1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:6

I planted . St. Paul everywhere recognized that his gift lay pre eminently in the ability to found Churches (comp. Acts 18:1-11 ; 1 Corinthians 4:15 ; 1 Corinthians 9:1 ; 1 Corinthians 15:1 ). Apollos watered . If, as is now generally believed, Apollos wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews, we see how striking was his power of strengthening the faith of wavering Churches. Eloquence and a deep insight into the meaning of Scripture, enriched by Alexandrian culture, seem to have been his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:6

Man's work and God's. I. MAN 'S WORK . It is: 1. Varied. Paul speaks of planting and watering; may extend to the multiform operations of agriculture. We cannot all do the same work. Let us seek to do that for which we are fitted. There is some spiritual work suited to each of us. In agriculture all find employment, from the boy with his clapper scaring away the birds, to the presiding mind which controls all operations. If Christians do nothing it is because they want to do... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:6-8

Spiritual husbandry and growth. A man, looking upon the world, sees according to his power of vision; i.e. not simply according to what he finds in it, but to what he brings to it. To the eye of the Apostle Paul, the world was a wilderness which might be made a garden. There was, he saw, rude, worthless growth to be extirpated, rich soil to be tilled, plants of worth and renown to replace the weeds. His prophetic eye beheld the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose. And to his mind... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 3:6

I have planted - The apostle here compares the establishment of the church at Corinth to the planting of a vine, a tree, or of grain. The figure is taken from agriculture, and the meaning is obvious. Paul established the church. He was the first preacher in Corinth; and if any distinction was due to anyone, it was rather to him than to the teachers who had labored there subsequently; but he regarded himself as worthy of no such honor as to be the head of a party, for it was not himself, but God... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Corinthians 3:4-7

1 Corinthians 3:4-7. For while one saith, I am of Paul I am one of Paul’s disciples, admiring his sublime sentiments, and being greatly edified by his instructive discourses: and another, I am of Apollos I give the preference to Apollos, being delighted with his fine language, and the pleasing manner of his address. St. Paul names himself and Apollos, to show that he would condemn any division among them, even though it were in favour of himself, or the dearest friend he had in the world.... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

Lack of spiritual growth (3:1-9)When Paul was in Corinth a year or two previously, he could not speak to the believers as spiritual people (such as those just described in 2:6-16), because they were then little different from ordinary, natural people of the world. They were babes in Christ and Paul treated them so. He did not find fault with them then, because one expects new converts to be like that; but he does find fault with them now, because they are still like that (3:1-2). They are like... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Corinthians 3:6

have planted = planted. See Acts 18:1-18 . watered . Greek. potizo , as in 1 Corinthians 3:2 . See Acts 18:27 Acts 19:1 . God . App-98 . gave the increase = was causing it to grow. Imperf. because God's work was continuing, Paul's or any other's only temporary. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 3:6

I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: but each shall receive his own reward, according to his own labor.The location depicted here is fully identified later as "God's field" (1 Corinthians 3:9). The thought is that Paul planted the crop; Apollos cultivated and watered it. There is no reference to baptism in "watered."Are... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 3:6

6. I . . . planted, Apollos watered— (Acts 18:1; Acts 19:1). Apollos at his own desire (Acts 19:1- :) was sent by the brethren to Corinth, and there followed up the work which Paul had begun. God gave the increase—that is, the growth (1 Corinthians 3:10; Acts 18:27). "Believed through grace." Though ministers are nothing, and God all in all, yet God works by instruments, and promises the Holy Spirit in the faithful use of means. This is the dispensation of the Spirit, and ours is the ministry... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Fellow workers under God 3:5-9"Besides evidencing a misapprehension of the gospel itself, the Corinthians’ slogans bespeak a totally inadequate perception of the church and its ministry." [Note: Fee, The First . . ., p. 129. See Jay E. Smith, "Slogans in 1 Corinthians," Bibliotheca Sacra 167:655 (January-March 2010):68-88.] read more

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:6

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:6

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:6-8

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 3:6

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Corinthians 3:4-7

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - 1 Corinthians 3:6

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - 1 Corinthians 3:6

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - 1 Corinthians 3:6

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

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