Gardeners of His People – 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 Submitted by Kay Crumley
I will tell all who will listen that Spring is my favorite time of year. I go out into the yard almost daily to see what new growth or blooms there are to admire. This morning when the verse of the day was 1 Cor. 3:7 I was reminded of something I have observed many times. All the efforts we make to have a beautiful or fruitful garden seem to be stunted until we have a rain shower. Watering plants may keep them alive but the change I see after rain is just amazing and a little surprising. That reminds me that what God provides is better than anything I can provide. I do understand that this passage isn’t about gardening as I have just alluded to but to growing believers into mature Christians.
In this chapter of Paul’s letter, he expresses his frustration with them because they are ‘taking sides’ as to who is the best teacher/pastor. Some prefer Paul while others prefer Apollos. Paul had first introduced them to the gospel and Apollos followed him to continue teaching them as they grow in their faith and maturity as believers. Many of us who have been in churches very long have seen churches divide over some of the most ridiculous things. Paul is emphasizing to them that the person isn’t important, but they are both servants of God with a common goal, Chrisitan growth.
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So, then, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
As believers, each of us have had various teachers, pastors, or mentors in our lives who have had a role in our growth in faith and cemented our trust in God. As we think of those people, each had a specific role in that period of our maturity. One is not better than the other because each served in the purpose that God had for them in the time they were in our lives. If you plant seeds in the best potting soil money can buy, they will not grow unless they are watered. As those seedlings sprout and begin adding new leaves, they will need the right about of light and fertilizer to become mature, healthy, and producing plants. Each step in the process is necessary. No one step is more essential than the other. What we must remember is that God is the creator and sustainer of all His creation. Just as He provides the nutrients in the rain that encourages the best growth for our plants, He also provides leaders who, guided by the Holy Spirit, will be used by Him for our good so that He will be honored. God is the source of all, He is the answer to all our problems. All those who have been God’s servants in our lives are only instruments to bring glory to the Father. Each of those teachers or mentors will be rewarded by God for their obedience. But one is not more important than the other or should be held as the final answer. God is our source, and they are His coworkers. We, the church of believers, are the garden or field that needs to be tended. Another analogy is that we are the building that must be constructed. Other word pictures in scripture have us as the building blocks of His church with Jesus as the cornerstone around which the church is built. Those who would come into our lives to guide us to maturity are just the stonemasons God uses to place us properly in His church to accomplish the purpose He has for us.
We must be careful to never place the value of a person above the value or authority of God. Our focus must always be on Him and Him alone. The most charismatic leader with the most eloquent presentation is still just a man. I pray that I will never become so dependent on a person that I lose sight of the author and creator of the universe who is my true source, the Lord God of all.
