Bible Studies

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“What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service. You are God’s field; God’s building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light." (1 Corinthians 3:5-12)
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After Paul greeted the church in Corinth, he began to address the issues that were robbing them of God's grace and peace. He used three analogies to describe the church: a field, a building, and a temple.

Paul wrote this letter from Ephesus at a time when agriculture flourished. I imagine him walking through the countryside as he ponders how to explain to the church in Corinth what their role was in the Kingdom of God. Hmmm....

The church at Corinth was a field on which God has labored so the church would yield a harvest. The word Paul used for “field” occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It referred specifically to a "tilled" or "cultivated" field. It refers to the dirt.

Its a very down-to-earth analogy, but what does it actually tell us? What is the role of a field? It allow the farmer to get rid of weeds and add compost. It let the farmer plant what he wants, then nourish what he planted.

What can the field do to bring about a harvest? Nothing - other than nourish what it’s been given. If someone else is not involved, the field is just dirt and weeds. The church is God's field, God's cultivated dirt. The dirt is important and necessary, but it’s the most humble part of the field. People wax eloquently about "amber waves of grain

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