The Third Sunday after Pentecost
Retirement
June 29, 2025
1 Corinthians 3:5-9
Undivided Attention— On the Foundation of the Church!
5What, 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. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Over the course of the past two years there have been a number of people asking a number of questions. There have even been a few people expressing a few doubts. The genesis of all those questions, the reason for those doubts has been today—the day that I retire from full time service in the public ministry of our Lord. “Now what are we going to do?” “What is going to happen to our church?” “Will our church survive?” While all of those questions— and even the doubts!— are understandable, they are also unnecessary!
My goal today is to remind you and to assure you that neither the questions nor the doubts are necessary by reminding you and assuring you that this is not really “our” church. This is God’s church! He is the One who is the Head of the church. He is the One for whom the Church exists. He is the One through whom the church continues.
As I was contemplating what portion of Scripture I would use as my sermon text for today I wanted to make sure that I didn’t become overly sentimental. I also wanted to make sure that I didn’t wax nostalgic. Ultimately, I decided to follow the advice I have been giving to you for the last 9 ½ years. That advice is: Stay focused on the cross of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! (Pointing to the cross)
In an effort to stay within the parameters of our sermon series Undivided Attention and in an effort to leave you with an encouragement that you can take with you as you enter into this new chapter in your service to our Lord, let’s study these words of the apostle Paul under the theme: Undivided Attention— On the Foundation of the Church!
The questions found in the opening verse of our text set the tone for what I want to emphasize today. Paul writes, “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.”
One of the difficulties that the congregation in Corinth was struggling with was that there were at least three different men who had served or were serving as “pastors” of this congregation. Paul is the one who founded this congregation. He was their very first “pastor.” He was followed by Apollos and Cephas (a.k.a. Peter). Unfortunately, the members of the congregation divided into “Team Paul” or “Team Apollos” or “Team Cephas.” Then there were the members who opted out of the debate over which pastor was “better” by saying, “I follow Christ” (See 1:10ff).
Paul therefore reminds them that each of these men are/were “servants.” They were lowly humble day laborers whom God Himself had sent to them to bring them the glorious message of the Gospel and to help them grow in their faith and in their trust in what Jesus had done for them. (Pointing to the cross) Paul also reminds the Corinthains of a truth that all Christians and all Christian churches need to keep in mind when they look at pastors. That truth is found in the words, “as the Lord has assigned to each his task.” We’ll come back to that truth in just a moment.
What can we learn from just this first verse of our text? We can learn how important it is to have a proper perspective on whomever is serving us in God’s church. Look back over the course of your life. How many different pastors has God sent to serve you? Look back over the course of the time that you have been a member of this congregation. How many different pastors have you known? Even if there was a pastor that you liked “better” than the others, even if there was a pastor with whom you got along with “better” on a personal level, each and every one of those men was sent by God to “serve” you at the time and in the way that God Himself determined. And when God determined it was time for that pastor to serve in a different part of God’s Kingdom, when God determined that it was time for that pastor to serve in a different capacity in God’s Kingdom God made sure to make the changes that He knew were best for His Kingdom!
That leads us directly into the second major point that needs to be emphasized from this text. Paul writes, “…as the Lord assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.”
God placed Paul into this congregation for a very specific purpose— to “plant” the seed of the Gospel in the hearts of the people. God placed Apollos into this congregation for a very specific purpose— to “water” the “seed” that Paul had “planted.” While both Paul and Apollos undoubtedly carried out the “task” that God had given to them to the very best of their ability, neither one of these men could produce the results that God ultimately wanted. Only God has the power to make that “seed” sprout, send down roots and then produce the fruits of faith that God expected to see in the lives of His people.
It’s no different today, my friends. Each and every pastor that God has sent into your life is just as unique as each and every one of you. They each have their own gifts, talents and abilities. They each have their own personal style. They each have their own ideas as to what needs to be done. Plus, they each have their own “task” — the “task” that God wants them to carry out in His church. That’s why as members of God’s congregation you need to remember— and trust!— that God places His “servants” where He wants them when He wants them there. And again, when —from our perspective— God’s plan for that congregation changes, God makes the changes that He knows are best for His Kingdom!
We also need to note that this holds true for each and every one of you. You are here in this congregation at this time for a reason— God’s reason. God gave you certain gifts, talents and abilities that He expects you to use to “serve” Him in His Kingdom. Whoever your pastor might be, he needs you. He needs you to “serve” Him (Pointing to the cross) to the very best of your ability. He needs you to “serve” His congregation using whatever gifts, talents and abilities your God has given to you.
Paul highlights the interdependence between pastors and members by painting a picture for us in the closing verse of our text. He writes, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
Paul’s emphasis on the centrality of God reminds us that we need to give our undivided attention to the fact that God is the foundation of the church. Every pastor, every Sunday school teacher, every lay leader needs to see themself as God’s “fellow worker.” Every pastor, every Sunday school teacher, every lay leader needs to remember that they belong to Him. (Pointing to the cross) They work for Him. Their “reward” comes from Him.
At the very same time, when we give our undivided attention to the fact that He (Pointing to the cross) is the foundation of the Church that will give us the humility to recognize that this is not our church. This is indeed God’s church. Or, as Paul says in our text, this is “God’s field.” This is where we plant the “seed” of God’s holy Word. This is where we “water” the “seeds” of God’s Word. This is where we trust that God Himself will provide the growth.
Using a slightly different picture, Paul reminds us that the church is “God’s building.” In the verse immediately following our text Paul continues this picture by saying, “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else (i.e. Apollos) is building on it.” I’ve long enjoyed how the Holy Spirit has the apostle Peter expand on this picture when he writes, “As you come to him, the living Stone— rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says, ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame’” (1 Peter 2:4-6). Every day that we wake up and find that this world is still standing serves as a reminder to us that there are still more “seeds” that God wants us to “plant” in the hearts of people. Every day that we wake up and find that we are still here in this world reminds us that there are still more “living stones” that God wants us to add to the “building” of His Church.
The two years leading up to today have indeed led some people to ask questions and other people to express doubts. My prayer is that all of us will indeed stay focused on the cross of Calvary’s hill. By staying focused on the cross we will always be able to give our undivided attention to the truth that He (Pointing to the cross) is the foundation of this church!
Permit me the opportunity to say thank you. I thank you and I especially thank the Lord that for the last 9 ½ years I have had the privilege of planting the seed of God’s holy Word, watering the seed of God’s holy Word and watching as God Himself has caused the seed of His holy Word to grow in your heart and produce fruits in your life. Thank you!
To God be the glory!
Amen