1 Corinthians 3:10-15

Introduction

Midway through 1 Corinthians 3:9 (“For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building”), Paul changes metaphors from a garden to a building. What is a metaphor? A metaphor is “a way of describing something by saying it is something else, even though it's not literally true, to create a vivid image or comparison between two things that are usually unrelated” Examples of a metaphor are: a heart of gold, snow is a white blanket, he is a shinning star, and a heart of stone. The building is not the four walls that enclose the church but the people within the four walls. Last week, we saw how a garden is a metaphor of a local church. This week, we will see how a building is a metaphor of the local church.

Just like the garden, the Corinthian Church as a building belonged to the Lord. A building that belongs to the Lord reflects a different kind of assembly than what the world is use to. Peter describes in 1 Peter 2:9 some dynamic and divine characteristics of buildings that belong to the Lord: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” Peter characterizes a building that belongs to the Lord in two ways: by expressing who they are and what they do.

First, who they are: They are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, (and) a peculiar people. Saving grace changes peoples identity. We are no longer children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), blinded to the Glorious light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4), children of the Father of lies (John 8:44), dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), and condemned by sin (Romans 5:18). Grace has chosen us, made us a royal priesthood that allows us to come to the Throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16), sanctified us and made us sacred before the Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 19:6), and changed us to be different than the world. God’s building is made up of these people.

Second, what do these people do in God’s building? They “shew forth the praises of him who hath called (them) out of darkness into his marvellous light.” The phrase “show forth” is a purpose clause. This means the purpose of God’s building is to praise Him. The intensity of this praise is relative to the depth and degree of deliverance. If a person delivers me from bankruptcy, I will praise his generosity. I will be indebted to him to be financially responsible in the future. But, if a person delivers me from certain death by dying for me, my praise will be more intense more than the previous example. I will owe the rest and all of my life to the persons sacrifice. Why are we praising God? He has through grace “called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.” This is greater than rescuing someone from bankruptcy or certain death. God saved us from sin, darkness and everlasting Hell; therefore, the praise is the greatest of all kinds and sorts of praises. God’s building praising God is demonstrated through singing, reading, giving, testifying, preaching and responding.

Therefore, seeing the importance of a building that belongs to the Lord, how this building is constructed is very important. Many of us know the story of the 3 little piggies. One piggy built his house with straw, another piggy built his house with sticks, and the third piggy built his house with bricks. The wolf was able to blow away the straw and stick houses but not the brick house. In 2019, Michael, a category 5 hurricane slammed into Mexico beach. Devastated the entire area. However, in the wake of the hurricane, one house was left standing. It does matter how a building or house is constructed.

The Corinthian church was a building that belonged to the Lord. Paul reminds them how they were constructed and warns them how to build upon the foundation so they reflect a building that belongs to the Lord.

There needs to be a wise masterbuilder

1 Corinthians 3:10 “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.”

The definition of a “masterbuilder” is “an architect” or “a chief of construction.” God chooses people to be “masterbuilders” in constructing His local and visible assemblies. In the Corinthian case, He chose the Apostle Paul. Paul visited Corinth during his second missionary trip. before entering Corinth, the trip was bitter sweet. First, he did not go where he intended to go. The Holy Spirit closed doors of opportunity eastward, and called him to go west into Europe. This call is known as the Macedonian Call. Luke records this event in Acts 16:7–10 “After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.”

Though churches were started in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, he experienced enormous pressure from opposers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, and fled for his life in Thessalonica and Berea. The next city he went to was Athens. Even though Athens did not persecute him or threaten his life, they thought his message of the resurrection of Jesus was crazy. Luke records that (Acts 17:32) “…when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.” I would argue what is worse for a missionary or pastor is not persecution but people mocking the Gospel. The next city Paul went to was Corinth. While Corinth did not have a church, there was a couple named Aquila and Priscilla who were saved and would partner with Paul in evangelizing Corinth. In the midst of opposition from the Jews in Corinth, the Lord spoke to Paul: Acts 18:9–10 “Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.” Paul stayed in Corinth an uncharacteristically 18 months as a “wise masterbuilder” building the church in Corinth. There are two thoughts regarding being a “wise masterbuilder” that I want us to see.

