Part Two

John G. Reisinger

An Exposition of 1 Corinthians 2:14–3:15

John G. Reisinger

In the article, "The Carnal Christian Doctrine" (Sound of Grace, Vol. 5, No. 5) we noted that the Campus Crusade booklet said, "The Bible teaches there are three classes of men." It then goes on to set forth the carnal Christian doctrine. Let's look at the passage that supposedly teaches that there are three classes of men. In order to get the context we will start with 1 Cor. 2:14.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. (1 Cor. 2:14, 15)

You will notice that 2:14, 15 divides all men into two classes—the 'natural' and the 'spiritual.' It says nothing about two classes of Christians. The natural man cannot possibly receive spiritual truth since he does not have the Spirit. You must be born of God in order to understand spiritual truth. Since all Christians are born again, they all have the Spirit. They are spiritual instead of natural in that they are truly born of God. It is from verse 14 that the carnal Christian doctrine incorrectly draws the foundation for its system. The First Scofield Reference Bible (p. 1213) has spelled out the doctrine quite clearly:

Paul divides men into three classes: psuchikos, "of the senses" (Jas. iii:15; Jude 19), or "natural," i.e. the Adamic man, unrenewed through the new birth (John iii:3, 5); pneumatikos, "spiritual," i.e., the renewed man as Spirit-filled and walking in the Spirit in full communion with God (Eph. v:18 20); and sarkikos, "carnal," "fleshly," i.e. the renewed man, who walking "after the flesh," remains a babe in Christ (1 Cor. iii:1 4)…"

It is essential that we clearly understand the meaning of the terms being used. On the one hand, we do not want to either misrepresent or misunderstand the carnal Christian doctrine, and on the other hand, we do wish to demonstrate exactly what is wrong with that teaching. In an earlier footnote at Romans 7:14, Scofield, commenting on the phrase "but I am carnal," says:

Compare 1 Cor. 3:1, 4. "Carnal" = "fleshly" is Paul's word for the Adamic nature, and for the believer who "walks," i.e., lives, under the power of it. (The First Scofield Reference Bible, p. 1200)

The essential point to be noted is that a person may "walk," or literally "live," under the "power of the Adamic nature" and still be a true Christian. He is in a different classification, namely, a carnal Christian, and therefore just as eternally secure in Christ as the spiritual Christian. Remember we are not discussing whether a true Christian can back-slide very badly nor even whether he can have besetting sins. That is not the point of disagreement. The question concerns whether a true Christian can walk and live the totality of his life under the power of sin and the Adamic nature and still be a true Christian. That is not a straw man or a caricature in any sense. Those are Dr. Scofield's clear words.

It is interesting that Scofield's note proving there are three classes of men is based on 1 Cor. 2:14 but his footnote in Romans 7:14 refers the reader to 1 Cor. 3:1, 4. As I said earlier, 1 Cor. 2:14, 15 only has two classes of people. The one is the natural man and he is lost because he does not have the Spirit and the other is a saved, or spiritual, man who has the Spirit. According to Romans 8:7 the natural man hates God. The word natural in these three verses cannot possibly refer to a child of God.

"Mr. Reisinger, I agree that 1 Cor. 2:14 does not mention either three classes of men or a carnal Christian. However, you are blowing smoke because in 1 Cor. 3:1, 3, 4 Paul specifically refers to the Corinthian believers as carnal. How do you respond to that?" The question is not, does Paul use the word carnal, but what does he mean when he uses the word? More specifically, is he teaching that there is a separate class of Christians that are basically no different than a natural or lost man?

Just as 2:14 clearly shows what Paul means by natural (lost man) so 1 Cor. 3:1 shows what he means by carnal. Paul is not dividing men up into three classes after having divided them into only two groups in 2:14. It is essential to see two things.

In 1 Cor. 3:1, 3, 4 Paul says, "You people are not acting in a true Christian manner. Your response and attitude is more like a non-Christian's than it is a Christian's." Now listen carefully. Paul is not talking about the totality of their life. He is not saying these people are characterized by carnality in all that they do. Their life is not "dominated by the flesh" in all that they do nor does "walking after the flesh" characterize their life-style. He is saying that in one particular area of their life they are acting very wrong. The Corinthian Christians were the best and most faithful financial givers in the New Testament. They were gifted by the Spirit above other churches. These were not people who had forsaken their profession and were living like unsaved people. They were acting like immature children in one particular area, namely, they were creating cliques and following men. This whole rebuke is built around this point. In verse 3 the question is asked, "Are you not carnal?" Paul then shows what he means by carnal and proves the Corinthians were indeed carnal according to that definition. And what is the proof? They were causing internal strife by following men. Verse 4 is explicit. "You are carnal in that you are forming parties and groups by exalting different leaders." Carnality in this context does not include sexual immorality, cursing, refusing to attend church, etc. No, no, they were carnal in one aspect of their life. They were acting like immature children in one area of conduct.

