In the first few verses of 1 Corinthians 3, Paul points out how the Corinthian Christians’ allegiance to evangelists, rather than directly to Jesus, is a sign of immaturity.
As we pick up in verse 5, Paul describes what the actual role of these evangelists and preachers is…
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.3.5-9.NIV
While I believe that leaders in the church who are following God’s direction are worthy of respect, this passage is a good reminder that they are not to be worshiped. In our family’s devotions, we read the passage where Peter meets Cornelius (a Roman centurion), and Peter had to remind Cornelius of a similar misunderstanding (see Acts 10:25-26 for Peter’s reaction).
As discussed in recent articles, this means that our walk with Jesus shouldn’t be based on who preaches at our church on Sunday, who wrote the Bible study, devotional, or catechism that we study, or who founded our congregation.
What are the roles of these key people in the early church, then? Paul describes his and their purpose in various ways, but I think that all of these all describe the same thing. First, these evangelists are followers of Jesus – “servants” – who did what the Lord told them to. While the Bible provides a lot of instructions (and people in the church seem to give us a lot more), I think that there’s a fine line between trying to do everything that we’re told to, and simply stepping back and choosing to do what God tells us to. [We might not think of things this way, but even Jesus didn’t minister on His own authority, as He described in the account from John 7:28-29.
Of course we should live a righteous life, and follow the commission that Jesus gave to the church, but our purpose – our specific mission – is to simply do what God tells us to.
This means, for instance, that when the call goes out to give to a particular need, or serve in a specific place (like an event, a ministry, or a specific cause), God might not call you to be part of that particular opportunity.
On the other hand, it also means that you could be called to go out and do something that no one else is doing. You could be called to reach out and minister where there isn’t anyone else, whether God wants you to be the first of many serving in that way, or He has you serving privately in a way that only you can serve.
The key here isn’t that we strive to do the “big” things from a human mindset, like ministry roles that we may have been conditioned to think are more important than others. Instead, we are called to actively seek God’s will, listening and watching for His direction, and then follow that direction (i.e., do the work that He assigns us to do).
Let’s not make things too much more complicated than that.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for March 10, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, March 10, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – 1 Corinthians, by Richard E. Oster, Jr. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 