Let's Work Together For God

by Dr. Don Sisk

Paul’s Guidance - In the third chapter of First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul rebuked the Corinthian Christians for choosing sides and following personalities rather than working together and giving glory to God. In verse 3 he said very plainly, “For ye are yet carnal . . .” and then he gave the characteristics of carnality when he said, “ . . . there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions.” Some of the people had decided to make Paul their leader; others had decided to follow Apollos. Paul responded by saying in verse 6, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” He then gives his evaluation as to what he and Apollos were when he said in verse 7, “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”

Cooperation is Essential - In this particular passage in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is obviously emphasizing the preeminence of God and the fact that man is totally dependent on Him. He is also emphasizing the necessity of cooperation. When I think of the great task of worldwide evangelization, I am constantly reminded that in order to do that which God has commanded us to do, there must be cooperation among many people.

The Importance of the Family - Recently, as I viewed a missionary presentation by a young couple, I was tremendously impressed with the number of people who were cooperating in order to get this couple to the mission field. The missionary was the son of a mission family. The wife was the daughter of a staff member of a good, independent Baptist church. I was immediately made aware of the importance of the family in developing future missionaries.

The Importance of the Church - Both of these young people had been reared in good, Bible-believing churches. I could not help but think of the many people that had participated in their training: Sunday School teachers, youth leaders, godly pastors who had kept missions before them, and many others in the church who had counseled and prayed for them. Again, the influence of the church that would lead young people to give their lives in missionary service cannot be overly emphasized.

The Importance of the Bible College - Both of these young people had been trained in a good, Bible-believing, fundamental Baptist Bible college. They had heard missionaries in chapel on a regular basis. Their teachers were concerned about souls, not only in the United States of America, but also around the world. They were obviously well trained for the task to which God had called them. Training institutions are very important if we are to get the gospel out to every person in our generation.

The Importance of the Mission Organization - This young couple had chosen to be affiliated with a good, independent Baptist mission organization. It was very obvious, not only by their slide presentation but, by their demeanor in the church, that they were well adjusted, happy and working with many people who had been instrumental in their lives to that point. They were obviously grateful for their parents, their pastor, their church, their Bible college and their mission organization.

The Importance of No Divisions - In I Corinthians 3:9, Paul, after rebuking the Corinthian Christians for divisions, made this great statement, “For we are labourers together with God . . . .” Our former president Ronald Reagan kept on his desk a little plaque that read, “There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

The Importance of the Command - There are six billion people on the face of the earth. God has commanded His church to “Go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” It really does not make any difference who does that task; the important thing is that it is done. It does not make any difference who gets the credit; the important thing is that the task gets done. In the days of the Apostle Paul when he was in prison, he had heard about the activities of various preachers. He said in Philippians 1:15, “Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will.” He concluded that paragraph with this statement, “ . . . Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.”

The Importance of the Message - My constant prayer is that in our generation everyone will hear the message, the good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, suffered and bled and died for sinners, that He was buried and was resurrected from the grave and that He is alive and ready and willing to save all who will come to Him.

WE MUST COOPERATE - We have a wonderful message! We have a great commission! We have the power of the Holy Spirit! Let us cooperate in getting this message to the ends of the world.