Lessons #85 and 86
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Building in Corinth (1 Cor 3:10-15)
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
The overall message of the passage we are considering is that If you want your activities as a Christian to be rewarded in the future by God then they must be Christ-centered. This message we indicated will be expounded as involving four major assertions of responsibilities of the believer as given in this passage. We have considered the first major responsibility which is that you must be sure you have responded to the gospel message, that is, that you are a member of the church of God in Christ. In effect, any activity that involves doing good to others carried out when a person is not a believer in Christ is not rewardable because it is one that is performed by a person who is spiritually dead. So, we consider the second major assertion of responsibility of believers.
A second major assertion of responsibility is that you must be involved in activities based on your understanding of the gospel. This major responsibility is derived from the statement of Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:10 and someone else is building on it. The apostle recognized that others will be involved in meaningful activities based on the foundation that he has laid which is the founding of the church in Corinth through his preaching of Christ crucified.
The apostle expected believers would be involved in activities that are related to the church, so he did not specify who he means in the statement instead he used, according to the NIV, the phrase someone else. The expression “someone else” is the way the translators of the NIV translated a Greek word (allos) that may mean “other” as distinguished from the person speaking as Jesus used it to refer to the Father in John 5:32:
There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.
The word may mean “another, different” as it pertains to that which is different in type or kind from other entities. Hence, Apostle Paul used it to indicate that the Corinthians put up with a preaching of a Jesus not the One he preached, as we read in 2 Corinthians 11:4:
For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
The expression preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached is more literally proclaims another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed. The word may mean “more” as it pertains to being in addition to something, as it is used in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:20:
The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
The sentence See, I have gained five more is literally See, other five talents I have gained. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:10, it is used in the sense of “another” that is different in function from the apostle with the implication of the one in view being distinguished from him. Based on the context, it may appear the apostle was speaking specifically of Apollos but that is not the case since that will contradict his earlier assertion in verses 5-9 that both are in the same team with each, his assigned task from the Lord. Therefore, the apostle made a generalization to all believers who would be carrying out activities based on his work in Corinth. The apostle was thinking of believers in Corinth, and by implication all believers, whose activities related to the church would be based on the apostle’s initial work of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and the resultant founding of the church.
The Apostle expects activities related to the church he founded in the Corinth to occur as in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 3:10 is building on it. The expression “building on” is translated from a Greek verb (epoikodomeō) that may mean “to build on to”, that is, to build on someone or something already built. It is in this sense that the word is used in Ephesians 2:20:
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
The word may mean “to edify, build up”, that is, to engage in a building process of personal and corporate development as it is used in Colossians 2:7:
rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:10, it is in the sense of “to build on to” something that the word is used. In effect, the word is used to describe continuation of the construction of a building that is unfinished. However, the apostle used it in a figurative sense of participating in any activity that advances the church of Christ in Corinth.
We indicated that the concept of building the apostle used is figuratively for participation in any activity that advances the church of Christ. There are certainly various activities that believers would be involved that will advance the church of Christ in Corinth, but a foremost activity is concerned with the ministry of the word. This we say because the ministry of the word of God is the only way to advance the church of Christ both in terms of number of new believers in Christ and the spiritual growth of believers. It is as the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached that unbelievers get saved and become added to the number of persons in the church of Christ. This fact is demonstrated several times in the book of Acts. The number of believers increased following the sermon Peter delivered on the day of Pentecost, as we can gather from Acts 2:41:
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
After the death of Stephen and the resultant persecution of the church, believers scattered to various places where they preached the gospel that led to some being saved and added to the church of Christ. Philip went to Samaria, as indicated in Acts 8:4-7, 12:
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed.
