THE CHURCH AS GOD'S TOOL

Introduction

-{1 Corinthians 3}

-Having started to mow our new lawn, I found it to be significantly larger than our old lawn and it has a much bigger incline and decline. And I barely would cut half of it and it’d wear me out. So, to get me some help, I got a new toy this past week—a riding lawn mower. (And to answer the first question that popped into all the guy’s minds—no it isn’t a zero turn, sorry to disappoint.) But I have to admit that when it got delivered to the house, I felt like a kid at Christmas.

-What’s significant about the lawn mower is that it is the right tool for the job that needed to be done. You need the right tools—you don’t hammer nails with a screwdriver or cut down a tree with a measuring tape. Different jobs need different tools. Now, let me ask you this—what tools does God use for His Kingdom work?

-There is one tool that God uses to spread His gospel and glory throughout the world, and that tool is the church. God doesn’t use angels to share the truth of Christ. He doesn’t post on social media. He doesn’t run ads. He doesn’t rent billboard signs. God uses the church to make Jesus known, call people to faith, disciple the believer, and minister in His name. The church is God’s tool.

-And so if a church is going to be healthy, it will be one that is open to being used by God to build, grow, and multiply for the increase of His Kingdom. The local church must be willing to be used by God to grow the universal church.

-And that is what we want to be here at Harvest Baptist Church—a willing tool in the hands of the Creator to make Him known throughout the world as He sees fit. I bring this message in anticipation for next week where I will share some of the vision in the morning service where I believe God is leading us, and then in the evening we are going to have a special prayer service to pray for God’s direction, blessing, and provision for our church so that we can be a useful tool in His hands.

-I want us to leave here today with the desire for us to find our part in God’s mission to grow His kingdom, and see the universal church expand the gospel’s influence.

1 Corinthians 3:5–11 LSB

5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

-{pray}

-To give you a little bit of context to what is going on here, Paul had planted the Corinthian church in his second missionary journey, and it didn’t take long for several problems to creep into the life of this congregation. I mean, if you thought that your church might have problems, all you’d have to do to make yourself feel better is say: WELL, AT LEAST WE’RE NOT FIRST BAPTIST CORINTH.

-One of the issues that they had was that there were splinter groups, factions, cults of personality found within the church. One group said that they were Paul people. Another group said that they were Peter people. Another group said they’re Apollos people. This caused quarrels, strife, jealousy, and host of other problems in the life of the church. And Paul tells them that he has to treat them like spiritual babies because all this infighting just proves that they’re not mature.

-So, to confront this, Paul tries to give them some perspective of what the life and work of a church ought to look like. And what he describes is how a church can be the most useful tool in the hands of God for great Kingdom work. And for us, I want this to be in the back of our minds as we as a church explore what our part can be—what could God do with a Harvest Baptist Church that is a willing tool? So, there are four parts to the picture that Paul gives to the Corinthian church that I just want us to also consider as a church. First, I want us to look at:

1) Our role according to our gifting (vv. 5-6)

-Paul begins by giving the church a proper perspective on the people of the church. The church seemingly spent so much time exalting their favorite teacher or preacher instead of focusing on the One to whom those preachers and teachers pointed. They placed an exaggerated importance on the people instead of the message and the ministry. So, Paul says that these people that they seem to so highly esteem are merely fellow humans who fulfilled a role that God had given them according to the way that God had gifted them. God gave these people a certain role for the ministry of the church, and God gifted them to fulfill that role for the good of the church in fulfilling its Kingdom work.

-So, Paul asks the question—what is Apollos and what is Paul? He doesn’t even ask who—he asks what. These men were merely the means to the end of the good of the church. Or, as Paul put it, they were merely servants that God used so that the Corinthian church believed. The Corinthian church came into existence, grew, and was used by God because these men fulfilled their role according to how God had gifted them.

-Paul emphasized that the ministry of these servants was according to how the Lord gave to each one. Each person had a purpose, each person was gifted for that purpose, and that’s all they did—these men merely fulfilled their God-given purpose. In this particular situation, Paul was the one who planted. That was Paul’s thing. He was called to go to places where there weren’t churches yet, share the gospel, and plant a church. He shared this desire when he said:

Romans 15:20 LSB

20 And in this way I make it my ambition to proclaim the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation;

-Paul was given the role of apostle to the Gentiles, evangelizing and planting churches where there was not yet faith in Jesus Christ. That is what God had given him to do. But Apollos was given a different role that entailed a different gifting. Paul says that Apollos watered. Apollos was a teacher—he didn’t go to new places to evangelize and plant churches. Apollos went to already established churches to disciple them and help them grow in the faith.

