Lesson #05

1CORINTHIANS 3
Lesson #05
THE STORY OF THREE MEN

• Memory Verse: 1Cor 3:11

• Review:
• Paul began to set in contrast the different spiritual levels into which men fall in 1Cor 2. He showed us that we either think like the world or we think like Christ.
• How the believer thinks will affect how the believer lives.

The Natural Man	The Spiritual Man
He is a non-believer.	He is a born-again believer who walks in the Spirit.
His life is based on human wisdom.	His life is based on God’s wisdom.
The spiritual things of God are foolishness to him.	He understands the deep spiritual mysteries of God by the Spirit of God.

• In 1Cor 3, Paul continues to explain these spiritual distinctions and adds a third dimension.

• Read 1Cor 3:1-4 The carnal man
• Paul says that the people in the Corinthian church are not spiritual Christians, but that they are carnal.
• What does “carnal” mean?
• Carnal means = fleshly or sensual.
• This does not refer to physical flesh but to the flesh nature that man inherited from Adam.
• Read Rom 7:18-21
• This man makes life decisions based on his flesh nature that appeal to his soul and not to the Spirit..
• What is the definition of a carnal Christian?
• The carnal man is a born-again believer.
• Notice that Paul says that they are “in Christ” (1). This is how we know they are saved.
• That means that at one point of time in their lives they received Jesus Christ in their hearts and the Holy Spirit placed them “in” the family of God in Christ.
• The carnal man cannot understand the depth of the Word of God. He can only receive the basic spiritual milk (the superficial basic concepts) of the Word and not the meat.
• The carnal man is baby Christian.
• Babies are cute when they are little, but when they physically grow up and still act like babies, they are not cute.
• This is the condition of many believers in Jesus Christ. They were cute babies years ago when they first came to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But now their infantile temper tantrums are obnoxious when they should have learned to live differently.
• The characteristics of their temper tantrums:
• Envy (jealousy)
• Strife (hatred, arguments)
• Divisions (gossip)
• Like a baby, the carnal Christian bears no responsibility for his actions or his attitudes.
• The carnal Christian walks just like the natural man. (3)
• He makes his decisions like the natural man, based in his body and soul.
• Read 1Cor 3:5-17 The growing and maturing process:
• The agricultural analogy:
• God gave Paul and Apollos as gifts to the body of Christ to edify the church.
• These are the positional gifts that Jesus Christ gives to the church. (1Cor 12:27-28 Eph 4:11-12)
• We will study these gifts later in our study.
• At this point in our study, you should notice that one position in the church is not higher or more special than another. All are needed to build up the church.
• Paul uses himself and Apollos as examples of gifts that God gives to the universal body of Christ to build strong believers.
• Paul planted the church in Corinth.
• Apollos watered the church by preaching and teaching the Word of God to them so they would grow and mature in the Lord.
• Notice that Paul strongly emphasizes that it is God who grows the church.
• This is physical growth and spiritual growth that God causes to happen.
• Therefore, when the spiritual gifts are operating as God intended, when people in the church are using those gifts by faith for the glory of God, and when the congregation is open to receive ministry, God causes the church to grow.
• To the contrary, if believers do not grow and mature in the church, it is not God’s fault. The blame lies with those in the church who are disobedient children and refuse to cooperate with God.
• Therefore, you can discern the spiritual level of a church by the amount of envy, strife, divisions, and sinful living that exists in the members of that church.
• A healthy church will always have some babies, but the babies will grow quickly to maturity.
• Paul speaks of the church as a unified team effort where leaders in the church provide the proper atmosphere that enables believers to grow and mature. (8)
• The individual believer works as a team with God and his fellow Christians.
• God causes this team effort to reap the reward of a growing and maturing church.
• God individually rewards the individual Christian for his work. (8)
• The building construction analogy:
• After Paul has told us how we should grow and mature to become strong Christians, he tells us that we are the temple. What does he mean?
• The Old Testament temple of Solomon was a gloriously beautiful place set apart for a holy God and to be used to worship Him. It was a place where God’s presence dwelt that everyone could see God’s love for His people.
• The New Testament church is symbolized by the temple in this passage. The church is set apart for God and to be used to worship God, and to present God to the world. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside the believers in the church when they are born again. Therefore they are the evidence of God’s presence and love on the earth.
• Later in 1Cor Paul will use the symbol of the temple again to refer to the individual Christian. (1Cor 6:19)
• Identifying the building:
• The universal group of believers is the building. (9)
• The foundation of the building must be Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son.
• If we build our lives on any other foundation, we build in vain.
• The owner of the building is God. (9)
• The one who builds the building is the church leader, like Paul who planted the church and Apollos who watered the church. (10)
• The building materials are the good works initiated and sustained by the Holy Spirit in conjunction with a believer’s faith and obedience. (13)
• Notice there are 6 building materials mentioned in scripture, but 3 are susceptible to fire.
• In the city of Corinth, the rich people lived in marble houses, but the poor lived in straw houses on the outer edge of the city. Fires often destroyed the houses of the poor but the marble houses always survived.
• The test of the building comes at the Judgment Seat of Christ where each Christian is rewarded for his good works that survive the judgment of fire. (13-15)
• The Judgment Seat of Christ
• This judgment occurs in heaven immediately after the rapture of the church. (1The 4:16-17)
• This judgment is for Christians only.
• This judgment is not a judgment of the Christian’s sins because his sins are forgiven by means of the shed blood of Christ.
• Therefore, this is more like a rewards ceremony than it is like a judgment.
• It is not the Christian who is judged, it is his works. Fire is a symbol that represents judgement.
• His works are judged according to quality and not quantity.
• The Christian receives rewards for all the things he did in his Christian life where he responded correctly and in obedience to God.
• The Christian receives rewards for building his life correctly on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
• In other words, he receives rewards for the level of spiritual maturity he has achieved since he first came to Christ.
• Notice that there is loss at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
• Those Christians who have done nothing with their Christian life but do their own works without obedience and faith have wasted their Christian life by building with combustible building materials that will not stand Christ’s test.
• These Christians suffer loss of reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but they do not lose their salvation. (15)
• This means that some Christians will enter eternity with great rewards and others will enter eternity without having laid up any treasure in heaven. (Mat 6:19-20)

