June 19, 2012
HOW AMAZING THAT WE GET TO ASSIST GOD IN HIS PLAN!
1 Corinthians 3
Elizabeth Ryan
Central Truth
Each of us has a task to serve God's kingdom, but the glory is ultimately His.
Key Verse | 1 Corinthians 3:6
I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
1 Corinthians 3
Divisions in the Church
1 But I, brothers, 1 3:1 Or brothers and sisters could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled 2 3:10 Or wise master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you 3 3:16 The Greek for you is plural in verses 16 and 17 are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
Dive Deeper | 1 Corinthians 3
In this section of 1 Corinthians 3, Paul encourages the Corinthians to refocus on God's ultimate sovereignty rather than which "preacher" to follow. In verse 5 (NIV), Paul says that their leaders are "[o]nly servants . . . as the Lord has assigned to each his task." The Corinthians were dividing themselves and quarreling about which of God's leaders to follow, rather than recognizing that Paul, Apollos, and Cephas were just fulfilling their call from God to plant and water His seeds. God would do the growing.
One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 2:10 (NIV): "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." I like that it is a call to action at the same time as a reminder that He has known me (and His tasks for me to do) from the beginning of time. If God could prepare good works for me to do, He knew in advance my strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities available for me to serve Him.
How can I be shy about serving the kingdom if the Creator designed me to do it? Why do I worry about having enough time when I know He is creating opportunities all around me? When I remember that it isn't about me, but rather Him and His ultimate plan, serving Him becomes much easier. And how great to get to be a part of what He planned in advance!
Discussion Questions
1. What are the tasks God has assigned to you for the furthering of His kingdom?
2. What hurdles seem to get in the way of these tasks?
3. What are your spiritual gifts? How are you using them?
WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY
1 Corinthians 2-6 (June 18-22)
Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
* If you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, who lives in you?
* What do these verses say your body is?
* How would you expect someone to take care of a temple?
* What does it mean that you were bought with a high price?
* How do you treat something that is very expensive?
* How can you honor God with your body? (Make a list of at least 10 things.)
Activity: Go outside and use sidewalk chalk to draw a body for each family member. Be sure to include the eyes, ears, mouth, brain, heart, hands, feet, and stomach. Now for each of these parts, discuss ways that you can honor God with them.