In 1 Corinthians 3:6–17, Paul illustrates the relationship between human leaders (specifically preachers) and the church with three images: a field (1 Corinthians 3:6–9), a building (1 Corinthians 3:10–15) and a temple (1 Corinthians 3:16–17).
If the Corinthian church is a field, then Paul is the labourer who had planted the seeds on the field, and Apollos is the labourer who had come in later, to water the seeds.
In the original Greek, the verbs for planted
and watered
are written in a different tense than the verb for gave the growth.
The different tenses highlight the fact that Paul’s and Apollos’ work was temporary, while God’s work is a continuing work. A better translation might be, God kept it growing.
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.