Be Careful How You Build

1 Cor 1.17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.

You have forgotten the manner in which you came to know Christ, the manner in which you were put into the body of Christ, the manner in which you humbled and submitted yourself to the lordship of Christ – and have now confused Human wisdom (worldly) with Heavenly wisdom (of God) [syncretism] and this has led to a plethora of confusion and division in the church – ultimately slowing or even stopping the mission of God from going forward.

This is a HUGE problem, to throw a wrench in what God is trying to do in the entire world – by your actions in one little church – yes, that’s how big a deal what goes on in one little church is to God.

It’s like the mosquito that bring death by malaria. Or the splinter my wife got in her finger this past week at the store. It’s the little things that matter – because they can grow into big things. Being off 1 degree as you travel the ocean may not seem like much but it will radically effect where you end up after a couple days of travel

Remember, in the letters to the churches in the book of Revelation that Jesus himself gave to the Apostle John as he was in prison on the island of Patmos – Jesus told 7 different churches that if they didn’t get properly re-aligned with his mission for the world, he would remove them – he would end their days as a church.

God’s plan involved the nation of Israel as the primary channel of multiplication and blessing in the first part of the Bible, but in the second part of the Bible the vehicle for God’s message changed – it became the church – no longer an ethnic and national identity but now a global, multiethnic, multilingual body that together proclaims one unified message from every country on the planet – the same message of the cross that Paul is reminding the Corinthians of in our text.

So the situation at Corinth, the divisions, the disagreements, the degrading manner in which some people were treated is a big deal to God and thus to his servant, Paul.

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is structured around key theological truths that are fleshed out in specific ways to show the Corinthians what it means to actually walk in the light of the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This way of living, seems completely foolish to a world that doesn’t understand and hasn’t been changed by the power of the message/preaching of the cross.

Paul has made clear that the way up is down – humility is the path to exaltation. Putting other first is the path to promotion. Putting God’s eternal kingdom before your personal and temporary ambitions is the way to true success.

Leadership for Paul is about pointing people to Jesus and serving the church. It’s not about personal fame or glory, status or accolades.

In 1 Cor 1.13 Paul asked three questions. He said is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul. And of course the answer to each of these questions is No, Christ is not divided. Paul was not crucified for you, Jesus was. And you were baptized in Jesus’ name, not Paul’s.

Paul further unpacks these three questions showing that it is the Power of the Cross and the Preaching of the Cross that demonstrates these truths.

In today’s portion of Scripture – basically chapters 3-4 (1 Cor 3-4) Paul continues to unpack the first question he asked as to whether or not Christ is divided. He returns to this first question to demonstrate not just the Power and Preaching of the cross, that we’ve already discussed but the Purpose of the cross.

The Corinthians, like all churches that lose their way have forgotten not just the Power and the Preaching of the cross but they’ve also forgotten the Purpose of the cross.

It doesn’t take much reading of the story of God’s people as found in the scriptures to realize how often His people forget…..God miraculously parts the red sea and obliterates the Egyptian Army and soon thereafter the people want to go back to Egypt. God miraculously feeds them manna in the wilderness and they want to go back to Egypt for leeks and fish. God miraculously brings down the walls of Jericho and they want to steal plunder from God.

The word ‘remember’ or its associated terms is used over 500 times in the Bible. God’s people are a very forgetful people. We fail to recall what God has done and we fail to act in a manner consistent with what God has done.

Yesterday is done and today is our focus – and we forget that God got us through yesterday and he can get us through today as well. We forget WHO God is and WHO we are – we begin to create or lean into new identities for ourselves based on worldly wisdom – we look to worldly status, accomplishments, reputation, and the like to help us feel good about ourselves – and that ultimately will change how we act and how we live – in small ways at first, but in every increasingly impactful ways – albeit negatively impactful ways.

So Paul moves to realign us with a proper identity in Jesus Christ, the one who went to the cross so we don’t have to, the one who is head of the church, the one who calls us, equips us, sends us, instructs us …..

