​As we looked at last time, we are God’s.  His field.  His building.  Therefore, it is pointless for us to argue or identify ourselves with human leaders regardless of how great or spiritual they may be, for at the end of the day we belong to God and should identify ourselves with Him alone.  However, we are not just any old building of God’s.  In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul makes it very clear how precious of a building we are to God and the high calling we have in Christ.  For through the saving work of Jesus Christ, we are God’s holy temple.

One of the many points the Corinthians were dividing and striving over was which apostle they followed and identified as their leader.  Some wanted to be known as followers of Paul while others called themselves followers of Apollos.  While following a great Bible teacher and Christian leader is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, it becomes spiritually unhealthy when it becomes part of one’s identity and a point of division.  At the end of the day, we should not be known as or claim our identity as followers of Paul or Apollos, Billy Graham or Louie Giglio, or any well-respected, biblically sound Bible teacher or leader.  Rather, we must be known first and foremost as followers of Jesus Christ, for we are God’s.

​At the end of chapter two, Paul explains how Christians have become spiritually alive through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and how salvation brings a new birth of mind and heart.  He closes those thoughts with the truth that “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).  However, the Corinthians weren’t living out this truth.  They were not walking as spiritual people with the mind of Christ, but rather, were living in the futility and carnality of the flesh. 
 
At the beginning of chapter three, Paul makes some bold and pointed remarks about the Corinthians’ lack of spiritual maturity and petty divisions.