START WITH SCRIPTURE:
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OBSERVE:
Paul is very blunt with the young church at Corinth. He tells them that they are still immature in their faith and understanding — they are babies in Christ.
He continues this metaphor, pointing out that when he taught them Christian doctrine he had to feed them milk, not meat. Like babies, they weren’t ready to digest “solid” doctrine.
Paul then supplies evidence to prove that they were too immature for the deeper things of God, and are still too immature — they are fussing with one another!
For insofar as there is jealousy, strife, and factions among you, aren’t you fleshly, and don’t you walk in the ways of men?
The prime example of the factionalism at Corinth is their cliquishness and division into groups loyal to their favorite preachers — Paul and Apollos.
This gives Paul the opportunity to clarify the relationship of preachers to Christ:
Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?
He also is able to explore the different roles of preachers and apostles in Christian ministry:
I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase.
Paul is able to differentiate the stages of a vital ministry, and also anticipates the variety of spiritual gifts that he will describe later in this same letter:
There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord. There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all (1 Corinthians 12:5-7).
But ultimately, the focus is to be on God who works through his servants and who gives the increase:
So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
He also makes clear that there is no superiority or subordination of planter or waterer — they both receive a reward based on their work.
Finally, Paul returns to his agricultural metaphor, and adds a metaphor from the world of construction:
For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s farming, God’s building.
Paul makes it clear that he labors for the church because the church belongs to God, even if its members are still immature. He is rooting for them to grow up into the church God intends them to become.
APPLY:
One of the goals of the Christian life is growing up. The Apostle Peter uses language very similar to Paul’s metaphor:
Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—(1 Peter 2:2).
All Christians begin as spiritual babies who need to be nurtured carefully so they can grow up in faith. Paul’s frustration is that the Corinthians are acting immaturely — fussing and fighting with one another instead of humbly admitting what they don’t know. Such factionalism is a symptom of spiritual immaturity.
Paul makes it clear that the source of our Christian growth and maturity is not our favorite pastor, or some extraordinary preacher — the only task of a pastor, preacher, evangelist or teacher is to serve God, whether they are planting or watering in God’s garden . God gives the growth.
The focus, both for the preacher and the people, is to make the “main thing the main thing” — the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
RESPOND:
Over the years as a pastor, I have noted a long succession of plans and programs that were designed to “help the church grow.” “Church growth” was the battle cry in my denomination, and we used various metrics to measure growth.
Some of these programs were actually helpful. But over time it has become clear to me that the role of the pastor/preacher is not to “grow” the church. The role of the pastor/preacher is to humbly serve God, preach the Gospel, and get out of the way!
We may plant. We may water. But it is God who gives the increase. One layman in my congregation said something very wise that I never forgot — “What good does it do for the church numbers to grow if the church members don’t grow with it?”
Lord, you call us to grow in grace as individuals and as a church. Help us to focus on your Gospel, and not pick sides on issues and personalities in the church, so that we may become what you mean for us to become. Amen.
PHOTOS: "1 Corinthians 3 verse 6" used this photo: "rice stages, seed germination" by IRRI Photos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.
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