18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; ²⁰and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” ²¹So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, ²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future– all are yours, ²³and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. (1 Corinthians 3:16-23 –NIV)

These verses say that God placed ALL things under Jesus’s feet and made him head over EVERYTHING. Why did he do this? According to these verses, he did it for the church! The church must be very important indeed. And it is! Verse 23 says that the church is Jesus’s body – and that it is the fullness of God who fills everything in every way.

I also looked up the word “fills” and found out that it also means “completes” or “fulfills”. In order to convey more fully the meaning of the phrase “the fullness of him who fills everything in every way”, I made an “amplified” translation using the lexicon definitions of “fullness” and “fills”. Here it is:

In John chapter 14, Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” In view of the fact that the Church is the overflowing abundance, the wealth beyond measure and the full and perfect nature of God who fulfills and completes everything in every way, if anyone says to you, “Show me Jesus,” you should be able to say, “Look at the church. If you’ve seen the church, you’ve seen Jesus.” If you’re not sure about this, then come on Wednesday and pray for the Church.

The importance of the Church in God’s eyes is very much greater, I believe, than we are in the habit of thinking. In Ephesians chapter 2 the apostle Paul pictures the Church as a building – a temple in which God lives by his Spirit – with Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone: “In him (Jesus) the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling place in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Eph. 2:21,22) I want to talk about the significance of this analogy in more detail.

The word “church” means assembly or congregation. (This is the biblical meaning as opposed to any more recent meaning such as a building or a denomination.) We usually think of the term church as simply referring to the collection of all of the individual Christians. But it’s clear from Paul’s analogy to a temple or a building or a body – the body of Christ (Eph. 1:23), that the Church is much more than simply the sum total of the individual members. Because we are members of a very individualistic culture it’s easy for us to miss this point. Even when we come together as a congregation (a church – church and congregation are the same word in Greek) to worship God, we frequently sing hymns and worship songs that use pronouns such as “I” and “me” rather than “we” and “us”. We are meeting together as a church but we are singing as though it’s only “me and God” and no one else is present. I don’t mean to imply that our individual relationships with God are unimportant or that there is no place for hymns written in the first person singular. After all, many Psalms are written that way. Your individual relationship with God is very important. To know God is eternal life! But we easily forget about the importance of the Church.

The Empire State building is greater than the total of all the steel, concrete and other materials that went into it. A single living cell is much greater than the sum total of the atoms and molecules that make it up. The human body is very much greater than the collection of the trillions of individual cells that compose it. And the Church, the body of Christ, the temple of God, is vastly greater than the sum total of all of the individual Christians that make it up. Individual believers are “sealed for the day of redemption” by the Holy Spirit of God (Eph. 4:30), but it is in the temple – the building into which you, as a believer, are being built – the building which has Christ as the chief cornerstone – that God lives by his Spirit. The Church is the overflowing abundance, the wealth beyond measure and the full and perfect nature of God who fulfills and completes everything in every way.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 3 the apostle Paul tells us that if anyone destroys God’s temple God will destroy him: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” (1 Cor. 3:16,17)

The “temple” Paul is referring to in these verses is the Church. (Some people think that Paul is talking about the human body as being a temple here as he does in chapter 6, but the context shows that he is talking about the Church. When he says, “You yourselves are God’s temple,” he is referring collectively to the Corinthian congregation. He is using the word temple in the same way he did in Eph. 2:21.22, the temple of which Christ is the cornerstone.) It’s a very serious matter to destroy the Church, God’s temple. If anyone destroys the Church, God will destroy him. What could have led Paul to give this terrible warning? How were the Corinthians destroying God’s temple?

In the NIV Bible, the translators gave a title to 1 Corinthians chapter 3: “On Divisions in the Church.” But the problem of divisions actually goes clear back to chapter 1. It’s the first thing Paul brings up in his letter after the introduction. In 1 Cor. 1:10-12 he says, “I appeal to you brothers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, ‘I follow Paul’; another, ‘I follow Apollos’; another, ‘I follow Cephas’; still another, I follow Christ.’ “

Right at the beginning of chapter 3, Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their divisions. He tells them that they are not spiritual but worldly (“fleshly” or “carnal”) and brings up the same problem as in chapter 1 – one says, “I follow Paul,” another, “I follow Apollos.” Because of this they are mere men (human beings, people). Obviously Paul thinks that they ought to be much more than mere men. So how are they falling short – and how are they destroying God’s temple (and putting themselves in danger of being destroyed by God)?

According to verse 3 there is jealousy and quarreling among the Corinthians. What’s actually happening is that each one is trying to make himself better than the others. In order to make yourself better than others you have to make some kind of distinction, hence, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” etc. (Some even said, “I follow Christ” (1 Cor. 1:12) but they really weren’t following Christ since their purpose was to distinguish themselves from other believers in Christ.) In chapter 3, verses 11 and 12 Paul compares what we do as Christians to building a building, the Church. The foundation of the building is Jesus Christ. What the Corinthians were doing was dismantling the building and using the building materials to build on other foundations than the one Paul had laid – Christ. They were destroying God’s temple in which his Spirit lives.

