N Hebrews 5:11-14 we find a passage very similar to the beginning of 1st Corinthians 3. Here Paul defines the cause (or perhaps the proof) of their spiritual immaturity. Conflict was their problem (vs. 3). Undeniably, the lack of unity in the church caused the Apostle Paul to diagnose this church with a bad case of immaturity. When we believers see ourselves accurately in the light of God's sovereign goodness, then the divisiveness of pride in us can be set aside. God is the giver of eternal life (vs. 6-7). It is neither our own value nor is it the significance of our Christian cohorts that give us our place. We are privileged (by His grace) to be God's partners (vs. 9). Truly, He does use other people in our lives, but He is the farmer and we are His farm. He is the builder, & we are His building. As God's possessions, He saved us to use us.
One of the easiest things to miss (or mess up) in Christianity is the proper balance between God's ability & our responsibility. In verse 9, we read that God is the builder, yet only one verse later Paul claims to have laid a gospel foundation for the Corinthians. Then he challenges the believers there to build carefully. Hold on! Which is it? Is God the builder, or is it us? The answer is another paradoxical yes. In vs. 9 we are told that we or co-laborers with God. He owns us. He energizes us. He guides us (if we will listen). Without Him we couldn't do anything (vs. 11). Still, if the good isn't done, then we are the ones in trouble - indicating that we have a very real culpability in any failure in our own Christian life. Appropriately, God gets the credit for successes; we get the blame for failures (Romans 9:16). And, why not? After all, He is good & we are - to put it gently - deficient.
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