In the Corinthian church there was a problem.  People were following the leader they identified with instead of Jesus who they were called to follow.  Paul reminds them of the truth that it is Jesus who has done the work in their lives not Paul or Apollos or anyone else.  He tries to point them toward a more mature view of their faith and help them to be rooted in the right place. Let’s look at his words together from I Corinthians 3 together today.

For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? 5 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. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 

I remember when I was first getting involved in ministry as an intern.  I followed my mentor around constantly and wanted to learn and be like him.  He recognized this and quickly straightened me out.  He told me that my attention needed to be more rightly focused on following Jesus and not him.  It was a good and valuable lesson and one that I have held on to, to this day.  We all will have mentors in life but our true role model, our true person to follow is Jesus.  I pray that we might all follow Jesus in the way that He lived, loved, and walked through this life.  

In His Grip,
Pastor Dave