Bible Strands
1 Corinthians 3:8
He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian church amid factional disputes in which members are elevating human leaders (Cephas, Apollos, Paul) above God's work. He is reorienting their view of ministry roles and their relation to God's sovereign activity.
The words — ἕν (hen, "one") is the predicate that fuses planter and waterer into a single unit, not merely a partnership. δὲ (de, "now") marks the pivot from v.7's denial of human significance to this verse's affirmation of shared purpose.
The thread — The principle of divine reward according to individual labor echoes in Romans 2:6, Psalms 62:12, and Matthew 16:27, where God repays each person according to their deeds.
Why it lands — It holds two claims in tension without resolving them: human effort is neither nothing (v.7) nor self-sufficient (v.8), and the reader is asked to labor without either pride or despair.
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
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
Cross-references
- Romans 2:6 God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”
- Psalms 62:12 and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.
- Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
- John 4:36 Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.
- 2 John 1:8 Watch yourselves, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be fully rewarded.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.
- Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.
- Galatians 6:4 Each one should test his own work. Then he will have reason to boast in himself alone, and not in someone else.
- 1 Peter 5:4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.