1 Corinthians 3

₁My friends, you are acting like the people of this world. That's why I could not speak to you as spiritual people. You are like babies as far as your faith in Christ is concerned. ₂So I had to treat you like babies and feed you milk. You could not take solid food, and you still cannot, ₃because you are not yet spiritual. You are jealous and argue with each other. This proves that you are not spiritual and that you are acting like the people of this world.

₄Some of you say that you follow me, and others claim to follow Apollos. Isn't that how ordinary people behave? ₅Apollos and I are merely servants who helped you to have faith. It was the Lord who made it all happen. ₆I planted the seeds, Apollos watered them, but God made them sprout and grow. ₇What matters isn't those who planted or watered, but God who made the plants grow. ₈The one who plants is just as important as the one who waters. And each one will be paid for what they do. ₉Apollos and I work together for God, and you are God's garden and God's building.

₁₀God was kind and let me become an expert builder. I laid a foundation on which others have built. But we must each be careful how we build, ₁₁because Christ is the only foundation. _12-13Whatever we build on that foundation will be tested by fire on the day of judgment. Then everyone will find out if we have used gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw. ₁₄We will be rewarded if our building is left standing. ₁₅But if it is destroyed by the fire, we will lose everything. Yet we ourselves will be saved, like someone escaping from flames.

₁₆All of you know that you are God's temple and that his Spirit lives in you. ₁₇Together you are God's holy temple, and God will destroy anyone who destroys his temple.

₁₈Don't fool yourselves! If any of you think you are wise in the things of this world, you will have to become foolish before you can be truly wise. ₁₉This is because God considers the wisdom of this world to be foolish. It is just as the Scriptures say, “God catches the wise when they try to outsmart him.” ₂₀The Scriptures also say, “The Lord knows that the plans made by wise people are useless.” _21-22So stop boasting about what anyone has done. Paul and Apollos and Peter all belong to you. In fact, everything is yours, including the world, life, death, the present, and the future. Everything belongs to you, ₂₃and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.