1 Corinthians 3--Follow God, Not Man

1 Corinthians 3 continues the discourse of the previous two chapters on wisdom. The church is chastised for its reliance on worldly, man-made wisdom instead of God's wisdom. Church members are compared to babies in their squabbling over which leaders and style of worship to follow (denominationalism).

Believers are told not to "glory in men" (3:21). Church leaders are cautioned about losing their reward in heaven if their work is not of God, but of man. They are reminded that the wisdom of God is available to the church through the Spirit of God, Who indwells each believer, and that the church is actually a living body made up of these Spirit-filled individuals.

Called "carnal" and immature, the Corinthians were acting like non-believers in creating their own man-made styles of "worship." They were in danger of defiling or destroying the temple of God; i.e., the body of believers (the body of Christ, the church) by their worldly wisdom because this kind of "wisdom" leads to man-made religion and strife and does not please God.

It is Godly wisdom that leads to Godly worship and pleases God. Worshiping God in God's way leads to holiness rather than the strife and divisiveness they were experiencing. How to worship God in God's way? Be led by the indwelling Spirit, not the popular wisdom of the day.