The goal of this is to remind us that our unique gifts and abilities are exactly that - gifts, from God - that he knew about before he joined us to His church. Now that He’s joined us to His church it’s up to us to use our gifts and abilities to further His mission - the great commission - to the world, beginning here in Orlando, where He’s put us.

The foundation has already been laid. We are now responsible to God, as His servants, to build upon that foundation. It’s like the 100 day house show....they’ve cleared the land, they’ve poured the footings, the slab is in place and now it’s time to build the house. Are you going to use block, plywood, metal? What materials are you going to use? Are you expecting hurricanes? Tornadoes? Water? Sun? Sandstorms? You’d better factor that into your building.

Be Careful How You Build

That’s the point this morning. There is a lot in chapter 3 and 4 (1 Cor 3-4) that is a reiteration, a re-emphasis of what Paul has already said. What’s significantly new is that because little things matter in God’s Kingdom you need to be very careful how you build.

1 Corinthians 3:10–17 CSB

10 According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. 14 If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire. 16 Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.

Since Paul, Apollos and all other Christian leaders are actually just servants of the most high God (see 1 Cor 3.5-9) the real issue for the church is how are you using your gifts and abilities for God’s glory. Because it is God’s church and He grows it with His Power, specifically through the power of the preached word of the Cross, it is important that each member of God’s church carefully evaluate how they go about their lives, how they build upon the foundation of the life and message of Jesus for the church.

Listen to what Paul claims for God’s role in this.

1 Corinthians (Explanatory Notes)

1 Cor 1:9 God is faithful.

1 Cor 1:20 God made foolish the wisdom of the world.

1 Cor 1:21 God decided … to save those who believe.

1 Cor 1:27–28 God chose what is foolish in the world; … God chose what is weak in the world; … God chose what is low and despised in the world.

1 Cor 2:7 God decreed [wisdom] before the ages for our glory.

1 Cor 2:9 God has prepared [something] for those who love him.

1 Cor 2:10 God has revealed [these things] to us through the Spirit.

1 Cor 3:6 God gave the growth.

1 Cor 3:7 Only God … gives the growth.

1 Cor 3:17 God will destroy that person [who destroys God’s temple].

1 Cor 4:9 God has exhibited us apostles as last of all.

1 Cor 5:13 God will judge those outside.

1 Cor 6:13 God will destroy both [food] and the [stomach].

1 Cor 6:14 God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.

1 Cor 7:15 God has called you.

1 Cor 7:17 God called you.

1 Cor 8:4 There is no God but one.

1 Cor 8:6 There is one God.

1 Cor 10:5 God was not pleased with most of them.

1 Cor 10:13 God is faithful.

1 Cor 11:3 God is the head of Christ.

1 Cor 12:6 God … activates all [activities] in everyone.

1 Cor 12:18 God arranged the members in the body.

1 Cor 12:24 God has so arranged the body.

1 Cor 12:28 God has appointed in the church [various gifts].

1 Cor 14:33 God is a God not of disorder but of peace.

1 Cor 15:28 So that God may be all in all.

1 Cor 15:38 God gives it a body as he has chosen.

1 Corinthians Explanatory Notes

In addition to these nominative uses of God as subject of the sentence, there are many references to God in the genitive form, that is, where something is “of God.” Paul writes about the will of God (1:1), the congregations of God (1:2; 10:32; 11:16, 22; 15:9), grace and peace from God (1:3, 4; 3:10; 15:10 [two times]), the power of God (1:18, 24; 2:5), the wisdom from/of God (1:21, 24, 30; 2:7), the mystery(ies) of God (2:1; 4:1), the depths of God (2:10), the Spirit from/of God (2:11, 12, 14; 3:16; 6:11, 19; 7:40; 12:3), the gifts from/by God (2:12; 7:7), God’s field (3:9), God’s building (3:9), God’s temple (3:16, 17 [two times]), commendation from God (4:5), Christ belongs to God (3:23), the kingdom of God (4:20; 6:9, 10; 15:50), the commandments of God (7:19), the law of God (9:21), the glory of God (10:31), the image and reflection of God (11:7), the word of God (14:36)—in short, all things come from God (11:12).

