Commentary on 1 Corinthians
Chapter 3. Christ the Principle of Unity
Lecture 1. Diverse ministers united in Christ
3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal. As unto little ones in Christ. [n. 122]
3:2 I gave you milk to drink, not meat: for you were not able as yet. But neither indeed are you now able: [n. 125]
3:3 For you are yet carnal. For, while there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal and walk according to man? [n. 128]
3:4 For while one says: I indeed am of Paul: and another: I am of Apollo: are you not men? [n. 131]
3:5 What then is Apollo and what is Paul? The ministers of him whom you have believed: and to every one as the Lord has given. [n. 133]
3:6 I have planted, Apollo watered: but God gave the increase. [n. 136]
3:7 Therefore, neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters: but God who gives the increase. [n. 137]
3:8 Now he who plants and he who waters, are one. [n. 138] And every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labor. [n. 139]
122. Above the Apostle disclosed the strife and division among the Corinthians, who disputed among themselves about the particular ministers of Christ who had baptized and instructed them. Here he begins to attack their judgment of these ministers as the root of their strife.
First, he attacks their judgment, insofar as they attributed more than they should to those ministers in whom they boast;
second, insofar as they looked down on the other ministers of Christ, at let a man so account of us (1 Cor 4:1).
In regard to the first he does two things.
First, he shows the loss they suffered from the strifes arising from the perverse judgment;
second, he attacks their perverse judgment, at what then is Apollo.
As to the first he does two things.
First, he mentions the loss they have suffered till now on account of this fault;
second, he shows that they are still suffering from it, at but neither indeed are you now able.
123. In regard to the first he does three things.
First, he mentions the loss they have suffered till now from this fault. For above he had said that the apostles delivered spiritual things to spiritual men, teachings which sensual men were not able to apprehend. Now he applies this to them saying, and I, brethren, who along with all the other apostles speak spiritual things to spiritual men, could not speak to you as unto spiritual men, i.e., deliver spiritual teachings to you, but as unto carnal I have spoken to you. Here he calls the carnal the same ones he first called sensual, to whom must be delivered things suited to their weakness: whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast (Isa 28:9), i.e., from a carnal understanding and way of life.
124. Second, he employs a simile, saying, as unto little ones in Christ, i.e., barely introduced to the perfect teachings of the faith which is given to spiritual men: everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child; but the perfect live on solid food (Heb 5:13).
125. Third, he gives the reason, lest they suppose that he withholds spiritual teaching from them through envy, which would be opposed to Wisdom: which I learned without guile and impart without envy (Wis 7:13). That is why he adds, for you were not able as yet. As if to say: it was not through envy that I kept spiritual things from you, but on account of your incapacity, for you were not able as yet to grasp well spiritual words: I have yet many things to say to you; but you cannot bear them now (John 16:12).
126. Then when he says, but neither indeed are you now able, he shows that even now they are suffering the same loss.
First, he shows the incapacity under which they are still laboring when he says, but neither indeed are you now able. As if to say: it was not strange that in the beginning you were unable to grasp a fuller teaching, because this was expected of your newness: as newborn babes, desire the rational milk without guile (1 Pet 2:2). But it seems sinful that in spite of the time during which you could have made progress, you still show the same incapacity: for though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of God’s word (Heb 5:12).
127. Second, he gives the reason why they are still unable, saying, for you are yet carnal in life and mind. That is the reason why you cannot grasp the things of the Spirit, but have a taste for the things of the flesh: they who are of the flesh mind the things of the flesh (Rom 8:5).
128. Third, he gives the reason behind the proof, saying, for, while there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal and walk according to man?
Here it should be noted that he was right in joining envying with contention, because envying, i.e., jealousy, is the food of contention, for a jealous person is grieved at another’s good, which the latter tries to improve and from this arises strife. Hence James says: where envying and contention exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice (Jas 3:16). On the other hand, charity through which a person loves another’s good is the source of peace.
129. Second, it should be noted that envying and contention occur only among carnal persons because, being attracted to material goods which cannot each be possessed by many persons at the same time, whenever one person owns a material good, another person is prevented from fully possessing it. From this follows jealousy and later contention. But spiritual goods, by which spiritual persons are attracted can be possessed by several persons at the same time; consequently, one’s good is not another’s loss. For this reason neither jealousy nor contention finds a place among them: which I impart without envy (Wis 7:13).
130. Third, it should be noted that carnal men are said to walk according to man, even though man is composed of spirit and flesh. For it is consonant with human nature to obtain knowledge of the spirit from the senses of the flesh; consequently, the affections of human reason are moved by the things of the flesh, unless man’s spirit is raised above man by the Spirit of God, for the heart fancies as a woman in travail, unless it be a vision sent forth by the Most High (Sir 34:6).
