14 (A)But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For (B)“who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” (C)But we have the mind of Christ.

Sectarianism Is Carnal

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to (D)babes in Christ. I fed you with (E)milk and not with solid food; (F)for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and [a]behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

Watering, Working, Warning

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but (G)ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? (H)I planted, (I)Apollos watered, (J)but God gave the increase. So then (K)neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, (L)and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

For (M)we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are (N)God’s building.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 3:3 Lit. walking according to man

14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God(A) but considers them foolishness,(B) and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit(C) makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”[a](D)

But we have the mind of Christ.(E)

The Church and Its Leaders

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit(F) but as people who are still worldly(G)—mere infants(H) in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food,(I) for you were not yet ready for it.(J) Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling(K) among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,”(L) are you not mere human beings?

What, after all, is Apollos?(M) And what is Paul? Only servants,(N) through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed,(O) Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.(P) For we are co-workers in God’s service;(Q) you are God’s field,(R) God’s building.(S)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:16 Isaiah 40:13