How is your work coming along?

Read 1 Corinthians 3.

In chapter 2, the Apostle Paul wrote of two kinds of people in the world: natural and spiritual.  The natural person has only experienced a human birth and is limited to eyes, ears and intellect.  The wisdom of God may seem unintelligible and even foolish to them.  The spiritual person, having received Jesus as personal Savior, is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to reveal and help the believer to understand and apply God's word.

Now, in chapter 3, Paul addresses a third type of person.  Those in the church at Corinth were believers, but they were behaving like unbelievers.  He called them carnal or fleshly.  They were thinking, speaking, and acting as though Christ had not changed their lives.  Throughout this book, Paul will address many specific examples of their unspiritual behaviors.  Here, their lack of Christian maturity was evidenced by the "jealousy and strife" in the congregation.  The divisiveness came as they chose sides on which preacher they followed.  Who was more important and who was better?  Was it the one who founded their church or the one who continued to teach in the church?  Paul's terse answer, "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." (v.7)  They ended up working on each other, instead of why God raised up the church in Corinth.

Looking at the birth and life of a local church, we are given two comparisons.  The church is like a field that needs cultivation, planting, tending, and harvesting.  The church is like a building that has a foundation, a structure, an appearance, and occupancy.  Each area requires multiple workers with different skills and giftedness to labor.  The ministry is W-O-R-K.

At the Judgment Seat of Christ, when each individual believer in Jesus will stand for an accounting of their Christian life, two things will happen.  The work we have done will be tested.  What did we do with the gifts, time and opportunities God gave us?  All the temporal and material facades will be removed and only what we did that has lasting, eternal value will remain.  Based upon that evaluation, the worker will be rewarded for their service for Christ.

Note that the reward is based upon the quality of labor, not the quantity of the results.  The farmer has no control over the weather and other unforeseen conditions.  He cannot make a harvest.  He is held responsible for doing his personal best in working to do all he can.  It is "...only God who gives the growth."  The builder is responsible for the quality of the materials selected and the quality of work that was done in construction.

The encouraging aspect of serving the Lord is that, in addition to the Holy Spirit, God has already given us "all things" to be effective for Him.