Notes from Linda:
12/1/22: I just found out that most of the commentaries on the Bible Study Tools website are no longer free. That's where most of the quotes that appear on the "Verse of the Day" and "Previous Verses" pages of my website are taken from, so from now on, many of the "Source:" links that I provide on those pages will not contain the quoted text.I was disgusted to read about the organization's new "PLUS" membership, and the only thing I can say about it is that the Bible has this warning in 1 Timothy 6:10 for the owner of Bible Study Tools: "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
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8/8/21: Something is wrong with my Christian forum. Everything seems to be working normally (i.e., the articles are there, and the links work), but for some reason, the forum's format has changed slightly, and I am currently unable to post anything new.
I'm really sorry for the inconvenience. Hopefully, the problem is only temporay and will be fixed soon.
"Verse of the Day"
Bible Verses
Bible Verses
"Verse of the Day"
Bible Verses
Bible Verses
Current Month
November 2025
NOVEMBER 1-3
1 Corinthians 3:5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Many people who hear the gospel will not get saved, so regarding evangelism (soul winning, witnessing), it's important to remember that God rewards our efforts, not the results (see Note 1 below).
In a letter to the Corinthian church, regarding divisions in that church, the apostle Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 3:5: "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos [see Note 2 below], but [aren't they both] ministers [i.e., servants of God, not heads (or leaders) of different parties (or groups) within the Christian church] by whom ye [you] believed [the gospel], even as the Lord gave [talents and abilities and other spiritual gifts--see Note 3 below] to every man [and woman and child]?"
1 Corinthians 3:6: "I [Paul] have planted [(sowed) the seed of the gospel, meaning Paul had preached the gospel and established the Christian church in Corinth], Apollos watered [that seed, which means that he had continued Paul's work of preaching and teaching]; but God gave the increase [in other words, God gave life to the church and made it grow]."
1 Corinthians 3:7: "So then neither is he [the minister] that planteth [plants] [the seed of the gospel] any thing [worth mentioning, meaning he is not more important than other ministers], neither [is] he [the minister] that watereth [waters] [the seed of the gospel] [anything worth mentioning, meaning he is not more important than other ministers]; but God that giveth [gives] the increase [by saving souls and growing the Christian church] [is greater and more important than those who plant and water the seed (i.e., the people who preach and teach the word of God)]."
1 Corinthians 3:8: "Now he [the minister] that planteth [the seed of the gospel] and he [the minister] that watereth [the seed] are one [meaning they are united in doing one part of building up the church; God does the other part]: and every man [every minister--see Note 4 below] shall receive his own reward [from God] according to his own labour [referring to what he (the minister) has done for the sake of the gospel]."
1 Corinthians 3:9: "For we [ministers] are labourers together with God: ye [you--in this case, born-again members of the Corinthian church] are God's husbandry [an agricultural metaphor comparing the church at Corinth to a cultivated field (i.e., land that has been prepared by God to raise crops, or be fruitful)], [and] ye are God's building [an architectural metaphor indicating that God was the builder of the Corinthian church]."
Here are two articles on the subject of evangelism:
-- "What is personal evangelism?"
(https://www.gotquestions.org/personal-evangelism.html)
-- "How can I gain a passion for winning souls?"
(https://www.gotquestions.org/winning-souls.html)
"Who was Apollos?" is answered in the GotQuestions.org article by the same name. To read it, click here: https://www.gotquestions.org/who-Apollos.html.
"Here are some articles about spiritual gifts:
-- "Is there a biblical spiritual gifts list?"
(https://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-gifts-list.html)
-- "Spiritual gifts survey - what are the different spiritual gifts the Bible mentions?"
(https://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-gifts-survey.html)
According to Albert Barnes:
"And every man - The argument of the apostle [Paul] here [in 1 Corinthians 3:8] has reference only to ministers; but it is equally true of all people, that they shall receive their proper reward."
(Source: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/1-corinthians-3.html, "Verse 8")
____________________
In light of the above statement by Mr. Barnes, I have rewritten my comments on the second half of verse 8 to include all people:
1 Corinthians 3:8: "… and every man [and woman and child] shall receive his [or her] own reward [on judgment day] according to his [or her] own labour [referring to the rewards that Christians will receive in heaven at the judgment seat of Christ for what they did on earth for God]."
