Whose Foundation Am I Building On?

The church in Corinth was divided into factions around leaders. Some said, “I am of Paul”; others, “I am of Apollos” (3:4). Paul responds by asking, “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed?” (3:5). The word ministers means servants. Leaders are not the center; they are servants through whom God works.

Paul uses a farming picture: “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (3:6). Different servants have different roles, and each will receive their own reward according to their labor (3:8). But growth belongs to God. Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything compared with the God who makes things grow (3:7).

Then Paul shifts to building language. He describes himself as a wise masterbuilder who laid a foundation, and others build on it (3:10). He warns everyone to take care how they build. And he states clearly: “other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (3:11).

For anyone who serves—teaching a class, leading a group, mentoring, parenting, or volunteering—this is both freeing and searching. It is freeing because growth is God's work, not a burden we carry alone. It is searching because it is possible to build people's dependence on ourselves, our personality, or our platform rather than on Christ. Healthy service points people beyond the servant.

A helpful question is: if I stepped away, would the people I serve still be growing in their relationship with Jesus, in Scripture, and in community? Building on Christ means teaching people to read the Bible for themselves, pray for themselves, and belong to a wider body, not only to us.