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Landon Flax, student preacher, preached from 1 Corinthians 3 in SWBTS Chapel on November 20, 2025.
Good morning. Thank you, Doctor Shirley, for the introduction. As he mentioned, I am a member at First Baptist Forney, and in 2021 we went through an incredibly difficult time. So our pastor, who had been there for nearly three decades, a faithful pastor, a beloved man. We’d seen tremendous growth in the church through those nearly 30 years, but he contracted covid, and two weeks later he had passed away. And so it was one of those things where it was completely unexpected and shocking and it left us reeling. You know, what would the future look like who was going to lead us going into the future. So we went through the typical pastor search procedure, and about a year later, we got a new pastor. He was called, given to us by God, Pastor lino but what seemed like the end of a long process was really just the beginning.
There was uncertainty with how everyone would mesh when change occurred, would bitterness or resentment rear its ugly head? Would the congregation remain united and committed to one another, to the pastor and to the Great Commission? With a change in leadership, there’s always the possibility of division, envy, strife and the way we viewed our pastors, both the Old and the New, and thus our unity and spiritual maturity was going to be tested. So what is the proper view of church and ministry leaders? Pastors? Well, God, in His perfect wisdom, has given us the answer and shows us through the division in the Corinthian church, what a right perspective of a church leader is, and how a wrong perspective can wreak havoc.
So before we jump in to First Corinthians three, let’s kind of set the context. So in first century Corinth, it was the very secular society where the secular Corinthians, they would follow a professional public teacher, and they would show exclusive loyalty to that teacher and quarrel with the followers of the other teachers, arguing for prominence and importance. This culture of rivalry, competition, self promotion was influencing the church in Corinth, they had many problems that were reported to Paul, and he addressed several of them in First Corinthians, but the first one he begins with, is division, a lack of unity in the church.
And so these factions, they were arising not because of false teachers, because, you know, if that was been the case, Paul would have fought tooth and nail against them, just as he did. Instead, they had a wrong and elevated view of the leaders in the church, the rivalries and quarreling were based on personalities and preferences, clashing egos, selfishness, envy and jealousy, the way and wisdom of the world in grappling for honor and social status, thinking this was the way forward in the Christian life, advancement in their growth and maturity, they were being influenced by their surrounding culture. In short, they were at enmity with those who were supposed to be their brothers and sisters in Christ, those whom they were to be united with in one baptism, one spirit, one confession, acting as one body.
So Paul picks back up on this division in chapter three to resolve this issue, to right their wrong perspective of leaders and leadership in the church. So in verse one, he writes, For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh. As babies in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you are not yet ready for it. Now, this term brothers and sisters is a term of endearment, and Paul gives us to them to show to kind of drop himself onto their level, to not elevate himself above them, even though he is an apostle, but also to remind them you are supposed to be brothers and sisters united, to share this unity. You have a familial reality that is yours in Christ. And he recounts his visit to them.
Remember, he comes to Corinth first begins preaching the gospel. Okay? The church is born. People are turning from sin, turning to Christ, and the church begins to grow. And these were new believers. They were, in fact, babies in Christ. And that was okay, because it was to be expected. So Paul, he gave them milk to drink, laying out the foundations and the fundamentals of the faith. And he remained with them for about 18 months and then, but now he’s going to turn to the present time, which is a couple years after he had left them. And he continues on saying, in fact, you are still not ready, because you are still worldly.
So think of a student who takes a test they think they aced it, but they get it back and they failed. Or an employee who thinks you’re going to get a good performance review and a promotion and a raise, only to find out that they’re one step away. Right from being let go these Corinthians, this would have been a punch to the gut for them when they thought they were wise, growing in wisdom and maturity. Paul stops them in their tracks and says they are still acting like babies, infants in Christ. Now this doesn’t mean that they were unconverted. He uses a different word to describe the natural person, the unconverted person in chapter two. But they are acting in a manner like the world, like unconverted people, babies in Christ, you see, Paul expected them to continue to grow and mature in the faith, because as Christians, we are supposed to grow.
