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That is a grave misconception of the Christian ministry. That very same misconception apparently existed in the days of the New Testament at Corinth. Some believers in Corinth had so misunderstood the nature of Christian ministry that they had exalted men like Paul and Peter and Apollos at the expense of other people. The Corinthian believers had become the disciples of men and had named their factions after those men. Their various parties had fragmented the church and Paul wrote to correct this problem.
The first major section of this book, chapters 1-6, deals with difficulties in the Church at Corinth. The first major difficulty, divisions in the church, is dealt with in the first four chapters of this book. Paul notes that there are two major components of this problem: a misunderstanding of the message of the gospel and a mistaken exaltation of ministry in the church. 1 Corinthians 1-3:3 correct their understanding of the gospel. Beginning in 1 Corinthians 3:4, Paul corrects the second misunderstanding.
1 Corinthians 3:4-9 talks about the character of ministers and Paul begins by telling them that their party spirit (`I am of Paul', `I am of Apollos') was a manifestation of their carnality.
1 Corinthians 3:4 (NKJV) "For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal?
Each Corinthian believer had come to believe through the preaching of one or the other of these men, so they might have been inclined to say "Paul converted me" or "Apollos converted me", but neither man converted anybody. Faith is a gift of God and God alone is the author of salvation.
Paul establishes that a minister is merely a servant of God rather than an author of salvation:
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
The word ministers is the Greek word diakonos which was used in the New Testament days to refer to a person who was simply a waiter of tables or a busboy, or an attendant in a home. It was a word that meant a servant, any kind of servant. On a few special occasions in the New Testament it is used as a technical word, and translated deacon.
In this context Paul clearly has in mind those who are involved in the ministry, the leaders in the church at Corinth: Paul, Peter, and Apollos. Diakonos refers to any of the gifted men in the Church who are involved in the ministry. There is no distinction in the New Testament between the clergy and laity. The ministry in the New Testament church was the activity carried on by any man who was gifted by God to teach the Word; that man was in the ministry even though he was not ordained to preach and he didn't occupy any office that qualified him to preach. Because of the gifts that God had given him to minister the Word, he was in the ministry. We have a number of people at Faith Bible Church who are in the ministry; David and I are paid, which allows us more time to devote to study, but there are many others here who are in the ministry: some teach Sunday school, some teach in Awana, others teach the teens, some lead a ladies' Bible study, some teach from the pulpit on occasion. As Paul looks at those who are gifted by God to teach His Word, he says that they are merely servants. The word that Paul chooses for servant was used for someone in the lowest classes of society in the days of the New Testament. He uses a word that puts those in the ministry in a situation vastly different from the exalted, esteemed, preferential position that the Corinthians were giving to men who were in the ministry. Paul says they are only servants, only table waiters, only household servants. Who would found a movement on a busboy?
Paul goes on to say that these servants, these ministers are used as instruments by God. Paul, Apollos and Peter were no one "but ministers through whom you believed." The Greek text implies instrumentality; these servants are the instruments that God uses. God was using Paul and Apollos and others merely as instruments to bring the Corinthians to faith in Jesus Christ. Ministers then are simply servants used by God. No Christian worker is ever to be idolized because all Christian workers are just busboys that God is using. Those who are idolized can become catalysts for fragmenting the church. When leaders are elevated they can do almost anything and their followers will follow unquestioningly; Jim Jones and David Koresh are examples of this. We have a responsibility never to follow men blindly, but to compare their teaching to God's Word. Paul and the apostles guarded against the blind following of man.
At the end of 1 Corinthians 3:5 Paul says that the ministers are given their opportunities by the Lord: "as the Lord gave to each one." This is correctly translated in the New American Standard as "even as the Lord gave opportunity to every man." The Lord gives the opportunities to the ministers and they are entirely dependant upon God for any blessing or for any growth that comes to the people of God according to 1 Corinthians 3:6: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase". Paul preached the gospel in Corinth--he founded the congregation; Apollos watered--he taught the believers and aided in their spiritual progress. But Paul and Apollos were entirely dependant upon God to bring the blessing or to give the growth. Paul is telling the Corinthians that they have a grave misconception of the ministry. Those who are involved in the ministry are simply servants used of God. All fruit comes from God because men are unable to produce fruit.
Several years ago, the Associated Press released a study done by an agricultural school in Iowa. The study found that production of 100 bushels of corn on one acre of land required 4,000,000 pounds of water, 6,800 pounds of oxygen, 5,200 pounds of carbon, 160 pounds of nitrogen, 125 pounds of potassium, 75 pounds of yellow sulphur, and other elements too numerous to list in addition to many hours of labor. Rain and sunshine at the right times are also critical. It was estimated that only 5% of the produce of a farm can be attributed to the efforts of man. If that is true of the physical realm, how much more true is it of the spiritual realm! Only God can produce growth.
