and Cephas are placed alongside life, death, present, and future — all belong to the believers. This is not a claim to ownership but to inheritance: in Christ, believers have access to everything God has provided through every servant and every circumstance.

Translator Notes

1. The chain of belonging — all things → you → Christ → God — establishes a hierarchy that dissolves factionalism. You cannot say 'I belong to Paul' when you belong to Christ. The final link, Christos de theou ('Christ belongs to God'), is not a subordinationist statement but a declaration of the Son's perfect alignment with the Father's purposes. The entire argument circles back to 1:31: the only legitimate boast is in the Lord.