For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 1 Corinthians 3:9
A heart regenerated by divine grace will readily discern light, no matter the instrument God chooses to speak through. But those who reject light because it comes not from a favoured mouth give evidence that they cannot discern the voice of God. Such was the condition of the church in Corinth, and Paul did not mince his words when revealing this fault to them:
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
1 Corinthians 3:3-4
Some of the brethren at Corinth marshalled themselves around the name of Paul, while others raised the standard of Apollos. Since the church was leavened with heresy and scandal (1 Corinthians 11:19; 1 Corinthians 5) it seems that this divided congregation was using the authority of their absent ministers (and perhaps their misconstrued words) as high ground from which they assailed those whom they perceived as rivals or enemies. Seeking self-justification rather than truth, godly men were employed as a defence for their objectionable doctrinal positions and practices.
After revealing the root cause of their problems - their carnal mindedness – Paul offered them a way out of the mess this had created by presenting a wonderful object lesson:
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
By humbling himself and Apollos, and uplifting God as the absolute authority, Paul sought to humble the Corinthians themselves. Putting the workmen on a level field, Paul declared:
…he that planteth and he that watereth are one… 1 Corinthians 3:8
Unlike the Corinthian brethren, Paul and Apollos were not divided. Paul says of himself and his fellow ministers: ‘we are labourers together with God’. Paul and Apollos laboured together with God – they were of one accord in both doctrine and practice because they both looked to God as the unseen Agent of increase.
Turning the focus to the congregation, Paul declares, ‘ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building’ (1 Corinthians 3:9). The fruitful olive tree is the product of the farmer’s toil, and the house stands by the labour of the builder. Ultimately, the church congregation are to view whatever graces or truths they possess as the fruits of God’s own labour, and not any certain man’s work, however great he may be.
When we exalt God and His truth above ourselves, as did Paul, the self-imposed obstacle of ‘who should be the greatest’ is removed. Then God’s voice is readily discerned in any earthen vessel, fitting the church to become ‘labourers together with God’.
Christopher Sparks