Translation and Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ the Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS 23 Nov 2008 & 17 May 2026
Kim was born in Korea, but was adopted at 2 years of age by an American family in Iowa. She was a student at Covenant College at the same time my wife and I were, and she worked in the college cafeteria to make a little money on the side. Kim looks very Korean with the flat face and black hair and slanted eyes, but she doesn’t belong to a Korean family or to the Korean culture any more.
She told my wife that one time she was working at the hot breakfast serving line at the cafeteria and a guy came through, noting that she looked Korean, and said, “I bet they eat a lot differently where you come from!” With a smile, she replied without a trace of an accent, “Yeah, in Iowa, we eat cold cereal for breakfast.”
Kim’s adoption changed everything; she was thoroughly American because she now belonged to an American family. When we belong to God – and we know that we belong to God, it will make a difference in how we live life, too.
In the second half of 1 Corinthians chapter 3, we see three practical ways that belonging to God makes a difference in our life: it leads you to preserve God’s church, to value God’s wisdom, and to own everything while being owned by nothing.
16. Haven’t y’all known that y’all are the inner-sanctum of God, and [that] the Spirit of God resides in y’all?
17. When someone ruins the inner-sanctum of God, God will ruin that person, for the inner-sanctum of God is holy, which is what you yourselves are.
The first thing to note is that “y’all” are the church:
In the Greek language in which the New Testament was written, they distinguish between 2nd person singular and plural, and all the “you’s” in this passage are plural, indicating everyone in “the church of God in Corinth” (1:2) – and, by extension, everyone in the church where you are, not just you as an individual.
Paul is not saying that if you hurt your own person, God will hurt you; it is saying that if you hurt/defile/desecrate/tarnish/sully/vandalize/destroy the plurality of people in the church by causing disunity, you will face dire consequences.
God will allow your sin to defile you and remove you from your holy status as a church member; He will give you over to sin and let it destroy you.
“The church is a living organism, not just an organization. You can divide a pie into several pieces without destroying it; this is because a pie is an organization. But if you divide a dog in two, you have destroyed him because he is an organism.” (Ralph Earle, New Testament Word Studies) Like other organisms, it is death to the church to divide it into factions.
God is very jealous of His bride. Don’t get caught between a jealous husband and His bride – especially when He’s bigger than you; you’re going to get mashed if you do! God loves the church, and He will not let the offense go if you try to turn the affection of His bride to anyone else besides Him.
There are two ways you can influence this unity of the church:
Don’t try to divide the loyalties of the church between different church leaders.
Speak positively of church leaders who are faithful to Jesus despite their “warts,”
Stay out of conflicts between leaders, and
And focus praise toward Jesus rather than toward particular leaders. (You don’t belong to a particular leader; you belong to God.)
We already saw admonitions about this earlier in chapter 3, vs.4-9 “For whenever someone says, ‘As for me, I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ you are not being men. What, therefore, is Apollos, and what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed even to each as the Lord gave. As for me, I planted; Apollos watered, but God was increasing. Thus neither the planter nor the waterer is anything, but rather it's the increaser: God! Now the planter and the waterer are unified, although each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's co-workers. You are God's field – God's building.” (NAW)
Don’t try to divide the love of the church between Jesus and anything else in this world.
Engaging other church members in conversation about your business or entertainment pastimes that are not Christ-centered is dangerous. It is like driving cranes with wrecking balls around the construction project. However, if you can keep your focus on Christ, even talk about business or entertainment can be edifying.
Discipline yourself to talk about Jesus and His plans for the world so that others grow in their love for Him.
The more unified God’s people are in a common, Biblically-informed, passionate love for Jesus, the more unified the church will be, and the less danger we risk of offending God’s jealous wrath.
You don’t belong to yourself; you belong to God.
Next note WHY you – the church – are the inner sanctum of God: It is because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in you.
There are two words in Greek for “temple” (hieron and naos) – this one (naos) indicates, not so much the building but, the dwelling-place of God, the holy place and the holy of holies – the place where His character and values are instantiated on earth.
When people want to meet God, they must go to you. Do you carry Christ in such a way that people can look into you and see Him and get to know Him through you?
The body of Christ – the church – is holy because God has decided to live in us.
V.17, by the way, is a proof for the deity of the Holy Spirit: If you are God’s temple, and if it is the Spirit of God Who dwells in you, then the Spirit is God.
You are not holy because you are so good; you are holy simply because God has chosen to have His Spirit live in you. There is no pride in this, only heartfelt appreciation to God for choosing to make us holy.