But the length of time we have been a Christian is not a direct correlation to our growth in spiritual maturity. It takes intentionality in pursuing and abiding in Christ and His Word. See, the Corinthians, they were seeking worldly wisdom in an effort to grow they had forsaken or forgotten the wisdom of God, Christ and Him crucified, as Paul tells us in chapter two, and as such, Paul says they still need milk to drink rather than solid food. It’s not that they were not ready for new, more sophisticated teaching, but the idea is growing in depth and detail of the Word of God.
You see, it has been rightly said that it takes a whole bible to make a whole Christian. And what we must recognize is that the foundation is the wisdom of God, which is foolishness to the world, and it is Christ and Him crucified. If we forget or abandon this, it doesn’t matter how much Bible knowledge we gain, we will remain spiritually immature babies in Christ, and we never move on from the gospel, we grow deeper in our understanding of it and living out the implications it saturates our lives more and more and transforms us, sanctifies us, matures us. We become more compelled and controlled by the love of Christ, yielding and being led by the Spirit, rather than satisfying the desires of the flesh. And so this was the issue, and it revealed itself in the following ways. Paul continues, for since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans?
For whenever someone says, I belong to Paul, and another, I belong to Apollos. Are you not acting like mere humans? So Paul’s statement of them being worldly is based on this internal attitude of envy and their external actions of strife, division and rivalries. The heart of the issue is envy and a wrong sense of identity. Every sin begins in the heart. It is a misplaced faith, loyalty and love that is due to our Creator. While Paul points out the envy, the internal attitude and the strife, which is the external action, the key issue is rooted in their words that he repeats from chapter one here in verse four, when he says, Some say I belong to Paul, and another I belong to Apollos.
And literally it reads, I am of Paul or I am of Apollos. And I think the CSB captures as well, because it carries the weight of possession and identity and belonging. This is not like, which country club do you belong to, or who do you follow on Twitter? This is a deep seated identity in the person, one that is currently transcending their identity in Christ and causing division within the church. They have forgotten who they ultimately belong to, forgetting whose name they were baptized into, who was crucified for them, who bought them with his own blood, and Paul repeats this phrase, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? Are you not acting like mere humans? So what he’s getting at is, as Christians, we have been saved for a purpose, to be holy as God is holy, to be conformed to the image of Christ, to live and be sanctified by the spirit we live for eternity, for another land, for another kingdom, and instead, they were acting just like the world.
And this is something that we too have to be on guard against each and every day. And this begs the question for ourselves, are we acting like mere humans in this way? Maybe we aren’t saying the words out loud to align ourselves with a leader or externally causing strife as we seek a following for ourselves. But how do we react when other ministries seem to be growing more than the ones that we’re serving in, or when other churches seem to be gaining more members or baptizing more people, or vice versa, when ours seem to be flourishing and others seem to be stagnant. Do we get envious, prideful, competitive, or do we support the labor and the work of others, or do we question ridicule and distance ourselves from them, and thus hinder the work?
This is a great temptation that we need to be careful of. God and one that none of us are immune to, even Peter, who distanced himself from the Gentiles to eat with the Jews, James and John, who desired to sit at the right hand and the left hand of Jesus in glory, and Paul, who was given a thorn in the flesh. Why to keep him from becoming conceited? So the key issue, which is stunting their spiritual growth and causing factions within the church, is a wrong perspective of leaders in the church and a misplaced identity. So we’ve seen the problem.
So what is the cure? What is the right perspective of church leaders so that we can keep ourselves from such divisive attitudes and actions. Well, Paul, being Paul, he structures the solution in such a way that exemplifies his words in Romans, 12, two, when he says, Do not be conformed to the word this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may know and discern the perfect will of God. You see, he is not looking for merely external conformity, but true repentance a change of heart and mind that will lead to this change in action. He is seeking to help them grow in spiritual maturity, and repentance and faith is the way.