12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Others went to several other places, as stated in Acts 11:19–21:
19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
As we indicated, the ministry of the word of God is the only way to advance the church of Christ not only in terms of increase in number but also in terms of spiritual growth of believers. The idea of spiritual growth as due to the ministry of the word is evident in the teaching ministry of Barnabas and Paul/Saul, as stated in Acts 11:26:
and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Apostle Paul in his farewell address to the elders of church in Ephesus, conveyed the same concept that the ministry of the word of God is the way to advance believers spiritually, according to Acts 20:32:
“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Apostle Peter implied the same truth in 1 Peter 2:5:
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Believers are being built into a spiritual house in the sense that God brings about spiritual maturity of believers through the teaching of His word.
Anyway, as we have indicated, the primary activity that is needed to advance the church of Christ either in terms of numbers or spiritual growth is the ministry of the word of God. This being the case, it may seem that the apostle when he used the clause of 1 Corinthians 3:10 and someone else is building on it may be thinking primarily only in terms of ministers of the word of God such as pastors and evangelists but that is to be limiting in application of what the apostle had in mind. In application, the apostle was thinking of such individuals but also of every believer that is involved in witnessing for Christ. Every believer is expected to advance the cause of the church of Christ through personal witnessing or sharing of one’s faith with others. For after all, all believers are Christ’s ambassadors, as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:20:
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
It is true that technically the word “ambassadors” in the passage refers to Apostle Paul and his apostolic team but in application it refers to all believers. This is because all believers are expected to represent Jesus Christ and to deliver the good news about Him to others.
Our focus in terms of the building activities that are included in clause of 1 Corinthians 3:10 and someone else is building on it so far has been primarily the ministry of the word as it involves advancing of the church but there are other activities related to the advancement of the church that stem from the word of God. For example, there is the activity of helping others in the church with their material needs. This is an important activity as indicated by the early church that took care of their own. Recall, it is because of problem in this area that led to the appointment of the seven that were responsible for the administrative affairs of the early church in Jerusalem, as implied in Acts 6:1–4:
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
The ministry of taking care of the disadvantaged in the church is one that is necessary for advancement of the church in the sense of doing good works. Those who do this, serve the church of Christ. Other activities that are needed for advancing the church of Christ involve leading others, encouraging, and showing mercy, as stated in Romans 12:7–8:
7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
If a person is involved in teaching the word of God, the teaching must be guided by understanding of what the gospel is about. In effect, every teaching of the word of God should be Christ-centered in the sense that whatever is communicated should not diminish the work of Christ on the cross. There should be no teaching of the word of God that belittles the work of Christ on the cross. This means that the teaching that is focused on self-help at the expense of trusting the Lord would not be Christ-centered. I am saying that a teaching that implies that a believer has the power to fulfill God’s purpose based on his/her effort instead of relying on the ministry of the Holy Spirit and applying the word of God is one that is not Christ-centered. Every teaching activity that is Christ-centered should be such that the believer comes to the realization of his/her inability to carry out God’s word apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In any event, it is important that whatever activity that the believer gets involved with should be one that is governed by understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you give, for example, it should be governed by the fact that you have received the greatest gift of eternal life that was made to you not because of who you are or what you can do but based on the goodness of God as reflected in Christ’s death on the cross for us. If you understand this truth, then when you are involved in the activity of giving, you will do so with the right attitude that you are doing that because of what Christ did for you. The point is that a believer’s activity of any kind that helps to advance the church of Christ should be governed by understanding of the gospel hence the second major assertion of responsibility is that you must be involved in activities based on your understanding of the gospel. This brings us to the third major assertion of responsibility.
A third major assertion of responsibility that you have regarding the message of the passage we are considering is that You should exercise caution in your daily activities, especially those that are directly related to church of Christ. There are many activities that we get involved that are not directly related to the church of Christ but indirectly affects the church. For example, your work is not directly related to the church but indirectly affects it in that how you do your work as a believer impacts your testimony which then impacts the church of Christ. That aside. The caution we stated is derived from the last clause of 1 Corinthians 3:10 But each one should be careful how he builds.
