We are co-workers in God’s service
1 Corinthians 3:9 - Are you working for and with God?
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“For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
1 Corinthians 3:9 NIV
In this first letter from Paul to the Corinthians, the apostle is attempting to emphasize unity in the church as well as getting the newly-hatched Christians to grow in their spiritual knowledge and beliefs. Today’s verse is instructive in that it shows that Christians should be active in their belief, not just sitting in a church listening to music and sermons once a week…
Paul begins by stating that “we are co-workers in God’s service”. While he was referring to himself, Apollos (a leader at the church in Corinth), and other church leaders, the statement can be extended to all believers. God is sovereign over all, but He works through us. As “co-workers”, we’re in a partnership with God and with other Christians. That’s a benefit of being a believer: you’re given the responsibility of working with and for God!
In ministry, the act of establishing a new church is referred to as “planting”, and that’s where the next phrase — “you are God’s field” — comes into play. When you think of a field, you might think of growing plants, a farmer cultivating crops, and a productive environment. That seems to be what Paul had in mind here. He had planted the church, Apollos had watered it (1 Corinthians 3:6), and God made it grow.
By referring to the Corinthian church as a “field”, Paul was teaching the congregation that the church is where the seeds of belief are sown, carefully watered, fertilized, weeded (yes, sometimes it’s necessary to ask disruptive influences to leave a church), and hopefully produce a bumper crop of new believers. Jesus used this metaphor in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23).
There’s more to this verse, of course — we are also “God’s building”. A little further on in 1 Corinthians 3:11, Paul tells the church that Jesus is the foundation of the church: “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
In this metaphor, Paul’s comment that the church is a “building” is actually quite deep. A building has a purpose (a house shelters people, a barn shelters animals and farm implements, a restaurant serves food and drink, etc…), and the church also has a purpose — to nurture the faith of believers through community.
Buildings also have structure; they’re not just thrown together haphazardly. Likewise, a church must have structure with a leader or leadership group, teams for worship, prayer, youth instruction, and so on.
And buildings also have stability. Nobody wants to invest in a building that is going to fall down immediately, so they’re usually well built. The church provides a stable environment that should not change at the core, but offer the same wisdom, values, and lessons it has for thousands of years.
In the original Koine Greek of this verse, there’s also another meaning. οἰκοδομή (oikodomē) can be defined as “(the act of) building, building up”, “edifying”, “the act of one who promotes another's growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, holiness.” Taken that latter way, Paul is teaching that the church should promote the growth of its members through instruction, prayer, and working together for the good of others.
Are you working for and with God? If you find yourself hesitating while answering this question, consider stepping beyond your personal fears and concerns and finding a way to be “God’s field, God’s building”.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Loving Father, I thank You for the privilege of being able to bring others to the Lord Jesus Christ, and do the other work that You have prepared me to do in my earthly life. May I be filled more each day with the loving nature of Jesus as I carry out Your work, AMEN.