1 Corinthians 3:9,10 - We are fellow workers in God's field

3:9

“For we are fellow workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building”. This sums up what Paul has been saying thus far. Paul and Apollos were on the same team! The Corinthians needed to see Paul and Apollos as working together, not competing against each other. They also needed to see themselves as God’s field and building. If I say I am following this person or that person I am sort of putting myself in charge, I choose my destiny. But that is not the way it is. It is God who chooses our destiny, He is the one at work in us.

3:10

Paul now builds upon the latter point he has been making. Paul laid a foundation, he is the one who founded the church in Corinth. But he did so by the grace of God. There is an important point here. We can sometimes think that claiming to be nothing is a humble thing to do. In a way it is, but when we are in Christ we are not useless. In Christ we become useful, God achieves things through us. He involves us in what He is doing, but all this is by grace, it is based on His goodness and greatness, not on our goodness and greatness. So God had used Paul to lay a foundation in Corinth, establishing the church there. He then used someone else to continue that work, to build upon the foundation. We should never claim it is “my church” in the sense that it belongs to me, or I own it. It is right to say it is “my church” in the sense that I belong to the church. So we should be careful how we build.