Bible Reflections From Scripture Union Volume OneSample

God Makes Things Grow Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-23 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6 Paul’s discussion on wisdom and the cross is a central issue. The very pursuit of worldly wisdom has caused the church to be divided. The Corinthian church thought of themselves as ‘spiritual’ while they were in fact ‘carnal’ in their disunity. The cause of their disunity was a wrong understanding of the nature of the church and its leadership. Paul’s main focus here was to correct and instruct the church which was placing too much emphasis on her teachers and putting them on pedestals. It was also to correct the leaders for being too full of themselves. They claimed the church belonged to Christ but acted like it is was theirs. Paul addressed two related issues using imagery from agriculture and architecture (vs 5-17). With the farming metaphor, Paul taught that the growth of crops was totally dependent on God. Any adulation of the ‘servants’ of the farm was misdirected. Using the building metaphor, Paul spoke to the teachers, reminding them that the church must be built with imperishable materials upon Christ the foundation, and not upon man's work. In conclusion (vs 18-23), the train of thought that began in 1:10 comes back fully: what foolish people these were, boasting in human leaders who were mere ‘servants’ when all things belong to their Lord and Master Jesus Christ. We are all united with, and belong to Christ. Pray for each other–and especially our church leaders–against thinking and behaving like the ‘carnal’/‘fleshly’ world. The Corinthians were not people without the Spirit. They had the Spirit, but they were not allowing the Spirit to control their thoughts and behaviour. How do we measure up?