So he continues on in verse five, what then is Apollos? What is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, and each has the role the Lord has given. So let me repeat that if you didn’t catch the question. He says, What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Where the Corinthians were identifying themselves with the leaders? Paul flips the script. He is separating who they are from what they do their God given role. Take John the Baptist, for example. His role was as a Baptist. It wasn’t who he was or even his theological tradition, but we could agree he would be right if it was but he preached repentance to the people, to them to turn back to God, and as such, those who did he would baptize them, symbolizing their cleansing from their unrighteousness, their cleansing from their sin. And it was an important role. He even baptized the Lord Jesus Himself that He may fulfill all righteousness.
But when asked who he was, if he was the Christ, He told them, no, he was simply a witness to the one to come, and even went further in saying he was not even worthy to untie the strap of the sandal of Jesus. You see, Paul is helping them to see what they are as servants and reset their minds to see him and Apollos and church leaders in general, as servants, not as people to be elevated and identified with at the expense of another. And it’s interesting, the word we usually see servants attached to Paul. It’s usually the Greek word doulos, pointing to him being a slave or a bond servant of Christ. But here he uses the word diaconoy, which carries the idea of a of a servant as a minister or a deacon or a table servant. He’s not denying that he is a slave or a servant of Christ, but he is demonstrating that he and Apollos, they are servants of the Corinthians themselves.
Remember the donkey that brought Jesus in to Jerusalem on that Palm Sunday. They’re laying palm branches down at the feet of Jesus, and the only reason the donkey is even remembered or recognized is because it fulfilled prophecy. You see, how insane would it be to praise and exalt that donkey who is carrying the Lord of glory. God has given Paul and Apollos to the Corinthians as servants for their benefit to bring the good news of Christ and to build up the church in Corinth, he is showing them the absurdity of what they are doing. Why would you stake your identity or your belonging to someone who is your servant? And he goes a step further in reminding them that they are servants through whom you believed. You do not belong to us, Paul says, because you believed in another and another through us, through our preaching and teaching. And whom is it that they believed into? Who is it that they united themselves to in baptism?
Who is it that they truly belong to? It is the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who came down from glory, took on human flesh, lived the perfect life they could not live the one who died on the cross for their sin, bearing the weight of our sin and our shame on that cross to satisfy the justice of this righteous and holy God in our place, so that they could be forgiven of their sin, they could be cleansed from their unrighteousness. Now on the third day, that same person, he rose from the grave, He conquered death, defeated sin, and then he ascended into heaven, where He intercedes for us day and night, and one day he will return to judge the world in all righteousness. It is he who they have everlasting life in and through. And so this is in whom they believed, in whose name they had been baptized, to whom they. Now belong so we must stop and ask ourselves, have we believed and are we currently trusting in this name, in the only name under heaven by which we must be saved?
Do you belong to Jesus? Because this is foundational to the cure, the starting point of all spiritual maturity and a right perspective of church leaders is that we belong to Jesus. Paul then moves to describe the roles that him and Apollos have been given. In Verse six, he writes, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth, so that neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but only God who gives the growth. So here, Paul uses an agricultural example to display what they did as servants. Paul planted, he came in first proclaimed Christ, planted the seeds of the gospel and the church in Corinth. Apollos, he continued by watering the seeds that Paul planted and nurtured the church after Paul had left, but Paul and Apollos, they were simply faithful servants, because it was God who was providing the growth, empowering them in their work all along the way, Paul emphasizes God’s supremacy in the work of His servants, in the work of the Corinthian church. Like farmers, we can only aim to be faithful to our calling as God’s servants.
Thank you. We must wait and depend upon the Lord for the growth in being faithful. We must recognize that we are planting. What we are planting and watering is not our own thoughts or our own ideas or our own opinions, we are planting the Word of God. The seed that we plant, the word of God is just as important as our faithfulness to the planting and to the watering. We must remain faithful to him and to his word. So, as Paul states, the one planting and the one watering, there aren’t anything apart from God, because He is the one working in and through them, the planter, the water giving the growth. Now this doesn’t mean their work was unimportant, quite the opposite, because they were working as God’s servants on the task that he had assigned them, and they were entrusted with his seed, his word. So remember elsewhere, Paul says that faithful elders are worthy of double honor, and that we should esteem them in love and remain in peace with one another.