Paul draws two conclusions from the fact that only God produces growth. He indicates his conclusion by saying "so then"; his first conclusion is in 1 Corinthians 3:7: "Without God, ministers are nothing."
So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
God is everything, the ministers are nothing apart from him. Jesus said the same thing in John 15:5:
"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
It is a gross error exalt a minister above any other Christian. We tend to do this by giving ministers titles such as "Reverend" which makes them seem more holy than the rest of us. We should never exalt a minister above any other believer, because that easily leads to exalting him above God, to exalt the servant above the master. How stupid would it be to pay homage to the paint brush of Rembrandt, or to bow down to the piano of Mozart, or to exalt the scalpel that a surgeon uses to perform a surgery. These are all just instruments that a master uses. We often exalt a servant of God above God himself. Taking the name of a servant as a title exalts the servant above the Master ("I am of Paul"). We commonly honor the servant above the Master by quoting the servant instead of the Master. If a servant says what God says, then quote God and give Him the credit. If the servant has been a help to you give God the credit because God used the servant to minister to you. Paul tells the Corinthians that without God the minister is nothing, so they needed to correct their misconceptions. Paul, Apollos, and Peter were simply instruments that were used of God. When churches cease to revere the minister, then one of the major causes for division in the church is eliminated. The sequence of division is simple: a group begins to exalt one man above another; then the group focuses on that man so much that he takes precedent over the Lord; finally, the group becomes disciples of that man. Recognizing that all ministers are simply servants of God will end our misconceptions about the ministry.
The second conclusion that Paul draws from the humble position of ministers is in 1 Corinthians 3:8: "under God, ministers are one; they are in harmony and they are all part of the team."
Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Far from being rivals, Paul and Apollos were in perfect harmony. Consider two agricultural workers busy in a field. One plants seedlings and the other follows and waters the seedlings. They have one common objective: to see the plants grow and eventually mature for the harvest. This common objective eliminates rivalry between the servants of God. Jesus expressed the same idea in John 4:36-38:
"And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. "For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.' "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."
The sower and reaper not only work together, but one day they shall rejoice together and "each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor."
The Bible teaches that each church should have a plurality of elders, rather than a one-man ministry. The pastor team is to work in harmony for the glory of God because they are all his servants. A believer's well-rounded spiritual development depends upon hearing a variety of teachers with a variety of convictions and emphasis and a variety of backgrounds. Believers should not to compare one to another, but learn from all of them, and understand that they are all God's servants.
1 Corinthians 3:8 goes on to say "each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor." This teaches that there are greater and lesser rewards, as John 19:11 shows that there are greater and lesser sins, and as Luke 12:47-48 predicts greater and lesser punishments.
The Lord's promise to come and reward His own was one of Paul's greatest motivations. At the end of his life he said,
"For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8, NKJV).
Those who love Christ's appearing are the ones who are laboring for Him. God rewards on the basis of labor and faithful service, not success. Jeremiah was one of God's most faithful and dedicated prophets for forty years, yet he saw few results in his ministry. Jonah, on the other hand, was petty and unwilling, yet through him God won the entire city of Nineveh in one brief campaign. Results don't necessarily guarantee God's approval. Moses got results when he struck the rock, but God disciplined him for acting in disobedience. Our usefulness and effectiveness are purely of God's grace. God rewards His people based on faithfulness in service.
The Christians at Corinth had a gross misconception of the ministry. They needed to learn that those who are involved in the ministry are simply servants of God. God works through them for his glory. The ministers of God work in perfect harmony though they have different gifts and strengths.
Paul describes more characteristics of ministers in 1 Corinthians 3:9:
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.
Paul says, "We ministers are co-laborers for God. Paul and Apollos were not working for themselves but for God. They are God's servants rather than His colleagues. God and man are never equals in the proclamation of the gospel for man is merely an instrument in God's hand; man works not next to God, but for Him. Paul continues by saying, "You Corinthians are God's field; you exhibit God's activity in spiritual husbandry." The local church is a field that ought to bear fruit. He used the metaphor of a field in verses 5-8 to correct the misconception the Corinthians had about ministers.
At the end of verse 9 he says, "You are God's building; you exhibit God's activity in spiritual architecture". Three times in this verse he says "we are God's." God owns the laborers, the farm, and the building. Paul uses the imagery of a building in verses 10-17 to address ministers to describe their responsibilities and warn them. He tells us in these verses that a minister is a builder in the house of God. The builders and their works are in view rather than a believer and his personal spiritual life; Paul is talking about people who teach the Word in any capacity in the local church.
