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I was unable to teach you difficult concepts, because you were controlled by your self-directed nature, as evidenced by your quarreling about which leader you should be loyal to.
1 Corinthians 3:1-4
1 My fellow believers, when I was with you previously, I was not able to teach you as I would teach people who are controlled by the Holy Spirit {whom the Holy Spirit controls}. Instead, I had to teach you as I would teach people whom their self-directed nature controls. I taught very simple concepts to you who had recently believed in Christ, as a parent would speak very simple words to a baby. 2 I did not teach you things that were difficult for you to understand, just like a woman does not give her baby solid food that the baby cannot chew and digest. And just like a woman ◄gives her baby milk/breast-feeds her baby►, I taught you simple spiritual concepts, because at that time you were not able to understand difficult things. And you are still not able to understand difficult concepts, 3 because you are still controlled by your self-directed nature. Some of you are jealous and quarreling. ◄That shows that your self-directed nature is controlling you!/Does not that prove your self-directed nature is controlling you?► [RHQ] It shows that you are acting like unbelievers act. 4 By some of you saying, “I am loyal to Paul,” and others saying, “I am loyal to Apollos,” ◄you show that you are acting like unbelievers./does not it show that you are acting like unbelievers?► [RHQ]
I preached the gospel to you first, and Apollos followed, but we are both serving God equally.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9a
5 So what you really ought to think about Apollos and me [RHQ] is that we(dl) are merely men who serve God. As a result of our telling you the message about Christ, you trusted in him. Both of us (dl) are merely doing the work that the Lord appointed us to do. 6 I was the first one who preached God’s message to you. I was like [MET] someone who plants seeds. Later, Apollos taught you more of God’s message. That was like [MET] someone who waters plants after they start to grow. But it is God who enables people to grow spiritually, just like he is the one who causes plants to grow. 7 So the person who first preaches God’s message to people is not important, and the person who later teaches people more of God’s message is not important, just like [MET] it is not the person who plants the seeds or the person who waters the plants who is important. Instead, it is God, who causes plants to grow and who causes people to grow spiritually, who is important. 8 The person who first preaches God’s message to people and the one who later teaches them more of God’s message [MET] both ◄are trying to reach the same goal/have the same purpose►. And God will reward each of them according to how they served him. 9 Remember that Apollos and I are both working together for God. You do not belong to us. Just like a field belongs to its owner, not to those who work in it, you belong to God, not to us who work for him.
Each one who teaches believers must examine what he is teaching them because God will reward him only if his teaching is valuable and long-lasting.
1 Corinthians 3:9b-15
Also, a house belongs to its owner. It does not belong to the man who built it. Similarly, God is the one to whom you belong. 10 Just like a skilled person puts a foundation in the ground before he builds a house, as a result of God kindly helping me [MET], I was the first one who declared the message about Christ to you. And, just like others build a house on its foundation, there were others who later taught you more about Christ. But just like each person who builds a house must be careful about what materials he uses to build it [MET], each person who teaches God’s truth must be careful about what he teaches. 11 Just like people can put in only one foundation for a house [MET], there is only one message that we can give to people. That message is about Jesus Christ. 12 Furthermore, people can build a house on its foundation with materials that are valuable and do not burn easily, such as gold, silver, and expensive jewels. Or they could build a house with materials that are not valuable and that burn easily, such as wood, hay, and straw. 13 Later it will become clear/evident what kind of material they used to build the house. Similarly, when people teach others God’s truth, it will later become clear what kind of things they taught. God will make that clear/evident at the time when he judges us [MTY]. 14 When a fire starts burning a house, it becomes clear whether the builders used materials in their work that will burn, or materials that will not burn. Similarly [MET], when God judges us, it will be clear whether we taught others things that were long-lasting and valuable or not. If the materials that are used to build a house are materials that do not burn, the builder will receive a reward [MET]. Similarly, if we have taught others things that are valuable and long-lasting, God will give us a reward. 15 If the things that we have taught are not valuable and long-lasting [MET], we will not get a reward. We will be saved {God will save us} from hell, but that is all that we will get. We will be like a man who escapes from a fire without saving any of his possessions.
God will destroy anyone who destroys the unity of a congregation.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
16 You need to remember that God is present among you (pl) as he was present in the Temple in Jerusalem. [RHQ] God’s Spirit lives within you. 17 So, just like God will destroy anyone who tries to destroy his Temple, he will destroy anyone who destroys the unity of a congregation. He will do that because he has set you, his people, apart for himself, just like he set his Temple apart for himself.
Stop being proud of one Christian leader or another, because we are all just working for your benefit.
1 Corinthians 3:18-23
18 Some among you think that you are wise because unbelievers thought you were wise previously. Stop deceiving yourselves. If you really want to be wise, by accepting what God considers to be wise you should be willing to let unbelievers consider that you are foolish [IRO]. 19 You should do that because things that unbelievers consider to be [IRO] wise, God considers to be foolish. We can learn from the Scriptures what God says about that:
Those who think that they are [IRO] wise, he messes up their plans by the mistakes they make!
20 And we can learn from these words of Scripture,
The Lord considers as useless the thoughts of humans who think that they are [IRO] wise.
21 So, stop boasting about how good one Christian leader is or how good another Christian leader is. All of us(exc) exist as leaders only to help you! 22 Specifically, do not boast about me, or about Apollos, or about Peter! Everything in the world exists to benefit you believers. Whether you live or whether you die, the things that are happening now or the things that will happen in the future, they are all to benefit you. 23 You should boast about Christ, not about your leaders, because you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

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© 2008-2017 Ellis W. Deibler, Jr.