The instruction “should be careful” is translated from a Greek word (blepō) that may mean “to see,” that is, to perceive with the eyes as in the statement of the Lord Jesus in Luke 10:23–24:
23 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
The word may mean “to look, observe” as in warning of Jesus regarding true discipleship in Luke 9:62:
Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
The word may mean “to think about, consider” as it is used in 1 Corinthians 1:26:
Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
The word may mean “to direct one’s attention to something, to consider, note”, as it is used in 1 Corinthians 10:18:
Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?
The word may mean “to watch out, look to, beware of, pay attention” as in Galatians 5:15:
If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:10, the word is used in the sense of “to watch out, be careful, prudent” in the action that one takes. The Greek uses a present tense that implies forming the habit of watching out or being careful in what is commanded. In other words, the believer should train self to be one that is cautious regarding the action stipulated.
Warning to be careful in the spiritual life is one that permeates the Scripture. The Lord Jesus warned against deceivers who will claim to be the Christ in Matthew 24:4:
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.
He warned His disciples to be careful about the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees, as recorded in Mark 8:15:
“Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
You may say that this passage says nothing about the teachings of the Pharisees. Yes, but the phrase the yeast of the Pharisees refers to their teaching. We know this because the Lord used similar phrase in Matthew 16:6:
“Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
The phrase the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees is later explained to mean the teaching of these two mentioned, as we learn from Matthew 16:12:
Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Lord Jesus used the same warning to convey to believers to be careful as they listen to the teaching of the word of God in Luke 8:18:
Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”
This warning of the Lord is important because an impediment to spiritual growth is inattentiveness to the word of God. This is the danger that is quite often faced by those who expose themselves to the teaching of God’s word. It is possible to form the habit of going to Bible study as a matter of routine but pay no attention to what is taught or concentrate when the word of God is taught. Despite this, you would be accountable for the truth that you learn and so you should pay close attention to what the word of God says. That aside, Apostle Paul issued the same kind of warning that we are considering when he preached in Pisidian Antioch, as we read in Acts 13:40:
Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:
Here the apostle warned his audience of God’s judgment if they fail to accept God’s mercy and forgiveness offered in Christ Jesus. The Apostle cautioned against the use of the believer’s freedom in Christ in 1 Corinthians 8:9:
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
The apostle warned believers of harming each other in Galatians 5:15:
If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
The apostle cautioned believers against human philosophy that may be used to deceive them so that their focus is on human tradition instead of on Christ in Colossians 2:8:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
The human author of Hebrews used the same kind of warning in cautioning believers against worthless or bad thoughts that cause a person to refuse to trust or believe God, as stated in Hebrews 3:12:
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
Apostle John used the same warning to caution believers against loss of reward due to influence of others in 2 John 8:
Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.
So, we see that the warning to be careful in the spiritual life is one that permeates the Scripture, as we have demonstrated.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:10, the warning, according to the context, is directed primarily to those who are ministers of the word of God, that is, those who communicate the word of God. This is because of the instruction each one should be careful how he builds. As we have already noted, the concept of building in our passage concerns activities that advance the church in terms of preaching the gospel and teaching believers. Thus, it is fitting that the warning be directed first to those who teach the word of God. The Holy Spirit cautions those who teach the word of God to be careful not only in what they teach but regarding their lifestyle, as we read, for example, in 1 Timothy 4:16:
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Those who teach others are to be careful because they will be judged by the Lord more severely than those they teach, as indicated in James 3:1:
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
Anyway, although the caution of Apostle Paul in the passage of 1 Corinthians 3:10 that we are considering is primarily directed to those who communicate God’s word, but the caution is applicable to all believers as they apply God’s word. We should be mindful that our activities should reflect the Lord Jesus Christ. Furthermore, we all have spiritual gifts so that the caution to those who communicate God’s word because of their spiritual gift applies to all believers. Thus, it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit cautions all believers on the exercise of their spiritual gifts in 1 Peter 4:11:
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
The point is that although the primary caution of the passage we are studying is directed to those who are ministers of God’s word, but it also applies to all believers as they carry out any of their activities on this planet, especially as it affects the advancement of the church of Christ. Again, let me remind you of the third major assertion of responsibility you have regarding the message of our passage of study is that You should exercise caution in your daily activities, especially those that are directly related to church of Christ.
