Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 3:6
I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian church, which has fractured into factions claiming allegiance to him or to Apollos. He reframes both men's roles to defuse the rivalry.
The words — ἐφύτευσα (ephuteusa) is a rare horticultural verb, used only here in the New Testament, marking the act as deliberate cultivation rather than casual sowing. The contrast with ἠύξανεν (ēuxanen), middle voice, "it was growing," shifts agency entirely to God.
The thread — The verse is bracketed by 1 Corinthians 3:5 (their assigned roles) and 3:7 (neither planter nor waterer is anything), and extended in 3:9 ("God's field, God's building"). 2 Corinthians 10:14 echoes Paul's claim of being first to reach Corinth with the gospel.
Why it lands — It removes the basis for comparing leaders by their fruit, since growth is not their work. A reader is asked to stop ranking servants and start attributing results to God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
- Proverbs 11:25 A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
- 2 Corinthians 10:14 We are not overstepping our bounds, as if we had not come to you. Indeed, we were the first to reach you with the gospel of Christ.
- Acts 18:4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.
- 1 Corinthians 9:1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you yourselves not my workmanship in the Lord?
- Isaiah 55:10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat,
- Acts 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the interior and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples
- 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- Psalms 92:13 Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
- Acts 16:14 Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.