A L M A C I A S

THE GLORY BELONGS TO GOD

In I Corinthians 3:4-9, we read the following written by the apostle Paul in regard to Apollos and himself: "For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? 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. For we are labourers together with God; ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." As we study the first letter to the Corinthians, we find that the Corinthians were having many problems among themselves, one of which was that they were making themselves followers of men instead of Christ. That is why the apostle had to write this letter to them.

The Corinthians were not behaving in a spiritual manner but rather were being carnal, guilty of many works of the flesh. Paul wanted them to fully understand that he and Apollos were just men who were trying to serve God to the best of their abilities. In fact, as far as the Corinthians were concerned, Paul had preached the Gospel of Christ first in Corinth but Apollos had continued the work after Paul had to leave. If they wanted to glorify anyone, they needed to glorify God. It was God who gave the increase; it was God who through the power of His Word had helped these people become children of God. It was God who had made it possible for them to be saved from their sins; therefore, it should be God who would receive the glory, not men. Who do we glorify, God or men?