The second thing to notice is that Paul specifically qualifies the meaning of carnal in 3:1. Look at the text:

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

Childish behavior and ungodly behavior are two entirely different things. Acting like an immature child and acting like a non-Christian are not even close to being the same thing. When Paul says "natural man" he means a lost man. When he says "carnal" in 3:1, 3, 4 he talking about acting like an immature child. We must remember that a child has all of the marks or features of a man. He has eyes, ear, hands, feet, etc., but none of those things are developed. It is pitiful to see a grown man still acting like an immature child. However, I repeat, a grown man acting as a child is not the same as acting like a dog or some other animal. A babe in Christ has all the attributes of a man in Christ but those attributes are not developed. An immature believer may be inconsistent and contradictory in some of his actions but he will also demonstrate true spiritual marks in other areas.

We could paraphrase 1 Cor. 3:1-4 like this: "Brothers, I address you as 'brothers' because there is much evidence to believe you sincerely love Christ. However, in one area of your life you are acting like little kids without an ounce of spiritual sense. You are acting as worldly people would act. You are exalting your teachers above measure and forming into cliques." I repeat, this is quite different than not praying, not reading one's Bible, not fellowshipping with the saints, while cursing and committing immoral acts.

Suppose there were ten things that distinguished a true Christian from a lost man. If someone had eight or nine of those marks but was either weak or struggling in one or two areas, we would not say, "You cannot tell the difference between him and a lost person who has no marks of being saved." We are insisting that Paul was not describing two classes of Christians where one was totally dominated by the flesh. He was describing Christians with a serious flaw in one area of their life.

From 3:5 through 4:15 Paul deals with the problem of following and exalting men. 3:4 clearly shows that their carnality was exhibited by one saying, "I am of Paul," while another was saying, "I am of Apollos." Earlier in 1 Cor. 1:12, 13 Paul had stated this same thing.

Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

We still have these same four groups around today. The "I am of Paul" group is the charter members group. They helped start the church in Corinth. Their motto and theme song is, "We have done it this way for fifty years." The "I am of Apollos group" is the emotionally charged crowd that is stirred by great preaching skills. Their boast is that "our man can fill the pews every Sunday." Their grandchildren would be found among the charismatics and emotional fundamentalists. The "I am of Cephas" group is the Jewish crowd. They want to hang on to Moses and tack Christ on as a kind of supplement. They know very little about the new wine skins and they have never gotten a good taste of the new wine. The "I am of Christ" people are too spiritual for anyone. They separate from everybody and everything. They do not believe in creeds, labels, organized meetings, recognizing teachers and leadership gifts, etc. At first glance they seem to be the best of the bunch but it soon becomes apparent that they are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.

Let us look at Paul's argument beginning in 3:5:

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Cor. 3:5-15)

The popular view of this section of Scripture goes something like this. Paul is talking about a Christian's works after he is converted. The word foundation in the text means conversion or the beginning of the Christian life and every Christian builds on that foundation with different kind of works. If his works are good he will receive a reward and if his works are bad he will suffer loss. However, even if he has no good works and suffers loss of everything he will still be saved by the skin of his teeth or "yet so as by fire." Paul is here describing "the judgment seat of Christ" where all Christians will give an account of their works after salvation. The carnal Christians will have no rewards and their whole life will be burned up but they themselves will still be saved. That is not what this passage is teaching!

The first key to understanding the passage is in 3:9. Notice the change of pronouns from we to ye. I remember hearing a famous Bible teacher using this section to prove the carnal Christian doctrine. When he came to verse 9 he said, "We, that is 'all Christians,' are laborers together with God. Ye, that is 'all Christians,' are God's husbandry." The text cannot possibly mean that. We and ye are two different groups. The we in this context can only refer to those who ministered the Word of God to the Corinthians. The ye can only refer to the Corinthian Christians. Look at these verses individually.

The Corinthians were forming cliques and claiming different teachers as their leader. Paul asks the obvious question in verse 5: "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?" The we is Paul and Apollos and the ye is the Corinthian church. The we are the ministers of the gospel who preached to that church. God gives each man, or each minister, different gifts. Verse 6 states that Paul's ministry was planting and Apollos' ministry was watering, but both of these ministries together could not produce fruit. God alone could do that. "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow" (v. 6). Neither the planter (Paul) nor the waterer (Apollos) are anything. God alone can give the increase—therefore the Corinthians owe God everything. "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow" (v. 7).

