Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Planter, The Gardener, and The Grower...

1 Cor. 3:1  "But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 
1 Cor. 3:2 "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 
1 Cor. 3:3  "for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 
1 Cor. 3:4  "For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not being merely human? 
1 Cor. 3:5  "What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 
1 Cor. 3:6  "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 
1 Cor. 3:7  "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 
1 Cor. 3:8  "He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 
1 Cor. 3:9  "For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building."

This passage addresses division within the church once again. However, it comes from a different angle and has a really different purpose than the previous passage which talked about the same subject. This passage starts out by saying that the church is immature, then points out that they are full of jealousy and strife because they follow people instead of Christ, Paul then goes on to explain both his and Apollos's role within the church.

1 Cor. 3:1  "But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ."

Paul couldn't treat the Corinthians as if they were spiritual or, as Strong's dictionary says "religious," but he had to treat them as carnal or of the flesh because they were still babes in Christ.

1 Cor. 3:2  "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,"

This is a continuation of the previous verse, in that it's saying that Paul can't talk to them as those who are spiritually mature; he has to talk to them as those who are spiritually young. This a good analogy with the type of food. Milk is for those who are really young - babies, those who can't fend for themselves and need defense and teaching. This is also a good point for us. We shouldn't be guiding people to salvation and then dropping them. We need to help to nurture them, protect them, guide them, not just show them the path and say good luck. This is because those who are young in the faith need milk to grow, they need protection so they are not overcome by the world, and they need somebody to show them the path so they don't wander off into the woods of the world.

1 Cor. 3:3-4 "for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?  For when one says, 'I follow Paul,' and another, 'I follow Apollos,' are you not being merely human?"

The Corinthians were acting like spiritual children - spiritual infants. They, therefore, were acting like people of the flesh. me people see a leader in the church and like their teaching or like their style, and say "Ah, this guy is for me, I'm going to follow his Christianity." Saying there is more than one Christianity is showing that you are not more than a child in your knowledge and maturity in spiritual things.

1 Cor. 3:5  "What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each."

Neither Paul nor Apollos were anything more than people given an assignment by God, called just as you have and I have been called. They were nothing more than messengers (although willing messengers). They were the servants of Christ, just doing what the Lord had called and asked them too do.

1 Cor. 3:6  "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth."

This verse speaks against full-fledged Arminianism because Arminian adherents would say it's up to you to choose and to grow. This passage says differently. Paul spread the seeds of the Gospel, Apollos takes care of it, waters it, and nurtures the people. However, it is God who actually provides the growth; it isn't Paul, it isn't Apollos,  it isn't you, and it isn't me. We are just servants of Christ - His tools - but He is the cause that makes changes happen.

1 Cor. 3:7  "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth."

The best we have is nothing but dirty rags before God:  Isa. 64:6  "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment." What we have to offer is nothing, all things of value come from God and His mercy and guidance on our lives. The planting and watering can be done by anybody and is nothing more than following the commands of God. He is the one who gives growth, and therefore He is the one who gets credit. One can water a dead plant all they want, but it won't ever grow; God HAS to open hearts and minds in order for there to be any growth.

1 Cor. 3:8  "He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor."

"He who waters and he who plants are one" seems to mean that they have the same goal, or teach the same doctrine. This can be deduced when reading the verse in context; the people are saying they follow Paul or Apollos instead of saying they are following Christ. In other words, they keep saying they are following the servants of Christ instead of Christ Himself, but His servants are just that... servants. It is not our job to decide whether or not Paul or Apollos is better, that is up to God because God is the one who judges; we won't know our wages until after death.

1 Cor. 3:9  "For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building."

Paul, Apollos, you, me, your pastor, my pastor - we are all fellow workers for God. We all are called to do the same thing - speak God's love for the whole world, maybe this means our neighbors, and maybe this means people across the globe. God will and does lead us in the right direction if we are willing to listen. The people, in general, are where God works, so we are His field because He makes and allows us to grow. We are God's building because our bodies are His temple where He dwells. Moreover, we are His Kingdom, which shows we are being built by Him.


Paul and Apollos were workers for Christ. How they performed on earth is a matter of God's point of view, not ours. They were also just servants of Christ; we can't allow ourselves to lose sight of Who we are following and to Whom we are accountable. We must also continue to grow in Christ and we must help those who are still new in the faith as well as those who are experienced in the faith as they maneuver around pitfalls and attempt to live a God-honoring life. The Corinthians quit growing and were acting like toddlers in the faith - just the little ones. They were full of jealousy, strife, and therefore sin all over which teacher they would "claim." What silliness; yet we need to also be careful not to fall into this danger because it's ever present for us as long as we have leaders. So, child of God, be careful, guard your heart, and continue to grow in Christ.