So how does this apply to us today? I’d say that today we almost take the present divided condition of the Church for granted. In New Testament times congregations were identified by the city where they lived (“the church of God in Corinth”) or by where they met together (“the church that meets in Aquila and Priscilla’s house”). Today we have multiple, multiple denominations and numerous independent churches, each with doctrinal statements (“we believe this” or “we believe that” or “we believe some other thing”). Many of them have sign boards in front of their buildings saying, “We follow John Jones” or, “We follow Joe Smith” or that they follow some other person. (Actually, they say, “Rev. John Jones, pastor,” “Joe Smith, pastor,” etc., but the effect is the same.) Many have their doctrinal beliefs built into their name (Main Street Free Will Baptist Church). In saying all of these things, I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to imply that every congregation should be identical. God gives different gifts to different congregations just as he gives different gifts to different individuals. But this should not be a reason for contention, as it seems to be.

How then did we, the Church, get into our present condition? It is certainly because, to use Paul’s words, we are still worldly. We want to make distinctions so that we can feel that our own congregation is better than the other congregations (and therefore, each of us ourselves is better than each of the members of the other congregations). You have to positively resist this temptation. Divisions are brought about when people choose up sides over an issue. Satan loves disputes. Two people will disagree over an issue and he will encourage each of them to, instead of settling the issue between themselves, rather gather supporters to their sides. He will also encourage them to believe that nothing is more vitally important to the welfare of the church than the issue at hand. Pretty soon an entire congregation will have divided and taken sides. Each side will stop talking to the other side and only talk to the others on their side about the other side. The obvious next step is for each side to declare its position to be the only correct one and to go its own way feeling superior and righteous.

What I’ve said is somewhat of an oversimplification, but, I think it demonstrates the root cause of divisions in the Church. A church I used to belong to divided over the issue of whether or not to use instrumental music during a worship service – and apparently they thought it was not just an issue of personal taste, but of vital spiritual importance. Also, I even heard it mentioned that there was a church that divided over what color to paint the pews or something like that. So if you have a dispute with someone, absolutely resist the temptation to gather an army of supporters to your side. Don’t destroy God’s temple.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, the apostle Paul is warning the Corinthians, who are making divisions among themselves by declaring which leader they will follow, that they are destroying the Church, God’s temple in which his Spirit lives. This problem of divisions in the Church has not gone away in our present age. In fact, it has clearly been multiplied many times over. We are not only divided according to the leaders we follow, but also according to doctrinal beliefs, worship styles, building architecture, type of music and anything else men can think of to divide over. And distinctions are not just made between congregations, but also within congregations. People divide according to age, occupation, marital status, neighborhood in which they live or for any other reason they may think of – or for no apparent reason. It is the nature of the flesh (the sinful nature, human nature) to want to make some kind of distinction. (How can you hope to make yourself superior to other people if you don’t make some kind of distinction between yourself and other people.)

We are so used to having divisions that it is hard to think of it as a serious problem. But according to Paul (speaking by the Holy Spirit) it is a very serious problem indeed. Paul says that if anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. But Paul also told the Corinthians what they had to do. (And he is also telling us.)

“Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a ‘fool’ so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness;’ and again, ‘The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.’ So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future – all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.” (1 Cor. 3:18-23)

Paul says, “Do not deceive yourselves.” How were they deceiving themselves? How do we deceive ourselves? The answer is that we deceive ourselves by following the standards of this age. The standards of this age say that you must look out for yourself, you must provide for yourself, you must promote yourself to other people and, if possible, make them envious of you. In any case, you must somehow think of yourself as better than at least some other people (the more the better). This is the wisdom of this world. It is foolishness in God’s sight! God’s wisdom is different. God’s wisdom says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross.” (Philip. 2:3-7) This is God’s wisdom. To be wise with God’s wisdom, you must become a fool according to the world’s wisdom.

Paul says (quoting the Old Testament), that God “catches the wise in their craftiness,” and that he “knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” (1 Cor. 3:19,20) God is sovereign over all things. Nothing we plan will in any way succeed unless God allows it. (And by his mercy, to keep us from being conceited, he frustrates many of our wise plans.) God’s wisdom for us is that we may know that all things come from him and that we may trust him for everything. It’s foolishness to think that we need to promote ourselves. First of all it is foolish because we can’t do anything his sovereign will doesn’t allow. But much more than that, it is foolish because everything is ours anyway – Christian leaders (Paul, Apollos, Cephas), the world, life, death, the present, the future – everything is ours. (1 Cor. 3:21b, 22)

5) Pray that we may not envy what God has given other people to do, but rather pray for their success and rejoice in it. (This applies to people half way around the world or right next to you. If there is someone you think is the least among the saints, pray for that person to be great before God and men – much greater in fact than you are.)

