God gave The Increase

Augustine argued every good we did was from grace, we could do nothing good at all without Christ's help.

One passage to be dealt with is concerned with bearing fruit, not with righteous acts in general. It is talking about God helping the preachers and teachers of the church. There is no doubt God helped the early church, the problem lies in saying some workers were predestined to succeed or fail. Bearing fruit is different than doing good. We must abide in Christ to bear fruit, but we can do good without any supernatural help or intervention.

1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

Many have used this to say God must join mystical power to our preaching for us to bear fruit. They teach the predestination of groups and individuals to receive the mystical grace to be saved.

This was during the infancy of the Church when God supplied spiritual gifts. The condition of success wasn't a special type of saving grace placed upon the people, but the workers abiding in Christ. It wasn't grace to be saved but grace to help others be saved through preaching.

Thus, Augustine was using it backwards.

(It isn't implying God mystically changes the heart of the unsaved, quite the opposite. The parable of the sower implies the heart can be good or bad at the time the word falls upon it, and God doesn't change the heart at that time.)

It is based on the doctrine of Conditional Ordination. Christ ordained the Apostles, and the Apostles had conditions before bearing fruit

Joh 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Since Christ chose and ordained the Apostles we might incorrectly conclude their success was guaranteed, but being ordained to bring forth fruit was conditional based upon their choices in life.

Augustine and especially Calvin incorrectly argued being chosen by Christ implied a special grace acting apart from their will. That the saved were chosen and predestined. But, this was speaking of workers.

"In the De correptione et

gratia 6 he explained the nature, action, and distribution

of grace, seen in the light of our historical state: the

human race after original sin is a massa damnationis out

of which God's mercy freely chooses His predestined elect."

Contrary to both Augustine and Calvin, being chosenas apostles was apart from their will, but continuing in the calling was based upon man's will.

Just as being chosen to hear salvation is apart from man's will, accepting salvation is based upon man's will.

Notice the wording uses the word should bear fruit,  not will bear fruit.  There is nothing God does to prohibit bearing fruit in some preachers or causing success in others. Their success was conditional upon abiding in Christ.

Go up a few verses and notice the conditional expressions..

Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Joh 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Joh 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

There was no predetermined success for the apostles. Their success was based on their decision to continue in Christ's love.

1. Abide in Christ.

2. Let Christ's words be in them.

3. Continue in his love.

Yes God gave the increase, but not without their choices to be faithful.

This does not imply man bears fruit without grace, God is the one who must complete the increase.

Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Apostles preached abiding in Christ's word.

The people responded positively in obedience.

The Lord added them to the church

Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

The entire process should be seen as a work of God. Just remember his work allowed the interaction of freewill in the preachers and hearers.