The Local Church: Its All About Teamwork!

Introduction

What a great Sunday we had last week as we celebrated Easter! I appreciate everyone who volunteered throughout the entire weekend. In fact, we are going to spend a lot of time today talking about teamwork. Last weekend was a great example of whole a local church works together as a team. Again, I appreciate all of you. Thanks for helping, for attending, and for coming together as a church.

This morning we are right back into our study of 1 Corinthians. I want to begin by reminding you that this great book is God’s Blueprint for each Local Church. The Holy Spirit wrote this letter to the local church in Corinth. It was church was a whole lot of problems. Their biggest problem was their carnality. We saw this two weeks ago in our text which was 1 Corinthians 3:1-4. However, God used their problems as an illustration to all local churches. Through their problems, God gives us the blueprint for what is right to do as a local church. They, the believer at Corinth, were getting it all wrong. Thus, they became the example of what was not right. As the Holy Spirit uses the Apostle Paul to pen this letter, He points out what is not right and then tells what is right according to His expectations.

Our job today is to learn from their mistakes. We then must work hard not to make the same mistakes. Instead, we must strive do what is right. For that reason, the study of this book, 1 Corinthians, is a must for every local church. We can only do what is right and stop doing what is not right when we know what is expected from God.

Now, two weeks, ago I did not quite finish the message. So, as introduction to today’s message and text, I want to go back to the first four verses of chapter 3. In doing so, I will give the last of that message paving a path to today’s message.

THEIR MAIN PROBLEM

Look with me at those verses, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4.

1 Corinthians 3:1–4 KJV 1900

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

You may remember from the message two weeks ago that the main problem within the local church at Corinth was carnality. Remember the Holy Spirit was not able to deal with them as “spiritual” aka spiritually growing believers. Instead, He had to deal with them as “carnal” or worldly, fleshly believers. The word “carnal” means fleshly or, as we might say, of this world. They were believers who were not growing spiritually. They were more concerned with the affairs of this world than they were of the affairs of God. Their carnality led to many problems.

Carnal believers are believes who tend to be very self-centered. Note again what the Holy Spirit says about these carnal believers in Corinth in verses 3 and 4.

1 Corinthians 3:3–4 KJV 1900

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Here the Holy Spirit gives so insight to the characteristics of a carnal believers.

First, a carnal believer, one who is self-centered instead of Christ-centered, is often filled with jealousy.

Jealousy or envy is a trait of the old sinful flesh. Galatians 5 gives us a great list of the things the flesh will manifest or openly demonstrate through actions and feelings. Listen to the list.

Galatians 5:19–21 KJV 1900

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Did you notice that “envyings” is listed? Again, these carnal believers were full of envyings. Their focus was only what they could gain for themselves. And, when someone had something whether it be material or otherwise, they wanted it. They felt they must have it. If they couldn’t get it by hook or crook, they would sulk and be jealous of the person who had it. That is how an envious or jealous person will act. By definition, envy or jealousy is greedy or prideful longing for something that belongs to another. Envy is not compatible with a life of devotion to God. In other words, a believer who is full of envy is a person who is not living a life devoted to God. They are being controlled by their flesh and are not allowing the Lord Jesus Christ to reign in their heart.

Second, a carnal believer who is self-centered and is filled with jealousy is a believer who is going to cause conflict.

You see they will do whatever it takes to get what they greedily or pridefully longing to obtain for themselves. They will say and do anything. They do not care about the feelings of others. They do not care about obeying God’s Word. They just are totally focused on what they think should be theirs. In the end, they hurt others with their biting words. They will even result to taking sinful actions to obtain what they want. When they do, they cause nothing but conflict. Look again at our text and verse 3.

1 Corinthians 3:3 KJV 1900

For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

The word “strife” literally means bitter conflict. It is conflict that if not stopped can end in violent dissension.

In fact, that is the third trait.

Carnal believers who are self-centered to the point of jealousy and are creating strife also cause division.

Many you know the phrase “birds of a feather flock together.” That is what happens. Those who are carnal rally around other carnal believers and, usually, they rally to those who support their sinful envy. This is exactly what happened in the church of Corinth. In fact, look again at verse 4 of our text.

1 Corinthians 3:4 KJV 1900

For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

If you look back at 1 Corinthians 1:11-12 you will find further proof of this.

1 Corinthians 1:11–12 KJV 1900

For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

These carnal believers were rallying around others who supported their cause. However, in order to disguise the real heart issue, they were masquerading as “spiritual” in their support of either Paul or Apollos or Cephas. Consequently, the Holy Spirit exposes them showing just how carnal and fleshly they truly had become. Their carnality had become a detriment to the unity of their church and, in turn, to the cause of Christ.

Thus, we find that the wrong thing for us to do as a church is allow carnality to infiltrate our church. Each of us as individual believers have a responsibility.

James 1:27 KJV 1900

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

The last part of that verse is strong reminder that our responsibility is to grow spiritually so that we might “keep” ourselves “unspotted from the world.” That is why 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is such important passage of Scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 KJV 1900

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

We must be in God’s Word daily reading, studying, and applying all that God’s Word says. And, if we as individual believers be committed to doing such, we as a local church will avoid carnality. So the responsibility falls on each of us.

Now, we come to today’s text.

Look at verses 5-8.

1 Corinthians 3:5–8 KJV 1900

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

Here we find the Holy Spirit bringing us back to what is right. It is not right to be carnal. A local church filled with carnal believers is local church doing nothing for the Lord and usually is hurting the cause of Christ. That is not what pleases God. Yet, here the Holy Spirit shows us something very important.

