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enter, they would find there nothing congenial. The propensities that
control the natural heart must be subdued by the grace of Christ before
fallen man is fitted to enter heaven and enjoy the society of the pure,
holy angels. When man dies to sin and is quickened to new life in
Christ, divine love fills his heart; his understanding is sanctified; he
drinks from an inexhaustible fountain of joy and knowledge, and the
light of an eternal day shines upon his path, for with him continually
is the Light of life.
Paul had sought to impress upon the minds of his Corinthian
brethren the fact that he and the ministers associated with him were
but men commissioned by God to teach the truth, that they were all
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engaged in the same work, and that they were alike dependent upon
God for success in their labors. The discussion that had arisen in the
church regarding the relative merits of different ministers was not in
the order of God, but was the result of cherishing the attributes of the
natural heart. “While one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of
Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but
ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then
neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God
that giveth the increase.”
1 Corinthians 3:4-7
.
It was Paul who had first preached the gospel in Corinth, and who
had organized the church there. This was the work that the Lord had
assigned him. Later, by God’s direction, other workers were brought
in, to stand in their lot and place. The seed sown must be watered, and
this Apollos was to do. He followed Paul in his work, to give further
instruction, and to help the seed sown to develop. He won his way to
the hearts of the people, but it was God who gave the increase. It is
not human, but divine power, that works transformation of character.
Those who plant and those who water do not cause the growth of the
seed; they work under God, as His appointed agencies, co-operating
with Him in His work. To the Master Worker belongs the honor and
glory that comes with success.
God’s servants do not all possess the same gifts, but they are all His
workmen. Each is to learn of the Great Teacher, and is then to commu-
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nicate what he has learned. God has given to each of His messengers
an individual work. There is a diversity of gifts, but all the workers
are to blend in harmony, controlled by the sanctifying influence of