1 Corinthians 3:1-9

(1 Corinthians 3:1-9)

 

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.  I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?  For 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 any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

 

Farmer planting crops in the field. When he digs, sows seeds, and covers them with soil, he wonders if the young buds of the seeds can rise through the thick soil. Farmers plant seeds, but they cannot force seeds to sprout and rise through the ground. One day, however, the seeds break through the ground and sprout. Human eyes cannot see all of them, but something happened in the ground. Some wonder if farmers will be able to grow young sprouts above the ground, but they know that if they are experienced farmers, all things are helping young sprouts to grow.

 

The farmer doesn't know how thick the raindrops sometimes fall from the high sky. When it reaches the ground with acceleration, it is a young shoot and it can damage the leaves. The sun shining from far away not only brightens the world, but also makes the trunk and stems of young shoots grow. In the rhythm of morning and night, crops grow little by little while gaining vitality and enjoying rest. A farmer who sows seeds, waters and watches his crops grow, one thing is clear.

 

It is a fact that farmers cannot grow their crops on their own. The farmer realizes that all things that follow God's order circulate and operate according to his will and give life to life. Therefore, even a farmer who grows a small garden can enjoy the grace of experiencing the life-giving hand of God. The peasant becomes aware of "the hand of God that made little life grow, grow, and fruitful, although invisible."

 

Paul gives the parable of a garden to the people of the Corinthian church who are divided into Pauline and Apollos, who are struggling with envy and strife: "have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase .So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.』. Yet the people of the Corinthian church, like children in Christ, do not see God who gives life. Because they still belong to the flesh.

 

Like little children, still in the flesh, they follow people. Paul and Apollos, who are more visible than the invisible God, are sure and clear. It is vague to follow a God that is invisible, indecipherable, and incomprehensible, but following a visible person gives a sense of security. It is easier to follow visible phenomena than to believe in invisible truths, and it is easier to serve visible idols than to count the invisible heart of God. Indeed, it cannot be but the grief of human beings in the flesh.

 

Even though the Israelites who escaped Egypt experienced the invisible hand of God, they made and served golden calf amidst the vagueness and anxiety of the reality of wilderness life. Believing in an invisible God is difficult for humans who perceive the world with their eyes, ears, and mind.
Paul already says through 1 Corinthians 2:9 that everything God has prepared cannot be known through the minds of human eyes, ears, and hearts. Therefore, the faith of the saints must reach beyond the boundaries of human understanding and experience to count the invisible God. This is because when a saint learns that God is the source of life, the saint can face the truth without being bound by the visible reality.