Paul concludes in v. 17, “God’s temple is holy, and that is what you yourselves are.”
You don’t belong to yourselves; you belong to God.
The church is different from all other organizations in this world, so we should look and act differently from all other organizations in this world, patterning our looks and actions upon His character and works rather than on the world’s character and works.
Furthermore, all who are set apart as holy should be considered together – the saints at Grace (Independent) Baptist, College Heights Southern Baptist, First American Baptist, Westview Wesleyan, Faith Evangelical Free, University Christian, Manhattan Presbyterian, and First Assembly of God (just to name a few) – despite our different traditions and sometimes-significant doctrinal disagreements are all of the same quality & class as our church is, in being the temple of God in our town, where God makes His home. Therefore it is important to express a unified front as well as possible with other faithful church congregations.
I am not saying that God necessarily makes His home with every group in town that calls themselves a church (for instance, The Unitarian Universalist Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are not places where God makes His home because they have re-written the Bible and denied salvation through faith in Jesus alone), but I am saying that it is incumbent upon us to recognize those outside of our particular fellowship who are also set apart by God through faith in Jesus.
18. Let no one deceive himself; if someone seems to be wise among you in this age, let him become stupid in order that he might become wise,
19. for the wisdom of this world is stupid according to God, for it has been written, “He is the One who catches the wise in his own craftiness,”
20. and again, “The Lord knows the deliberations of the wise, that they are empty.”
Dependence upon God’s wisdom is a testimony that you belong to God, and that is a unifying force in the church.
Conversely, dependence upon human wisdom is a testimony that you belong to the world, and that is a destructive force in the church.
Notice the contrast in v.18 between two kinds of wisdom: “seeming/thinking to be wise in this world/age” and becoming absolutely “wise” (no qualifiers).
If you have really good, common, horse-sense, and you know what all the experts and pundits and newscasters have to say, you are in danger of bearing testimony to the world that their way of thinking is sufficient for life, and you are in danger of leading your brothers and sisters in the church away from faith in Jesus and His word.
This doesn’t always happen, people with good common sense can be a big help to the church, but there is a danger of over-relying on human wisdom, therefore Paul exhorts such a person, “Do not deceive yourself… [but rather] become a fool in order to become wise.”
Paul uses this word “deceive” next in 2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ.” (ASV)
For instance, the wisdom of the world tells us that the gap between older and younger generations in the church is a cultural gap which must be addressed by hiring youth culture specialists, family culture specialists, and elderly culture specialists to start separate programs to minister to each age group in the church. It’s a no-brainer: the first assistant pastor in your church should be a youth pastor. It’s what everybody does.
Unfortunately this is not God’s wisdom – nowhere does the Bible tell us to address the generation gap in this way, rather the Bible teaches the older men and women and the fathers in the church to address the problem by instructing the younger generations themselves.
When we follow the world’s wisdom in this matter, we end up destroying the church. Dr. Voddie Baucham has brought to our attention that in the last couple of decades, as the numbers of youth ministers and youth programs increased throughout the Southern Baptist church, the number of young adults who permanently left the church when they went to college skyrocketed to 80%. Worldly wisdom can destroy the church!
When Paul says to become foolish, he doesn’t mean to don a jester’s cap and tell corny jokes and act like a moron (or a 9-12-year-old; take your pick). He has already defined what he means by this foolishness in chapter 1: “but, as for us, we are preaching a Christ who has been crucified – to Jews a stumbling-block, and foolishness to Gentiles, but to the called ones among them (both Jews and Greeks) Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men…” (1 Cor. 1:23-25, NAW)
This second kind of wisdom – God’s wisdom – is rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
According to Prov. 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” (KJV)
Some time ago, I had the opportunity to meet with the Muslim Student Association (MSA) president and faculty adviser at our local university about a plan for a Muslim-Christian dialogue event. When I offered to represent the beliefs of Christianity in the dialogue, the president of the MSA said that he had observed the role of President Bush in an Interfaith Dialogue at the United Nations and wanted to see the same kind of statements made at our university – statements to the effect that Christians and Muslims basically believe the same thing and are not all that different. He then asked me if that was the kind of thing I would say. The pressure was on. Would I be like the prestigious President of the United States and say what everyone wanted me to say, so that I could be acceptable in the eyes of these men? No, I belong to Christ, so I cannot represent Him according to the wisdom of this age. I had to risk being denied the opportunity to be offered the platform in this Muslim-Christian dialogue. I said that I would want to underscore, not only things we have in common, but also our significant theological differences. They didn’t invite me to speak after that.
