1 Corinthians chapter 3

vs 1

So, after Paul has spoken about the spiritual man, and the necessity of the spirit for understanding God's grace, he tells the Corinthians he can't talk to them that way, because they are worldly.

vs 2

Remember, Paul was there for ages. I think it was like a year and a half. But during that whole time, it seems, he was only giving them basic nourishment. And they are still not ready for harder things!

vs 3

There are marks of worldliness about them. The greek is actually "fleshly" (sarkikos), so it means they are governed by human appetites and not spiritual desires. Paul mentions their jealousy and the arguments among them as examples of their worldliness. He says they are still walking in the way of men (mere doesn't appear anywhere in my greek, but the word used for man, anthropos, can denote the weakness of man, and his pitiful state).

vs 4

Paul is striking while the iron is hot, and taking the issue on which they are arguing head on, stating that when they argue about it, they are doing so as mere men - so that this argument is among them is proof of their immaturity.

vs 5

If you put people in their proper place, then you'd suddenly realise that you're much better off following God. I mean, you'll still sound foolish ("Oh, my master is a crucified criminal"), but it's better than saying "My master calls himself a slave". So Paul knows his place and the place of Apollos. They were given opportunities by God, and so they just used them as good servants.

vs 6

As far as I know, humanity has still not succeeded in controlling whether a seed germinates or not. Sure, you can just the right amount of water, you can fertilise it, you can plant it at the right time. And a lot of the time, the seed will grow. But sometimes, no matter what you do, they don't.

Paul knows his place in the work. He just does his job, and leaves God's job to God. And he knows who deserves the glory - the one who does the impossible job.

vs 7

Growth is what gives value to a seed. And you can be sure that back in these times, seeds were very valuable. There are records of times (even in the last century) when farmers would be going through such a tough time that they had to decide whether to feed their children with their corn, or plant it, because they couldn't do both. Times like that, you're counting every seed, and once you've buried them, it's only the ones that grow that do you any good.

vs 8

Paul doesn't want to make it sound like God doesn't value his work. Him and Apollos are serving God in obedience, and they will be rewarded. Not because of the value of their work, which is not really comparable to God's work. But because they had a purpose and fulfilled it, they are rewarded.

vs 9

Paul now sees an apt time to switch metaphors, from farming to building.

vs 10

So Paul is now an expert builder, and he's already laid the foundation of the building. Now another builder is coming and building on it. But this time, it's not Apollos - for there are multiple people who build on the foundation. That is the members of the Corinthian church. And he is warning them to watch how they build on the foundation.

They are not just building up good little Christian lives either - they are building up the church. If you go to South America (and probably other parts of the world) you will still see churches that get built by the members. Everyone pitches in what they can - bricks, sand, a truck, or just hard work laying slabs, putting up walls, doing floors, whatever. In the same way, every Christian in the church has to then build it up in Christ.

vs 11

First of all, he warns them that you can't build on another foundation, because you can't lay another one. Christ is the foundation, and so you have to start with him to go anywhere.