Quite often, when the Holy Spirit commands an action or an attitude from believers through human authors of the Scripture, He would provide reason or explanation for the instruction or command. Our present instruction is no exception because the apostle began verse 11 with the conjunction For. The conjunction “for” is translated from a Greek conjunction (gar) that has three main usages. It may be used as a marker of cause or reason for something so that it is translated “for.” It may be used as a marker of clarification in which case it may be translated “for, you see.” Under this usage, as a marker of clarification, the conjunction may be used to express continuation or connection in which case it may not be translated, or it may be used to signal an introduction of an important point or to signal a transition to another point so that it may be translated “now, well, then.” Another usage is as a marker of inference leading to the translation “certainly, by all means, so, then.” In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:11, it is used to provide reasons for the caution given in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 3:10. Its use in our passage to provide reasons for the caution given previously leads to the fourth major assertion of responsibility that you have as a believer regarding the passage we are considering.
A fourth major assertion of responsibility that you have regarding the message of the passage we are considering is that You should understand there are two major reasons for caution to be careful regarding your activities as they relate to the advancement of the church of Christ or His cause.
A first reason is that no one can found another church that deserves the name “church of Christ” in the same location that a community of believers exists by preaching a different Christ Apostle Paul preached. It is this reason that is given in the rest of verse 11 no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. It may not be clear that the sentence is stating that no one can found another local church at the same location that there is an existing local church that deserves the title “church of Christ” by preaching a different Christ than Apostle Paul preached. Therefore, we need to establish our interpretation by examining the Greek words used in the sentence that will involve a review of a Greek word used in 1 Corinthians 3:10.
To begin with, we should note that the word “lay” and “laid” are not from the same Greek words although there is a perceptible similarity between the two. The word “lay” is translated from a Greek word (tithēmi) that may mean “to lay, put”, that is, to put or place in a particular location. Thus, it was used for burial in the sense of the laying away or putting away the body of Lazarus in the grave after his death as per the question of the Lord Jesus in John 11:34:
“Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
It is in the sense of laying that the word is used in the quotation from the OT Scripture regarding the stumbling stone laid in Zion that Apostle Paul cited in Romans 9:33:
As it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
Figuratively, the word has several usages or meanings. The word is used for Jesus Christ giving up His life for us in 1 John 3:16:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
The word may mean “to appoint, assign” to some task or function, as Apostle Paul used it to describe his appointment or assignment regarding the gospel message in 2 Timothy 1:11:
And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.
The word may mean “to put aside, store up, deposit” as it is used in the instruction of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians regarding how to get ready for the contribution of money or gift that is to be delivered to believers in Judea by weekly putting aside an amount a person has determined to give, as we read in 1 Corinthians 16:2:
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
The word may mean “to make” in the sense of making someone something, as in the instruction of Apostle Paul in his farewell address to the elders of the church of Ephesus who have been put to their position of being overseers of believers in Ephesus by the Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 20:28:
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.
The word may mean “to fix, set, establish” as the word is used in the response of the Lord Jesus to His disciples after His resurrection regarding the time God has set to restore the kingdom to Israel, as stated in Acts 1:7:
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:11, similar to 1 Corinthians 3:10, the word is used in the sense of to put something in place or “to found.”
The word “laid” in the clause of 1 Corinthians 3:11 other than the one already laid is translated from a Greek word (keimai) that may literally mean “to lie, recline” in the sense of being in a lying down position, as it is used to describe the baby Jesus in Luke 2:16:
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
The word may mean “to be laid, be stored” as it is used in the Parable of the Rich Fool who believed he has stored up enough goods for himself in Luke 12:19:
And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
The word may mean “to be in a place” as it is used to describe the water jars connected with Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine in John 2:6:
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
The verbal phrase the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing is literally placed according to the purifying of the Jews. Figuratively the word is used with different meanings. The word may mean “to be appointed, destined” as it is used to describe the afflictions that believers are appointed in 1 Thessalonians 3:3:
so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined for them.