In verse 8 Paul drives home his major point. Paul and Apollos both labor for the same God in the same cause. They have different ministries; one is a planting ministry and the other is a watering ministry, and both of them, or each one, will receive a reward according to his own ministry. "Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour" (v. 8). The words he that planteth and the words every man cannot possibly refer to every Christian. This has to refer to Paul and Apollos as ministers of the gospel. The reward for their labor is a reward for faithfulness to the truth in consistently carrying out their respective ministries. This passage is talking about the judgment of any and all who teach God's truth. The test is how faithful they were in preaching that truth. It is true that a Christian's life will be judged but that is not the subject in 1 Cor. 3. That truth is clearly taught in 2 Cor. 5:10. The truth being taught in 1 Cor. 3 is the same as that in James 3:1: "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment." This is the judgment that Paul was speaking about in 1 Cor. 3. It is the judgment of teachers.

We have often noted that when you misinterpret a verse of Scripture you make two mistakes and not just one. You first make the text say something it is not saying. This may not be too dangerous in that the particular doctrine you are teaching may be clearly taught in another passage of Scripture. That would mean that you are not teaching false doctrine, you are just using the wrong text to prove your point. The second mistake is usually the most serious. You lose the truth that the particular text is teaching by making it teach something else. The particular text you are using may be the only, or the major, text in the Bible that teaches that particular truth. That means that even if the doctrine you are teaching is correct, because it is taught in other texts, you have badly mutilated the Bible by losing an important aspect of truth. Oftentimes the very truth needed to correct a bad doctrine is lost by the very people promoting the bad doctrine in the first place. This is surely true with the carnal Christian doctrine.

The very people who count "nickels and noses" as the only test of success and build mega-churches by using every carnal gimmick possible are the very people who desperately need the true message of 1 Cor. 3. However, they cannot receive it because they have distorted and lost the true message being taught. These leaders are the very people that Paul is talking about. It is their ministries that are envisioned as being tested by the fire of God's truth. What a bonfire will follow that judgment!

Verse 9 clearly show that the any man in all of these verses refer to ministers, or teachers, as represented by Paul and Apollos. The church is spoken of as a husbandry, meaning a garden or a field. Paul and Apollos sow the seed, water the plants, and pull the weeds, etc., in that garden. This is not intended to mean apostles only. This same principle also applies to a kindergarten teacher in Sunday school. It means that every person who has any form of ministry representing God and his truth will be judged one day as to how faithful he or she was in teaching that truth. The same applies to the term building. The church is God's building and Paul and Apollos are the bricklayers and carpenters who try to fit things together.

Verse 10 is important. Look at it carefully: "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon." I repeat, the typical interpretation makes the foundation here equal to being saved. This cannot possibly be true. First of all, this is a foundation that Paul is able to lay and Paul cannot save people. He cannot lay a foundation of salvation in anyone's life but he can declare the foundational truths that are essential for any true conversion. Paul is the wise masterbuilder who lays this foundation and another builds on that foundation. Again, the context forces us to understand that another means another builder, or another minister, involved in laboring together with God. The exhortation to every man to take careful heed as to how he builds on the foundation laid can only be an exhortation to those who teach to be sure that they teach the truth.

Can this interpretation be backed up with other portions of Scripture? Look at Romans 15:20: "Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation." What is Paul saying? He is saying that he refused to do something that I have done four times. He refused to accept a call to pastor a church! Paul was a church planter. To "build on another man's foundation" cannot refer to a Christian's work built on the foundation of salvation. The "another man's foundation" refers to another church or ministry by a fellow-laborer in the gospel. Apollos, Timothy, Titus, and others built on the foundation Paul laid when he founded new churches. The foundation is the doctrine of Jesus Christ. He is the chief cornerstone. A church that is not established on what the Scriptures say about the person and work of Christ is not worthy of being called a Christian church. True church planters teach theology! True church planters begin and end with Jesus Christ and him crucified. Those who follow and come as pastors and teachers must be careful how they build on that foundation. Verse 11 is quite clear that there is no other foundation that can be laid. There is no cause, no purpose, no loyalties, no movements, and there are no groups that can take precedence over the gospel of God's sovereign grace in Jesus Christ.

Verse 12 begins the application.

"Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire (1 Cor. 3:12-15).

The any man must, as in the rest of the context, refer to any minister or teacher. There are six materials mentioned. Three are valuable and three are not. Three are purified by fire and the other three are destroyed by fire. What is Paul saying? The different materials represent one, or possibly two things. They either refer to the content of our message, that is, the doctrines we preach as they represent God and his sovereign grace, or they refer to the converts that we take into the church as part of God's building.

