Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 3:7
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian church to correct factionalism by clarifying the limited role of human ministers. He speaks this during a direct comparison of his planting work and Apollos' watering work.
The words — οὔτε (oute) means "neither" and τι (ti) means "anything." Together they negate any inherent spiritual significance in the human agents of planting or watering.
The thread — The dependence of human effort on divine power runs through John 15:5, where Christ identifies himself as the sole source of fruitfulness. It echoes Galatians 6:3 on the self-deception of claiming unearned worth and Psalms 115:1, which redirects glory away from human achievement.
Why it lands — The text states that neither the planter nor the waterer possesses independent value, but only God produces growth. Readers must therefore reject personal spiritual credit and evaluate ministry solely by faithfulness to the task God assigned.
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
So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
Cross-references
- John 15:5 I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
- Galatians 6:3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
- Psalms 115:1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your loving devotion, because of Your faithfulness.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me.
- 1 Corinthians 13:2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
- Isaiah 40:17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
- Daniel 4:35 All the peoples of the earth are counted as nothing, and He does as He pleases with the army of heaven and the peoples of the earth. There is no one who can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’”
- Isaiah 41:29 See, they are all a delusion; their works amount to nothing; their images are as empty as the wind.