Young People's Group

BEING ONE AS SERVANTS OF GOD

by Pastor Mitch
June 06, 2010

Seeing Ourselves As Only Servants Of The Lord

How we see ourselves as we serve the Lord matters. For Paul, he humbly saw himself as only a minister and an instrument of the Lord. This was something he taught the Corinthians as he dealt with the problem of schism within the Church. They had a problem of taking pride in association with the respective servants of God who baptized them. Paul was seeking to correct this problem.

“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? ” 
1 Corinthians 3:5

The word “minister” has a basic meaning of “one who waits on tables”. Paul saw himself and Apollos as mere servants whom God used to help the Corinthians come to faith. They should not be seen as anything more than just ministers of the Lord.

God Gives The Increase In Our Collective Effort

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” 
1 Corinthians 3:6-7

Paul likened the ministry to working on a farm. Paul saw himself as one who planted the “seed”. Apollos was one who “watered” the seed. However, it was the Lord God who brought about the growth and the fruitfulness. All glory should go towards the Lord. The focus should not be on the one who “planted” or “watered”. They are actually nothing before the Lord because it is God who is the one causes the growth. Without Him, we can do nothing.

Being One As We Serve

“Now he who plants and he who waters are one” 
1 Corinthians 3:8

Whether we “plant” or whether we “water”, we are in the same ministry. We are meant to be one in ministry. Ultimately, it is our collective efforts and teamwork that God would use to bless a ministry. Our challenge is to be one in spirit, mind and heart as we serve in the Lord’s work.

Receiving Our Own Rewards From The Lord

“And each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”
1 Corinthians 3:8

We should not be caught up in taking pride in whom we belong to. In the end, each one of us will receive our own reward according to what we have done. The Lord knows and evaluates all our works. We will receive our own reward according to our own labor one day. Let’s have this in mind even as we seek to serve together as one. Let’s focus on our eternal rewards.

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