Each of us faces our own moments of decision like that, and we need to win those moments by choosing to represent Christ crucified and look the fool rather than appearing to be a “worldly-wise man.”
Paul quotes the Old Testament to prove that the wisdom of the world is foolishness in God’s sight. (vs.19-20)
Job 5:2-16 “For vexation kill[s] the foolish man, And jealousy slay[s] the silly one. I have seen the foolish taking root: But suddenly I cursed his habitation. His children are far from safety … Neither is there any to deliverer them… But man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward. But as for me, I would seek unto God, And unto God would I commit my cause; who doe[s] great things and unsearchable, Marvellous things without number. Who give[s] rain upon the earth, And send[s] waters upon the fields; So that He set[s] up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety. He frustrate[s] the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He take[s] the wise in their own craftiness; And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night. But He save[s] from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty. So the poor ha[s] hope, And iniquity stop[s] her mouth.” (ASV)1
The wisdom of man, says Job, with its “anger” and “jealousy” and “unrighteousness,” is “foolishness” and leads to “trouble,” as surely as heat rises upwards, but “seeking God” is wisdom and provides “deliverance” and “safety.”
God has so ordered that the wise will be “captured/caught by their own craftiness/shrewdness.” (cf. Luke 20:23)
We all love to see justice paid out to the bad guys, like in the movies when the evil mad-scientist designs some dreadful machine to terrorize the world and ends up falling into his own machine and being killed by it.
In 2 Corinthians 4:2 Paul further describes the “craftiness” of men as “adulterating/corrupting the word of God” – that is, mixing foreign ideas with God’s ideas and presenting them together as truth.
If you belong to God, you will look to Him alone for truth and deliverance and security rather than to human wisdom.
Psalm 94 “3 ...How long shall the wicked triumph? They... speak arrogantly… 7 And they say, ‘Jehovah will not see, Neither will the God of Jacob consider.’ Consider... y[ou] fools, when will y[ou] be wise? … 11 Jehovah know[s] the thoughts of man, That they are vanity. Blessed is the man whom [Y]ou chasten... and teach... out of [Your] law… 23 He has brought back upon them their own iniquity, And will cut them off in their own wickedness; Jehovah our God will cut them off.” (ASV)
Once again, we see from David that the people seeming to be wise and powerful in the world are called “senseless” and “stupid,” that human “thoughts” are considered by God to be “mere breath,” and that the true source of wisdom is “the law” – God’s word!
This is not to say that common sense is wrong, just that it is not what should be up-front. John Calvin wrote: “The Apostle does not require that we should altogether renounce the wisdom that is implanted in us by nature or acquired by long practice, but simply that we subject it to the service of God, so as to have no wisdom but through His word.”
Whose standard will you accept for wisdom? If you belong to God, you will accept God’s standard of wisdom – the Bible, while the world will only accept the world’s standard of wisdom.
TO RECAP: #1) If you belong to God. you won’t go ruining God’s church, and #2) If you belong to God, you will value His wisdom over worldly wisdom. Now thirdly:
21. So, let no one boast in men, for all things are yours:
22. whether Paul, whether Apollos, whether Cephas, whether the world, whether life, whether death, whether things in the present, whether things about to happen – all things belong to y’all.
23. Y’all belong to Christ; Christ belongs to God.
Why does Paul say that recognizing that everything is yours is the opposite of boasting in men?
By claiming to follow only one apostle, the Corinthians lost the benefit of all the other apostles:
“[N]ever reduce the God-sized dimensions of Biblical Christianity to all that can be embraced by just one Christian teacher.” (D. A. Carson)
“By choosing only one, they were cutting themselves off from the benefit of the other two… The Corinthians should have accepted all the gold, silver, and precious stones they could get their hands on – whether offered by Paul or Apollos or Cephas [that’s Peter]. To do anything else was true foolishness… fleshly pettiness.” (Steve Ratliff)
2 Corinthians 4:5 “For it is not ourselves that we proclaim, but rather the Anointed One, Jesus the Master (and ourselves your servants on account of Jesus)... 15 For it's all for your sakes, in order that much grace might multiply the thanksgiving by the many to the glory of God.” (NAW)
Allegiance to Christ alone opens up to us a share in inheriting everything He claims as His own:
Rom. 4:13 “The promise to Abraham and to his descendants that they would inherit the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.” (NAW)
“Blessed are the meek, because it is they who will inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5, NAW)
For you to glory in men rather than in Christ alone is to lower yourself from your high position as ‘co-heirs’ with Christ (Rom. 8:17) Who was appointed ‘heir of all things’ (Heb. 1:2).