Plus all the implicit references.

So, there is no way of getting around the idea that this entire endeavor, everything about God’s Plan and God’s Church is initiated and run by God Himself.

Here we find not just Paul’s theology of Jesus (Christology) but also Paul’s theology of the church (Ecclesiology).

In the Cross, Leaders are Servant Stewards

Paul sees himself as just a servant and steward, managing what God has given him and the churches God has put before him. Leaders are to be faithful to the role God has given them.

Notice that in 1 Cor 3.5 Paul doesn’t say “Who is Apollos?” but “WHAT is Apollos?”. This is about the fact that any identity they have is wrapped up in Christ and His Cross. Elsewhere Paul details his former, worldly status…the fact that he was a rabbi, well trained, etc. But that is all gone now. He counts that as garbage to knowing the Savior Jesus Christ. Paul hones in on the fact that it is his relationship to the creator God and his son Jesus that is the basis for who he is and what he is. He’s not just an apostle, more importantly he is a servant - and so is Apollos - and so is every leader in the church of God. Servants of the most high God - designated to carry out the Master’s orders, not their own.

And just because Paul might plant and Apollos might water - they are both the same - servants of the most high God. It is God who gives the increase, the growth, the results (1 Cor 3.5-9). This removes the concern over results from the servants hands. The role of the servant is to be faithful to what the master has commanded, whether that is little or much - just don’t hide it, like the wicked man in the parable of the talents.

So God’s leaders are both servants and stewards - managers of God’s household, the church. They are instructed to use the wisdom of the cross, not the wisdom of the world to discern and determine how and where to plant and water.

Sometimes a leader may have a desire to go someplace and God stops them (Acts 16.6). Sometimes a leader may not desire to go someplace and God says go (think of Jonah 1-4).

These two aspects of the leaders role are specified again in 1 Cor 4.1

1 Corinthians 4:1 CSB

1 A person should think of us in this way: as servants of Christ and managers of the mysteries of God.

and in verse 2 Paul is clear that it is faithfulness that is expected by God and it is God who will be the judge as to whether or not he has been faithful.

In the Cross, the Church is God’s Temple

But it’s not just about leaders. Paul is very concerned about the Corinthians themselves and their role in God’s Church. Paul repeatedly refers to YOU in the plural, referring to the Corinthians themselves. It is YOU, US as the people of God at Grace Alive that are God’s field, God’s building and God’s temple. It is the local church of God that God comes to indwell and be with. It is here, that God desires to dwell in our midst. Yes, we as believers are indwelt by the HS but God’s Spirit also resides and rests corporately among and amidst His People who are gathered together (the church). That’s why there must be unity - you can’t divide up the temple in which the Spirit of God is living - you would destroy the temple. And thus Paul warns - be very careful how you build and be very careful about causing division. Jesus said no less when he warned about causing a fellow believer to stumble into sin. He said in Mat 18.6 it would be better for him to chain a truck around his neck and jump off a bridge - that’s my paraphrase, what he literally said was

Matthew 18:6 CSB

6 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.

And He has a stern warning, as He did to the seven churches in Revelation, that you need to be careful how you build - how you operate - in God’s church because He will judge the work we do - and no matter how small we are we effect others - and that matters to God.

Paul is clear - the reason church conflicts matter, the reason divisions, jockeying for position, aligning with one person over another, refusing to forgive or be reconciled - the reason this matters is because these things defile God’s church, just like unholy incense, impure animals and uncleaness defiled the temple of the OT. God will not be mocked nor made a fool of. He always wins. He always has the last word, even if it’s years later.

