He puts it this way, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”11 Now, planting, watering, growing — this is Eden imagery, and it’s likely that any self-respecting first-century Jew would have picked up on the allusion. And all of Paul’s language builds up to this staggering line: “For we are God’s coworkers.”12 This is a provocative metaphor. Most of us think of ourselves as God’s employees, not his coworkers. As if we’re working for God. And there’s some truth in that. Paul loves to call himself God’s servant. But if we’re God’s coworkers, that means we’re not
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