“Everything belongs to Christ, and therefore by your union with Him everything belongs to you, too.” (A.T. Robertson)
Romans 8:38ff “I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers… can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” “God makes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28, NAW)
“‘[All things are] ours’ means that they are appointed to us by God with the view of our making use of them, not that they should exercise dominion over our consciences. Thus, on the one hand, he shows that they are not useless, and on the other hand, he keeps them in their own place, that they may not exalt themselves in opposition to Christ.” (J. Calvin)
The contrast is between being subservient to Jesus Christ or being subservient to someone or something else:
1 Corinthians 8:6 “[T]here is one God to us: the Father, out of whom everything [came to be], and we are in Him, and there is one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom everything [came to be], and we [came to be in God] through Him.” (NAW)
If you serve Paul, then only what Paul has is yours. If you serve Christ, then everything that is Christ’s is yours.
We are not subservient to life – life is not merely about staying alive, it is about fulfilling God’s plan for world history. “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if to live in the flesh… shall bring fruit from my work… I shall... abide with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith...” (Philip. 1:21-25, ASV)
We are not subservient to the present or to the future; no matter how bad it is right now or how bad we think things will be in the future, our circumstances do not have mastery over us. We will not be beat down by depression; rather we will overcome because God has promised we will “overcome the world.” (1 John 5:4)
We are not subservient to drugs or food or visual images or physical affection or anything in this world; rather all these things are ours to make subservient to the dominion of Christ and to serve His redemptive purpose.
“‘All things are permissible to me,’ but not all things bear together. ‘All things are permissible to me,’ but it’s not going to be me [who] is put under the authority of something.” Wrote Paul later on in 1 Cor. 6:12 (NAW) Instead, I will use them to raise up ever more glory for Jesus Christ, Who saved me and who is the ‘Savior of the world’ (John 4:42).
Like my adopted friend from college who looked Korean but grew up eating cold cereal for breakfast as a Midwestern American, you have been adopted into a different family and culture if you have renounced worldly wisdom and embraced the cross of Jesus Christ – even if it looks crazy in other people’s eyes.
So when people expect you to support strife, tell them, “No, I could never break up what the Spirit of God is doing!”
When people expect you to side with human wisdom, tell them, “No, God says that is foolish, and I value His opinion on the matter.”
And when people expect you to submit to anything in this world, tell them, “No, that exists to serve my spiritual needs – it’s part of my inheritance which came with being adopted by God.”
…and, by the way, in Alabama, where I’m from, we eat cheese grits for breakfast!
ByzantineA |
NAW |
KJVB |
RheimsC |
MurdockD |
CopticE |
16 Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ναὸςF Θεοῦ ἐστε καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν; |
16 Haven’t y’all known that y’all are the inner-sanctum of God and that the Spirit of God resides in y’all? |
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? |
16 Know you not that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? |
16 Know ye not, that ye are the temple of God? and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? |
16
Ye know not that ye (are) aB/theS temple
of God, and the spirit of God dwel |
17 εἴ τις τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φθείρει, φθερεῖ τοῦτον ὁ Θεός· ὁ γὰρ ναὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἅγιός ἐστιν, οἵτινές ἐστε ὑμεῖς. |
17 When someone ruins the inner-sanctum of God, God will ruin that person, for the inner-sanctum of God is holy, which is what you yourselves are. |
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. |
17 [But] if any man violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which you are. |
17 Whoever shall mar the temple of God, God will mar him: for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. |
17 He, [thenB], who will defile the temple of God, this (one) will God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which ye are. |
18 Μηδεὶς ἑαυτὸν ἐξαπατάτω· εἴ τις δοκεῖ σοφὸς εἶναι ἐν ὑμῖν ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, μωρὸς γενέσθω, ἵνα γένηται σοφός. |
18 Let no one deceive himself; if someone seems to be wise among you in this age, let him become stupid in order that he might become wise, |
18
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be
wise
in this |
18
Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seem to be wise
in this |
18
Let no one deceive himself. Whoever among you thinketh that he is
wise
in this |
18
Let not any one deceive himself. He who thinkethB/ |
19 ἡ γὰρ σοφία τοῦ κόσμου τούτου μωρία παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ ἐστι. γέγραπται γάρ· ὁ δρασσόμενος τοὺς σοφοὺς ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτῶν· |