According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
Paul is not bragging when he calls himself a wise master builder, because he attributes all he is and does to God's grace:
1 Corinthians 15:10 (NKJV) "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
Paul laid the foundation in Corinth: he came there and preached the gospel. Men believed in Christ and the church was established. After he left others came along, Apollos and possibly Peter. They all came after Paul who had laid the foundation and they built upon it.
Note carefully that Paul is addressing builders--he is not speaking to every Christian, but to those who have been gifted by God to preach and teach the word of God. He cautions them at the end of verse 10: "But let each one take heed how he builds on it". "Each one" refers to each of the builders in the congregation. Paul goes on to lay down two responsibilities for every builder. First, he is to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ and him crucified.
For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Builders are not to lay down any other foundation; they are to build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. Paul's message to Corinth was Jesus Christ and him crucified: the doctrine of the atonement which includes the coming in the flesh of the Son of God; the suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus; and the reality of forgiveness and restoration for everyone who accepts Christ by faith. The person and work of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures is the true foundation on which the church is built.
Some people in Corinth were trying to lay another foundation, the foundation of Greek philosophy, or a foundation of salvation by works. Paul says that there is no other foundation for the Christian life than Jesus Christ and him crucified. As in the physical realm, if the spiritual foundation is incorrectly laid, the structure will crumble.
Is the foundation the person of Christ or the doctrine of Christ? It is both because they cannot be separated. All of Scripture and all of our faith is related to doctrine. In this particular passage, Paul refers to the doctrine of Christ because he says that he laid the foundation therefore it must be the doctrine rather than the person of Christ. Remember what Christ said to Peter? "Upon this rock I will build my church." He was referring not to Peter but to Peter's confession: "Thou art the Christ the son of the living God." The doctrine of the deity of Christ is the foundation for the church. In verse 10 Paul says he had laid the foundation and this can only be referring to the doctrine of Christ.
Builders have a responsibility to lay a proper foundation. The second responsibility of a minister is to build upon that foundation using only good materials. The materials are described in 1 Corinthians 3:12:
Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
Paul probably had two classifications of materials in view: valuable and worthless. These elements represent the doctrines that the builder gives when he teaches because the whole thesis of the passage relates to the builder/minister/servant and his duty to teach the word of God. The foundation, Christ crucified, is doctrine, and the material built upon the foundation is doctrine also. What builds a church or individual Christian up to maturity? Doctrine, the teaching of the word of God, as the preceding verses teach. Paul says, "I laid the foundation of the doctrine of Christ crucified; take heed with what kind of doctrine you carry on the work."
The valuable elements that Paul names, gold, silver and precious stones, were used to adorn the temple of the Old Testament. The church is the temple of God and it is adorned with doctrine. Wood, hay and straw were not used in the erection of the temple; those were used in the erection of a home. They represent false doctrine or impure doctrine. There are many today who are preaching doctrines that are wood, hay and straw. Each believer must evaluate teaching based on his own study of Scripture. That is the value of being exposed to a variety of teachers with different viewpoints--the believer then has more teaching to compare. There is a preacher who teaches a doctrine that he calls the "privacy of the priesthood" which means that his actions are no one else's business and other believers' actions are none of his business. Does the Bible teach that? No! It teaches just the opposite: we are accountable to one another, we are our brother's keeper. We are a body and thus we are interdependent. If my hand hits someone, all of me is responsible--I do not have privacy of the hand. Another popular false doctrine is self-esteem which is really an encouragement to be proud. If you are a builder, what kinds of materials are you using? Are they adornments to the Church or are they shabby, poor quality imitations?
Someday each builder's work will be evaluated:
each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. (1 Corinthians 3:13)
When Paul says that the work "will become clear" he implies that now not all things are clear. The work of builders is not always evaluated correctly in their own times: sometimes it's very difficult to tell the difference between false doctrine and true doctrine. A day of judgement is coming and God has determined that each minister's works will be tested. The value or disvalue of these doctrines will be revealed by fire at the day of judgement when the Lord will be revealed in flaming fire.
Paul's image is a large building under construction with many men involved. Some are using good materials and some are using very poor materials. At the judgement seat of Christ the materials will be judged. Just as wood, hay and straw can't stand before a fire, false doctrine will not stand before the judgement of God. God has determined that day to determine the reward of the minister. 1 Corinthians 3:14&15 tells us about two different types of workers who are going to be exposed at that day of judgement.
