“I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

God is the One, and that defines Christian teamwork. All we who serve and minister to one another do so for the One, that is, God. And all that God does is for the well-being of all. We individually simply are among many whom God uses. No one is greater than the whole, nor is anyone greater than the One.

The apostle Paul, using himself as an example, begins by simply acknowledging his role in the matter. He was the evangelist who brought the good news of Jesus Christ to the Corinthians, nothing more, nothing less. A simple statement of fact. His role was limited to planter. But the Corinthians, like seed planted in the soil, needed water to grow. Someone else was needed for that, because Paul did not stay in Corinth long term; there were many other places where Gentiles had not yet heard the gospel.

We point out that Paul was not bashful about identifying his role in God’s work, nor did he exalt his role above others. In the same way, he didn’t hold back from acknowledging the role of others, so he wrote, “Apollos watered.” There was no competition between the two; they just had different roles. How often do we find in local churches a rivalry between those who focus on evangelism and those who focus on teaching, as though one were better than the other? Both are needed!

Further, and this is the important point, God is the one who causes the growth. No matter what your or my role in the work of the Lord, we are not the ones who make growth happen. Only God can do that. How often do churches chase after the latest church growth schemes in an effort to get their Sunday attendance numbers up—as though finding the right scheme will automatically make it happen?

In the end, we are simply workers in God’s plan, among His people, His field, His building. Each of us will be rewarded for our role in faithfully doing what God has assigned for us to do. We are in this together, not in competition with each other or with other churches. And we all serve in different ways. We are all needed, but we are not indispensable. The Corinthians were woefully in need of this teaching, for they had lost their mooring by their divisions.

Lord, keep reminding me that I am just one part of the work of the Lord.