1 Corinthians 3:9 Labourers together with God
The great concern of the apostle Paul when he wrote to the
Corinthians was the carnal Spirit that had been displayed in the
corinthian Church in many different ways. There is much in the
first epistle to the Corinthians to indicate that the church in
this city was in a very sorry state indeed. They had got so many
things wrong. There was a misconception about the importance of
speaking in tongues and in the administration of communion and
as to the need of head covering for the ladies among other things.
Even worse there was a degree of immorality that had entered in
such a degree that the apostle had to say that such things were
not even mentioned among the heathen. Paul had to say of the corinthians
that they were babes in Christ. They were not able to go on to
the strong meat of the Word. And I wonder if you are a babe in
christ? Have you progressed in your Christian walk? But this carnality
and this lack of spiritual maturity was manifested here as it
often is in a spirit of division. They had got themselves into
different factions as to who they followed. There were those who
said that they were followers of Paul and some who said they were
followers of Peter and some who said they were followers of Apollos.
Then there were those who at least professed that they were more
spiritual and they said that they were followers of christ. But
what was the result of all this disputing and this carnality.
It was that the Church was totally disunited. They were at odds
with one another and instead of going forward in the Work of God
and striving for the conversion of sinners they were totally useless
in that regard. The world looked on and saw the fighting and they
were put off. The testimony of this church was rendered practically
futile because of the infighting among the people of God. How
often is the witness of Christ stifled in a district because of
the actions of Christians.
Now the Apostle Paul was deeply concerned about this state of
affairs and he recognised what lay at the root of the problem.
He knew that in the Corinthian church that there was a misconception
about the nature of the Church. These people in the church at
Corinth thought that the whole thing was to do with personalities
and men. They thought it was to do with what man can do. And perhaps
we could go further than that they thought that the work of God
was to do with the leaders and the apostles. They were concerned
With which one of the leaders of the Church they were followers
of. They were caught up with who was the best leader and who advanced
the work of God the most. Paul was telling them. You have a totally
wrong view of the church. He was saying it was not a matter of
who the leaders were. He said that one may plant and another may
water but it is God that gives the increase and then he says For
we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye
are God's building Now how important it is that we
see our proper place in the church of christ. Over the past number
of weeks we have looked at the duties and responsibilities of
a deacon and the duties and responsibilities of an elder which
are the two offices in the church. What an awful thing it would
be that through carnality we like the corinthians should fall
out over who are the officers in the Church. But if we have looked
at the duties and responsibilities of the office bearers I don't
want you to get the impression that those of you who will not
be elected to office will have no part to play in the work of
God. Never think that the work of God is left to those who are
in office. All of you have a part to play and if you are not elected
and you would like to be elected then what you need to do is to
start working. Start being faithful and if you do that then the
next time the Lord will have you promoted. I want you to take
a look at this verse of Scripture because there are many pertinent
truths that you need to see. Look at what it says about the Church
of Christ
I The Activity of the Church
First of all look with me at the activity of the church
of Christ. Paul says of the Church that we are Labourers "Labourers
together with God"
Notice the Description of the people of God. The term
labourer denotes energy and it denotes workmen. It certainly gives
us the idea of putting in a bit of effort in the work of God.
And this is just where many of God's people have been sadly mistaken.
The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is not a kind of a spiritual
club to which we come twice on a Sunday and once or twice during
the week simply to go through a spiritual exercise or to derive
some spiritual enjoyment. Now we certainly do come to the house
of god to enjoy the services and to worship the Lord but if we
have come to the conclusion that that is all it is about or if
we even behave if that is all it is about then we have missed
the point completely. If you look at the context of our text Paul
is making the point that everyone has a part to play. He says
in verses 6 to 8 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. Now he that
planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive
his own reward according to his own labour. And surely we
can see here that every one has his own labour to do. The teaching
of the Bible is that every child of God has a function to perform
in the work of God. We are all labourers. Now the question is
how much have you been labouring in the work of God? what have
you been doing for the Lord who bought you? The apostle said that
the love of Christ constrained him in his labour for the Lord
and you are not doing what you do for the minister or for the
office bearers. You are doing it for the Lord!
The work of God is not a passive thing but an active thing.
The hymn writer said. "Must I be carried to the skies on
flowery beds of ease while others fought to win the prize and
sailed through bloody seas." Are you a labourer child of
God? It does not matter whether you are an office bearer or not.
Do not think that it is just the office bearers who labour. You
are a labourer! We see the description of the people of god
Then notice the Difference in the people of God. Paul speaks
of the fact that he planted and that Apollos had watered. There
was a difference in that task that they had done. They were both
labourers but they had laboured in different ways. And in the
work of God there are many ways that you can labour. We are not
all preachers and we are not all in office and let me say to the
men-folk that if you are not elected to office in the election
it may be that the Lord wants you to labour in another sphere.
