Are you growing or staying stuck?

SUMMARY
1 Corinthians 3 is Paul's wake-up call to every believer: put down the bottle and pick up a brick.
God's building His church—and He wants you building with Him. Watch the full breakdown now.

REFLECTION & SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS
1. Where do you see spiritual immaturity show up most clearly in your own life?
2. In what ways do jealousy or comparison hold you back spiritually?
3. How have you made Christian leaders into "instruments" instead of focusing on God's intent?
4. What unique role do you think God has given you in building His church?
5. Are you contributing to your church or mostly spectating? What needs to change?
6. What "building materials" are you using—gold or straw? What needs to be refined?
7. Where are you tempted to water down truth to fit culture?
8. How does remembering you are the temple of the Holy Spirit change how you live?
9. What recent situation exposed whether you were building unity or division?
10. What is one real step of maturity you can take this week?

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 3:21-23.

We all wrestle with insecurity — in relationships, in calling, and in the unknown future. It creeps in quietly and convinces us we're missing something, behind on something, or not enough for something. But Paul gives a truth big enough to shut insecurity down at its roots.

So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's. — 1 Corinthians 3:21–23

The Corinthians were comparing, competing, and craving affirmation — classic insecurity on display. Paul cuts through it with one reality: you're not missing out. You already belong to Christ, and in Him, you have more than you think.

Look again at what Paul says belongs to you:

• The world — God works within it for your good.
• Life — every moment comes with a God-given purpose.
• Death — even your greatest fear has been turned into a doorway to Him.
• The present — God's presence is here, now.
• The future — God owns it, secures it, and guides you into it.

Paul intentionally stacks these truths to remind believers that insecurity is built on forgetting, while confidence is built on belonging.

Security forms with belonging — insecurity forms with forgetting.

When you remember who you belong to, insecurity begins to break apart. Fear quiets down. Comparison loses its pull. Anxiety loosens its grip. Because Christ doesn't just hand out spiritual gifts — He gives Himself.

And if you have Him, you're not lacking anything. Not now. Not ever.

DO THIS:

Name one insecurity you battle. Then say aloud: "I am Christ's — and Christ is enough."

ASK THIS:

1. What insecurity shapes my decisions more than God's truth?
2. How would I live if I really believed "all things are mine in Christ"?
3. What part of my identity in Christ do I forget most?

PRAY THIS:

Father, thank You that I belong to Christ. Help me release insecurity and rest in the security You've already given me. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Who You Say I Am"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 3:18-20.

We like to think we're pretty wise. We read. We listen. We follow people who sound smart. We post things that feel deep.

But Paul says: Be careful, the moment you think you're wise, you might already be a fool.

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." — 1 Corinthians 3:18–20

Paul's point? Human "wisdom" without God isn't just wrong — it's laughable.

We act like the world is full of genius thinkers.
God looks at our best ideas and raises an eyebrow.

We build systems to "fix ourselves."
We redefine truth to fit our preferences.
We elevate experts who sound impressive but haven't solved a single heart-level problem.

And God calls all of it futile.

Paul uses sarcasm to land the punch.

He's basically saying: "Do you want to see how brilliant humanity is? They crucified the Lord of glory." (1 Corinthians 2:8)

If human wisdom were truly that great, the smartest leaders of the age wouldn't have handed over the Messiah they were supposedly waiting for or crucified him, because that played right into God's plan.

That's how "wise" we are. We crucified the only One who could save us. And by crucifying him He saved us.

That's Paul's whole point in this section: Human brilliance is no substitute for divine truth.

God is so much wiser, so much higher, so far beyond our thought processes that even His "foolishness" (if such a thing existed) would outsmart the brightest minds on earth.

This is why Paul says, "If you think you're wise, try again."
Not by becoming anti-intellectual, but by trading the world's angle for God's mind.

Because the wisdom of this age is just recycled folly with better marketing.

And the wisdom of God is the kind that saves, restores, convicts, heals, guides, humbles, and transforms.

Humans guess. God knows.
Humans posture. God reveals.
Humans killed Jesus. God raises Jesus from the dead.

That is the difference. And that is why trusting God's wisdom will always be smarter than trusting your own.

DO THIS:

Write down one place where you've been relying on your own "wisdom." Pray: "God, replace my thinking with Yours."

ASK THIS:

1. Where have I trusted cultural wisdom more than God's truth?
2. What "smart" ideas in my life are actually foolish in God's eyes?
3. How does remembering the cross humble my confidence in human wisdom?

PRAY THIS:

God, Your wisdom exposes my pride. Teach me to think with Your mind, trust Your truth, and reject the false wisdom of this age. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"God I Look To You"