God’s Coworkers

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Text:  1 Corinthians 3:9

1 Corinthians 3:9

 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

(ESV)

The NFL world was shocked this year by the elimination of the New England Patriots from the playoffs in the first round to the Tennessee Titans.  And just to prove it was not a fluke, the Titans went on to defeat the Baltimore Ravens in the next round, advancing to the AFC championship game.  The Titans are a team working together towards a common goal, which in this case is winning a Super Bowl, something the team is one game away from having a chance to do. 

As Christians, we are part of an even greater team, the team of the Body of Christ.  Instead of winning a Super Bowl, the goal of this team is bringing the Gospel message to a world that desperately needs it and making disciples (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19-20).  To accomplish this goal, Christians must establish an identity as God’s coworkers, God’s field, and God’s building. 

1)      God’s coworkers – Coworkers are people working together towards a common goal.  Paul’s reference in 1 Corinthians 3:9 to Christians being God’s fellow workers indicates that while we come from a diversity of backgrounds, Christians are to work together towards the common goal of spreading the Gospel message.  This unity in Christ, however, is not something forced upon believers through some legal mandate but something a believer does out of love.  I do not serve Christ to earn His favor but serve Christ in response to His loving grace that saves me from my sin (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 5:8).  This desire to serve must come with going in participatory faith and not spectator faith (James 2:20).  My identity as a believer in Jesus Christ creates in me a desire to live in obedience to God’s Word as a coworker in all that I do throughout the day. 

2)      God’s field – The identity of Christians as God’s field is in reference to the seed of the Holy Spirit planted by God into the life of all professing Jesus as their savior.  This deposit of the Holy Spirit places God’s seal and guarantee on our lives (2 Corinthians 1:22).  This deposit of the Holy Spirit in the life of someone indicates God’s intention to follow through on His promise of eternal life with Him, similar to an earnest deposit on a house, indicating a buyer's intention to follow through on purchasing a new home.  However, this deposit is not something sitting dormant in the life of a believer but also serves as a power source for serving as witnesses for Christ (Acts 1:8). 

3)      God’s building – When someone mentions the Church, it is common for people to picture a building.  However, the Bible describes the Church as the body of Christ comprised of many diverse people (Romans 12:5).  The reference in 1 Corinthians 3:9 to believers as God’s building is our identity as stones in the building of the Church, not a building comprised of physical stones but individual believers in Christ.  The church is comprised of living stones that work in unity to bring glory to God (1 Peter 2:5).  These living stones have power when they work together in loving unity for which is how the church shows the world they have an identity in Christ (John 13:34-35). 

A dark world needs to see the light of the Gospel lived out in victory through Christians who identify as God’s coworkers who have within them the power source of the Holy Spirit functioning in loving unity with Christ.  This is the identity the early church had when it turned its world upside down (Acts 17:6).  The church is in a battle and must march into battle as an empowered and unified force.