Message 6:
The Apostle Paul's Uplifted Humanity with Divinity in  First Corinthians

The Struggling of our Serving Life
Paul's Admonition in an Uplifted Humanity

[Editor's Note: The original message handout is in bold print, while the spoken message is in italics.]

-By Presenting His Labor-

Paul was honest. He let the Corinthians know that he considered them as fleshly because there was jealousy and strife among them. "For you are still fleshly. For if there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and do you not walk according to the manner of man?" (1 Cor. 3:3). They were still babies and not yet spiritual men. He responded to their declaration, "I am of Paul and I of Apollos," by saying, "What then is Apollos? And what is Paul?" In other words, who are these men? Here we would answer, "They are the great servants, they are the establishers  of the truth, they are pioneers of the Lord's work, they are THE apostles." Wouldn't we consider Paul and Apollos in such a great category? But what was Paul's response? He responded, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth." He was nothing, merely a minister, a planter. How gracious was Paul in his uplifted humanity. He could have easily pointed to Corinth and declared, "Look, this is the fruit of my labor. This is the church that came out of my labor." Even though he honored his labor before God, as he knew he would receive a reward according to his labor, yet he gave no credit to himself before men. Paul didn't say to them, "Without me there is no church here." He honored his own labor, yet before men he did not give himself any credit.

He was privileged to be God's fellow worker, yet he knew the church was God's cultivated land, God's building. Paul would say to the Corinthians, "Your existence is for two reasons: you are a farm for your own growth, and you are a building for the Lord's abode. Your growth should cause you to become an abode, a dwelling place, for the Lord." Paul was so clear. "I am just a planter. I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. And who are you? You are God's cultivated land, God's building." We should also have this realization: "I may be like Paul, a planter. I may be like Apollos, a waterer. But whatever growth there is with the ones I serve comes from God."

If we were to raise up a church we might think, "This church is mine!" No, the church is God's cultivated land, God's building. No matter how we serve, it is God who causes the growth. We should tell the Lord, "I want to invest all my life in serving the church, whether it is to plant or to water. But please, Lord, You must cause the growth." This is a very balanced view. The Corinthians were arguing that they belonged to Paul or Apollos, but Paul said that he was just a planter, and Apollos was just a waterer. It was God who caused the growth. On one hand we should appreciate the leading ones and serving brothers who labor among us. We cannot say, "God gave us the growth, so who are these serving brothers? Who do they think they are?" That is an ugly expression of the flesh. But at the same time it is not healthy for us to say, "I belong to a certain brother. He raised up the church in my locality." We should appreciate the serving ones who raise us up, but we do not belong to any man. We only belong to God. Again,Paul was privileged to be God's fellow worker, yet he knew the church was God's cultivated land, God's building. What a selfless life! How sweet it is to testify that some brother planted, other brothers watered, but God, and only God, caused the growth.

Paul further reminded them that he, as a wise master builder, laid a good foundation according to the grace of God. This foundation of Jesus Christ can only be built upon with gold, silver, and precious stones and not with wood, grass, or stubble. The wood, grass, and stubble represent things which come quickly. We are always looking for a quick blessing or a quick work, but we should not trust in that. The principle in our serving is that God is very big. He can take as long as He wants. We should not expect things to happen so quickly in our serving. That is to build with wood, grass, and stubble. We should be very careful how we build. He knew that there will be fire and he was afraid, lest any work be consumed by it. For their sake he could not be wise or have the wisdom of the world. He did not boast in himself. When he looked at the fruit of his labor he could only tell them, "all things are yours." Paul would say to the Corinthians, "Everything belongs to you. It is foolish to consider that you belong to someone else." How marvelous that all things are ours! Paul is ours, Apollos is ours, Cephas is ours, Watchmen Nee is ours, Witness Lee is ours, and we are Christ's and Christ is God's. Praise the Lord, all of these great servants of the Lord are ours. And we are Christ's, and Christ is God's. Everything belongs to us, yet we belong to God.

-By Presenting Himself as a Steward of the Mysteries of God-

Paul desired that he should be accounted as a servant of Christ and as a steward of the mystery of God. From his side he desired to be found faithful. He was not concerned about being examined by the saints in Corinth or even by man's day - the present age. In other words, the church in Corinth did not welcome Paul, and some there even became critical of him. But Paul didn't care if he was examined by them. If we were asked to go to a certain place to labor we would usually consider whether we would be welcomed. We would always prefer to go to the places that welcome us. We should learn from Paul even to go to a place that doesn't welcome us. When Paul was laboring in a place it was not his consideration whether he would be welcomed or not. Even if some were criticizing him, misunderstanding him, or rejecting him, he didn't care. He wouldn't even examine himself. This is surprising. People usually examine themselves a lot, but Paul would not do this. He was a man who lived before the Lord and waited for the Lord's coming.