"So while we must properly appreciate what ministers do, if they do it humbly and faithfully, we must remember, and they [the ministers] must remember, that they are merely earthly vessels [containers]. Sometimes their work will prosper [be successful], and sometimes it will seem to languish [grow weak and feeble] (although the seed grows secretly). It will all depend on God's activity, without which their work is useless. And sometimes work will seem to prosper which is earthly work and not heavenly work at all. But anything worthwhile that comes out of it will be God's work, not theirs. It will be accomplished through the word of the cross, not through the word of men."
(Source: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/pet/1-corinthians-3.html, "Verse 7")
"… So Paul will receive his reward for planting. Apollos will receive his reward for watering. And that is the beautiful thing about serving the Lord, He does reward us for that work that we do, not for the results of the work, because the results belong to Him.
"So [as a preacher, says Pastor Smith,] I'm on a salary, I'm not commissioned at all. I'm not paid with a commission. I'm only salaried [meaning he receives a salary, or is paid] by the Lord to teach His Word; whatever comes of it is His [i.e., God's] and it's for His glory.
"I [referring to Pastor Smith] cannot produce fruit in your life. All I can do is teach you the Word of God, water really. And maybe someone else has planted the seed, but here we are watering, cultivating, in some cases planting, great. But it's the work of God that counts. It's God who brings life and gives life to the Word [of God--the Bible], and thus, I just receive the reward for that which I have done, and I receive the reward whether or not anything comes of it, because I've been faithful to do what God called me to do.
"And that's the thing that we need to really realize: that God rewards us for the work that He's called us to do, not for the results of that work. Sometimes we feel so discouraged, because [as we might say], 'I've witnessed to so many people, then none ever believe, you know. I haven't been able to lead one person to Jesus Christ and I've talked to so many.' Hey, it doesn't matter. As far as your reward is concerned, God only asked you to talk to them.
"God didn't commission us to argue people into a faith in Jesus Christ, to get into disputes [disagreements, arguments, debates] with people over the inerrancy [trustworthiness, infallibility] of the Bible or whatever. I find it rather pathetic [pitiful, sad] that we so often are placed in the position of defending the Word of God. God didn't call you to defend His Word. God called you to use His Word.
"If you were in a duel [a fight with a deadly weapon] and you pulled your sword out of the sheath [its protective covering], you wouldn't say, 'Now, you be careful, this sword is the sharpest sword in the world' … You're not going to defend your sword, you're going to use it. Don't defend the Word of God, just use it. The Lord will do the work."
(Source: https://www.studylight.org/commentary/1-corinthians/3-5.html, "Smith's Bible Commentary")
1 Corinthians 3:5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Many people who hear the gospel will not get saved, so regarding evangelism (soul winning, witnessing), it's important to remember that God rewards our efforts, not the results (see Note 1 below).
In a letter to the Corinthian church, regarding divisions in that church, the apostle Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 3:5: "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos [see Note 2 below], but [aren't they both] ministers [i.e., servants of God, not heads (or leaders) of different parties (or groups) within the Christian church] by whom ye [you] believed [the gospel], even as the Lord gave [talents and abilities and other spiritual gifts--see Note 3 below] to every man [and woman and child]?"
1 Corinthians 3:6: "I [Paul] have planted [(sowed) the seed of the gospel, meaning Paul had preached the gospel and established the Christian church in Corinth], Apollos watered [that seed, which means that he had continued Paul's work of preaching and teaching]; but God gave the increase [in other words, God gave life to the church and made it grow]."
1 Corinthians 3:7: "So then neither is he [the minister] that planteth [plants] [the seed of the gospel] any thing [worth mentioning, meaning he is not more important than other ministers], neither [is] he [the minister] that watereth [waters] [the seed of the gospel] [anything worth mentioning, meaning he is not more important than other ministers]; but God that giveth [gives] the increase [by saving souls and growing the Christian church] [is greater and more important than those who plant and water the seed (i.e., the people who preach and teach the word of God)]."
1 Corinthians 3:8: "Now he [the minister] that planteth [the seed of the gospel] and he [the minister] that watereth [the seed] are one [meaning they are united in doing one part of building up the church; God does the other part]: and every man [every minister--see Note 4 below] shall receive his own reward [from God] according to his own labour [referring to what he (the minister) has done for the sake of the gospel]."
1 Corinthians 3:9: "For we [ministers] are labourers together with God: ye [you--in this case, born-again members of the Corinthian church] are God's husbandry [an agricultural metaphor comparing the church at Corinth to a cultivated field (i.e., land that has been prepared by God to raise crops, or be fruitful)], [and] ye are God's building [an architectural metaphor indicating that God was the builder of the Corinthian church]."
