Hot Springs Times

A sense of frustration comes through in the passage from 1 Corinthians. The community has not come together in a way the apostle had hoped. To complicate matters, they may not be fully aware of how far they are from being a healthy community, as evidenced by Paul’s assessment: “Even now you are still not ready” (1 Cor. 3:2). Jealousy and quarreling have the potential to wreck communities.

Consider coming at this passage from another angle by reflecting on stories of community overcoming conflict or opposition. Identify times when you might not have felt ready at the time but had experienced the growth that God gives.

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1 Corinthians 3:1-9

1Brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4For when one says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not merely human?

5What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

Original source can be found here.