Therefore, the sense is this, according to man, i.e., according to human nature left to itself by the Spirit of God, as in a psalm: O men, how long shall my honor suffer shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? (Ps 4:3).
131. Fourth, he clarifies the proof, saying, for while one says: I indeed am of Paul, because I have been baptized and instructed by Paul, and another: I am of Apollo, which shows that there is envying and contention among you, are you not men, i.e., carnal and not spiritual, indulging in jealousy and strife for human things? For as a man is, so is he affected by corresponding things and desires them: they became detestable as the thing they loved (Hos 9:10).
132. Then when he says, what then is Apollo, he spurns their judgment, insofar as they attributed more to their ministers than they deserved.
First, he discloses the truth;
second, he excludes their error, at let no man deceive (1 Cor 3:18);
third, he draws the conclusion he intended, at let no man therefore glory in men (1 Cor 3:21).
As to the first he does two things.
First, he shows the condition of the ministers.
second, he speaks about their reward, at every man shall receive his own reward (1 Cor 3:8).
As to the first he does three things.
First, he describes the status of the ministers;
second, he proposes a simile, at I have planted, Apollo watered;
third, he explains his intent, at therefore, neither he who plants.
133. Touching on the status of the ministers, he mentions two things: first, that they are not masters, but ministers, saying: you boast of Paul and Apollo. So I ask you: what then is Apollo and what is Paul, i.e., what is their dignity and power, if you are to be reasonable in boasting of them? And he answers: the ministers of him, namely, of God. As if to say: what they do when baptizing and instructing, they do not do as masters but as God’s ministers: men shall speak of you as the ministers of our God (Isa 61:6).
But someone might consider it great to be a minister of God and suppose that one should boast of men who are ministers of God. This would be true, if God could not be approached without men, as happens when men glory in the king’s ministers, without whom the king cannot be approached. But this is not applicable here, because Christ’s faithful have access to God by faith, as it says in Romans: through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God (Rom 5:2). Therefore, he is careful to say, whom you believed. As if to say: by faith you have now been joined to God and not to men. That is why he said above: that your faith might not stand on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God (1 Cor 2:5). Therefore you should take joy first in God and not in men.
134. But it sometimes happens that ministers of men have some dignity or skill that makes them fit to be ministers. This is not true of God’s ministers. Therefore, he shows that the worthiness and power of God’s ministers is entirely from God, saying, and to everyone as the Lord has given. As if to say: each one of us has as much power in ministering as the Lord has granted to him; consequently, there is no reason for boasting in us for ourselves: our sufficiency is from God, who has qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant (2 Cor 3:5).
135. Then when he says, I have planted, he stresses a similarity between ministers and husbandmen, where two differences in their activities should be noted: one is the difference between the activity of one minister and that of another. In regard to this he says, I have planted, i.e., in preaching to you I was like a planter, because I was the first one to preach the faith to you: I have put my words in your mouth, that you might plant the heavens (Isa 51:16); Apollo watered, i.e., he acted as a person who waters plants to nourish them and make them grow. In the same way we read in Acts that after Paul had converted many Corinthians (Acts 19:1), Apollo came on the scene and contributed many things to the believers, showing publicly by the Scriptures that Jesus is Christ, and fulfilling what is said in Sirach: I will water my orchard (Sir 24:31).
136. The second difference is found in the work of ministers, who by planting and watering cooperate outwardly with the work of God who works inwardly, hence he adds, but God gave the increase: he will increase the harvest of your righteousness (2 Cor 9:10). So, too, in material things, planters and waterers work from without, but God works from within by the activity of nature to make plants grow.
137. Then when he says, therefore, neither he who plants, he draws two conclusions from these premises. The first of these is based on the minister’s dependence on God: inasmuch as Paul planted and Apollo watered, they were but ministers of God, having nothing but what they received from God; and they worked only from without, God working within. Therefore, neither he who plants is anything, namely, is important and great, from which he would need to be glorified; but God who gives the increase.
For God is independent and great by himself: for an action is not attributed to the instrument, which a minister is, but to the principal cause. Hence it is said: all nations are as nothing before him (Isa 40:17).
138. The second conclusion is based on a comparison between the various ministers, he who plants and he who waters, since both are God’s ministers, having nothing but what they receive from God and working only from without, are one. Since the only ground for preferring one over another is some divine gift he has received, they are equal, so far as what they have of themselves is concerned.
Furthermore, since their intention is to be God’s ministers, they are one in the harmony of their wills; consequently, it is foolish to have dissensions about persons who are one: behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity (Ps 111:1); we, though many, are one body in Christ (Rom 12:5).