By using himself and Apollos as models, he expected the saints to also apply to themselves the comparison he made. Is there a sign of living in the self-life with this apostle? No! Is there a sign of self-celebrating or self-bragging? No! Rather, the apostle Paul placed himself as a close co-worker of Apollos, at the same level with the same commitment . We should realize how large Paul's heart was. He placed himself on the same level as Apollos and said they were co-workers. Yet Apollos was actually a professional "headache-giver" to Paul. It was largely because of Apollos that the church in Corinth was divided. Then later, when Paul tried to send Apollos to Corinth, he would not go. It would have been easy for Paul to say to Apollos, "Who do you think you are? You are my students' student. I was the one who raised up Priscilla and Aquila. When they met you, you were still teaching the baptism of John. It was the ones I raised up who helped you so much. So if I want to send you to Corinth, you must go!" It seems that Apollos was with Paul and his co-workers, but not in submission. Instead, all he did was give Paul headaches. Yet Paul placed himself as a close co-worker of Apollos, at the same level with the same commitment. Paul would still say, "I planted, Apollos watered." Is it really true that Paul and Apollos were at the same level, with the same commitment? Should Paul say such a thing as this? It seems more accurate for Paul to say to the Corinthians, "Between Apollos and myself, how can you not choose me? If you are going to make a selection, select me. Without me, there's no Priscilla and Aquila, and without them there is no Apollos. He was still preaching the repentance of John when they found him. And now he doesn't even listen to me." Paul didn't do this. He said, "I planted, Apollos watered." Paul handled things so graciously. Even though Apollos caused problems and wouldn't listen to Paul, yet Paul would still say that they were close co-workers.However, we all realize the apostle Paul might have been much deeper, much richer, and much more operative compared to his co-worker. We would surely agree that Paul and Apollos were not on the same level. But Paul had such a high humanity. Even though Apollos caused problems, Paul was gracious to him. Paul placed himself at the same level as Apollos, with the same commitment.

A person who is in the flesh, especially the self-centered flesh, desires to choose and is puffed up on behalf of one, against the other. A desire to choose between co-workers is a sign of the flesh. A person short of Christ will be a person who is filled, has become rich, and may even have an imagined reign. What is an 'imagined reign'? It is when a person is so free in his exercise and yet is so confident that the Lord is with him. Sometimes a brother might propose something foolish, but he insists that he is so one with Christ. If such a brother came to us we would think, "You're so sure of yourself. Go ahead and try it. See what happens." But to this kind of person, Paul had no mockery, no rebuke. Rather, his statement to such a fleshly situation was simple, "I would have it indeed that you did reign, that we also might reign with you."

Yet, when Paul would testify of himself and the other apostles, they were only a spectacle to the world. Paul was saying, "If you can reign, if you can be kings, I would truly be happy. But let me tell you who we are as servants of the Lord." They were fools, they were weak, they were dishonored, they lived in hunger and thirst. They were naked, buffeted, and wandered without a home. They labored, working with their own hands. Can any of us live such a life? On one hand we should come to this conclusion about ourselves, that this will be our life. Yet to live this way seems almost impossible in the United States because we are so comfortable. Reviled they blessed, persecuted they endured, defamed they exhorted; they became as the offscouring of the world and the scum of all things, until now. This description would bring us to tears. We should pray, "Lord, thank You for such a servant as Paul. Lord, when I hear this I realize that my life is too settled. I am so comfortable." When a full-timer moves to a new place, the first thing he does is take care of so many practical things. He makes sure that his new house is comfortable, and then settles in. How far this is from Paul's spirit.

What a humanity! Even what an uplifted humanity - "until now." Paul would even use the words "until now." Paul could say to the Corinthians, "All of these things I describe to you are not my experience occasionally, or yesterday, but today. I experience these things all the time, even until now. This is just my life." Full-timers especially should realize that there are no "good days" waiting for them. If we want to serve the Lord, then in principle this should be our life. Yet he was honest to exhort them that in Christ Jesus he had begotten them through the gospel. To them he was not one of the ten thousand guides in Christ. We like to follow people. We like to say, "Oh, this conference was so good. I got so much help from this message." We need conferences and messages, but we also must realize that there can be thousands of guides, but there is only one father. To the Corinthians, Paul was their father. He beseeched them to be imitators of him. Paul wanted the Corinthians to learn from him. "When I am going through all these things, when I am hungry and buffeted and reviled, dear ones in Corinth, please remember that I am your father. Don't just appreciate someone's marvelous preaching. Remember that someone begot you." He even sent Timothy to them to be their help. He warned those who had become puffed up. His ministry brought the kingdom of God, not in speech but in power. Paul told them to remember that the kingdom of God was not in speech, but in power. He warned them in the righteousness and loving-kindness of God - "Should I come to you with a rod or in love and a spirit of meekness?" Paul had the right to discipline them, but he wanted to come to them in love and in a spirit of meekness. This portrait of Paul, struggling in an uplifted humanity with commitment, should be who we are, our being, and this should be our service.