1 Corinthians 3:9 Meaning and Explanation
“For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The ministers work alongside God, while the Corinthians themselves are God's field and God's building.
What Does 1 Corinthians 3:9 Mean?
Paul gathers the threads. The servants are labourers together with God, working in His service, and the Corinthians are described two ways: God's husbandry, the cultivated field, and God's building, a structure being raised up.
Every word here circles back to God. The field is His, the building is His, and the workers labor with Him. This is the dignity and the limit of all ministry: to share in God's work without ever owning it. The image of the building now leads Paul into his next great theme, the one foundation.
1 Corinthians 3:9 in the Original Language
georgion (γεώργιον), 'husbandry' -- a cultivated field or farmland, ground worked for a harvest.
Frequently Asked Questions About 1 Corinthians 3:9
What does 1 Corinthians 3:9 mean?
The ministers work alongside God, while the Corinthians themselves are God's field and God's building.