Master Gardener

1 Corinthians 3:7 – So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

In this part of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian believers, he was reminding them of where their focus should be and on whom it should be. We all need leadership and human nature drives us to find great leaders. These leaders are often elevated to unsustainable heights and in a lot of cases, the pedestal eventually starts to crumble.

Paul wanted the church at Corinth to stop elevating Apollos or Cephas (Peter) or even him, and look only on Christ. Each leader had a job to do but none of them deserved the praise for the work as they were merely servants of God. The Lord had assigned Paul to plant the church and he had assigned Apollos to water it, but the growth of the church came from God alone. Paul wanted the Corinthians to take their eyes of him for he was only God’s vessel. In effect he was saying, Apollos and I are only waiters – I showed you to your table, Apollos served the food but all the accolade goes to God for he prepared and made it all.

We do need leadership, and God has called and blessed ministers with the gift of teaching, that we may establish roots in God’s word. This is essential for our Christian development, but even the very best of preachers cannot make us grow spiritually. It is only God who gives the growth through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We are God’s field and we blossom and flourish under the constant care and attention of the Master Gardener.