The wise worker is discussed in verse 14:
If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
This is the man that has built with gold, silver and precious stones, the things that endure. He has taught the truths of the word of God, he has taught sound doctrine. Several years ago, Allen Greenspan said, "Gold is a different type of commodity because virtually all of the gold that has ever been produced still exists." Gold does not decay or rot. Build with gold because it will endure. All that we teach will someday by evaluated by God. The wise builder will be rewarded by God for his faithfulness. Wood, hay, and straw are easily found in a backyard, and it does not take too much effort to pick them up. Gold, silver, and jewels require a lot of hard work to procure. Lazy preachers and teachers will have much to answer for at the judgement seat of Christ.
In contrast to the wise workman who uses gold, silver, and precious stones is the foolish workman of verse 15:
If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
The foolish workman will suffer loss of reward, not salvation, because of his foolish teaching. The stress in this passage is not upon a man's relationship to Christ, salvation, but upon service to Christ. The foolish workman will be as a man escaping a burning house fire with his life, but all else will be lost. Each believer's teaching will be evaluated by God and that which is not true will be burned up. Everyone who teaches, whether it be in Awana, Sunday school, a Ladies' Bible study, or your own children, is subject to this judgement. This is a warning to all who build others up with the word of God.
Historically, this verse has been the single most important New Testament text used by traditional Roman Catholic theology to support the doctrine of purgatory. Paul does not say the man is to be saved by being purified by fire, but simply that he will have no works to show. The fire is of a testing kind rather than a purifying kind. Purgatory is a straw doctrine invented by man to raise money for the church by buying loved ones out of purgatory.
Paul leaves his analogy of individual builders and returns to his analogy of 1 Corinthians 3:9 where he says that the Corinthian church is God's building:
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Paul uses the plural form of "you" in verses sixteen and seventeen indicating that corporately these Christians form one temple. "In you" at the end of the verse would be better translated "among you."
The Corinthians had not only been misunderstanding the function of Christian ministry, they had also been forgetting the real meaning of the church and her true function. Paul begins to remind them by saying, "Know ye not?". The Corinthians believers are ones that God is building by the instrumentality of his ministers. "You are the temple of God." Two words in the New Testament are translated temple: hieron refers to the temple with all its precincts; nahos refers not to the whole temple but to the Holy of Holies. Nahos is the word Paul uses here.
What did that mean to these people? The Holy of holies was the place of Divine manifestation and the center of Divine activity. Paul says, "Do you not know, that is what you are?" The church really is the center of Divine manifestation to the world. How is the world going to see Christ? They will see Him through His body, the Church. Peter put it this way:
1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"
"Do you not know that you are the center of Divine manifestation? `and that the Spirit of God dwells among you?'" In the book of Revelation, the Spirit is pictured as moving among the lampstands of the Church.God's Spirit dwells in the church, providing all power.
Ephesians 2:21-22 (NKJV) "in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."
Because the church is God's temple Paul gives a warning in verse 17:
"If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are."
Contrary to popular opinion, this verse is not talking about individuals who defile their bodies through smoking or drinking. The `you' is plural, therefore this verse is speaking of the whole church. The words defiles and destroy are the same Greek word, phtheiro, and it means to spoil by any process or to ruin, corrupt, defile, or destroy. The church is damaged in two ways: building with bad materials, and through strife and divisions. This verse refers to all believers: anyone who damages God's church will pay for it. Jesus taught this same truth:
Matthew 18:6 (NKJV) "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
The Corinthian church was God's temple and God dwelt within them. And any man who sought to destroy that temple would be destroyed by God.
What is the nature of the Christian ministry? It depends on your perspective. If you observe the ministry, then a minister is simply a servant, an instrument for the Master to use. We are not to exalt ministers; we are to glorify God and God alone. As you participate in the ministry, your perspective changes and you are primarily a builder for God. The minister is to build upon the foundation of Christ with the proper materials. All of us who teach the word of God must be diligent to study and to teach the truth of God's word. All who are servants of God are responsible to God for all they teach. One day they will be called to account for all they have taught. God has gifted some individuals with the gift of teaching and this text refers primarily to them. In a secondary sense this text applies to us all because we are all to be teachers; there is always someone who knows less than we do and we are to teach them. All of us are to be involved in building God's temple:
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NKJV) "Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing."
The word edify is the Greek word oikodomeo which means to be a house-builder, to construct. No Christian has the right to be careless in representing the Lord and his Word. Every believer is to be a careful builder; we are all responsible to God and will be rewarded by Him on the basis of our building activities.
Strife came to Corinth as they exalted the ministers rather than God. There divisions were hurting the Body, the temple of God. Paul warns those who mar the temple--God will destroy them. "It is a fearful thing to fall inot the hands of the living God." The only way the world will see Christ is through His body the Church.
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