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Pauline Letters · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

1 Corinthians 3

Paul addresses division, holiness, worship, gifts, love, and resurrection in a troubled church.

New Testament

1 Corinthians 3

1Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.

2I fed you with milk, not with solid food, for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, you aren’t ready even now,

3for 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?

4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you fleshly?

5Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed, and each as the Lord gave to him?

6I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.

7So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

8Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

9For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.

10According 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.

11For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw,

13each 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.

14If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward.

15If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.

16Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.

18Let 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.

19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.”

20And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.”

21Therefore let no one boast 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 you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Paul addresses division, holiness, worship, gifts, love, and resurrection in a troubled church. Read 1 Corinthians 3 within the complete 1 Corinthians overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in 1 Corinthians 3

1 Corinthians 3 contains 23 verses and about 430 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: “Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 23 closes: “and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include will, god’s, wise, work, fleshly, apollos. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About 1 Corinthians 3

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, 1 Corinthians 3:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer