Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Corinthians 3:9 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 9. 9For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse names coworkers, field, and building as complementary metaphors.
Jealousy is the proof that milk is still on the table.
This verse is one part of that explanation in 1 Corinthians 3:1–9. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 1 Corinthians 3:1–9
Read 1 Corinthians 3:9 with 3:1–9. This verse names coworkers, field, and building as complementary metaphors. The complete unit establishes: Paul denies the Corinthians' mature-spiritual self-assessment because jealousy and rivalry persist; Paul and Apollos are assigned servants whose different labors depend entirely on God's growth, while the community belongs to God.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The abstract claim to spiritual discernment is tested by the concrete social fruit of leader rivalry. At 3:9, this verse names coworkers, field, and building as complementary metaphors.
Follow the Context
- Paul calls their present jealousy evidence of infancy.
- Leader slogans demonstrate flesh-shaped conduct.
- Paul and Apollos are servants through whom they believed.
- Planting and watering differ, but God gives growth.
- Workers are united and accountable; the field and building are God's.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye”
In plain language: This verse names coworkers, field, and building as complementary metaphors.
It contributes specifically to Jealous Rivalry Exposes Immaturity inside 1 Corinthians 3:1–9.
Why it matters: The verse carries enough interpretive or pastoral weight to require the full unit and its explicit limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
1 Corinthians 3:9 does not turn the fact that it names coworkers, field, and building as complementary metaphors into a standalone universal rule.
What Remains True
This verse names coworkers, field, and building as complementary metaphors. This supports the unit's enduring conclusion: Spiritual maturity appears in non-rivalrous dependence on God, not attachment to impressive servants.
Teach It Back
Explain 1 Corinthians 3:9's contribution to 1 Corinthians 3:1–9. Include the surrounding argument, the named interpretive uncertainty, and one use the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 1 Corinthians 3:1–9 — Jealous Rivalry Exposes ImmaturitySources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The precise force of 'fellow workers' is debated; nothing in the clause makes ministers divine peers or owners of the community.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Corinthians 3:1–9, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 1Cor.txt, 3:1–9
Open the 1 Corinthians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible - 1 Corinthians with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level syntax, KJV-era wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Corinthians 3:1–9 print view with translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET 1 Corinthians PDFLexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Independent morphology and lexical-range cross-check for material Greek claims.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository morphology and lexical records for 1 Corinthians 3:1–9
Open source ↗modern open commentary
1 Corinthians
Eric C. Redmond
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023
Supports: Whole-letter movement, Corinthian setting, bibliography, major alternatives, and verse-level interpretation.
Exact location: Redmond, The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary: 1 Corinthians, introduction and section on 3:1–9
Open source ↗peer reviewed social rhetorical article
Honor, Rhetoric and Factionalism in the Ancient World: 1 Corinthians 1-4 in Its Social Context
Mark T. Finney
Biblical Theology Bulletin 40(1), 2010
Supports: Factionalism, Roman status ideology, rhetoric, and the cross as social inversion.
Exact location: Finney, 'Christ Crucified and the Inversion of Roman Imperial Ideology in 1 Corinthians,' Biblical Theology Bulletin 40.1 (2010), pp. 20–33
Open source ↗