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October 24, 2022

God's Farm, God's Building (1)

1Cor 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's cultivated land [farm], God's building.

[Part 1 of 2] The church is both God's farm and God's building. We all know that the purpose of a farm is to produce food for us to eat. A building is a structure made of certain materials. Farm products seemingly are not useful for building. Nevertheless, the farm in verse 9 is for the building. Whatever is produced on the farm is for the building. In verse 9 Paul speaks first of God's farm, then of God's building. The reason for this order is that if there is no farm, there cannot be the building, because the farm produces materials for the building. All the members of the church are plants on God's farm. They have been planted by the ministers of Christ, God's fellow- workers, they have been watered by other ministers, also God's fellow-workers, and they are made to grow in life by God Himself. We become members of the church not by the way of joining a social organization, but by being planted. Paul planted the believers at Corinth into the church, which is God's farm, so that they might grow Christ. It is a very significant matter to be a plant on God's farm. There is no need on the farm for a teacher to instruct the plants. A plant does not need anyone to tell it what to do or how to grow. However, among Christians today a great deal of teaching is given to the plants. Actually, the believers are regarded not as plants, but as students, as learners. Before I came into the church life, although I learned a great deal about the Bible, I was dying for the lack of life. Instead of living like a plant, I was living like a student. I am even concerned that in some local churches there is a school instead of a farm. There may be teaching, but very little watering of the plants. We all should practice the church life in the way of farming, in the way of planting, watering, cultivating, and trimming. [Continued tomorrow] (c) Living Stream Ministry.

Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of 1 Corinthians, pp. 196-198. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].

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Life-study of 1 Corinthians