Paul
the apostle shared how he “planted”
and “Apollos watered”
when it came to sharing the “gospel”,
and in chapter three and verse seven of
First Corinthians, Paul shared how
“neither is he that plants any thing,
neither he that waters”
where we read:
So
then neither is he that plants any thing,
neither
he that waters; but God that gives the increase.
The
verse begins, “So
then neither is he that plants any thing,...”
Paul began
with the words, “So” which
means “therefore, wherefore or insomuch that” “then
neither”
or “not even, none and nothing” “is”
which refers to “consists and endures” “he
that plants”
which literally means “to set out in the earth” and figuratively
means “to instill doctrine” “any
thing”
which refers to “a certain one”. There is no special value to the
person who “plants”
or “instills doctrine” within people with the
“gospel”.
The
verse goes on to say, “...
neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase.”.
Paul
continued with the words, “neither”
which means
“not even” “he that waters”
which
literally means “to give or furnish drink” and figuratively means
“to imbue and saturate one's mind” “but”
which means what is about to be written takes precedence over what is
about to be stated “God”
which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised
of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “that
gives the increase”
which means “caused to grow and augment”. There is no special
value in the person who “furnishes drink” or “imbues and
saturates” a person's mind with the “gospel” because it is God
who provide the growth.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see how there is little “value”
to the person who “instills doctrine” or “saturates” people
with God's word. It is God who should receive the “glory and honor”
for the “gospel” because He is responsible for it's
growth. Paul the apostle contended with the Corinthians because they
were giving value to the “instruments” instead of God. Jesus
Christ is the one who paid the price for our sins, and anyone who
shares that information with others should not be exalted themselves,
but should give all “credit, glory and honor” to Him.
Next
time Paul shares how “he
that plants and he that waters are one” and
about “receiving rewards”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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