So right view of church leaders, it does. It leads to peace and unity within the church. But compared to God’s work, in giving the growth, their work seemed minuscule. The idea is that God is the one to be glorified for the growth, not human instruments. Again, Paul shifts the focus of the Corinthians from exalting the work of their leaders, who are actually servants, to exalting God. God is supreme in the work of His servants. And so this is a call for two things. Number one, to be faithful. To be faithful to the work God has given us, to be faithful to those whom we are to serve. And number two, to pray and to abide in Christ in His word, because apart from Him, we can do nothing. But not only are we fully dependent on God, we are dependent on one another. So Paul continues on in verse eight, he says, now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. So Paul says that the one who plants and the one who waters, they are one, unified, performing complementary tasks dependent on one another and of equal status. Paul can’t just plant if there’s no one to water, and if no one plants What is there to water?
We each have different giftings, specific callings, but the same great commission as ministers of the gospel. We are not in competition, striving for personal clout, honor, social status or fame. We are striving for Christ to be made, to be made known, for the kingdom of God, to advance, for people to be brought from death to life, to make disciples of all nations and to fulfill the Great Commission. And we can’t do that alone. And we hinder this mission when we strive against one another instead of striving against the spirit of darkness. Even Jesus, he said, A house divided cannot stand now with all that Paul’s focus on him and Apollos being servants, being dependent on God, being united in their work, his phrase, each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. It seems kind of out of place at first glance. But have you ever done a group project where one or two people do all the work, and the other three or four, they get the same grade without doing any of the work.
Well, this is not how it works in God’s economy with his servants. If we go back to verse five, it can help us understand two things. Number one, we have each been assigned by a role by God, and we are accountable to him for our faithfulness in that work. Number two, because we have been assigned roles by God as His servants, our reward is not from men, but God, who we truly work for. If we seek the praise of men, that will be the only reward we receive, we will forfeit the reward that God has for us. Again, this puts the role of a church leader in perspective, even from a reward standpoint, that we are accountable to God, not to seek praise from men. And as church members, we are not to praise men, but to glorify God. Do not be discouraged, because when Paul says that we will be rewarded according to our own labor, he’s not saying it’s according to the success or the outcomes or the growth. Remember, God gives the growth. We are called to be faithful and depend upon him. And then in verse nine, Paul gives kind of a brief summary writing For we are God’s co workers, you are God’s field God’s building. In each instance, co workers, field building. The emphasis is on God.
It’s pointing to God’s possession. Who they all belong to. Paul and Apollos, they belong to God, united in working for God and for his purposes, Cultivating God’s field. The Corinthians, they belong to God. It’s significant that Paul states field and building in the singular, while the you are is plural. Once again, he’s reminding them that they are one, like back in verse one. They’re brothers and sisters. They are one field that belongs to one owner, God in one building with one foundation, Christ. So why is there division? Strife, envy, jealousy, out of line and worldly, because God is supreme in the work of His servants, and they belong to God, both the servants and the Corinthian church, their identity, individually and as a whole, is to be rooted and grounded in Christ, the author and perfecter of their faith, their source of love, joy, peace, hope and everlasting life. This is a charge for them to recognize who they belong to and as such, to be united with one another.
So as Paul sought to renew their minds, changing their perspectives on church leaders and that they might put off the envy and strife among themselves. He laid out four truths that we must take to heart. Number one, he and Apollos are, in fact, servants, servants of God and servants of the church, just like every church member or leader, and there’s no reason to boast. Number two, they are complementary workers, united in the work and mission to exalt Christ and make disciples of Christ. Number three, they are of equal status, not to be exalted over one another, or to seek prominence. Number four, God is the one who gives the growth, not the servants. God is supreme in his workers, in building his church, and is the only one to be praised. And for these reasons, Paul urges them to reject carnal division within the church. This is spiritually immature and comes from a heart of envy and jealousy and a wrong perspective of God’s servants and of who God is as preeminent over all things in this division that weakens the health of the church and the witness of the church to the lost and dying world. Remember Jesus’ words to His disciples in John chapter 13, he says, they will know you that you are my disciples, how by your love for one another.