The immaturity of the Corinthians (1 Cor 3.1-9) made them unable to hear or heed what God was telling them. Their short-term memory regarding God’s goodness and grace caused them to forget whose family they were part of and they became increasingly like the world, both in thinking and action. Now, it’s understandable that a baby Christian needs milk, but Paul is quite clear that the Corinthians should no longer be needing milk, they should be chewing on some T-Bones but they can’t handle a steak knife, they don’t know how to open that baked potato and get some butter, salt, cheese, maybe some bacon bits on that thing....their just sucking on that bottle still…don’t realize how foolish they look at 35 still nursing a bottle.

1 Peter 2:2 CSB

2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation,

Hebrews 5:12–14 CSB

12 Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food. 13 Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.

When Christians are not maturing they become fussy, selfish, sassy, throwing tantrums and become a burden not a blessing. They impede the mission of the message of the cross because they’ve become entangled in the wisdom of the world instead of the upside down inside out wisdom of the cross.

This isn’t Paul’s first crack at trying to correct the behavior of the Corinthian church. He’s tried before and he’ll keep on trying but they won’t get it until they go back to the cross and humble themselves. They need to repent and go back to their first love - the simplistic I’ll do whatever you want Jesus, even if it seems foolish.

While the gates of hell cannot prevail against God’s church, God himself will pull down individual churches that do not stay devoted to the Power, Preaching and Purpose of the message of the cross. God always warns before he judges, he offers repentance before retribution. He told the Laodicean church the same thing in Rev 3.16 and indicated he was standing at their door knocking (Rev 3.20), inviting them to repent, remember and re-engage with God’s mission. In 1 Cor 3.17 Paul does the same for the Corinthian church and God reaches out to churches across America saying the same thing.

Jesus’ idea of ‘church’ isn’t a Sunday morning meeting that lasts 70-90 minutes. Rather, what the Scriptures speak of is an entirely new family, an alternative society in which the crucified and resurrected King and Lord dwells by his Spirit and in which there is a taste of the future glory of heaven.

So Paul lays out three metaphors for the body of Christ - a field, a building and a temple.

In all three of these metaphors it is God doing the work, it is God who is the active protagonist and hero.

In the analogy of the field, it is God’s field, so again we see that the church belongs to God. He sends people to sow, water, and lead as he chooses, but He brings about the increase.

In the analogy of the building which will come up again later in the book, the important aspect is the foundation - the life and work of Jesus, specifically the message of the cross and the resurrection, which are the foundation.

Treasures from First Corinthians, Volume 1 V. The Distinct Focus of Bible Preaching (1:22–23)

The roots of man’s godless religion, go all the way back to Cain.

* Man says “Do!” God says “Done!”

* Man says “Toil!” God says “Trust!”

* Man says “Behave!” God says “Believe!”

* Man says “Achieve!” God says “Accept!”

It’s the message of the cross that matters.

Everything else is to be built upon that foundation This is where you take your gifts - given to you by God and put them to work helping people discover, deepen and display a relationship with Jesus Christ. We are gospel centered here at GA, that means we are all about the message of the cross, the power, the preaching and the purpose of the cross.

You can use your gifts to lead in worship or assist in worship by making a joyful noise unto the lord.

You can use your gifts to teach kids or youth or your creativity in creating fun projects for kids that point them to Jesus or supplement a bible lesson.

You can use your trade gifts like plumbing, electrical, HVAC and more to not only help the literal building we meet in, but also the actual ‘building’ metaphorically speaking - the members - when they have a need. Certainly, they can pay you for your work, but as needed you can also donate your skills, you can tithe your skills for Jesus. It’s not just widows and orphans that might need assistance.

Or maybe you have a different gift or skill set - whatever it is, you can use it to help the members and the programming aspect of what we do as a church family to further the mission of God.

While Paul, and all preachers/teachers have to be careful to only teach and build what is inline with the scriptures as they will be judged more harshly, everyone has a duty to God to use their gifts for Him. Paul will pick up on this in 1 Cor 10-12.

Paul’s view on this is not just temporal, he refers to “the day” in 1 Cor 3.13, which he has already mentioned back in 1 Cor 1.9 and will mention again in 1 Cor 4.5. The Day he refers to is the return of Jesus and the judging and evaluation of all things.

