World English Bible · Under Rome
1 Corinthians 3
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Brothers, I couldn't speak to you as to spiritual, but as to , as to babies in Christ. I fed you with milk, not with solid food, for you weren't yet ready. Indeed, you aren't ready even now, for you are still . For insofar as there is , strife, and factions among you, aren't you , and don't you walk in the ways of men? For when one says, "I follow ," and another, "I follow ," aren't you ? Who then is , and who is , but servants through whom you , and each as gave to him? I planted. watered. But gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are fellow workers. You are farming, building. According to the of which was given to me, as a master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is . But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each man's work will be . For the Day will declare it, because it is in ; and the itself will what sort of work each man's work is. If any man's work which he built on it, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be , but as through . Don't you know that you are temple and that lives in you? If anyone destroys temple, will destroy him; for temple is , which you are. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is among you in this world, let him become a fool that he may become . For the of this world is foolishness with . For , "He has taken in their craftiness." And again, " knows the reasoning of , that it is worthless." Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether , or , or , or the world, or life, or , or things present, or things to come. All are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.