THE LOCAL CHURCH IS A GROUP OF SPIRITUAL BELIEVERS WORKING AS A TEAM!

Teamwork is important.

ILLUSTRATION: Most of you know that I coach baseball. In fact, our team, the Timberlake Christian Tornadoes, have our first game this season next Thursday evening. It should be interesting.

As you all may already know, baseball is very much a team sport. There are nine guys who play together working to stop the other team from scoring runs while working together to score runs as a team. After 7 innings of baseball (High School level only plays 7), the team with the most runs scored wins. What is interesting about baseball and other team sports, is that each team is made of individual players who are responsible for different roles within the team. For instance, on a baseball team you have on defense a pitcher, a catcher, a first baseman, a second baseman, a third baseman, a shortstop, and 3 outfielders in left, center, and right field. Each player is responsible for his particular role. Yet, each player must also learn to play as a team. In a typical scenario, the pitcher throws the pitches working to strike out the batters. In a sense, he is on a island by himself. Only he can throw the pitches. No one else is responsible for that position at that moment. However, he must work with the catcher. The catcher and the pitcher communicate through a series of signs the type of pitch the pitcher will throw as well as the location of the pitch (inside, outside, up, down). It is imperative they work together. In fact, communication and teamwork is a must for everyone on the field. When they do, they have much greater chance at winning.

As I was thinking and praying about the message this week, I realized how God wants each local church to work as a team. In fact, note again our text and look carefully at what it says.

1 Corinthians 3:5–8 KJV 1900

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

Note that Paul had his role. He was the one who planted. Apollos had his role. He was the one who watered. Yet, God was the one who gave the increase. Verse 8 is the key.

1 Corinthians 3:8 KJV 1900

Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

Note the planter and the waterer are one. In others word, they are a team. Each has his/her individual responsibility, but yet each are working together for the cause of Christ. In fact, the whole idea is that we are working together as a team in conjunction with God. He is on our team. He is the FORCE behind all that we do. He is the POWER, the MOTIVATION, and the FINISHER. Thus, we are working together with God as believers in a local church as a team advancing God’s kingdom. We are TEAMMATES with God and with other believers!

2 VITALLY IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW AS GOD’S TEAMMATE!

As I teach baseball, I often use nifty little sayings to help the guys remember the basics. In playmaking, I stress “Play the ball then make the play!” I say this a lot in practice. I am reminding them to do what is important first. What is the most important thing in making a baseball play? It is the baseball. You have to secure the ball before you can make the play. Once the ball is secured, then you can focus on making the play.

Within the teamwork of the local church, we must be constantly reminded as well. In our text, the Holy Spirit doing just that. He is reminding us of three very important things.

PLAY the BALL!

First, as teammates with God, we must remember we are “ministers” of Christ.

The word “minister” means a person working in the service of another. You see a spiritual believer is one who realizes that his/her service is NOT for themselves, but for Christ. Our main responsibility is to do what He has called us to do. It is not about us. It is not about what we desire. It should always be about what God wants or desires for us to do. We are to execute His plan for our lives. We are NOT to carry out our own plans. Christ was the perfect example of this. He constantly talked about doing nothing but the will of His Father. John 5:30 is one of many examples of His desire to do the Father’s will.

John 5:30 KJV 1900

I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

In the same way, we as believers are ministers. We are in the service of the Christ the King. He is our Master. We must then seek each and every day to do what He calls us to do. How do I do this?

I start each day with the prayer of Psalm 143:10 which says...

Psalm 143:10 KJV 1900

Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

I then make a determination that I will serve Him that day with my whole heart.

Ephesians 6:6 KJV 1900

Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

As you do this, then you are learning to “play the ball.” You are learning to make Christ the King of your heart, and not your own. The more you do this, the more the Holy Spirit is able to help you overcome your own carnal desires.

MAKE THE PLAY

Second, as teammates with God, we must DO whatever RESPONSIBILITY God gives us.

Look again at our text.

1 Corinthians 3:5–8 KJV 1900

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.

The Holy Spirit placed a great emphasis on Paul as a planter and Apollos as one who watered. Both planting and watering are needful. Someone must plant the seed of God’s Word in the hearts of men and women. God has given Paul that responsibility. Paul’s focus then was just that. He was a great missionary who traveled from town to town sharing the good news of Christ to as many as would listen. Apollos watered. He often would come to some of the towns from which Paul had departed adding water to the seed already planted. We know that Apollos was a dynamic speaker who knew God’s Word.

Acts 18:24 KJV 1900

And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.

Both men had talents given to them by God. Both men had learned to play the ball. Both men were focused on serving the Lord as His ministers. And, without doubt, God used both men mightily. They each had their job to do. And each had learned to do it. In other word, they were playing the ball and making the play for the Lord. As they did, God was blessing and God’s kingdom was expanding. Local churches were being establish. People were being saved. Why? These men were focused on knowing and making known the Christ of Calvary. A lesson that the believers at Corinth were still learning.

You see the local church is a wonderful institution established by Christ Himself. It is a local team of true believers that God has brought together to work with Him in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus, it is our responsibility to know and obey His Word. Each of us have an obligation individually to know, love, and follow the Lord personally. In doing so, God gives each of us a job to do. We must be focused on doing that job. However, He also has brought us together as team so that we can be even more effective. Truly, a local church that is working as team in their love and service for the Lord is something that not even the gates of Hell can prevail against. However, if we allow carnality into our lives it will gain a foothold in our church. Along with that carnal spirit will come bitter strife and destructive divisions. Thus, it is imperative that we all seek to make Christ the center of lives, our homes, and our church. We must unified in our service to Him seeking to honor and glory Him. Him alone.

Conclusion