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  ONE YEAR BIBLE CLUB
The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork

August 7
1 Corinthians 3:5-23
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August 7 – 1 Corinthians 3:5-23
 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 

10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. 23 And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
 
Paul teaches us that he and Apollo’s are both ministers or servants of Christ on the same team. Paul also mentions Cephas or Peter previously and later in this portion of Scripture. Paul is saying that each of them had a job to do but they were all working toward the same goal and that is the building up of the church. Paul paints a picture of the church as a garden. One person plants the seed and another one comes along and waters the seed but the garden belongs to God and   He is the source of it’s spiritual life causing it to grow.  
 
Next Paul talks about the church as a building and how the Lord sent him as a wise master building to lay the foundation. This means Paul was the Church planter or the spiritual father of the church. He came and preached the gospel and was the one that gathered together people around faith in Jesus Christ and the worship of the true living God. Apollo’s came later and his ministry was like someone building the walls of the building, teaching the word of God systematically building up believers faith. Peter came along and wired the church with a visitation of the power of God like adding the electric and installing the windows giving apostolic vision.
 
That’s how it is in the construction of buildings today. You have many builders but only one building and someone owns it. God uses a multitude of people with special gifting’s to build local churches everywhere around the world. Just like construction workers, when they accomplish they’re part of the building they move on to work on another building. This is how it is with ministers today in churches. They come for a season to a local church and help that congregation to grow by adding their ministry to it and then the Lord sends them off to help another church grow. Then there are those who actually occupy the building called the tenants or residents. These are the believers that go to that local church every week calling it their “home church”. God will send a multitude of people to work together in local churches in every kind of ministry you can think of. Everyone is important and needed from the pastor to the parking lot attendant!
 
Paul talks about the quality of building materials used to build the church. The high quality materials he refers to as gold, silver and precious stones. These have the  eternal qualities of love, the word of God, obedience to the Holy Spirit and anything that a believer would do to help others to find Christ and grow up spiritually. Wood, hay, and stubble refer to inferior quality building materials. These would be things that believers do for self glory, to be seen by men,  launching programs in the church that really do not help get anyone saved or built up spiritually or serve any good purpose. Paul says one day all of our works will go through the fire of the judgment of God. They will be revealed for what kind of quality they are. Obviously this isn’t referring to being saved because we cannot earn our salvation it is the gift of God but Paul says even we will pass through the fire of God’s inspection revealing who is really saved and who is not as the true believers and the false are exposed in the final judgment.
 
We see ultimate accountability in this portion of Scripture. Paul says stop boasting or glorying in the leaders and ministers that God has sent to your church. They have been sent with His divine purpose of building up the body of Christ and each one whether Paul, Apollos or Peter are all serving the Lord and will be rewarded for what each one does. He puts it all in perspective by saying everything is yours and you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.
 
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?

(1) All ministers have the same goal of seeing people saved and grow spiritually.

(2) The church is like a garden or building that belongs to God.

(3) There are many workers that do all kinds of ministry but it’s for the same purpose.

(4) The fire of God’s judgment will reveal the quality of all of our works.

​(5) Don’t get caught up in following ministers to closely because they are all given to help build up the body of Christ and everyone ultimately belongs to Christ and Christ belongs to God.
 
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
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