June 7 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 3:3-7 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

Yesterday we saw Paul referred to the church members in Corinth as being fleshly and spiritually immature. In verse 3 he gives three pieces of evidence. It should be noted that there are numerous ways in which a Christian can behave like a lost man, so these three are not the only things that carnal Christians get involved in. However, these were prevalent issues in Corinth. The three are envying, strife, and divisions. The verb tense used in verse 3 indicates that this was habitual behavior in the church. The first evidence is "envy". The Greek word used there simply means to be "hot" or "zealous", but when it is used in an unfavorable light (as it is here) it describes being envious of someone else’s possessions, achievements, or advantages. It describes an attitude of a person who is not content with what he has and looks with a jealous eye on every blessing given to someone else. This kind of attitude would easily lead to the second evidence of carnality: strife. "Strife" refers to quarreling. When someone has an internal attitude of jealousy, it is a very simple jump to the external action of strife. Bruce Hurt says that strife

"conveys ideas of self-centered rivalry and contentiousness and is an expression of enmity with bitter, sometimes violent, conflict or dissension. It has no place even for simple tolerance, much less for humility or love."

"mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; (Romans 16:17-18).

As noted in chapter 1, the divisions in that church were based on certain groups of individuals following after certain men. While the men listed were all good men, it was the allegiance to one man over another, and really allegiance to one man over the cause of Christ itself, that created the problem. In verses 5-7 Paul reminds the church that these men are, in fact, just men. He does not call them "leaders", or give them some other title of importance, but instead he calls them "ministers", which is the Greek word for a servant. Paul and Apollos were simply servants of God who were carrying out their responsibilities (that had been given to them by God) to preach the Gospel. Many of the Corinthian church members had been saved through their preaching, but the glory for that does not belong to the men, but to God. In verse 6 Paul likens the process by which these people were saved and growing in the Lord to gardening. Paul planted the seed. Had he not done that, no produce would have grown. Apollos watered the seed. Had he not done that, no produce would have grown. Both men served important functions, but ultimately the increase was given by God. So in verse 7 Paul writes that even the ones who faithfully carry out their particular responsibilities really aren't anything at all. The One Who matters is the One Who is everything, and that Person is God.