Growing up I lived at the local swimming pool in the summer months. One thing I remember in those days is how I looked up to the local life guards. I remember thinking they were the coolest of people and thought of them as specialists in their profession. I truly believed that nothing could happen to me in the pool while they were watching. As I grew older, however, I came to realize that they were just teenagers barely making minimum wage. Like most kids, because they were older and in a position of authority, I thought higher of them than I should have.
Something similar was taking place at the church in Corinth in the first century. The believers in the church were elevating godly men in an ungodly way. Some were saying, “We follow Paul” while others were saying, “We follow Apollos” and these believers were at odds with one another. In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses this issue along with others. Look at what he says to them in 1 Corinthans 3:4. He says,
4 For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not being merely human? 1 Corinthians 3:4
Paul’s point in this verse is that though the Corinthians thought they had arrived and were mature in their faith, their division caused by hero worship was a sign that they were immature and adolescent spiritually.
He goes on to say in vv. 5-8,
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.
In this passage, Paul shows the Corinthians what he and Apollos and all other Christian leaders truly are. He says, “We are servants.” The word “servant” used here is the equivalent of a table waiter or bus boy. That is the way Paul viewed himself and others in his line of work.
Ever visited a spacious park or a city square? At times, they will have statues erected of influential world leaders, well- known war heroes, popular athletes and/or renowned musicians. Ever seen a statue of a busboy? That is Paul’s point.
He is saying, “When you exalt me, or Apollos, or Peter, that is what you are doing—you are exalting busboys.” He says, “We are merely servants through whom you believed.” In v. 6 he says, “I planted, Appollos watered, but God gave the growth.” In other words, God is the one to be praised because he is the one who uses the work of the faithful and makes it fruitful.
Paul also says, “He who plants and he who waters are nothing, but only God brings the growth.” It is God who is doing all the work in and through his servants. It is He who deserves all the glory and honor and praise for any and every success that comes from Christian ministry.
