Outline Only God Can Give the Increase

Text: 1 Corinthians 3:4-9

Introduction:

The church of Corinth had division among its people. Groups were forming based upon the identities of leadership.  Paul wanted the church to know they were required to work together in the harvest.  God uses leadership, not to divide but to multiply.

1. The Different Gardeners (v4-5)

A. Consider their Tasks– “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?”

B. Consider their Teamwork- “I have planted, Apollos watered;”

2. The Divine Growth (v6-7)

A. The Instruments of God- “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth”

B. The Increase of God- “but God that giveth the increase”

3. The Distinct Gathering (v8-9)

A. The Harmony of the Laborers- “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one:”

B. The Harvest of the Lord- “and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor”

Conclusion:

Cultivation is relatively simple work.  As laborers we can cultivate the soil, we can plant the seed, and we can water the seed.  But the miracle of life, along with the multiplication of harvest, is only brought to fruition by the work of God.