Work & Water
WORK & WATER
Week 1 - 8/23/2020
Phygital Churchplant, Los Angeles, New Wave, Online Church, Digital Discipleship
CHURCH WORK
1 Corinthians 3:8
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
We must be careful to not be corrupted with carnality - our role is to work and water - our mission is to disciple.
1. The Church can be corrupted with carnality.
I want us to read a bit more for context ;
3:1-7
And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
The Historical context or setting for this passage was there was an inner battle occurring in the church.
It’s called “Sectarianism.”
Sectarianism is ; excessive attachment to a particular sect or party, especially in religion: religious sectarianism |
Men were making issue of which minister was a better minister. Picking and choosing sides became detrimental to relationships within the Church.
They even compared some of these men to Jesus!
Paul had previously wrote, correcting the church at Corinth in an earlier chapter;
1 Corinthians 1:10-13
10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
Paul called these contentions and divisiveness out ; and the root was carnality.
He ended his address of their contentions with a question; “Are you not carnal?”
1 Corinthians 3:4
NLT says;
4 When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
MGS says;
When one of you says, “I’m on Paul’s side,” and another says, “I’m for Apollos,” aren’t you being totally infantile?
ESV
4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
Paul’s goal in addressing their carnality was not to condemn, but to bring them back to a place of seeing what was really important.
Carnality was the issue at hand.
When it comes to the purpose of the church, carnality has the potential to corrupt.
Corruption means decay.
Corruption is a process.
That’s why Paul was addressing an issue that only “believers” or “followers of the way” would find important enough to argue about.
He was talking to those who had faith…the people in the world didn’t care who was a better teacher.
When we are carnal, the wrong issues become the “big” issues.
When the wrong thing becomes the most important, we can lose focus and begin working on everything else but what’s important.
Carnality causes condemnation, because of the lack of care, but the blood of Jesus brings us new life because of the attention to the necessity of keeping Christ at the Center.
2. The Church’s role is to work and water.
We are not owners.
Carnality can force us to forget that.
We must be careful to not be corrupted with carnality - our role is to work and water - our mission is to disciple.
Whatever you make a big deal about , states the place of your heart.
If you were offended by a Pastor you make it a point to bring Pastors to a low place.
If you were hurt by your friend, you make it a point to point out there flaws.
“they’re a good person, but a horrible friend”
“they are not so bad, if you like evil people”
The things you take personally are brought to the top wether we like it or not.
Paul was saying you guys have gone off the path. You need to correct your direction. You need to re-focus. Your carnality has gotten the best of you.
How do you keep your carnality in check?
examine your words; before you make that post, or before you respond so quickly in that conversation -
Luke 6:45
45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart[a] brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
examine your actions; would someone who was following you see that you are a Christian?
James 2:14-24
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your[d] works, and I will show you my faith by my[e] works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?[f] 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”[g] And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
3. The Church’s mission is to Disciple.
The church’s mission can be lost in your mission to convince someone that you are right.
The mission of the church is to disciple.
How can you disciple correctly with a corrupt heart?
How can you clothe the naked, or feed the hungry ?
James said just cause you believe in God, doesn’t make you a Christian…even the demons believe!
“Your actions speak so loudly, I can not hear what you are saying.”
Jesus said ;
Matthew 23:15
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
Don’t disciple people into the wrong things.
We must be careful to not be corrupted with carnality - our role is to work and water - our mission is to disciple.