The Preacher's Bible

Brothers, I couldn’t speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly, as to babies in Christ. ²I fed you with milk, not with solid food, for you weren’t yet ready. Indeed, you aren’t ready even now, ³for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men? ⁴For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you fleshly? ⁵Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed, and each as the Lord gave to him? ⁶I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. ⁷So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. ⁸Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. ⁹For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.

¹⁰According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. ¹¹For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. ¹⁴If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.

¹⁶Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, which you are.

¹⁸Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you in this world, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He has taken the wise in their craftiness.” ²⁰And again, “The Lord knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is worthless.” ²¹Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, ²²whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours, ²³and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.