• Read 1Cor 3:18-23 The believer’s authority in Christ
• The three steps for the Christian to move out in authority so as to mature in Christ.
• =1= Stop fooling yourself. Spiritual growth is important. Why?
• If you are not moving forward with the Lord, you will quickly slide backwards. It is impossible to stay always at the same level.
• =2= Stop boasting about leaders. Why?
• God is not glorified in divisions. If people are concentrating on specific leaders, their eyes are focused on people when they should be focused on God.
• These divisions often manifest themselves today in one Christian denomination against another where one group will refuse to fellowship with another group of a different denomination, or one pastor against another pastor who is not of his own denomination.
• =3= Realize that God has given you His power, His presence, and His authority. Why is this important?
• Believers will not grow in their own strength. They need the presence and power of God to sustain them through their faith. It is the practicing of faith that makes the believer strong.
• Divisions in the body of Christ are not acceptable to God because they are destined to be one body. (22)

• Summary and application:
• Now that Paul has told us the story about three men, we can contrast the spiritual Christian with the carnal Christian.

The Spiritual Christian:	The Carnal Christian:
He moves beyond the basics of the milk of the Word of God.	He can only understand the simple basics of the milk of the Word of God.
He desires the meat of the Word of God and has the ability to understand it.	He has no desire for the meat of the Word of God because he cannot understand it.
He does not permit his flesh nature to display itself.	He displays his flesh nature in the form of gossip, envy, strife, divisions, disputes, anger, and hatred.
His works are initiated, energized, and supported by the Holy Spirit.	His works are initiated in his own will, energized by his own desires and motives and done in his own strength.
His works are motivated by a desire to build the eternal kingdom of God.	His works are motivated by his selfish desire to promote himself..
His works reap an eternal reward.	His works reap no reward.

• You can discern which of the three men you are by how you relate to the Word of God.
• If you think the Word of God is foolishness, you are a natural man, an unbeliever.
• If you think the Word of God is unimportant, not relevant, or boring, you are a carnal man.
• If you think the Word of God is filled with the exciting mysteries of God and relevant to your life, you are a spiritual man.
• Now that you know these distinctions, you must decide how much of the Word of God you will have in your life.

HOMEWORK
1CORINTHIANS 4
This is a self-study. Please do not send homework answers to the teacher forcorrection.

• Application of 1Cor 3
• What is the most revealing thing in this study that relates to your life personally?
• What things will you do this week to move yourself more into the level of the spiritual man?
• Preparation for 1Cor 4
• Read 1Cor 4:1-6
• What is the often repeated word in this section?
• What is required for a Christian to serve God?
• Read 1Cor 4:7-13
• What are the basic elements of true humility?
• Read 1Cor 4:14-21
• Why does Paul say that they should be followers of him (16) when in 1Cor 1:12 he did not like it that there was a group that said they were of Paul?
• Memory Verse: 1Cor 4:20