Servants of God
1 As a matter of fact, my friends, I could not talk to you as I talk to people who have the Spirit; I had to talk to you as though you belonged to this world, as children in the Christian faith. 2 I had to feed you milk, not solid food, because you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready for it, 3 because you still live as the people of this world live. When there is jealousy among you and you quarrel with one another, doesn't this prove that you belong to this world, living by its standards? 4 When one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos”—aren't you acting like worldly people?
5 After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God's servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do: 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow. 7 The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God who matters, because he makes the plant grow. 8 There is no difference between the one who plants and the one who waters; God will reward each one according to the work each has done. 9 For we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field.
You are also God's building. 10 Using the gift that God gave me, I did the work of an expert builder and laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each of you must be careful how you build. 11 For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid. 12 Some will use gold or silver or precious stones in building on the foundation; others will use wood or grass or straw. 13 And the quality of each person's work will be seen when the Day of Christ exposes it. For on that Day fire will reveal everyone's work; the fire will test it and show its real quality. 14 If what was built on the foundation survives the fire, the builder will receive a reward. 15 But if your work is burnt up, then you will lose it; but you yourself will be saved, as if you had escaped through the fire.
16 Surely you know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you! 17 God will destroy anyone who destroys God's temple. For God's temple is holy, and you yourselves are his temple.
18 You should not fool yourself. If any of you think that you are wise by this world's standards, you should become a fool, in order to be really wise. 19 For what this world considers to be wisdom is nonsense in God's sight. As the scripture says, “God traps the wise in their cleverness”; 20 and another scripture says, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless.” 21 No one, then, should boast about what human beings can do. Actually everything belongs to you: 22 Paul, Apollos, and Peter; this world, life and death, the present and the future—all these are yours, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.
Colaboradores de Dios
1 Hermanos, yo no pude hablarles como a personas espirituales sino como a gente carnal, como a niños en Cristo.
2 Les di a beber leche, pues no eran capaces de asimilar alimento sólido, ni lo son todavía,
3 porque aún son gente carnal. Pues mientras haya entre ustedes celos, contiendas y divisiones, serán gente carnal y vivirán según criterios humanos.
4 Y es que cuando alguien dice: «Yo ciertamente soy de Pablo»; y el otro: «Yo soy de Apolos», ¿acaso no son gente carnal?
5 Después de todo, ¿quién es Pablo, y quién es Apolos? Solo servidores por medio de los cuales ustedes han creído, según lo que a cada uno le concedió el Señor.
6 Yo sembré, y Apolos regó, pero el crecimiento lo ha dado Dios.
7 Así que ni el que siembra ni el que riega son algo, sino Dios, que da el crecimiento.
8 Y tanto el que siembra como el que riega son iguales, aunque cada uno recibirá su recompensa conforme a su labor.
9 Porque nosotros somos colaboradores de Dios, y ustedes son el campo de cultivo de Dios, son el edificio de Dios.
10 Según la gracia que Dios me ha dado, yo, como perito arquitecto, puse el fundamento, mientras que otro sigue construyendo encima, pero cada uno debe tener cuidado de cómo sobreedifica.
11 Porque nadie puede poner otro fundamento que el que está puesto, el cual es Jesucristo.
12 Y si alguno edifica sobre este fundamento, y pone oro, plata, piedras preciosas, madera, heno, u hojarasca,
13 su obra podrá verse claramente; el día la pondrá al descubierto, y la obra de cada uno, sea la que sea, será revelada y probada por el fuego.
14 Si lo que alguno sobreedificó permanece, ese recibirá su recompensa.
15 Si lo que alguno sobreedificó se quema, ese sufrirá una pérdida, si bien él mismo se salvará, aunque como quien escapa del fuego.
16 ¿No saben que ustedes son templo de Dios, y que el Espíritu de Dios habita en ustedes?
17 Si alguno destruye el templo de Dios, Dios lo destruirá a él, porque el templo de Dios es santo, y ustedes son ese templo.
18 Que nadie se engañe. Si alguno de ustedes se cree sabio según la sabiduría de este mundo, hágase ignorante, para que llegue a ser sabio.
19 Porque para Dios la sabiduría de este mundo es insensatez; pues escrito está: «Él atrapa a los sabios en sus propias trampas».
20 Y en otra parte dice: «El Señor conoce los pensamientos de los sabios, y estos son inútiles».
21 Así que nadie debe vanagloriarse de los hombres, porque todo es de ustedes:
22 sea Pablo, Apolos, Cefas, el mundo, la vida, la muerte, lo presente o lo por venir, todo es de ustedes,
23 y ustedes son de Cristo, y Cristo es de Dios.