1 Corinthians 3 (final part)

1 Corinthians 3:18–23 (KJV)

Paul is teaching the Corinthian church how to truly glorify God. That is what chapter 3 is really about.  A church that glorifies God is a church that is growing in its knowledge and understanding of God’s will, a church that rises out of immaturity, and a church that submits to the wisdom of God above its own conceits.

Paul warns us: do not deceive yourself. Human intelligence, no matter how sharp, is not sufficient to comprehend the beauty and coherence of God’s divine plan. The Corinthians thought they were the epitome of wisdom. They considered themselves enlightened, analytical,  intellectually superior and wise. They had little patience for fools. Even after coming into the fold of Christ, they still believed that much of what they had acquired from their worldly background could simply be carried over into their walk with God. They likely thought the gospel was an additional accessory to their already wonderful lives.

This problem has not gone away. Many people in the faith today have accumulated vast amounts of information from the world, and it becomes difficult to shake that off in order to fully embrace the wisdom of God’s word. Even after receiving the Christ-life, the default settings by which reality is analysed often remain those of the old man. No wonder Paul insists that we must “put off the old man.” Get rid of the residue of the former life. Start living like a Christian. Start thinking like a Christian. Start speaking like a Christian.

Colossians 2:8–9 (KJV)

Ephesians 4:20–24 (KJV)

Some read Paul’s message of grace and assume that labour is no longer required. They have missed his point entirely. We are not saved by works, and thank God for that, for we struggle daily even now. But we are saved unto good works, and therefore we must work. We must work. We must fight. We must wrestle. We must run. We must labour. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Timothy 6:12; Ephesians 6:12; Hebrews 12:1-2) Paul deliberately uses these metaphors to show that the Christian life involves intense struggle, first and foremost against the flesh, and secondly against the external pressures of the world.

But this work must be done rightly. Flesh cannot defeat flesh. You must learn the methodology of the Spirit. There is a way this work is meant to be carried out, and that way can only be learned through submission to the Spirit by means of the Word. Many believers attempt spiritual ends with carnal tools, and then wonder why they keep producing mixed results. If the source is wrong, the outcome cannot be right. 

Romans 8:5–8 (KJV)

This is why Paul says, “Become a fool.” Put aside your pedigree. Put aside your degrees. Put aside your so-called critical thinking skills which has become your throne, and lay it at the feet of Christ. Paul himself, highly educated and intelligent, did the same, for our example. Come like an infant, begging to be fed. Desire the milk sincerely, and your infant body will grow in the Spirit. A baby may have arms and legs. It may even have a digestive system. But none of those endowments are ready for meat. Growth requires humility and patience.

This is not anti-intellectualism. I am a big believer in the fact that our minds play a role in understanding God’s purposes. God is not calling you to abandon the mind. He is calling you to surrender the mind. He is calling you to stop treating human brilliance as a rival authority to His voice. There is a learning that begins with worship and ends with obedience (John 7:17).

The wisdom of this world is folly with God. We saw this first in Eden. Eve evaluated the tree of the knowledge of good and evil according to worldly categories: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. What she did not realise was that the beauty of the tree was fleeting, the pleasure of the fruit momentary, and the knowledge being offered a counterfeit. It was a humanistic kind of knowledge, far inferior to what they already had access to in God. The tragedy of Eden is that they reached for what looked like “more,” and in doing so they lost what was truly life

Imagine being given a complete dictionary, only to discard it and attempt to construct language from scratch. Even at your best, you would never approach the richness or precision of what already exists. That was the foolishness of Adam and Eve. God did not withhold good from them. He set a boundary for their good.

“God catches the wise in their craftiness.”

You think you have figured it out, and God exposes how foolish you have been. It reminds me of the Galatians, who began in the Spirit and attempted to finish in the flesh. Or Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, with a head of gold and feet of clay. When we try to do God’s work with our own wisdom, what we produce is always a crude and unstable imitation. A shameful caricature, a counterfeit. We may impress men for a season, but heaven is not moved.

Paul’s final warning in this passage is clear: do not boast in men. The Corinthians took pride in their associations. Who taught you? Who laid hands on you? Who is your spiritual father? Paul dismantles this entire mindset. Why short-change yourself? Everything is yours! Paul is yours! Apollos is yours! Life is yours! Death is yours! The present and the future are yours! This is not a feel-good hype but a demonstration of our inheritance in Christ.

You can and should feel free to benefit from any minister, any gift, and any calling. Why settle for second-hand grace when you can go directly to the source? God uses vessels, yes, but the vessel is not the fountain. The fountain is Christ. The moment you start boasting in men, you reveal that you have forgotten what you truly possess in union with Christ. 

And note the order Paul gives: “you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:23). This is the proper line of glory. Your life is not anchored in your intellect, your tribe, your spiritual network, or your favourite minister. Your life is anchored in belonging. You belong to Christ. That is identity. That is security. That is freedom.

I belong to Christ.

I just cannot ever get over this!

I belong to Christ.

Mysteries, knowledge, understanding, grace, wisdom, all are in God if only we would dig deep. The era of waiting for the high priest is over. We have one High Priest in heaven and we are seated with Him (Ephesians 2:6). The veil has been torn. Access is not reserved for spiritual elites. The invitation is for every believer who will come humbly, come honestly, and come hungry.

Become a fool, O Christian, that you may learn true wisdom. Lay down the crown of self-confidence. Receive the yoke of Christ. Let God’s wisdom re-train your instincts, re-shape your judgments, and re-order your desires. Then your life begins to glorify God.