Preached Sunday, June 6, 2010
from
1 Corinthians 3:10-15

Theme: We must be careful to build faithfully upon the ‘foundation’ of faith in Jesus Christ.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been enjoying an interesting project going on just outside the parsonage window. A new storage shed is being built.

Now; I’m not any kind of a builder. Those who know me well would testify—enthusiastically—that I’m not very “handy”. In fact, when it comes to such things, I’m more of the opposite—I’m “under foot”. But even so, I can still certainly appreciate good workmanship when I see it. And I’m certainly enjoying—and appreciating—the good, careful workmanship that’s represented in the new building that’s going up out back.

What’s more, I think that the apostle Paul was someone who would have appreciated good construction work when he saw it too. He was, after all, a tentmaker by trade; and anyone who made tents for a living would certainly have had an appreciation for good, solid, permanent structures.

During one of his missionary journeys, he ended up spending a long time in the city of Corinth; and while there, he took up with some friends named Aquila and Priscilla. We’re told that, “because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for by occupation they were tentmakers” (Acts 18:3). It seems that, throughout his time there, he funded much of his own missionary work through helping his friends in their tentmaking business. And so, in wanting to communicate an important spiritual truth to the believers in Corinth about building their spiritual lives, it comes as no surprise that he’d write to them in such words as these:

According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

Watching the building project go on just outside the parsonage window has helped me to think about some of the lessons that Paul—the tentmaker/master builder—is meaning to teach in this passage. And I hope you’ll permit me to share some of these lessons with you this morning.

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First, let’s consider for a moment why Paul wrote these words. When he wrote this letter to the church in Corinth, he was trying to help them solve many of the problems that the believers were experiencing; and one of the problems that he sought to solve was the problem of how they were elevating one spiritual leader over another.

Each one of them, it seems, was aligning themselves to a particular teacher in the church; saying, “I am of Paul” (who first brought the gospel to them); or, “I am of Apollos” (another important teacher who worked with Paul); or, “I am of Cephas” (that is, Peter). Some ‘super-pious saints’ where trying to stand above it all and say, “I am of Christ”—thus discounting the Lord’s work through the ministries of Paul and Apollos and Peter. What ungodly attitudes these were! And it had the terrible effect of dividing the church.

So; Paul solved this problem by urging them to get their eyes off the various workers and teachers, and to keep them focused where they belonged—that is, on the Lord Himself. Paul wrote,

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).

Paul wanted to remind them that the focus of attention shouldn’t be on the teachers, but rather on the Lord they served. They all worked for Him. It may be true that they had different roles to perform—one “planted” the work of the church, and another maintained what was planted by “watering” it. But in the end, all these faithful and worthy teachers in the church worked for the same Lord in His “field”; and it was the Lord Himself—not they—who “gave the increase”. As Paul said, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field . . .” (v. 9).

Now; Paul must not have had the same school-teachers I had growing up, because he then mixes his metaphors. He says, “you are God’s field . . .” and then turns around and says, “you are God’s building”. (I wish that, back then, I would have known enough to tell my teachers that if Paul did it, it must be alright to do!). And it’s then that he goes on to tell us these important principles about “building”.

All of that to say that this passage is one that is primarily about the teachers and leaders in the church¹. There may be many of them that rise up to prominence in the church; but they’d better be sure that the follow the rules of good ‘building-construction’—because they work for the Lord. But I believe that it’s also a passage that’s very relevant to you and me as individual Christians. Each one of us in the body of Christ has a personal responsibility to grow; and to build faithfully upon the ‘foundation’ of faith in Jesus Christ.

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Let’s look a little closer at this passage and see some of the rules of good ‘construction’ that Paul lays out for us in it. Verses 10-11 give us the first rule . . .

1. DON’T DEVIATE FROM THE FOUNDATION (v. 10-11).

As I’ve been watching the building go up out back, I’ve been impressed with how much time was spent on the foundation. The spot on the ground had to be carefully chosen—not only for its location, but also for how level it is. Then, the spot had to be cleared out, and gravel packed down; then the concrete foundation had to be carefully laid-out, and framed-in, and poured—with all the studs in place for the rest of the building frame to be fixed onto later. A lot of planning and work was spent on this stage of the project; because the integrity of the rest of the building depended on it.

Similarly, Paul had spent a lot of time laying the ‘foundation’ for the church in Corinth. He told them, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation . . .”

Paul, you see, always considered it a great privilege that he had been called by God to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. He called it “a grace”. He felt unworthy of it, because he had formerly been a dreadful sinner. But as he wrote in Ephesians 3:8, “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ . . .” As an apostle, sent by Jesus Christ, it was his call from God to lay-down the church’s foundational truth—the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as he says in our passage, as a “wise master builder”—or as he says quite literally, a “wise architect”—he made sure that the right foundation was carefully laid.

