The function of the first Greek word (literally “And I”), which Revised Standard Version translates But I, has just been discussed. Good News Bible adds “As a matter of fact,” to emphasize Paul’s change of theme as well as the shift from “we” language to “I/you” language. Another way of rendering this is “As for me … I.” However, translators in some languages will put the equivalent of brethren at the beginning of the verse and say “My brothers (and sisters [New Revised Standard Version] or, fellow Christians), I….” This also gives emphasis to Paul’s change of theme.
Brethren: here Paul is addressing himself to all the Christians in Corinth, both male and female. In some languages one must say, for example, “my fellow Christians,” or even idiomatically “all my elders and youngers.” There is no “my” in the Greek; the word is added for reasons of English style, and this will be helpful in many other languages too.
Address (Good News Bible‘s “talk”) is the common Greek word translated “impart” or “proclaim” in 2.6 (see the comments). In both places Paul is speaking about his personal way of transmitting the Christian message.
It is often very difficult to translate comparisons, and the one in this verse, not address you as … but as …, presents difficulties. The text literally translated is “I could not talk to you as spiritual but as fleshly, as to children in Christ.” The main problem here is that of making the positive side of the comparison real. Good News Bible‘s “as though you belonged…” does not do this adequately. The meaning is more probably “I could not talk to you as I would talk to people who have the Spirit. Rather, I had to talk to you as people who really do belong to this world, as people who are like children in the Christian faith.”
Spiritual men (Good News Bible “people who have the Spirit”): see 2.13, 15. Another way to express this is “people who have God’s Spirit living in you.”
But indicates a strong contrast: “but rather” (New Revised Standard Version) or “instead.”
Translators are often tempted to see distinctions where none are intended in the text, and to define words more strictly than New Testament usage would allow. The single Greek word that Revised Standard Version translates men of the flesh illustrates these dangers. The Greek word in this verse is sarkinos; in verse 3 the corresponding word is sarkikos. In some contexts these are distinguished, sarkinos meaning “made of flesh,” as in 2 Cor 3.3, and sarkikos meaning “having the character of flesh,” as in 1 Cor 9.11. (See the comment on “flesh” in 1.26.) Sarkikos, therefore, more often has a bad meaning, referring to human beings in rebellion against God. However, in 1 Cor 3.1-4, most commentators and translators agree that there is no difference in meaning between these two words.
Paul’s language is flexible. On the one hand there are people described as “unspiritual” (2.14), as having “the spirit of the world” (2.12), as being “of the flesh” (3.1, 3), and as “behaving like ordinary people” (3.3) or like “children” (3.1). On the other hand there are those who are spiritual men (3.1; compare 2.11-14) and are therefore “spiritually mature” (2.6). The only important distinctions within each of these sets of terms is that some include a time element and others do not. In the present passage, especially verses 2 and 3, expressions of time are important.
In some languages it will be helpful to render the clause “you belonged to this world” (Good News Bible) as “you were people who were controlled by this world” or “you were people who were under the control of this world.”
Even in chapter 2 Paul does not rigidly separate different categories of people. Now in chapter 3 he is more directly concerned with the process of growth that leads to Christian maturity and a life that is entirely under the control of the Holy Spirit. This theme of Christian progress is implied in the reference to babes here, and in two different expressions that are translated “not ready” in verse 2. The last phrase in verse 1, therefore, modifies what Paul has said earlier, so that one might well translate it “as people who belong to this world, or at least are like children in the Christian faith.”
In Christ means “in the Christian faith” (Good News Bible), or one may say “like children in your understanding of the Christian faith,” or “… in your understanding of Christian teachings.” Drawing together our comments on other ways to translate the various parts of this verse, we may suggest the following as an alternative translation model:
• My fellow Christians (or, elders and youngers), I could not talk to you as I would talk to people who have God’s Spirit living in them. Rather, I had to talk to you as people who really do belong to this world, as people who are like children in your understanding of Christian teachings.
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .