God Makes Things Grow

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

God Makes Things Grow

Date: Mar. 20, 2026

Passage

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 (ESV)

1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 3:6-7

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

What are the signs that believers are living in a worldly way rather than living by the Spirit? A few signs include jealousy, quarreling, and divisions. The Corinthian Christians were spiritually immature. Their attitudes toward each other were no different from worldly people. Paul saw them as spiritual infants. They emphasized following church leaders like Paul and Apollos. These Christians were no different from worldly people who divide over politics, culture, human status, or their social circle.

To combat their spiritual immaturity, Paul challenged them. Paul and Apollos (and any other church leader) were only servants of the Lord, carrying out whatever was their assigned task. Paul had planted the seed of the gospel. Apollos watered the seed with powerful Bible teaching. But only God could make that seed grow and produce fruit in their lives. Their focus must be on God who makes things grow, including their faith. God would reward Paul and Apollos for their service. But their ministry was God’s service, and they were God’s field and building.

Are you contributing to unity in God or dividing over worldly things? Glorify God in your fellowship and ministry and pray to grow in spiritual maturity.

Prayer: Father, forgive my worldliness and help me to live by your Spirit. Use me to lead others to Jesus.

One Word: Live by the Spirit, not the world

What You Have is from God

1 Corinthians 4:6-13

Key Verse: 4:7

Today's Question

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