The word may mean “to be given, exist, be valid” as it relates to legal matters, as it is used to describe that the law exists or is given for lawbreakers in 1 Timothy 1:9:
We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,
The verbal phrase is made is literally is given. The word may mean “to find oneself, to be” in a certain state or condition so that the word may be used to indicate that something is under the control of another as it is used to describe the world in 1 John 5:19:
We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
The sentence the whole world is under the control of the evil one is literally the whole world lies in the evil one. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:11, it is used with the meaning “to be laid” but the sense of the word is “to be located”, that is, to be or become situated in a particular spot or position. Thus, when the apostle stated in the words of the NIV the one already laid he described a foundation that exists. You see, there is no word “already” here in the Greek, but it is the way the translators of the NIV translated a present tense used in the Greek in connection with our Greek word since the Greek literally reads that which is laid. The apostle used a present tense to emphasize the reality of the foundation that came into being in the past in Corinth.
There are two problems related to the verse we are considering. A first problem is whether the last clause of 1 Corinthians 3:11 which is Jesus Christ is linked to the phrase any foundation or to the expression the one already laid. Truly, it makes no difference since the concern is the foundation that we have indicated in verse 10 is related to the church of Christ in Corinth. Thus, a more difficult problem is the second problem.
A second problem is how to interpret the clause which is Jesus Christ. In effect, the problem is to determine how Jesus Christ is related to the foundation that has been put in place in Corinth. This question arises because of the word “is.”
The word “is” is translated from a Greek word (eimi) with several meanings or usages, but we will consider only those that are possible candidates in our passage. The word may mean “is” in the sense of to be in close association with, frequently in a statement of identity as it is used to describe that believers are children of God in 1 John 3:1:
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
The word may mean “means” as it is used in Matthew 9:13:
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The expression learn what this means is literally learn what is. Even when the Greek word is translated “is” the sense is that of “means” as in the explanation of Jesus’ Parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13:38:
The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,
The standard Greek English Lexicon of BDAG suggest that the sentence The field is the world may be translated The field means the world. The word may mean “to belong” as it is used to deny that anyone without the Holy Spirit belongs to Christ in Romans 8:9:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
The word may mean “to be” in the sense of “to rest”, as in 1 Corinthians 2:5:
so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.
The verbal phrase rest on men’s wisdom is literally be in the wisdom of men. The word in certain passages may mean “to be or come from” as it is used to describe original order in creation of a woman from a man in 1 Corinthians 11:8:
For man did not come from woman, but woman from man;
The sentence man did not come from woman is literally man is not from woman. The word may mean “to represent, stand for” as it is used in Galatians 4:25:
Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:11, our Greek word means either “to belong” or “is” in the sense of “to be identical.”
It is probably the case that both meanings of “to belong” and “to be identical” are intended. For on the one hand, the church is described as the body of Christ in Ephesians 1:22–23:
22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
On the other hand, the church is also said to belong to Christ in Romans 16:16:
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
So, both interpretations make sense. However, since the apostle is concerned with activities centered on the church of Christ, it is more likely that he had primary in his mind the church that belongs to Christ. This being the case, the apostle was concerned that no one can establish another local congregation that answers the name “church of Christ” in Corinth by preaching a different Christ other than the one he had. The implication, of course, is that no one can preach another Christ than the one he had already preached in Corinth. In any event, the first reason the apostle cautioned regarding believer’s activities as they relate to the advancement of the church of Christ is that no one can found another church that deserves the name “church of Christ” in the same location that a community of believers exists, by preaching a different Christ, Apostle Paul preached. Anyway, a fourth major assertion of responsibility that you have regarding the message of the passage we are considering is that You should understand there are two major reasons for caution to be careful regarding your activities as they relate to the advancement of the church of Christ or His cause.
10/19/18