1 Corinthians Chapter 3

vs 12

What's the difference between hay and straw? I don't really think it matters. The point being that once the foundation of Christ is laid, it's up to us what we build on it. We can build valuable, costly stuff, or we can build cheap and nasty stuff.

vs 13

So at that present time, we might not be able to tell what other people's work is like. So we shouldn't go around judging other people's work. Instead, we should be worried about our own work. The "Day", of course, is the Day of the Lord, and fire is God's preferred tool of judgement post-flood.

vs 14

And this is the ultimate test. If what we have built on the foundation of Christ survives the Day of the Lord, then we will be rewarded. And what's going to survive the day of judgement? Only eternal things. Which basically means other people.

vs 15

Remember, we are talking about Christians here. You do have to have been building on the foundation of Christ. So this isn't a "save-all" passage. If what you've been building isn't eternal, then you'll lose it. You will still be saved though, and you'll feel it all the more it would seem, because you're being saved as if from a fire.

vs 16

So we were God's field, and then God's building. We've now been upgraded to temple. Now remember that this verse is not talking about your body - that verse is later in 1 Corinthians. This verse is not talking about individuals at all. It is addressed to the church. The church is the temple of God.

vs 17

These words become all the more pertinent when you realise that it's not some lovy-dovy verse talking about how much God loves the church. This is addressed to people in the church who are causing division. If you destroy the church because of your division, God will destroy you. Do we even take that seriously?

vs 18

If you measure wisdom by any other standard than a godly one, then you're being deceived. In our post-modern world, it is easy for people to set up all sorts of definitions about what any given thing is, including esoteric things like wisdom. But God's definitions aren't up for review, because they are an absolute truth. Anathema to our culture - you might seem "foolish" for believing in it - but by becoming a fool in the eyes of the world (for following Christ) you become wise. There are still fools that are just fools of course.

vs 19

Pertinent little verse from Job there. We have always got to be careful on this subject of wisdom, because we live in the "information age" and we can get very caught up in the latest thing, or even in old-school wisdom stuff. And the study of thought and the acceptance of reason are not bad things per se. I mean, I studied philosophy as a new Christian, and didn't lose my faith over it. But reason and thought must submit, like all other things, to God. It's funny of thinking of God as one who catches people out for being "too smart for their own good", but that's only half right. It's not like, by studying philosophy or eastern religion or post-modern thought or communist theory or whatever, you can somehow get so smart that God says "He knows too much, time to take him out!"

In fact, most wisdom of the world is simply a cunning twisting of the truth! Out and out lies are easy to spot, and so most people don't use them (or don't start with them anyway). No, you start with something that mimics the truth, and then you gradually move away from it. God knows that. He knows that there is a lot of his own good stuff in these other forms of "wisdom", but he catches them in their crafty twistings of the truth.

vs 20

In the end, thinking doesn't get you very far. Even spending all your time thinking and meditating about God is pointless, because God demands action from his people. Now I'm not speaking against academia here - Bible scholars who spend all their time learning about the intricacies of the Word of God, church history, etc are very valuable. But see, they are not just thinking - they are using their knowledge to print translations, to teach the church about its past etc. Simply sitting on top of a mountain and meditating doesn't do anyone any good.

vs 21

When it comes down to it, if even the smartest, wisest person is nothing compared to God, why would you boast about knowing them? If you know God, then you know everything. Everything that matters, anyway.

vs 22

Ok, so Christians might not all have the periodic table memorised, but instead they know how to have a relationship with the one true God who will give them life for ever and ever in heaven. Hmm, weighing those two things up, guess which one I think is better?

vs 23

This is one of the few verses where the NIV is more literal than the NASB, which says "belongs" a lot. But Paul completes the circuit here - we've got everything, because Christ's got us, and God has Christ.