While Paul’s overriding concern for all things he’s relaying to the Corinthians is based on their being called by God and thrust into the koinonia/body of Christ, he’s also heavily motivated by the fact that there is a day coming when Jesus will make all things known and everyone will have to give an account for their stewardship or managing of the gifts God has given them.

Paul’s last image in this section is that of the temple and here things get ratcheted up a notch - now the church isn’t just a field or a building, it’s the actual house of God…not this building, but us a people, us as God’s people. This is Paul pulling together overarching biblical themes from Genesis all the way up to this point in history. It’s the idea of God’s People living in God’s Presence by God’s Power for God’s Glory. The entire book of Leviticus, which is smack dab in the middle of the Torah (the first 5 books of the OT) was written for this very reason.

Moses has just received the instructions from God on how to build the Tabernacle - the house of God - and before God could come and dwell in their midst, the people had to get ready for His Presence. They had to be clean. They had to be pure. They had to understand what it meant to be in the presence of a Holy God.

The tabernacle later became the temple and then when Jesus arrived on earth, John says he dwelt or tabernacled among us, being the living presence of God in human form. And then after his death, burial and resurrection the HS came to dwell within us individually and now Paul is saying the HS also dwells among us corporately.

The word you in the passage is plural - it’s not singular - it’s us as the church of God, collectively gathered and living out the plan of God in unity that provides the opportunity to God to show and do what only God can do. But when their is disunity and division, when there is selfishness and worldly wisdom - then the work of God is hindered because He desires clean vessels - that’s why he cleaned us (see 1 Cor 1.1-9). He makes us righteous so that He can work through us and so that we can be part of what He is already doing and has been doing for thousands of years.

So when Paul says with the utmost seriousness that those who destroy the temple of God will be destroyed he saying not to hinder the work God is trying to do in his church. When we get to 1 Cor 11 we’ll see that there are individual who are sick and some who have literally died because of their sin and their hindrance to the mission of God. So both individually there may come judgment and corporately as God removes churches for not keeping true to the message of the cross.

How can we keep from falling into the trap the Corinthians fell into?

Remember where you came from & how you got where you are - Jesus called and cleaned you.

Recognize who is lord - Jesus is lord over all of life

Realize you have a part to play - Jesus has called, gifted and empowered you

Treasures from First Corinthians, Volume 1 IV. The Cause and Credit for Growth (3:6–8a)

Clovis Chappell, a nineteenth century preacher, used to tell an interesting story about two paddle-boats. The two boats, powered by coal, left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side-by-side, sailors from one vessel made some critical remarks and jokes about the snail’s pace of the other boat. Heated words were exchanged between the men on the two boats. Challenges were made, so they began to race.

The competition was hot and heavy as the two boats roared through the Deep South. Eventually, one boat began falling behind. The problem: it didn’t have enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising young sailor took some of the ship’s cargo and tossed it into the boat’s ovens. When his fellow sailors saw that the supplies burned as well as coal, they fueled their boat with the material they had been assigned to transport. Guess what? They ended up winning the race, but they burned their cargo.

How does this apply to us? The men on the winning boat did what they liked, which was winning the race, but the price for that victory was expensive. The boat’s cargo, the very reason they were traveling down the river in the first place, was sacrificed. So they failed to do what they ought to have done, which was to safely transport their cargo. They did not fulfill their purpose.

You may not have thought about it, but God has entrusted each of us with cargo. Our cargo is other people, such as friends and family, and the ability He has given us to help someone else by our encouragement, love, and by our witness for Jesus Christ in sharing the Gospel. We are responsible for this cargo, and ought to cherish it in our journey through life. However, like the men on the winning boat, often we fail in that responsibility. If we are not careful, we will go through life serving and glorifying our selves and trying to be number one, instead of being faithful and fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. Beloved, be faithful and responsible in doing the will of God.

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