You’re Not as Important as You Think | 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

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Our text today is 1 Corinthians 3:5-9.

We live in a culture obsessed with taking credit.
Who built this? Who made that? Who gets the recognition, the spotlight, the applause?

Yet Paul cuts through all of it with one simple reminder:

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. — 1 Corinthians 3:5–9

Paul says the part we don’t say out loud: Workers matter, but they’re not the ones who make anything grow.

Paul planted. Apollos watered. Both worked hard, served faithfully, and played their part. But only God made anything come alive.

That’s the point Paul wants the Corinthians to swallow: You’re not as important as you think — and that’s the good news.

Because if you made the growth happen, then you must maintain it, sustain it, and defend it. And you cannot handle that.

But if God gives the growth, then the pressure comes off your shoulders.

• You plant.
• You water.
• You obey.
• You show up.
• You serve faithfully.

And God — not your skill, strategy, charisma, or talent — produces the fruit.

You plant. You water. God grows.

Let that truth unclench the pressure in your chest.

Paul isn’t minimizing your role. He’s clarifying it.

You’re a servant, not the source.
You’re a worker in the field, not the one who makes the field fruitful.
You’re faithful in your assignment, but God alone creates life.

And that truth should free you today.

You don’t have to impress anyone.
You don’t have to compete with anyone.
You don’t have to carry outcomes that belong to God.

Your job is faithfulness. God’s job is growth.

And He has never failed at His job.

DO THIS:

Identify one place you feel pressure to “produce results.” Then pray: “Father, I’ll plant and water today. But only You can make this grow.”

ASK THIS:

1. Where are you carrying pressure God never asked you to carry?
2. Are you more focused on the results or your obedience?
3. What “planting” or “watering” do you need to do today?

PRAY THIS:

Father, free me from the pressure to produce. Help me plant faithfully, water wisely, and trust You with the growth. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

“Do It Again”