Just how carefully he laid the foundation is told to us at the beginning of chapter two. He wrote to the Corinthians and said;

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).

When he came to them, he didn’t come with a lot of scholarly philosophy and fancy talk. He didn’t try to impress them. Instead, he made his speech to them as plain and simple as it could possibly be. He didn’t want them to misunderstand the gospel he was declaring to them. He didn’t want them to have their faith built on anything else but the simple, life-changing “good news” of Jesus Christ.

Now; once he laid that foundation for them, he had to leave them. It was up to someone else to help them build on that foundation. He wrote I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it”. It may have been Apollos, it may have been Peter, and it may have been other teachers and leaders that God raised up in the church. And of course, even the individual Christians within the church were to have a part in the building process. And it’s then that Paul warns, ” But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

So; what is it that you are building your life on right now? Perhaps, at one point in your life, you started off in a relationship by faith with Jesus Christ; but now, as the years have passed by, you find that your relationship with Jesus Christ is no longer the most important thing to you. It’s no longer ‘central’ to your life. It’s no longer ‘foundational’ to who you are. The choices and decisions you make in life are no longer an outflow of that primary relationship. And though you may be able to say that Jesus is “in your life” somehow, the truth is that you’ve been building your life on some other ‘foundation’ than Him—perhaps upon the false philosophies of men, or upon the confidence you place on human reason, or upon man-made religion, or even upon your own good works and reputation.

Paul warns that we need to take heed against this. He says that, when it comes to the Christian life, “no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” We must not deviate from that singular, laid-down-once-for-all-time foundation. We must not switch foundations. We must not try to make ‘additions’ to it. May God search each one of our hearts this morning, and help us to make absolutely sure that we are building upon the one true foundation—that is, a relationship by faith in Jesus Christ.

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Now; many people can take care to build on the right foundation, but end up suffering loss because they built with the wrong materials. This leads us to Paul’s second rule of “good construction in the Christian life”; and that is to . . .

2. USE ONLY TOP-GRADE MATERIALS FOR THE WORK (vv. 12-13).

I’ve sure been learning a lot about that looking out our back window! The choice had been made to construct a custom-built storage building rather than to buy a pre-manufactured one that might not last as long. And so, there’s certain kinds of wood that need to be used for the frame. The frame needs to be covered with a certain kind of plywood. The tile for the roofing needs to be right. The window and door frames need to be constructed well; and then the right kind of windows and doors used. The siding needs to be the kind that will endure the hot sun, and rain, and strong winds. If you don’t take the time to use the right materials now, you’ll be sorry later.

Similarly, Paul was careful to insist that thought be given to the kind of materials being used in building the Christian life upon the foundation of faith. He wrote of the kinds of material someone might use—”gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw”; and that the outcome of things would depend on the kind of materials used.

Look carefully at that list. All of them are things that someone might used to build a superstructure on a foundation. They might use gold, or silver, or even precious stones—although we would hardly ever see anyone do that today. Wood is most often used in our day, but in some parts of the world, “hay” or “herbage” is still used. Even “stubble” or “straw” can be used (although not very effectively, as one of the three-little-pigs found out the hard way). And notice that these things are listed to us in a descending order of value—gold as the most precious, silver next, precious stones after that, then wood—which is very common, then hay—which is even more common, and finally stubble—which is typically the stuff that just gets blown out of the back of a combine. Note too that all of these things may be subjected to the flames of fire—but with different results. Gold and silver are refined by it. Precious stones endure it. Wood is damaged by it, or is completely consumed by it and turned to ashes. Hay is consumed and turned to ashes even quicker. And stubble is consumed even quicker still, until there’s nothing left.

These all, I believe, describe the kind of “works” that one may do in building upon their faith in Jesus. Some works are valuable because they are done in obedient reliance on the Lord; and are thus refined and purified by times of trial. Some other works are strong and endure. Some, however, have a pleasant appearance and may be adapted to ‘look’ like works from God; but don’t endure when tested by trial. And some are utterly useless, having nothing to do with the Lord at all; and are thus completely consumed away when tested.

And note too that Paul warns that the type of building material one uses in the Christian life will become clear “for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire”. The “Day” that Paul speaks of is, I believe, the Day of the Lord in which all things of this temporary created realm are caused by God to burn away. Peter spoke of it when he wrote;

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:10-13).

In that Day—the Day of the Great Conflagration of all things—only two things of this created realm will last: people, and the works of God done in them. All else will be gone. And so, knowing that everything we do will one day be tested by fire, the great question we need to ask ourselves is, “How careful am I about building my life on the foundation of faith in Christ? What materials am I using?”