-Neither role was any more or less significant than the other. Both were needed for the church to fulfill its part as a whole—to be a tool. So, within the church, the people have their roles and gifting so the church as a group can be a tool in the hands of God. Paul planted, Apollos watered, and others played their part.

-And that’s what a church needs—people willing to fulfill their role according to how God has gifted them so that the church as an entity can be used by God for Kingdom work. The people within the church do their thing so the church as a whole can do its thing so that the gospel then goes forth and the universal church expands. So, elsewhere Paul talks about the various ways that God gifts people: teaching, administration, helps, mercy, giving, etc. These are needed for the local church to function so that the church then builds the Kingdom.

Imagine a symphony orchestra where each musician only plays when they feel like it (if they feel like it at all)—chaos would ensue. However, when each musician plays their instrument according to their gift and at the right time, beautiful music arises. Similarly, God calls us to fulfill our unique roles in the church so that we can work together, creating harmony that moves the church toward great gospel work.

-But that means we each have to fulfill our roles within the church. Are you fulfilling your role as God has gifted you? But then we see a second part to the picture:

2) God’s sovereignty for God’s glory (v. 7)

-The Corinthians Church has been making a big deal about these big personalities. They were singing the praises of Paul and Peter and Apollos and others. But, as pointed out, these are merely servants fulfilling a role. In the grand scheme of things, they are not what is important. What is important is the One who uses them and for whom they are used.

-Yes, the servants may do their work, but they aren’t the ones that bring about the result. Yes, Paul planted. Yes, Apollos watered. But they didn’t cause the church to become what it had become. Paul makes it clear at the end of v. 6 that it was God who caused the growth. God used His servants to bring about the growth.

-So, in v. 7, Paul says that the one who plants or the one who waters aren’t anything. They are individual tools to fulfill a role. But they are nothing. If they fulfill their role correctly, they aren’t calling any attention to themselves. It is the One who brings it all together that gets all the attention—God causes the growth.

-Think about this. I have a big project that I’m working on at home putting something together. I need a hammer to nail some things in. I need a screwdriver to drive in some screws. I need a level to make sure everything stays straight. I use a drill to drill some holes. And I use a good portion of my toolbox to finish this project. Once the project is done, and people pause to admire the finished product, how many of those onlookers will exclaim: MAN, THAT HAMMER SURE DID SOMETHING SPECIAL WITH THOSE NAILS. LOOK AT HOW NICE THOSE HOLES ARE THAT THE DRILL MADE.

~No, when people look at the beauty of the finished project, they praise the one who used the tools to build it. When something is built, the tools merely did what they were made to do, but it was the architect or the builder that is recognized for having made something beautiful and/or useful.

-So, if you fulfill your role according to your gifting, that doesn’t mean that you then receive the praise. You fulfill your role. But it is God who fulfills that role through you to make something beautiful out of the church that will fulfill His Kingdom work. God sovereignly uses His people so that God is the One who gets the praise.

-That means that if you don’t get the recognition that you think that you deserve, you get over it because it’s not about you. Paul is the one who said that the one who plants and the one who waters isn’t anything—that coming from the guy who planted. He says that he is nothing, but God is everything. And that means each of us need to have the attitude—I am nothing. And if I do anything useful or good, I didn’t do it, but God did it through me, so He is the one that should get the recognition.

-In the context of the passage, its’s as if Paul is saying: Corinthian church, why are you trying to follow and pit against one another these men who were merely used by God to fulfill roles? These men did nothing and they are nothing. They don’t matter. They’re just tools. But God is everything because He can take those tools and do something amazing with them. And then there is a third part to this picture, that there is:

3) One people toward one purpose (vv. 8-9)

-Paul wanted to emphasize that just because there is a variety of roles and gifts doesn’t mean that each person is on a different path trying to accomplish different things. He says in v. 8 that he who plants and he who waters are one—they are united toward the one purpose of God kingdom work.

-Just because the local church is made up of different people with different roles doesn’t mean that the purpose is different. The one with the gift of teaching and the one with the gift of service might do different things in different ways, but they are all working toward the same thing—they are one. As Paul uses elsewhere the picture of the human body—it has many parts but is one body. Or maybe think of a puzzle—each piece has a different shape and goes in a different place, but it makes one picture.

-Now, Paul does point out in v. 8 that each person will receive their own reward for their own labor. In eternity we will receive rewards. Not overly sure what those rewards are going to be. But each person will receive a reward that is dependent upon how faithful they were fulfilling the roles given to them by God, using the gifting which they received. As a principle given elsewhere in Scripture, those who are faithful in much will be given much. Those who are unfaithful will be given little. But that is really the only separation among people within the church.

