June 4

Co-operating With God

For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. — 1 Cor 3:9 BSB

In this chapter, the Apostle describes the Church as a garden or vineyard, where the Holy Spirit is always working—guiding, inspiring, and calling on all His servants to cooperate, whether they are Paul, Apollos, or Cephas. He also compares it to a great temple, slowly being built over the ages, with different laborers laying the foundations, building the walls, and putting on the finishing touches as God’s purpose unfolds. In both cases, the design, progress, engagement of the workers, and direction of their labor are all in the hands of the Husbandman and Master-Builder. It’s not our work, but His. We aren’t responsible for the results, only to do His will. He rewards us generously, but our responsibility ends there. When the garden is in full bloom and the harvest is abundant, when the building stands in glory among the ruins of time, those who have worked with God will step aside, and “God will be All in all.”

In human work, there is always this cooperation between God and man. God fills the earth with treasures—gold, coal, wild fruits, and flowers—but it is up to us to mine them, cultivate them, and use them. He provides iron, copper, and other precious materials, but we must work them into useful tools. In every harvest, garden, and industry, there is a partnership between divine energy and human effort. God’s power works according to laws that we must study to unlock nature’s forces, whether it’s sending messages across the world, flying planes, driving cars, or crossing oceans.

This same law applies to the Church. God has given us His Word, but preachers are needed to share it. The inspired words of Scripture burn with God’s fire, but human hands must translate them into every language. Christ’s saving power is ready to heal and bless, but He uses human lives as the channels through which His power flows. Those whom God calls to serve others can rely on Him to meet all their needs (1 Corinthians 3:21-23).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, show me how I can work with You and where Your energy is at work so that I may walk and work in fellowship with You. Amen.