_______________
NOTE 1:Here are two articles on the subject of evangelism:
-- "What is personal evangelism?"
(https://www.gotquestions.org/personal-evangelism.html)
-- "How can I gain a passion for winning souls?"
(https://www.gotquestions.org/winning-souls.html)
* * * * *
NOTE 2:"Who was Apollos?" is answered in the GotQuestions.org article by the same name. To read it, click here: https://www.gotquestions.org/who-Apollos.html.
* * * * *
NOTE 3:"Here are some articles about spiritual gifts:
-- "Is there a biblical spiritual gifts list?"
(https://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-gifts-list.html)
-- "Spiritual gifts survey - what are the different spiritual gifts the Bible mentions?"
(https://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-gifts-survey.html)
* * * * *
NOTE 4:According to Albert Barnes:
"And every man - The argument of the apostle [Paul] here [in 1 Corinthians 3:8] has reference only to ministers; but it is equally true of all people, that they shall receive their proper reward."
(Source: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/1-corinthians-3.html, "Verse 8")
____________________
In light of the above statement by Mr. Barnes, I have rewritten my comments on the second half of verse 8 to include all people:
1 Corinthians 3:8: "… and every man [and woman and child] shall receive his [or her] own reward [on judgment day] according to his [or her] own labour [referring to the rewards that Christians will receive in heaven at the judgment seat of Christ for what they did on earth for God]."
* * * * *
Regarding Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 3:7 that "neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase," Peter Pett wrote:"So while we must properly appreciate what ministers do, if they do it humbly and faithfully, we must remember, and they [the ministers] must remember, that they are merely earthly vessels [containers]. Sometimes their work will prosper [be successful], and sometimes it will seem to languish [grow weak and feeble] (although the seed grows secretly). It will all depend on God's activity, without which their work is useless. And sometimes work will seem to prosper which is earthly work and not heavenly work at all. But anything worthwhile that comes out of it will be God's work, not theirs. It will be accomplished through the word of the cross, not through the word of men."
(Source: https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/pet/1-corinthians-3.html, "Verse 7")
* * * * *
Commenting on the rewards mentioned in 1 Corinthians 3:8 for serving the Lord (including preaching, teaching, witnessing, and soul winning), Pastor Chuck Smith said:"… So Paul will receive his reward for planting. Apollos will receive his reward for watering. And that is the beautiful thing about serving the Lord, He does reward us for that work that we do, not for the results of the work, because the results belong to Him.
"So [as a preacher, says Pastor Smith,] I'm on a salary, I'm not commissioned at all. I'm not paid with a commission. I'm only salaried [meaning he receives a salary, or is paid] by the Lord to teach His Word; whatever comes of it is His [i.e., God's] and it's for His glory.
"I [referring to Pastor Smith] cannot produce fruit in your life. All I can do is teach you the Word of God, water really. And maybe someone else has planted the seed, but here we are watering, cultivating, in some cases planting, great. But it's the work of God that counts. It's God who brings life and gives life to the Word [of God--the Bible], and thus, I just receive the reward for that which I have done, and I receive the reward whether or not anything comes of it, because I've been faithful to do what God called me to do.
"And that's the thing that we need to really realize: that God rewards us for the work that He's called us to do, not for the results of that work. Sometimes we feel so discouraged, because [as we might say], 'I've witnessed to so many people, then none ever believe, you know. I haven't been able to lead one person to Jesus Christ and I've talked to so many.' Hey, it doesn't matter. As far as your reward is concerned, God only asked you to talk to them.
"God didn't commission us to argue people into a faith in Jesus Christ, to get into disputes [disagreements, arguments, debates] with people over the inerrancy [trustworthiness, infallibility] of the Bible or whatever. I find it rather pathetic [pitiful, sad] that we so often are placed in the position of defending the Word of God. God didn't call you to defend His Word. God called you to use His Word.
"If you were in a duel [a fight with a deadly weapon] and you pulled your sword out of the sheath [its protective covering], you wouldn't say, 'Now, you be careful, this sword is the sharpest sword in the world' … You're not going to defend your sword, you're going to use it. Don't defend the Word of God, just use it. The Lord will do the work."
(Source: https://www.studylight.org/commentary/1-corinthians/3-5.html, "Smith's Bible Commentary")
