1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are laborers together with God: you are God's husbandry, you are God's building. As such — I. HE IS THOROUGHLY ACQUAINTED WITH THE SOIL. He knows — 1. Its original state; the soul with all its pristine powers. 2. Its present condition; its barren and wilderness state — stony, weedy, and thorny. 3. Its tillable capabilities — what can be made of it. Some can become the majestic cedar, whilst others only the shrub. II. HE HAS ALL NECESSARY INSTRUMENTALITIES. This stony, weedy ground requires certain well-contrived implements to work it into a fruitful condition. There must be the ploughshare, the pruning-hook, &c. He has them. 1. In the events of life. All the dark and painful circumstances in life are His implements to break up the fallow ground. All the pleasant and propitious are instruments for mellowing the soil. 2. In the revelations of truth. There is law and love, Sinai and Calvary. III. HE POSSESSES THE PROPER SEED. His Word is seed in many respects. 1. Vitality. Every seed has life in it. His Word is spirit and life. 2. Completeness. The seed is complete in itself. Nothing can be taken from it, nothing can be added to it, any alteration injures it. 3. Prolificness. One seed in course of time may cover a continent and feed nations. The word of God is wonderfully fruitful. IV. HE COMMANDS THE CULTURING ELEMENTS. The best agriculturists who understand the soil possess the best implements and the best seed, are thwarted in their efforts, because the elements are not propitious. God has command over the elements. The heat, the cold, the dew, the shower, the sunshine, and the air, are all at His disposal. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.WEB: For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's farming, God's building. |
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