1 Corinthians 3

Christian Alexander
Christian Alexander Member Posts: 3,008 ✭✭✭
edited November 2024 in English Forum

Paul appears to be saying to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3:21–23 that as long as they refrain from interfering with the foundation, which is Christ, they should have no concern about who is teaching them. Does he support all speakers in the future or just the apostles? In other words, does the apostle Paul's "all things are yours" speech only assert that all of the apostles are equal, or does it also encourage his listeners to be more "liberal" about their sources?

Comments

  • Sam Shelton
    Sam Shelton Member Posts: 339 ✭✭

    Consider the context in which Paul was writing, comparing the wisdom of God to the wisdom of the world. Could it be that Paul was more concerned about what was taught as opposed to who was teaching it?

    “All are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Co 3:22b–23, WEB.)

    In my personal journey, I have found that all people and all things that God has put in my path to help me grow, are beneficial in my walk with Christ. It is not the person, or the place, or the time that edifies; it is the truth of Christ shared by that person, in that place, at that time.

    Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. - Colossians 3:14 

  • Tony Walker
    Tony Walker Member Posts: 377 ✭✭

    Just by searching Google I found that someone a little over 4 years ago asked almost the exact same question here:

    https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/34600/in-1-corinthians-321-23-are-pauls-comments-only-about-other-apostles

    preachertony.com — appletech.tips — facebook.com/tonywalker23 — twitter.com/tonywalker23 — youtube.com/tonywalker23

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 54,773

    Does he support all speakers in the future or just the apostles?

    This is not a question that is explicitly in the text; it is an interpretative question which is outside the guidelines unless asked specifically in terms of Logos tools and resources. I suggest that you make yourself a checklist of things to do before asking the question on the forums. One item on the list would be to use the Commentaries guide section on the passage 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 and not where each commentary stands on the issue. A second item on the list would be to read the Early Church Fathers on the passage. Another item would be to research acceptable teachers in the post-apostolic age . . . How the list is put together is dependent on what you need ... and I mean what you need from an occupational therapist/educational consultant's perspective not from my semi-educated perspective.

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."