God is the Key

This part of the chapter points out the main source of the division in the church of Corinth. The people were debating over who they followed. Both Apollos and Paul visited Corinth and preached to them God's good news, and the people are torn between which of God's messenger they 'followed'. The people here are missing the point completely! Both Paul and Apollos were sent as messengers and servants by the one Master. They both had their tasks: one was to plant and one was to water. But there is no point in just planting and watering... if the 'plants' don't grow. This is where God comes in. Everything fits together with God and only with God. He's the one that's in control and directing everything, and it's only through His plan that everything works out. This can be applied in many ways. The one that comes to my mind is in church. When God wants to reach out to a non-believer, He will most probably use many people in His 'master plan' for person X. These people all perform different roles, and when successful, the person will cme to the border of becoming a Christian, but in the end it is up to God (along with the person's choice) to bring person X over.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7

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 made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.