Who is Apollos, and who is Paul, that we should be the cause of such quarrels? Why, we’re only servants. Through us God caused you to believe. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not we, who made it grow. 1 Cor. 3:5-6
The Corinthians were engaged in quarrels and disputes over individual leaders that ministered to them to the point that they esteemed such leaders above their due as though by themselves such ministers could cause anything to happen, so Paul wrote to correct that error. He made it clear to them, and I believe to us also, that no matter what part of the assignment given us in the gospel work, we must not fail to remember that all our skills and talents will come to nothing if God does not give it increase. The outcome of our labour is entirely dependent on what God does with what we do in ministry.
We need each other: The work of ministry is team work; therefore no one gift is able to successfully finish the entire work, for this reason each member of the work force needs the other members to finish his work. Each of us called into the body of Christ is a distinct but very essential part of the body but can only function in league with other members of the body. In Christ, lone-range stars don’t shine. What this means is that apart from working as a team, the work will not be successfully completed. However, though we work as a team, we are rewarded individually in accordance with how each person worked. In the final analysis, no matter what part of the assignment that we are called to function and no matter the results that follow from our labour in the work of the gospel, one thing must be clear to us, it is God that makes our labour produce fruit. This should humble us and make us to see the ultimate place of God in all we do. To put this out of our view will cause us to arrogate to ourselves the successes that our work in Christ bring about, and nothing can be further from the truth than this disposition of pride.