-As far as the use of our gifts according to our calling, we are all working toward the same thing. Again, to use the tools metaphor, the different tools are being used for the same project to build the same thing. Sure, the hammer does something different from the screwdriver which does something different from the level—but they are united toward the purpose of building that one thing (whatever that one thing may be).

-It’d be ridiculous for the hammer to say that he wants to build a coffee table, the screwdriver says he wants to put up shelving, and the wrench saying he wants to fix the plumbing, all the while that the carpenter using the tools wants to build a gazebo. Everybody needs to be on the same page working toward the same thing.

-We, as a church, can’t all decide to do our own thing and go our own way, or have different groups trying to pull the church in different directions. Yes, there are different roles and different functions and different ministries, but they are all working toward the same something. Everyone can’t just want to do their own thing.

-To use a picture of the symphony again, you can’t have your violins playing Beethoven, your trumpets playing Mozart, your oboes playing Brahms, and your percussion playing Tchaikovsky. That wouldn’t be beautiful music—that’d be a lot of noise.

-So it is with the church—they are united in purpose, and it is God’s purpose, not what we think our purpose should be. And then there is a fourth/final part to this picture, which is:

4) A solid foundation on an eternal Savior (vv. 10-11)

-I’m not the only person that mixes and matches his metaphors. Paul sometimes jumps around with his metaphors as well to make his point. He had been using agricultural concepts of planting and watering, and in v. 9 he tells the church that they are God’s field. God is the one who owns the field, cultivates the field, and makes the field grow. Sure, Paul and Apollos are some of His tools, but God does the work.

-Well, right after that Paul says that the church is God’s building. Paul jumps into another metaphor—architecture. He makes the same point about different roles saying he built the foundation and another built on that foundation—that is just another way to picture the planting and watering.

-But Paul makes the distinct point that for a building if you have the wrong foundation or if you build upon the foundation wrongly the building will not stand. A church will not stand if the foundation is wrong or it is not built upon correctly.

-This is true in the real world of architecture. We can’t help but think of the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers Condominium in Florida in 2021 that resulted in the loss of 98 lives. There were continuous signs that there was problems with the foundation, but those signs were ignored, so the building could not stand.

-This is also true for a church. Yes, we might be united in fulfilling our roles, but if we are not building on the right foundation, nothing that we do will last. And Paul makes it very clear who or what the correct foundation is—and that is Jesus Christ. Everything must be built upon the person and work and doctrine of Christ. As the song says, all other ground is sinking sand.

-You would think for a church that would kind of be a given, but in our day and age it actually isn’t. There are churches whose foundation is social justice. There are churches whose foundation is worldly success and happiness. There are churches who may seem to be solid or conservative or even biblical, and yet they are more concerned about numbers such that they will water down everything in order to pack the pews. These are foundations that will crumble under the weight. They cannot last and they will not sustain a healthy church.

-Elsewhere Jesus is called the chief cornerstone—He is the one that keeps the whole structure standing. But how do we build on that foundation? The only way to build on His foundation is through the Bible. The Bible alone is the sufficient for building. We could say that it is the blueprints. Not cheap gimmicks, not pageantry, not showmanship. Have the right foundation and build on it correctly.

-I guess a few weeks ago Pastor Ed Young, who has a megachurch in Dallas, was riding a roller coaster on the stage of a church for a service. I haven’t the foggiest idea who his point was, but to me it was showmanship to draw a crowd. I had several people joking around asking me if I was going to ride a roller coaster one Sunday morning. Nope. Not going to happen. One, I don’t like roller coasters. And two, that is not the foundation I want this church to be established on.

-I don’t know what people say about Harvest Baptist Church. But if I could choose what they say, all I want them to say is that Harvest Baptist Church is faithful to Jesus Christ. And this whole vision thing next week is really all it’s about—what can we do in the future to be faithful to the call placed on us by Jesus Christ. But the church as a whole must be a ready tool, and that means that we have to be ready to fulfill our roles, united in that purpose.

Conclusion

-So, I know my tool metaphor has been all over the place, but maybe we can picture the church as one of them multi-tools. It’s one tool that contains many tools. It’s got a bottle opener. It’s got some scissors. It has screwdriver heads. It’s got a nail file. All sorts of things. But it fits in one hand to be used.

-Harvest Baptist Church is a tool in God’s hands. And each of us in the church has our role according to our gifting. And the tool which is the church is only as good as the one’s fulfilling their role within the church. Are you ready for God to sovereignly use us to advance His kingdom, to grow the church universal?

-Christian, come to the altar and pray that God gives you a willing heart to fulfill your role according to your gifting and that our church will be a useful tool.

-And I hope you plan on being here next week morning and evening...

-But maybe you don’t have a role to fulfill yet because you are not part of the body of Christ—you have never believed in Jesus. He died for you and rose for you...