1 Corinthians 3

You can read verses 1-3 this way: And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual men and women, but have been forced to speak unto you as carnal men and women. Because of your immorality and the divisions among you in the church, I must speak unto you like I would young child. Because of this lack of spirituality, I can only teach you the very simple things of the gospel. I cannot teach you the more deep and meaningful things of gospel because you would not be able to understand them. And as long as there are divisions and carnality among you, you will be like all other men and women in the world.

Verses 6-9 are great missionary scriptures. Some plant seeds, some nourish those seeds, some baptize, and some nourish after baptism. It does not matter which one we do as long as we our part and realize that is God who is really bringing that person along by strengthening their testimony through the Spirit.

Verse 9 is also important for understanding that when Paul asks in verse 16, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?" He is not saying that an individual's body is the temple like you so often hear, but he is saying the church is the temple of God. In the context of these first chapters, he is warning the church in Corinth to cease being carnal and divided. Here, he says the church is holy and anyone who would seek to destroy the church through sin, apostasy or teaching false doctrine shall be destroyed. In Ephesians, he says with the church built on apostles and prophets with Christ as the cornerstone and with the members all fitting into there places, together this comprises a holy temple unto God. In 1 Timothy, one of his last letters, he is still speaking of "the house of God, which is the church of the living God."

Once again in this chapter, he emphasizes that the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world, while in reality, the wisdom of the world is foolishness unto to God.