Verse 13 assures us that every man's work shall be tested by fire. It is essential that we understand what Paul means. Romans 15:20 clearly showed what Paul meant by laying a foundation. Let's look at another passage that shows what he means by every man's work. Notice it does not say works, plural, but work, singular. Look at another passage:

Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? (1 Cor. 9:1)

Paul is arguing that he is a real apostle and he has the credentials to prove it. He not only saw the risen Christ but the Corinthians themselves are his 'work' in the Lord. One of the first things a preacher asks another preacher is, "How is the work going?" Both of them know they are not talking about their personal deeds, or Christian life, but they are talking about the congregation. In 1 Cor. 3 Paul envisioned his work, and the work of every other laborer, being tested, or "tried by fire," by God. The work in 1 Cor. 3 is not the works, plural, of a Christian's life after conversion, it is the Corinthian Christians themselves being tested as examples or fruit of the ministry of Paul. Carefully notice the following:

—The word is not works, plural, but work, singular.

— The test is what sort the work is and not what size it is. Someone has said, "We count our converts and God weighs them."

— The test is going to be by fire. The man's ministry, his sermons, his converts, his methods, and everything connected with building a congregation are going to be tested with God's truth. The only question a preacher or teacher must worry about is whether he was faithful to God's truth in all that he did.

Verses 14 and 15 speak of gaining and losing rewards. Look again at the verses: "If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire" (1 Cor. 3:14-15). It is obvious that this judgment has nothing to with one's eternal salvation. It clearly has to do with rewards for service and loss for bad service. However, it is not teaching that a man can live like the devil as a carnal Christian and then make it to heaven by the skin of his teeth. The any man must mean any minister or teacher. What Paul is saying is that it is possible for a preacher or teacher who is truly a child of God to either knowingly or unknowingly shape his message to fit a situation. He may sacrifice full truth for false success. He may use methods that really get results when clear truth is not popular. If you were sent out with a pick-up truck and told to find a load of gold, silver, and precious stones and another man was told to go find some wood, hay, and stubble, who would come back first? If you send a man out to build a church and tell him to preach nothing but what is laid down in Scripture and send another out with instruction to use any method that attracts people, which one will build the biggest church in the shortest time? That is what Paul is talking about.

Let me give you a clear illustration. Some years ago a Methodist Church was without a pastor. Some businessmen in the church invited me for a week of evangelistic meetings. Several weeks before the meetings, the church got a new pastor. He was an older man and had just graduated from seminary. He had been a farmer, had a heart attack and could do no heavy work, and felt God wanted him to preach. The first night he introduced me as "The Right Reverend John Reisinger." The second night it was "The Reverend John Reisinger," the third night it was "Reverend Reisinger," and the next night it was "Brother John." Each evening before the service the pastor and a group of the men would pray together. On the last night when it came to the pastor's turn to pray he said, "Before I pray I want to say something. I believe I was genuinely converted when I was sixteen years old. I never sat under a pastor that taught the Bible like Brother John. I learned more in five days this week than I did my whole Christian life. I always believed that religion was such a personal thing that I had no right to witness or preach in such a way as to push my own views. I now know I was wrong. I want all of you men to know one thing. From now on when anyone comes to me for counsel or when anyone applies for membership in this church, I am going to do exactly what Brother John has been doing all week, and ask as pointedly as I know how, 'Are you saved by the grace of God?' "

I do not doubt that man was converted when he was sixteen years of age. I believe it would have been possible for him, had God not brought his heart to understand biblical ministry, to have preached for thirty years and never deny a single thing in the Bible and yet never preach the truth of the Bible. His whole ministry, though sincere, loving, and consistent would never have brought anyone under conviction of sin. When he stood before God, he would be accepted through Jesus Christ. When his whole ministry was reviewed it would have been "wood, hay, and stubble." That dear man would have been saved but would have not a single reward for his entire ministry. It would have all been burned up even though he himself would have been saved.

I believe there are some men on television with great reputations as well as famous church leaders who hold seminars on "How to Double Your Congregation in Two Years" who may possibly be saved but are teaching psychology and Madison Avenue sales techniques. What a bonfire will result when their 'great ministries' are tried by the fire of truth.

I encourage you to continue this study in 1 Cor. 3 through part of Chapter Four. As you study, keep in mind that the whole passage is talking about ministers and teachers being tried. The church is God's temple and woe to the man who defiles that temple with "wood, hay, and stubble." Let those wise in the things of this world becomes fools for Christ's sake (v. 18). Let us not worry about either man's approval or his ridicule (4:1-7) . Let us be faithful servants of Christ alone and faithful stewards of the truth of his amazing grace.

Copyright 2004 John G. Reisinger