1 Corinthians 3:1-17 Personal Study Guide
September 29, 2019

INTRODUCTION

This inductive Bible study is designed to walk you through a particular passage and help you study it thoroughly. It is divided into five parts or “steps” which will guide you from a larger, broader perspective down to a more narrow, tightened understanding of the text. This guide also contains additional components, such as Going Deeper and Further Study, to help you as you work through the text.

1. DISCOVERING THE PASSAGE
2. IDENTIFYING THE STRUCTURE
3. FOCUSING ON KEY WORDS
4. CONNECTING TO THE WHOLE
5. APPLYING THE TEXT

Beginning with the day after your growth group meets, we encourage you to get alone with God and follow the instructions provided in this guide. Each step has specific guidelines followed by questions. We trust if you faithfully use this study to meet with the LORD each day not only will your personal walk with the LORD grow deeper but your growth group experience will be enhanced as well.

We continue with the study of 1 Corinthians. In this section, 3:1-17, Paul continues to address the divisions that plague the believers in Corinth. The world judges according to outward appearance, social status, education, gifts, and rhetoric. Paul asserts that knowing Christ and him crucified is all that matters. Paul addresses the specific ministries of himself and Apollos, noting that the differences lie, not in who is greater between them, but the calling upon them by the Lord.

Paul speaks of the church as God’s building noting that ministers must be careful how they build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. Three different ways of building produce three dif- ferent outcomes. Those who build well will be rewarded. Those who build poorly will find their work destroyed but they themselves will be saved. However, those who destroy the church will themselves be destroyed.

1. DISCOVERING THE PASSAGE

Discovering the Passage seeks to get an overall idea of the meaning of the passage. Think bigpicture. Pray for God to open your eyes to the meaning of Scripture.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-17 three times

• First, read for general understanding of the passage
• Second, read looking for major themes
• Third, read trying to discern the main idea

Now, prayerfully and meditatively, answer the following questions below
Questions

  1. After reading through 1 Corinthians 3:1-17, what is the primary issue Paul is addressing in this passage?

  2. What did the division in Corinth reveal about where the Corinthians were placing their confidence?

  3. According to this text, what is the distinction between the believer’s responsibility in build- ing the church and God’s responsibility in building the church? (pay attention to the con- junctions in verses 6 and 7)

  4. After reading through 1 Corinthians 3:1-17 three times and answering the questions above, how would you summarize the main idea that Paul is communicating?

  5. Remembering that the chapter and verse divisions were not part of the original text, how does 3:1-4 continue the theme of 2:14-16?

  6. In contrast to the right foundation in verse 10-15, what is the apparent foundation in verses 1-5 they were seeking to build on? To what does verse 3 show that this false foundation leads?

2. IDENTIFYING THE STRUCTURE

Identifying the Structure seeks to gain insight into why the author wrote the way he did. Try to think like the author. Pray for God to give you insight into the writing of the Scriptures.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-17 again*, looking for*:

• any connecting words in the passage (so that, for, because, etc.)
• the different types of sentences used (commands, questions, statements, rebukes, etc.)
• the divisions in the text (I.e. paragraphs, sentence breaks, etc.)

Now, prayerfully answer the questions below.

Questions

  1. What is the main idea in sections 1-9? and 10-17?

  2. How does the way the church is built in verses 5-9 address the overall issue stated in verses 1-4?

  3. What aspects of Paul’s writing make it clear that this section is a harsh rebuke of the Corinthians?

  4. What images does Paul use in verse 9 and verses 16-17 to describe the church? How does he use the images to teach the Corinthians?

FURTHER STUDY

  1. Notice Paul’s use of rhetorical questions in verses 3-5. What point is he making with these questions? Why would he use questions here instead of statements?

3. FOCUSING ON KEY WORDS

Focusing on Key Words seeks to identify and contemplate the use and meaning of specific words or concepts within the text. Pray for God to open your eyes to words and concepts you’ve never seen before or have overlooked.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-17 again, paying attention to:

- repeated and/or emphasized words or names
- verbs (specifically those with unusual tenses)
- cross-references
- major themes

Now prayerfully answer the questions below

Questions

  1. Paul refers to the Corinthians as “infants” in v.1. What does this say about their behavior and thinking?

  2. In verse 5 Paul calls both he and Apollos “servants”. How do his metaphors of agriculture (v.6-9) and construction (v.10-15) show the reality of their servanthood?

GOING DEEPER: PLURAL VS. SINGULAR “YOU”

All of the instances where “you” occurs in 1 Corinthians 3:1-17 are in the plural form (you all) as opposed to singular (you personally). Paul is addressing the Corinthian church and making statements about how he ministered among them and who they are as the people of God. It is significant to recognize that when Paul says “you are God’s field, God’s building” (v. 9) and “you are God’s temple” (v. 16), he is declaring that all of the Corinthians collectively (and all Christians everywhere, i.e. The Universal Church) are His field, building, and temple.

