Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Corinthians 3:1

"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes in Christ." — 1 Corinthians 3:1 (ASV)

As in 2:1, Paul calls the Corinthians “brothers” (GK 81) before reprimanding them for their spiritual immaturity. Not only had he not preached to them with persuasive words (2:1–5), but here he states he could not even speak to them as to those with spiritual maturity. They were acting immaturely as people controlled by the fleshly prejudices and viewpoints of the unsaved. Part of what he means is shown by his reference in vv.4–5 to the party contentions he had discussed in 1:10–17. The word “spiritual” (GK 4461) must be interpreted differently in 3:1 from its meaning in 2:14–15, where Paul uses it to denote the saved person in contrast to the unsaved. Here he combines it with “worldly” and “infants,” so that “spiritual” refers to believers who are spiritually mature Christians.