But if that is where the Lord wants you to labour then that is
the greatest task that you can do and it will be an honour for
you to do it. But this fact of different tasks is one that is
emphasised in the Word of God. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul emphasises
it again. Turn to 1 Corinthians 12: 14-18 For the body is not
one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am
not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the
body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am
not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole
body were an eye, where were the hearing?
If the whole were hearing, where were
the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them
in the body, as it hath pleased him. Do you notice what Paul says.
The Lord hath put the people in the body as it has pleased him.
So don't start arguing with the Lord. The Lord will give you the
position that pleases Him. But Paul also emphasises the vital
nature of the different tasks that people have. He says that some
are like the eye and some are like the feet and some are like
the hands but if the body is going to function well then every
part must be functioning. The eyes need to be functioning and
the hands and the feet need to be functioning. If there is any
part of the body that is not working then the whole is handicapped.
I was listening to a man speaking about business on the radio
and he said that a business is as strong as it's weakest link.
He said it is like a chain. A chain is only as strong as it's
weakest link. And in many ways the church will only be as strong
as its weakest link. If you are not doing your task. If you are
not doing what it is the will of God for you to do then you are
hindering the whole of the work of God because somebody else has
to do what you are not doing and they are spending time that they
could use on something else. So God has a task for you to do but
if you are not doing it you are hindering all of the Work. Are
you doing your task child of god? Are we labouring together. We
see the difference among the people of God
Then notice the danger among the people of God. The word
"labour" speaks to us of something strenuous and of
something tiring. It gives us the thought of something that is
not easy to do. The word of God never hides from us the fact that
the work of God is hard. We are fighting against the world, the
flesh and the devil. The Apostle tells us that it is like wrestling.
Never think this work is easy. Some people get romantic notions
about what the work of God is all about. You are not long in it
before you realise that there is much hardship. It is not easy
. There are many discouragements. But if that is so then there
is a danger. The danger of getting weary. Paul said to the Galatians
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we
shall reap, if we faint not. He knew the danger! You can be
labouring so hard and then you can get discouraged and your labour
abates. Maybe you were once working for the Lord but you are not
labouring as hard today. You have become weary. We need to look
again to the Lord and see what He did for us. When you think of
all He did on our behalf how can we be weary in well doing? There
is a danger among the people of god
But then notice the Delight for the people of God If you
labour for the Lord the Lord has promised a reward. There is a
reward to those who do even the smallest thins in his name. we
read in Mark 9:41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water
to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say
unto you, he shall not lose his reward. Not even the giving
of a cup of water in the Lord's name goes unnoticed. Maybe you
think that what you do is unimportant. Maybe you have become tired
because you feel that what you do is so small. The Lord sees even
the small things.
So the Lord speaks of our activity. He shows us that in the work
of God that we are to be labourers.
II The Association in the Church
But not only do we see the Activity of the Church but we see
the association of the Church. Not only are we Labourers but were
are labourers together Now once again we begin to see vital
lessons about the Church of Christ. There is to be a unity in
the Church of Christ.
First of all there is a structural unity: If we are labourers
together then there has to be association among the people of
God. There needs to be association in the Church. You should be
a member of the Church. Now when a person is saved we believe
that a person becomes a member of the Church of the firstborn.
We become members of the invisible Church of Christ which comprises
of all those who are saved right from the beginning of time and
we do not say that a person has to be a member of a particular
earthly institution in order to be saved as the Church of Rome
would do. But often I think that because we teach that the Church
in one sense is an invisible thing that there is an undervaluing
of the visible church. People think that it does not matter whether
they belong to a church or not. Indeed there are people who pride
themselves that they can go here and go there and belong nowhere.
But is the visible Church unimportant? Well if the Lord has given
office bearers in the Church to look after our discipline and
our spiritual welfare I think we would be very wrong not to bring
ourselves under the jurisdiction of those office bearers. The
Bible tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together
and where are we going to assemble if it is not in the visible
Church, in the congregation. It was through the local Church that
the gospel was to be preached. You need to be joined to the Head
of the church by becoming a member of the church. So if we are
labourers together the most effective way we can do that is by
being members of the local congregation.
But there is not only to be a structural unity but there is to
be a spiritual unity. If this text means anything it means
that we are to co-operate with one another in the work of God.
Paul was saying that he was to plant and Apollos was to water
but if Paul had planted and Apollos had not watered then humanly
speaking we would say that there would not have been a harvest.
