“For we are God’s fellow workers.” – 1 Cor 3:9
You are a co-laborer in the Kingdom of God. What does that mean? Let’s take a look at what a kingdom is. A kingdom is a sphere of reign, the sum total of one's authority and power. Merriam Webster puts it like this “a realm or region in which something is dominant, an area or sphere in which one holds a preeminent position.”1 The Greek word for kingdom suggests royal power, dominion, rule.2 So in God’s Kingdom, also called the Kingdom of Heaven by the Jews (so as not to use the Lord’s name), God is the sovereign potentate, the preeminent ruler over all that is (Rom 11:36; 1 Cor 8:6; 1 Cor 11:12b; Col 1:16-17; Heb 2:10). God rules over the universe and beyond; all that exists is under His control. All authority is His.
That means Satan has no authority except that which is given up by the believer who does not understand God’s rule. Satan's authority over the Christian is given by the Christian by believing things about themselves and their environment that do not line up with what God has revealed in His Word (Scripture) about the believer and the Kingdom. In order for Satan to have some authority over the Christian, the Christian must believe a lie of his. When we accept Satan’s lies as truth then He has a hold over us. But God has taken the law (the thing that makes us aware of how far short we fall) and nailed it to the cross. He also nailed to the cross the power and authority that Satan has over you.
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” (Col 2:13-15)
God gives some of His authority to the believer. He expects us to use His authority to work with Him and establish His Kingdom here on earth. He tells us to pray His kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven in the Lord’s prayer (Matt 6:10). God’s will is perfectly executed in Heaven. It is our job to participate with Him to see His will executed on earth. Jesus modeled this lifestyle for us. “Jesus gave them this answer: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does’” (John 5:19). Jesus is our example. Paul wrote “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1).
Jesus sent out the disciples to preach the gospel and cast out demons and heal the sick. He was asking them to co-labor for the establishment of His Kingdom (Mt 10:1,7-8; Mk 3:13-14, 6:6-7; Lk 9:2, 10:1,9). Now who are we? We are His disciples (Matt 28:19). “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples’” (John 8:31). “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26). So, if you are a Christian, you are His disciple. He has given you the authority to cast out demons and heal the sick. The first Adam brought sin into the world. The last Adam (Jesus Christ) nullified the results of sin and granted authority to all believers. We must remember our true identity. We are citizens of heaven (Heb 11:13-16). Or as Teilhard de Chardin put it, “We are not human beings having a temporary spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a temporary human experience.”
We are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:6) and God has placed His power within us – the same power He used to raise Christ from the dead and seat Him,
“in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Eph 1:20-23)
We are seated with Him in this place. “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:6) Do you see the authority we have in His name? He has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3). It is no wonder He tells the disciples (remember that includes us):
“Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:11-14)
Jesus expects His disciples to be doing the miraculous - even greater things than He had done! Miracles are evidence that God is who He says He is. Miracles are meant to validate God’s kingdom and force people to make a decision about who God is and what to do with Him. “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” (John 2:11). Look at this passage from John 10:24-26, “The Jews gathered around him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.’” Here is another one (remember WE are His disciples),
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. (Mark 16:15-20)
Jesus expected the disciples to do the miraculous. Notice also the Lord “confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” The book of Acts lists many of these miracles: speaking in tongues (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6; 1 Cor 12:30; 1 Cor 14), driving out demons (Acts 5:15-16; 16:18; 19:11-12), escaping snake bites (Acts 28:3-5), and healing the sick (Acts 3:1-7; 8:7; 9:33-34; 14:8-10; 28:7-8).3
Paul prays that we would understand His incomparably great power for the believer in Eph 1:19. Ephesians 3:20-21 says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Clearly God’s power is supposed to be at work in us and through us to do the miraculous and allow people to be confronted with His Kingdom. The Apostles prayed, “Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant, Jesus.” (Acts 4:31). Paul helps us remember its source, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Cor 4:7).
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” (1 Cor 4:20). “‘Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders,’ Jesus told him, ‘you will never believe.’” (John 4:48). Jesus continually preached and healed, healed and preached to convince people He was the Son of God and to confront them with the reality of His Kingdom. Now remember God does not show favoritism (Rom 2:11, Acts 10:34) and He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8). He is not a man that He should lie (Num 23:19) and all the promises of God are Yes and Amen in Christ (2 Cor 1:20). Let us live like Abraham, “being fully persuaded that God had [has] power to do what he had promised.” (Rom 4:23). Let us go forth into life confidently assured that God is who He says He is and does what He claims to do and join Him in it.
Second Corinthians 6:1 states we are God’s fellow workers. The phrase “fellow workers” is two Greek words “sun” and “ergos.” “Sun” “conveys the ideas of partnership, cooperation, collaboration, teamwork, or a joint effort.”4 “Ergos” simply,
“means work, but when the words sun and ergos are compounded together as in Second Corinthians 6:1, the new word describes coworkers or people who are partnered together as they work alongside each other on a common job. These are workers who are connected and joined to each other in the pursuit of a shared goal.”
“You see, we are not working for the Lord by ourselves; rather, we are fellow workers with Him. Thus, Second Corinthians 6:1 is a description of partnership with God and carries the idea of cooperating with Him in our work…. This is exactly what Paul means when he writes that we are ‘…workers together with him….’”5
Come on Saints, let us co-labor with Him. Let us cooperate with Him in what He is doing. Let us partner with Him. Let us work alongside Him. The adventure awaits. I am convinced there is nothing like working with Him. Let us bring the heavenly Kingdom reality to earth. Let us see things as He wants them to be, not how they are, and let us call them into being through our partnership with Him. Let us sow to the Spirit and wait for the reaping. “Let us not grow weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Gal 6:9)
Father help us to co-labor with You in the establishment of Your Kingdom. Oh Sovereign Lord, do Your mighty acts, Your signs and wonders, and Your miracles, through us so that the world would be confronted with Your Kingdom and be required to decide what to do with You. We seek not the signs themselves, but the One the signs point us to. We want to partner with You and we understand that everything You do is supernatural from salvation to communion to fellowship to the miraculous – it’s all miraculous when you are involved. “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Tim 1:17)
Footnotes
1 Http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kingdom
2 Http://www.biblestudytools.com/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=932&version=nas
3 “Signs of Believers.” Stamps, Donald C., and John Wesley Adams. Life in the Spirit Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. Print.
4 Renner, Rick. “A Partner To Help You When You Don’t Know How to Pray!.” Sparkling Gems from the Greek: 365 Greek Word Studies for Every Day of the Year to Sharpen Your Understanding of God's Word. Tulsa, OK: Teach All Nations, 2003. 490.
5 Renner, Rick. “A Partner To Help You When You Don’t Know How to Pray!.” Sparkling Gems from the Greek: 365 Greek Word Studies for Every Day of the Year to Sharpen Your Understanding of God's Word. Tulsa, OK: Teach All Nations, 2003. 884-885.
References
All Scriptures not specified are quoted from Life in the Spirit Study Bible (NIV). Stamps, Donald C., and John Wesley Adams. Life in the Spirit Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. Print.
