Many of those who have been involved in the Pentecostal or charismatic things say that 1 Corinthians is a book concerning speaking in tongues. They quote 1 Corinthians 14:18 where Paul said that he spoke with tongues more than all of them. From this they infer that we should all speak in tongues. No doubt there is such a verse in 1 Corinthians. But, let us consider 1 Corinthians 4:17 and 20. Verse 17 says, "As I teach every where in every church." If you read the context, you will see that this verse has nothing to do with speaking in tongues. Verse 20 says, "For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." If we put these two verses together and consider the context, we will realize that the church is the kingdom of God. In verse 17 Paul says, "Everywhere in every church"; in verse 20 he says, "the kingdom of God." After referring to his teaching in every church, Paul said that the kingdom is not in word but in power. Church and kingdom are used interchangeably, proving that the proper church life is the kingdom.
The situation of Christianity today is abnormal, making it difficult for us to see the real thing. Many have held the concept that today is the age of the church and that sometime in the future will be the age of the kingdom. Some teach that it is not necessary or possible to have the proper church today. Few know what the church is, and still fewer know that the church is the kingdom.
In both Romans and 1 Corinthians Paul indicates clearly that the church life is the kingdom. Matthew shows the same thing: "I will build my church..and I will give to you the keys of the kingdom" (Matt. 16:18-19). The church built by the Lord Jesus is the kingdom. The seed that is sown in Matthew grows in the Epistles. Thus, Paul also tells us that the church is the kingdom. The Lord Jesus spoke about the church as the kingdom in a simple way because Matthew contains the seeds. In the Epistles Paul expounded upon the church as the kingdom in a fuller way. We need the whole book of Romans and the whole book of 1 Corinthians in order to know the church as the kingdom.
Based upon this we come to 1 Corinthians 3. Of course, the word "kingdom" is not found in this chapter, but other verses in this book indicate that the church life is the kingdom (4:17, 20). First of all, Paul says, "I fed you." In order to have the church as the kingdom, we need the feeding. Paul did not say, "I taught you"; he said, "I fed you." We do not need the teaching; we need the feeding. We need to eat and drink. Both the milk and the meat mentioned in verse 2 are Christ. He is our food. When Paul says, "I fed you with milk," it means that he fed them with Christ. How we long to see the leading ones in all the local churches constantly feeding the younger ones with Christ.
Although Paul was a great teacher, he was also a wonderful feeder. He fed people with Christ. Paul goes on to say that he planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the growth (v. 6). Eventually, Paul said that by the grace given to him, he was a wise masterbuilder (v. 10). Paul was a marvelous person: he was a feeder, a planter, and a builder. For God's kingdom in the local churches today we also need to feed, to plant, and to build. We need to feed people, and we need to sow the seed. We need to plant vegetables which by growth and transformation will become minerals—gold, silver, and precious stones. How could the plantation become minerals? What kind of tree did Paul plant that, as it grew, became gold, silver, and precious stones? Paul says, "Ye are God's farm, ye are God's building" (v. 9, Gk.). How can we reconcile these two things? The farm is something of vegetables; the building is primarily of stones and minerals. How can we be both vegetables and minerals? The answer is that the life which grows within us is a transforming life. It not only grows, but it also transforms. While it grows, it transforms, and the more it grows, the more it transforms. This life transforms us from vegetables to minerals.
Now we can see that Paul's concept in 1 Corinthians 3 is exactly the same as the Lord's concept in Matthew 13. As we have seen already, the first four parables in Matthew 13 concern the vegetable life. The seed grows, matures, and produces fine flour. The next two parables concern the treasure and the pearl, representing transformed items. Therefore, in Matthew 13 there are both growth and transformation. In 1 Corinthians 3 there is also growth and transformation. The concept is exactly the same. Following Matthew 13, the Lord told us that the stones are for the building. "You are a stone, and..I will build my church" (Matt. 16:18, Gk.). In Matthew we see the growth with transformation to produce stones for the building. In Matthew all of this was in seed form and was somewhat undeveloped, but the growth and the blossoming of this seed in 1 Corinthians 3 is very clear. Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the growth. Following the growth, there is transformation. While the plant grows, it is transformed into gold, silver, and precious stones to be the materials for God's building. Eventually the planter becomes the feeder, and the feeder becomes the builder. The kingdom is a matter of planting, feeding, watering, growing, transforming, and building. Finally Paul says, "Ye are the temple of God" (1 Cor. 3:16). This is not a Christian organization or religious society; this is the church, the kingdom. The kingdom is something that is planted, that grows, that is transformed, and that is built up into the very temple of God.