In 1 Cor. 3:1-9 Paul is dealing with divisions within the Corinthian Church. Apparently camps were forming between those who had been influenced by Paul and those who had been influenced by Apollos. I find one particular implication extremely helpful for a temptation my heart often is given over to.
I cannot be reminded enough by the point Paul makes regarding the role he and Apollos have when it comes to ministering the gospel to others. He asks, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” When I immerse myself into the lives of others for the sake of their growth I find that I have to be very careful of idolatry. There is a sort of involvement and desire for the life of the men I am ministering to that may reveal more than simply a desire for them to grow. When I begin to sense that my joy is robbed and I become angry at the lack of maturity I see in these men, my desire for them to grow has shifted from something good and pure to something evil. Perhaps it could be best described as shifting from a desire for their growth to the desire. That is, when my joy is so intertwined with their maturity that it is everything to me, then I am idolizing ministry.
It is in this state of mind and heart that I become extremely harsh with them. I lose complete sight of the gospel, and become a minister of the letter, not the Spirit. I make up false standards that are my standards, not God’s. It’s here that my pride is on the line, not their growth. Paul says in 2 Cor. 3:6-7 that God has “made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” When I am not in their presence I am anxious, constantly mulling over in my head what kind of conversation I need to have that will get them to see things clearly.
The reminder of 1 Cor. 3 is that GOD gives the growth! The state of idolatry of ministry is a role reversal. It puts me in God’s place. I begin to act and live as though my actions, words, and thoughts are what changes hearts. This is so backwards to what Paul says to the Corinthians. He says that he and Apollos are nothing. Lord, help me and our staff team understand the joy and glory found in self-forgetfulness. Only when understanding that God gives the growth and I am a servant through whom he might choose to work will I truly love those I am ministering to.
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