“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”
1 Corinthians 3:5–8

The assembly at Corinth had many difficulties, and one of the first mentioned is that they were man-centered instead of Christ-centered. We see this in chapter one where Paul wrote:

“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Cor. 1:10–13).

It is easy for us to elevate a man of God, focusing our eyes on the gift Christ has given to the body (Eph. 4:11), instead of on the Giver of the gift Himself. This is why Paul sets the Cross before the Corinthians in chapter one. The Cross sets man aside altogether and sets the Man, Jesus Christ, before us.

Paul calls this focus on men carnality—living according to the flesh. He asks, “For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not carnal?” (1 Cor. 3:3–4).

Christ, as the risen Head, has given gifts to His body. There is nothing wrong with appreciating the gifts, but we must keep foremost in our minds that the fruit of those gifts is from the Lord. Twice in our passage we read, “but God gave the increase” and “but God gives the increase.” Any fruit that has come, or ever will come, is because God gives the increase. The vessel He uses is simply a channel—and nothing more.

Anchor For Today:
When our eyes are upon the risen Head, our hearts are able to say, “But God,” and our mouths can give Him praise!