So remember, God is supreme in the work of His servants. So we must reject worldly division and seek unity in Christ, the One to whom we belong. Now recall the church first Baptist morning that I talked about at the beginning, and the new pastor when he came in, he did a few things. Number one, he spoke well of the previous pastor, and unity with him in a common purpose, to exalt Christ, to make Him known and to make disciples. He spoke of complimentary work with the previous pastor, building on what was already there. He spoke of being called by God to serve the church, not to be served by the church. And he pointed to the glory of God for the work and growth within and through the church, past, present and future. As a result, the church is flourishing because, as the leader, he demonstrated this perspective, this right perspective of church leaders, and how it flowed down throughout the congregation, creating unity, maybe not perfect unity, but true unity. He constantly reminds us of the supremacy of Christ in all things and our identity in him. And one phrase you hear him say often is you would not believe how ordinary I am. So how do these truths apply to our lives?
How can we cultivate and apply a right perspective of church leaders? Well, first, whatever ministry you may currently be in preparing for and may be called to in the future, remember, it is God who assigns his servants, and we are servants of whomever he has assigned us to. We’re not there to gain credibility or a following for ourselves, but to point people to Christ in all things Number two, we must recognize our dependence on God and on others to faithfully carry out our assigned task. Just as there are no lone wolf Christians, there are no siloed leaders, Christianity didn’t begin with us, and it won’t end with us. We need one another, and we must recognize the work that has been done before us, carried out in our time, and raise up leaders to follow after us. Number three, we must maintain unity with one another, whether between church members, church staff, pastors in the community, or even here as students. Now, this is an opportunity for us to cultivate this mind among ourselves. We are somewhat insulated here with professors who are looking out for us and giving this example to follow. But what will happen when we graduate or in the ministry outside of these walls, will we seek to build ourselves up over and against one another.
Will we compromise on the truth and succumb to worldly wisdom and pragmatism and to seek a bigger following, or will we remain faithful to our Lord and unified with one another? We must remember who we belong to, who redeemed our souls and who died as our substitute on the cross to save us from our sins so that we could be forgiven and have everlasting life in him, and the same with whomever we serve. We didn’t save them. We could not save them. And they don’t ultimately belong to us, and we don’t ultimately belong to them. We all belong to Christ and are to be united in him, loving and caring for one another, co laboring together for His glory and seeking to build up the church in whatever role we have been given by him.
Put another way, we must hold fast to the Gospel, which is the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation, both in justification and in sanctification, the whole of the Christian life, and this is the fuel for growth and maturity, and it plays itself out in a right view of one another and leaders within the church, bringing unity of mind and of spirit. So I’ll end with a question, is it enough? Is it enough to serve Christ in His Church, to faithfully preach Christ in His Word, to die and to be forgotten by the world? I pray we see more of the glories of Christ and the great privilege it is to be a servant in his house, rather than to die at the table of those in the world. Martin Lloyd Jones, he summed it up well when he said, it’s one thing to love to preach, but it’s another thing to love those to whom you preach. May we faithfully follow the example of our Lord, for even he did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Let’s pray.
Father, we thank you so much for your word, for what you have done for us, that we are yours through your Son, through his blood, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that by your Spirit, you have given us new life, not that we may return to our old ways, but that we would press on to be conformed to the image of Christ, your Son, and that we would not hold this in for ourselves, but seek to proclaim the gospel, to proclaim Christ and Him crucified, that we may make disciples of all nations, bringing glory and honor and praise to the one who gave it all for us. We love you, and we thank you, and we ask this in your name. Amen.