19 for the wisdom of this world is stupid according to God, for it has been written, “He is the One who catches the wise in their own craftiness,” |
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. |
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written: I will catch the wise in their own craftiness. |
19 For the wisdom of this world is fatuity with God: for it is written, He catcheth the wise in their own craftiness. |
19
For (the) wisdom of this
world is a foolishness
with God. For it is
written: 'He who overpowerethB/
catchethS the wise
in their craftinessB/- |
Byzantine |
NAW |
KJV |
Rheims |
Murdock |
Coptic |
20 καὶ πάλιν· Κύριος γινώσκει τοὺς διαλογισμοὺς τῶν σοφῶν, ὅτι εἰσὶ μάταιοι. |
20 and again, “The Lord knows the deliberations of the wise, that they are empty.” |
20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. |
20 And again: The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. |
20 And again: The Lord knoweth the devices of the wise, that they are vain. |
20 and again: 'The Lord knoweth the reasonings of wise (men) that they are vain.' |
21 ὥστε μηδεὶς καυχάσθω ἐν ἀνθρώποις· πάντα γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν, |
21 So, let no one boast in men, for all things are yours: |
21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; |
21 Let no man therefore glory in men. 22 For all things are yours, |
21 Wherefore, let no one glory in men: for all things are yours; |
21 Wherefore let not any one boast (himselfB) in [the] men. (22S) For all things are yours; |
22 εἴτε Παῦλος εἴτε ᾿Απολλὼς εἴτε Κηφᾶς εἴτε κόσμος εἴτε ζωὴ εἴτε θάνατος εἴτε ἐνεστῶτα εἴτε μέλλοντα, πάντα ὑμῶν [ἐστινG], |
22 whether Paul, whether Apollos, whether Cephas, whether the world, whether Life, whether death, whether things in the present, whether things about to happen – all things belong to y’all, |
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; |
whether it be Paul or Apollo or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. [For] all are yours. |
22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all things are yours: |
22 whether Paulos, or Apollo[sB], or Kepha[sS], or the world, or (the) life, or (the) death, or the things which are (existingS), or the things which will be; all (thingsS) are yours; |
23 ὑμεῖς δὲ Χριστοῦ, Χριστὸς δὲ Θεοῦ. |
23 and y’all belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. |
23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's. |
23 And you are Christ's. And Christ is God's. |
23 and ye are Messiah's, and Messiah is God's. |
23 but ye [yourselvesS] are of Christ, but Christ is of God. |
1As a side note, the book of Job is only quoted in the New Testament here and in Rom. 11:35, and in neither place does the Greek New Testament text follow the Greek Septuagint translation of the O. T., so it may be that neither Paul nor the other apostles had access to the Septuagint Greek version of the book of Job, but Paul does confirm by this quote that the book of Job is indeed Scripture.
AThis Greek New Testament is the 1904 “Patriarchal” edition of the Greek Orthodox Church. As published by E-Sword in 2016. The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine majority text of the GNT and the Textus Receptus are very similar. The Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, UBS, and Tregelles editions, however, are a slightly-different family of GNTs developed in the modern era, focusing on the few manuscripts which are older than the Byzantine manuscripts. Even so, the practical differences in the text between these two editing philosophies are minimal.
B1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published by E-Sword in 2019.
CRheims New Testament first published by the English College at Rheims, A.D. 1582, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword in 2016.
DJames Murdock, A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, 1851, Robert Carter & Brothers, New York. Scanned and transcribed by Gary Cernava and published electronically by Janet Magierra at http://www.lightofword.org, and published on E-Sword in 2023.
EThis is my conflation of the English translations of the Northern Bohairic and Southern Sahidic traditions published by Oxford Clarendon Press in 1905 and 1920 respectively, neither of which named the translator or editor. The beginnings and ends of multiple-word variants are marked out with brackets, with a superscript “S” for Sahidic or “B” for Bohairic. The editor of the Sahidic compilation did not have manuscripts for some verses and I have not discovered a published English translation of the subsequently-discovered manuscripts, so variants in that section for that tradition are not listed.
FIn Greek there is no definite article before “temple,” so some English versions translate “a temple,” but since it is grammatically connected with “God,” who is a definite person, the definiteness of “God” can be applied to the temple, so “the temple” is also possible gramatically.
GThis verb of being is in the majority of Greek manuscripts and in the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions. Although not found in any Greek manuscript prior to the 9th century, it is supported by the ancient versions (sunt/ܕܝܠܟܘܢ/ne). It makes no difference in meaning. Without it, the presence of a verb of being would still be assumed.