Partners with God

In the Christian life, what is God’s part and what is my part?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? I have over the years.

On the one hand Jesus says, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). But on the other hand, Jesus' half-brother, James, calls us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only (James 1:22). Furthermore, in writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul reminds them (and us) that they are but jars of clay—weak, insufficient, and frail. But in this same letter he exhorts the Corinthians (and us) to complete obedience.

So how do I obey if I am weak, insufficient, and frail?

If I can really do nothing apart from Christ and yet am asked to do everything in obedience to Christ, how does that work?

In 2 Corinthians 6:1 (NIV) Paul uses one phrase that can help us answer those questions. Notice how he begins:

As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

"As God’s fellow workers . . .” Here Paul takes one of his favorite little prepositions, meaning “together with” and places it in front of the word, “workers.” Essentially he says, “As workers together with God.” That’s why the NLT translates it, “As God’s partners.”

Actually, the word “God” is not in the original text, but it is appropriately supplied by the translators. Paul is not saying that he is simply a co-worker with other apostles or other Christians or even with the Corinthians.  He is saying that he is a co-worker with the One mentioned in that last verse of chapter 5—that is, God!

So again, what does that look like to be a fellow worker with God? After all, that sounds pretty exciting, doesn’t it? Co-workers with the God who spoke the vast expanse of this universe into existence! Maybe being a co-worker with others on the job, or in the family, or elsewhere is not too exciting. But here, we are co-workers with God himself! Amazing, is it not?

I believe this little phrase, “co-workers with God,” means essentially this: Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.  

That is the delicate balance between God’s sovereignty and man’s free will; between God’s will and your will.

 In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul develops further this idea:

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Now I don’t know a whole lot about gardening. I’ve never had much of a green thumb. I’ve planted some grass and a few bushes or plants here and there, but I’m certainly not on expert when it comes to these things. For one reason or another, most of my attempts at gardening have not proved very successful.

This reminds me that when it comes to bearing spiritual fruit, I am just as ineffective without God. Apart from God, I cannot.

The branches of a vine are worthless apart from the vine. Branches cannot produce fruit on their own. The branches of a vine bear fruit, but they do not produce fruit. As branches, we do not have fruit producing life in ourselves; that comes from the vine, which is Christ. Snap a branch from the vine and it will die.

That is why over ten times in John 15 Jesus urges us to “remain” in him, the vine. What does that mean? It means simply to remain in close proximity with. In the preceding chapter Jesus uses the same word when he says, “All this I have spoken while remaining with you” (John 14:25).

When you recognize that apart from God, you cannot, you will begin to remain in close proximity to Jesus, the vine. You will recognize that fruit which lasts doesn’t come about by mere human effort. It doesn’t come about by simply trying harder. No, fruit that lasts finds its source in the vine, Christ.

Paul acknowledges this same principle in the above verses: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”  And then Paul uses the same expression that he uses in 2 Corinthians 6:1 when he says, “For we are co-workers in God’s service” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

Yes, apart from God, Paul and Apollos could not. Apart from God, the disciples could not. Apart from God, we cannot. And that is just as true for what God does in our lives as for what he does through our lives to touch others.

That is precisely why Paul goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 6:1—“As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.” Paul wanted the Corinthians and you and me to be fellow workers with God just like he was. But it all begins with allowing God’s grace to do its work in our lives. Why? Because without God, we cannot. Grace is for all and all is of grace. Don’t receive God’s grace in vain.

 Without God, we cannot. But the next part of the phrase is equally true. Without us, God will not.  

Let me go back to Paul’s explanation of spiritual gardening in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9. Notice again what he says, but this time with a focus on the principle “without us, God will not:”

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Apart from us, God will not. God will not what? He will not cause you to grow spiritually and through you help others grow spiritually. Essentially, apart from your active participation with God and his grace, you will not bear fruit!

This is certainly what Paul means when he says to the Philippians: “Therefore, my dear friends . . . continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13). And later in that same letter Paul says, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

Apart from your active participation, God will not produce growth in your life. There must be an active “planting” and “watering” on your part.

The good seed, the Word of God, must be planted by you taking the initiative to ingest that living seed into your heart and mind on a daily basis. Only the hammer of God’s Word can break through these hardened hearts of ours. The Christian life is not about reformation, but about transformation. And only the good seed of God’s Word empowered by the Holy Spirit can accomplish such change from the inside out. And that good seed must be watered by your prayers, asking God to transform our lives, bringing change from the inside out.

 Again, I don’t have much of a “green thumb.” But I do know that if I don’t plant the seed and water the seed, the plant just “ain’t goin’ to grow!” And you won’t either. Apart from us, God will not.

But there’s something else God won’t do apart from you. He will not bring about fruit through your life. You see, God wants to work through you and me in bringing this life-changing message of the gospel to others.

Admittedly, God has others means at his disposal. He could make his appearance at the half-time of the Super Bowl with over 80,000 people in the stands, making a grand entry on stage with spectacular fireworks and an awesome display of power. Or how about this . . .  he could send a giant gospel blimp to hover over every city of the world, dispensing gospel tracts that read “Four Steps to Peace with God” from high above.

But God doesn’t do that. He has chosen to work through you and me, his co-workers, these “jars of clay,” his partners in the gospel.

I wonder, what would have happened if Paul had not planted the seed in the lives of the Corinthians? And what if Apollos had not watered?  Would God have brought about the fruit of their salvation and growth as believers anyway?

And I wonder . . . what would have happened if that Sunday School teacher had not shared the gospel with me that Sunday morning when I was seven years old? Where would I be today? 

Does that mean that God does not, at times, reveal himself in dreams and visions to unbelievers around the world? Of course he does! But that is not his normal way of reaching unbelievers. Somewhere along the line he brings in the human instrument—our hands and feet, our mouth, our life, our sharing of the gospel so that we might share in his joy.

God has chosen to work through you and me. We are the hands and feet of Jesus in this world.

Yes, without God, we cannot. And without us, God will not. We are indeed partners with God!