Some people build their Christian life on the pride they have in being holier than others. Some build it on the selfish motive of being thought well-of. Others do all the right things, but do them with a bitter and grouchy attitude. Some let their soundness in Christian doctrine be spoiled by a rotten temper. Some build it on an outward appearance of piety that covers up a filthy mind. Some begin with a foundation of a faith in Jesus, but build upon that foundation with religious works that God never called them to do. Some try to build-up their entire Christian life in the power of the flesh rather than in the power of the Holy Spirit. All of these things are wood, hay, and stubble; and they will all burn up on that great Day.

Note what Paul says at the end of verse 13; that “the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.” It’s not a question of how much of it there was, but of what “sort” it was. When we stand before the Lord Jesus on that great Day, He will not look to see how many things we did for Him, but rather the quality of it. He’ll say, as it were, “Let’s put it all through the fire and see what remains; for the fire will test it and reveal it.”

There won’t be anything more important to us on that day than to find that, after having been passed through the fire, what remains is “gold, silver, precious stones”. May God the Father search our hearts today; and help us make sure that we’re building with “quality” materials—obedience to His word, repentance from sin, faithfulness to His commands, trust in His Spirit, love for people, and conformity to the image of His Son. May it be that much of His fruit in our lives—and not the ashes left-over from works of the flesh—is what He sees when it’s all done.

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Now; not everyone can do all that they may wish they could do for the Lord. Not all of us can be missionaries for example, or great Bible teachers, or powerful evangelists. Some of us are not able to do such things, because God has not called us to do them or gifted us for them. But it’s not our ability that He looks to. Rather, it’s our availability. He looks to us to have offered ourselves to Him for whatever it may be that He wants, and to have done what we can from the heart.

Do you remember the story of the woman who came to anoint the Lord Jesus before His burial with a very costly and fragrant oil? The disciples condemned her for it; but Jesus defended her and praised her for it, saying, “She has done what she could” (Mark 14:8). Or do you remember how Kind David wanted to build the temple for the Lord; but the Lord would not let him do so? It wasn’t David who was to build the temple, but rather his son Solomon. But nevertheless, the Lord told him, “Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart” (1 Kings 8:18).²

The Lord knows when we have it in our hearts to do something, and He knows when we did what we could. He is “not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name” (Hebrews 6:10); and you can rest assured that whoever gives even a cup of cold water in His name to one of His own will by no means lose his reward (Matthew 10:42).

But this leads us, finally, to the last rule of good construction Paul mentions . . .

3. BUILD IN SUCH A WAY AS TO PASS INSPECTION (vv. 14-15).

Every good building project has to pass inspection. And the same is true for the lives we built upon the foundation of a faith in Jesus Christ. Paul wrote; “If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (vv. 14-15).

What is the reward for work that endures? I can think of several places in the Bible where we’re told at least a little hint of it. Paul at the end of his life of faithful service to the Lord was able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Peter spoke of “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:4-5). In His parable, Jesus told the faithful servants who had wisely invested the things He gave them, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21, 23).

I can’t think of a greater reward than to her the Lord Jesus say, “Well done!” Can you? I can’t think of anything better than to enter into the joy of my Lord! That alone should be enough to make me want to build on the foundation with a work that endures!

I hope there will be much of my work that will endure. But sadly, I’m sure that there’s much that won’t. Paul said that if anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss. He or she will, themselves, be saved—if, indeed, they have placed their faith in Jesus Christ. They will be in heaven. But, as Paul says, it will be “so as through fire”. It will be as if they were snatched from the flames of a house that burnt to the ground. They’re alive—but having lost everything the could have had.

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I don’t want to suffer loss, do you? I want to make sure that I’ve built on no other foundation than the one that was laid—Jesus Christ. I want to make sure that I have built on that foundation of faith with quality materials—works that are truly the fruit of His Holy Spirit that will last. And I want to pass the inspection on that great Day, see much remain that He did through me, and hear Him say, “Well done!” I hope you do to.

Well; we have an opportunity to prepare for that Day now! As the apostle Peter wrote, in words very much like Paul’s, the foundation has been laid. He said;

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Peter 1:2-4).

But now, we must rise up and faithfully build on that foundation with the right materials. As Peter then goes on to say;

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love (vv. 5-7).

Let’s do so—ever looking to the reward. For as Peter reminds us;

For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. F or he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (vv. 8-11).

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¹Gordon Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987), pp. 136-137).

² I’m indebted to Harry Ironside’s commentary on 1 Corinthians (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot, pp. 130-131) for the reminder of these two examples.