The plural “you” here reminds us that Christi- anity is a corporate reality, not an individualistic “me-centered” en- deavor. In America, we are prone to the error of thinking about fol- lowing Christ as merely personal and can justify the absence of local church membership and involve- ment on that faulty thinking. But Scripture indicates that Christians not only belong to Christ, they also belong to one another (Rom 12:5) and thus are to demonstrate that re- ality by belonging to and regularly gathering with a local church body (Heb 10:24-25).

  1. In verse 10 Paul states that the source of God’s calling him and equipping him as an apostle/church-planter was the grace of God. In a general sense, how does the concept of God’s grace relate to calling and equipping?

  2. What does Paul’s shift in pronoun from “we” to “you” in verses 9 and 16 signify? (“we are God’s fellow workers” and “you are God’s field, building and temple?)

FURTHER STUDY

  1. What does Paul mean by “milk” and “solid food” in v. 2?

  2. Count how many times the word “God’’ is used in verses 6-17? Using verse 9, describe the wonder that the Church is God’s “fellow worker” while also being God’s “field and building”.

4. CONNECTING TO THE WHOLE

Connecting to the Whole seeks to become aware of how key concepts and themes are seen elsewhere in Scripture. This is allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture. Pray for God to help you see how this passage connects to the rest of the Bible.

Read John 1 Corinthians 3:1-17 again, paying attention to how it builds and draws on other places in Scripture. Look for:

- common people, places, or ideas found other places in the Bible
- similar stories or phrases
- cross references

Now prayerfully and meditatively answer the questions below

Questions

  1. Compare the argument Paul makes in Galatians 5:13-26 with the one he makes here in 1 Corinthians 3:3. What is similar? What is different?

  2. Going back to “the grace of God” in verse 10, Paul repeatedly gives credit to God’s grace for all that has been accomplished. Read and meditate on these passages to see the spe- cific ways God’s grace has been manifested in Paul’s life: 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 10:14 - 16; Ephesians 3:7,8; Colossians 1:25.

  3. In 1 Corinthians 3:17 Paul issues a severe warning to those who might destroy the temple of God. Although not referring to the Old Testament temple, but rather the spiritual temple (the Church), what does Paul’s warning say about the way God expects us to interact with his presence, his Church universal, and his church local? (cf. Jeremiah 52:12-16 and Daniel 5:1-4; 22-31.)

FURTHER STUDY

  1. Paul is alluding to the Corinthians that they can do irreparable harm to the local church, but what does Jesus promise about the Church in Matthew 16:18. How does this inform your understanding of 1 Corinthians 3:5-17?

  2. Paul, as well as Peter, in their letters made it clear that God’s grace is given to each believer in order to minister/ serve the body of Christ. Read & reflect on the following passages and ask yourself how the grace of God
    has equipped each saint: 1 Corinthians 12:4 - 11; Romans 12:3 - 8; 1 Peter 4:9

    • 11.

5. APPLYING THE TEXT

Applying the Text seeks to see people changed as the Word of God is brought to bear in the lives of individuals and communities (growth groups). Pray for God to reveal to you where you need to change and have the courage to take action.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-17 again and:

  • write down any unanswered questions that remain
  • write a paraphrase, in your own words, of the passage
  • decide on an action step as a response of obedience to the passage (I.e. make a lost friend with which to share the gospel, commit to praying with your spouse 10 minutes a day, etc.)

Now, prayerfully answer the questions below

Questions

  1. Verses 5-9 remind us that many people have invested in our lives. Take a moment to think back on your Christian journey. Who “planted and watered” the Gospel in you? Have you ever shared with them what God has done in your life?

  2. Are you rejecting immature behavior and contributing to the building of the local church as a fellow worker?

  3. It is clear from verse 5 that some of the Corinthians were converted by the witness of Paul and Apollos (“servants through whom you believe”). When you see fruit in ministry, how do you fight the evils of pride, ownership, favoritism, etc.? Are you engaged in ministry to where this would even be an issue?

  4. Are you using your gifts to minister God’s grace to others? If yes, explain. If not, how are you going to be equipped to do this?

  5. Verse 3 lists “jealousy and strife” as marks of fleshly be- havior. How do jealousy and strife manifest themselves in your life personally?

  6. Paul’s overall point in the agricultural metaphor is that God is the most important element in conversion and spiritual growth. Knowing that God’s work will continue with or without us, ask yourself, don’t you want to take an active part in what God is doing? Don’t you want to be a planter or waterer?

FURTHER STUDY

  1. How can churches “build on the foundation of Christ” in an unfaithful way that “is burned up?” How can they build in a faithful way that lasts? How would this principle apply personally to us as we make disciples?

  2. In verse 10 Paul states that the source of God’s calling him and equipping him as an apostle/church-planter was the grace of God. Describe how the grace
    of God called you and is equipping you for ministry here at Parkwood.