1 Corinthians 3:3

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Here, I. Paul blames the Corinthians for their weakness and nonproficiency. Those who are sanctified are so only in part: there is still room for growth and increase both in grace and knowledge, 2 Pet. 3:18. Those who through divine grace are renewed to a spiritual life may yet in many things be defective. The apostle tells them he could not speak to them as unto spiritual men, but as unto carnal men, as to babes in Christ, 1 Cor. 3:1. They were so far from forming their maxims and measures... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

3:1-9 And I, brothers, could not talk to you as I would to spiritual men, but I had to talk to you as to those who had not yet got beyond merely human things, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food. But now not even yet can you digest solid food, because you are still under the sway of human passions. Where there is envy and strife among you, are you not under the sway of human passions and is not your behaviour on a purely human level? For when anyone says, "I... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:3

For ye are yet carnal ,.... The Syriac reads it, בבסר אנתון , "ye are in the flesh": a phrase the apostle elsewhere uses of men in an unregenerate state; but this is not his meaning here, as before explained, but that carnality still prevailed among them, of which he gives proof and evidence: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men ? They envied each other's gifts and knowledge, strove about words to no profit, entered... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 3:3

There is among you envying, and strife, and divisions - Ζηλος και ερις και διχοστασιαι . There are three things here worthy of note: these people were wrong in thought, word, and deed. Ζηλος , envying refers to the state of their souls; they had inward grudgings and disaffection towards each other. Ερις , strife or contention, refers to their words; they were continually disputing and contending whose party was the best, each endeavoring to prove that he and his party were alone in the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 3:3

Verse 3 3.For ye are as yet carnal So long as the flesh, that is to say, natural corruption, prevails in a man, it has so completely possession of the man’s mind, that the wisdom of God finds no admittance. Hence, if we would make proficiency in the Lord’s school, we must first of all renounce our own judgment and our own will. Now, although among the Corinthians some sparks of piety were emitted, they were kept under by being choked. (151) For since there are among you. The proof is derived... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

The carnal conceit of the spiritually immature. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Spiritual condition of these Corinthian partisans characterized. These men were in a low state of Christian development, their growth in grace having been arrested by the jealousy and strife dominant in their midst. Under such circumstances, personal progress and Church progress were impossible. Individual self assertion and arrogance could net but lead to the depreciation of others, nor could envious rivalries tolerate merit and worth in those whom it sought to crush. On the other hand,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:1-8

Reflections for Churches. "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual," etc. In these verses are three subjects worthy of the profoundest contemplation. I. THE GRADUATING METHOD OF TEACHING . "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk," etc. Truth is to be administered with a practical regard to the receptive powers of the student, just as the administration of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Christian teachers and their work. The apostle has still in view the dissensions prevailing in the Corinthian Church. Throughout the first four chapters this subject is never absent from his mind, even when it is most in the background. The spirit of party, with the various phases of thought and life that found expression therein, suggests the several topics on which he enlarges. I. THE CHRISTIAN TEACHER ADAPTS HIS TEACHING TO THE CAPACITIES OF HIS HEARERS . ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:3

For ye are yet carnal. This is the reason for the spiritual dulness which your pride prevents you from recognizing. Envying, and strife, and divisions . The two latter words are omitted in some of the best manuscripts, and may have been added from Galatians 5:20 . Partisanship and discord, the sins of the Corinthians—sins which have disgraced so many ages of Church history—are works of the flesh ( Galatians 5:19 ), and involve many other sins ( James 3:16 ), and are therefore sure... read more

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