If we are not working together we will be ineffective. In the
Church of christ in the Song of Solomon the church is depicted
as an Army terrible with banners. But in an army there
is need for unity. An army that is fighting at sixes and sevens
will get nowhere. And time and time again in the Word of God the
exhortation is repeated that we be united. In Psalm 133 it says
Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together The kind of strifes and contentions that were evident
in corinth were completely wrong. You can imagine that to get
God's people divided is just what the devil wants. He wants us
to be engaged in looking over our shoulders at our brethren and
sisters so that we are unable to spend it in preaching the gospel.
And of course when it happens the devil will spread the news all
around the district. Of course in a time of election there is
a particular danger that God's people will get into factions.
Guard against that with all your might! We are to have that unity
of purpose and that acceptance of what the will of the Lord is.
To break the fellowship that you have with the people of God is
a very serious thing. There are people who have left our fellowship
and I don't think they know how serious thing it is they have
done in breaking fellowship with God's people. We are exhorted
in the word of God to love one another. How can we do that if
we break fellowship with one another? You know that when people
break fellowship with us they are making a comment on us because
the only valid reason for breaking fellowship is that we have
become apostate. God prizes the fellowship of His people and we
should not take it lightly!. There is t be an Association in the
Church. But then notice.
III The Authority in the Church
If the other points were important then this is one which is of
vital importance. What is this work which we are engaged in? It
is God's Work! What is this church we are members of? It is God's
church. Now once again that's where a lot of people go wrong as
far as their conception of what the Church of Christ is. They
might possibly get the labouring bit right. They might even get
the fact that we need to labour together . But how easy it is
to forget to labour under the authority of God. What does it mean
that we labour with God
First of all it speaks of Service. God is the one that
we serve. The work that we are engaged in is God's work. You have
the picture in the times of the Old Testament of the servants
who waited upon their master ready to do his bidding. We need
to remember that this is not our work but it is God's work. Too
often we get ourselves into the equation. We think that we can
do it our own way and according to our own strength. How we can
with zeal launch out into some initiative but unless that is something
that the Lord wants then it will be absolutely in vain. Though
I have a responsibility to labour in the Lord's harvest field
yet I have got to make sure that I am acting with the approval
and under the direction of God. And there are a lot of initiatives
in evangelical circles today that are not what the Lord would
want. There are places where they are trying to act like the world
in order to attract the world but you can never do that. We are
servants of the Lord, we are slaves of Christ and in being that
we do our master's bidding. You may be labouring but do you have
the approval and the blessing of God. The Lord wants you to do
something. Have you sought the will of the Lord as to what that
should be? Have you got the direction of the Lord as to what you
should do? Paul asked when he was saved "What wilt thou have
me to do?" Paul was willing to do anything. He didn't say
"I'll do this and that but I won't do the other" No
he said "What wilt thou?" "I'll do what you want.
That is being a labourer with God. You cannot have the blessing
of the Lord if you are not doing the Lord's will.
But not only does this speak of Service but of Support.
These people were fellow labourers with the Lord. The words "labourers
together" can be translated as fellow labourers. Now we need
not be under any illusion about the amount of difference we make.
It is that Lord that does most of the work but the Lord has given
us the honour of having some little part to play in the labour.
But if we are fellow labourers with God then we can have the assurance
of the help of God. Yes the work of God is hard and we are in
a spiritual battle but we are fellow labourers with God. The Lord
is with us- the Lord is supporting us. Now that is a wonderful
thing to realise. If we were doing this all on our own we would
give up. We would say that we can make no difference but when
we realise that the Lord is a fellow labourer with us we have
the greatest possible encouragement to go on. Are you weary child
of God? Have you become tired in the battle. Look to your fellow
labourer! You know it is always good to have someone to help you
in any task and to be a part of the burden and heat of the day.
How much more is it wonderful when the one who is helping us is
God. There is a wonderful support in the work
There is service and there is support but there is one more thing
that we can be assured of if God is our fellow labourer and that
is Success. If the Lord is working with me and if I am
working to the same end of the Lord then there is one thing sure
and that is the fact that we are going to achieve the purpose.
God's will will not fail. God has said "I will build my Church
and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." The
Lord is going to do what is necessary for the work of God. And
the Lord knows what is necessary to bring success. There is no
greater incentive in any task than to know that you will succeed.
Those who labour with God are on the victory side. Blessed is
the man who can say that he is a labourer together with God.
Of course you can never say that if you are not saved. You are
a labourer against God. You are spending your labours on a fruitless
task. Only treasure led up in heaven will bring real prosperity.
But are you labouring with God today. You may be an office bearer
or not but the Lord has a task for you to perform. Make sure you
are labouring in that task with all your might.