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ loves this kind of prayer. He loves to answer it. He wants us to be like Jesus whom he loved and with whom he was (and is) well pleased. He sent Jesus to die for us when we were still his enemies. He loved us when we hated him. He is full of grace and mercy. How can we think he would withhold any good thing from us.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, the apostle Paul rebuked the Corinthian believers for being worldly. For the sake of their pride they were destroying the Church, God’s temple, in which his Holy Spirit lives. The Corinthian believers were God’s temple and by their factions and divisions, they were destroying that temple. As an indication of how serious a thing it is to destroy the Church, God’s temple, Paul told them that if anyone destroyed God’s temple, God would destroy him. Then Paul told them what they had to do to avoid destroying God’s temple.

This message was for the church of God in Corinth – and it is also for us. If we are to avoid destroying God’s temple, we must become “fools” so that we may become wise. Paul preached Christ crucified, which was foolishness to the world, but to those whom God has called, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Cor. 1:22-24) God’s wisdom is the “foolishness” of the cross. He did things the way he did so that no one could boast. (1 Cor.1:26-31)

In telling the Corinthians (and us) what they had to do to avoid dividing the Church (become fools by the standards of this age), he also gave them (and us) reasons for doing what he had told them to do. He had already said that if anyone destroyed God’s temple, God would destroy him. This, in itself, sounds like a good enough reason not to destroy God’s temple. But really, I don’t think Paul said this because he thought God might destroy the Corinthians. After all, in chapter 1 he told them that God would keep them strong to the end, so that they would be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:8). I think Paul’s point in saying that God would destroy anyone who destroyed God’s temple was to make it very clear that they could not take the divisions they were causing lightly. The reason Paul gave for them to become “fools” – for them to stop boasting about men – is that it made absolutely no sense at all for them to do so because all things were theirs – people, the world, life, death, the present and the future – all was theirs.

As believers, all things are ours also. What does it mean for all things to be yours? John Wesley says that for Paul, Apollos and Cephas to belong to the Corinthians meant that God put them there to minister to them. Matthew Henry says: “Not that saints are proprietors of the world, but that the world stands for their sake.” These things are true. God did do everything for the Church. He placed all things under the feet of Jesus and appointed him to be head over everything for the Church. (Eph. 1:22)

That God did everything for the Church is very significant in itself, but there may be more to it than that. Think about what it means for something to belong to you. In our worldly thinking, to own something means that we have control of it. We can do whatever we want with it.

From the time I was around six years old, I wanted to have an airplane and fly it. I tried to imagine how I could build one. Eventually I realized it probably wouldn’t be practical to try to build an airplane, so I forgot about it for a while. After I grew up, a childhood friend of mine learned to fly and bought an airplane. He took me for a ride in it and my interest in airplanes and flying was renewed. When I was thirty years old I took lessons and learned to fly airplanes. I got a pilots license but I didn’t own an airplane. Airplanes are expensive to buy and to operate, so sometimes people get together and form flying clubs and put their money together to purchase one or more airplanes. But when you do this, you have to share the airplane(s) with other people. You can’t just, on the spur of the moment, go to the airport and take off and fly somewhere. I wanted it to be like my car. I wanted to be able to get into my own airplane and go wherever I wanted to at any time I wanted to without coordinating it with anyone else. If you own something along with one hundred other people, you can’t do whatever you want to with it. Some of the joint owners may have different ideas than yours. You don’t really own it because you really don’t have control of it.

On the other hand, what would it mean if you really could do whatever you wanted to do with, as Paul says, “all things”? It would have to mean that you would never, ever want to do anything that any of the other joint owners would not want you to do. Does this sound impossible? Well, when the Church first started in Jerusalem the believers were “all together and had everything in common” (Acts 2:44). Also, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed any of his possessions were his own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32,33) They were certainly closer by far to “all things are yours” than we are. When Jesus prayed his high priestly prayer, he prayed for believers to be brought to complete unity to let the world know that his Father had sent him and had loved all the believers just as he had loved Jesus. (John 17:23) We know that God heard this prayer because we know that God always heard all of Jesus’s prayers (John 11:42).

These concepts of unity seem impossible to us because we still see things through largely worldly, fleshly eyes. The concept of needing to control something (or someone) certainly doesn’t come from faith in God. It is from the flesh. Pray for us to begin to grow and become mature – to stop being mere infants in Christ. Jesus prayed for complete unity of believers – even for the world to see it. So it will certainly happen. God will bring it about. We can participate in this incredible (by human standards) miracle by praying. God loves us and Jesus died for us! We will see God’s glory!