Part II—Laborers Together With God

As we come to the second part of our study, I think of the words written by the apostle Paul, as recorded in 1 Corinthians 3:9. “We are labourers together with God.” The apostle Paul does not set up here the relationship of an employer and an employee, but he brings clearly to view a partnership. “We are labourers together with God.” We are not working for God. In His providence, God takes men and women into partnership with Himself for the accomplishing of a work on earth.SPCSSW 16.1

The Lord could send the angels for the doing of that work and how perfectly the work would be done. There would be none of the mistakes that so often enter into the conduct of the work. The human element that so often comes in with personalities would not be there. How quickly the work would be finished. But the Lord did not choose to work in that way. For our own good He has drawn men and women into partnership with Himself as laborers with Him in the accomplishment of the greatest enterprize being carried forward in the world today—the most important work in the world.SPCSSW 16.2

Then the Lord goes a step further as we find brought to view in 1 John 3:1, that we are “sons of God”. A partnership in which a father and son works together is a very close partnership. Sister White speaks of this in an article in the Youth’s Instructor, in 1910:SPCSSW 16.3

“God calls them to be sharers with Him in the great work of redemption and uplifting. As a father takes his son into partnership in his business, so the Lord takes His children into partnership with Himself.”—The Youth’s Instructor, January 25, 1910. Reprinted in Sons and Daughters of God, 324.

It is a solemn thought that God would take men and women into partnership with Himself to carry out plans, to do a work here on the earth. We could hardly imagine such a relationship without there being some communication, words of counsel, instruction, some of which would be for the purpose of correction. And we think of the words as recorded in Psalm 32:8,SPCSSW 16.4

“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”

God’s eye, that sees many things that our eyes do not see, is the eye with which He guides His people. How thankful we can be for that guidance which has been manifested in so many ways.SPCSSW 16.5

As noted yesterday, our forefathers of 110 years ago faced a large task. Following the bidding of the Lord, they were led into one line of work after another, all designed to hasten the promulgation of the gospel message. And as these lines of work have been undertaken, it has become clear that there is more than one right way to accomplish a task.SPCSSW 16.6

There was one lesson which I learned from my father very early in life which has always been helpful to me and it was that there is more than one right way to do a job. The fact that methods used by one individual or one group are found to be successful is no indication that other methods used by someone else may not be just as successful, just as meritorious, and accomplish just as much in the work of God. There are different types of minds. There are different qualifications, different natural talents, different backgrounds. So there is more than one right way to accomplish a task.SPCSSW 16.7

This is evident as we observe the many ways in which this group works as you are laborers together with God. This has become abundantly apparent in the work done in the great Southland where the self-supporting work was pioneered by self-sacrificing men and women—men and women who have built out of their very lifeblood a work for God, while supplying their own temporal needs. I know something of this work, which has been brought into being by blood and sweat and tears. Not until the records of heaven are revealed at last will the noble accomplishments, the fruits of sacrifice, be fully known.SPCSSW 17.1