There are prerequisites to be a “masterbuilder” for the Lord. We see these prerequisites in Paul’s life. First, a “masterbuilder” for the Lord goes. 30 plus years ago, I heard a sermon preached at a missions conference. The speaker’s text was Matthew 28:19–20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” His first point after the introduction was based on the first word in the text, “Go.” I have not forgotten what he said. “The hardest part in fulfilling the Great Commission is the first word, a two-letter word, “Go.” The reason we support missionaries is because God has called them to go as “wise masterbuilders” to build the Lord’s churches in areas where they do not exist.

Second, a “wise masterbuilder” must be flexible to the leading and moving of the Holy Spirit. If Paul went through the doors that he intended, the ones that the Holy Spirit had closed, not only would he be disobeying God but we would not have the privilege to read, glean and grow from Paul’s experiences in Europe. Perhaps the narrative would read similar to Jonah when he disobeyed God by running from where God wanted Jonah to preach. As a whole, life requires flexibility. The need for flexibility is not because God constantly changes his mind; rather, it is because our natural desires conflict with God’s purposes in our life.

Third, a “wise masterbuilder” endures. The “wise masterbuilder” does not quit because life does not go the way they thought it would go. Yes, the Lord used Paul to start three churches in Europe: Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. However, in the process of constructing these buildings there was pain and fear. There was enough pain and fear to cause many people to retreat to a safe zone. Instead of retreating, the Apostle Apostle Paul moved forward and entered into Corinth. Acts 18 reads differently if Paul did not endure the hardship of ministry. I assume everyone has a safe zone. Their safe zone could be a geographical place or a state of mind. When life is hard, it is easy to retreat to our safe zone(s). Instead of retreating, Paul argues that we (1 Corinthians 15:58) “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Fourth, a “wise masterbuilder” is wise. To be a “master builder” for the Lord requires us to be wise. Within the context of Corinthians, to be a “wise masterbuilder” means you are follow the wisdom of God and not he wisdom of men. There are thousands of “masterbuilders” throughout the history of the world. Many of these “masterbuilders” have constructed movements that still exist to this day. The difference between their movements and Christianity is the difference between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of men. Every movement that has been built while employing the wisdom of men will one day be destroyed. Jesus gave a parable about the wise man who built his house upon the rock in Matthew 7:24–27: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” One day, the rain and floods of God’s divine judgment will destroy every movement that was not built by a “wise masterbuilder.”

What does it take to be a “wise masterbuilder?” We have already looked at three ingredients to the recipe of being a “wise master builder.” People need to go, be flexible to the moving of the Holy Spirit, and endure hardship. Based on the parable Jesus gives about the wise man who builds his house upon the rock, I will add a fourth. A “wise master builder” hears what God’s word says and does it. Sometimes a Christian can be overwhelmed by what they do not known rather than doing what they do know. James wrote in James 1:22–25 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

A fifth prerequisite to be a “wise masterbuilder” for the Lord is grace. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:10 “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.” Paul could not have accomplished anything without grace given to him from the Lord. Grace saves and grace empowers us to do the work of the ministry.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:2–7 “Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” V.2 begins with “Grace be unto you” and v.7 ends with “the riches of His grace.” “(T)hereby bracketing and defining everything in verses 2 through 7. Biblical scholars call this literary device an inclusio, as it includes everything mentioned under the sphere of the repeated concept, which in this case is divine grace. Essentially, the apostle is telling us that his insight into the mystery of Christ, his call to be a minister of the gospel, his specific work among the Gentiles, and everything else associated with his Christian life and calling is rooted in the grace of God. Without divine grace he would be nothing and would have no place at the table in the kingdom of heaven. This emphasis on the primacy and centrality of divine grace saturates Paul’s writings…”

This leads me to the phrase: “the grace of God.” I am guilty of reading without taking time to absorb words and phrases. By doing this, I fail to see some important and impactful statements. “The grace of God” is both important and impactful. The phrase means the grace given to Paul belonged to God. God owns grace. The reason you and I cannot own grace is our love is stained with sin. Therefore, we are incapable of 100% selflessly loving others. In a Q and A with R. C. Sproul, the question asked was someone in the audience seeing that we cannot live up to Matthew 22:37–39 (“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”), then are we actively living in a state of sin. R. C. Sproul’s answer surprised the audience. He said, “yes!” We can never love God or our neighbor perfectly because of sin. Grace can never belong to us because every faculty of our essence to include affections has been tainted by sin. God is not tainted by sin. He is holy, perfect, flawless, and pure; therefore, His love is holy, perfect, flawless, and pure!

Not only does He own and possess grace but He shares this grace with us so that we can fulfill His purposes with divine love. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:10 “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.” With God gifting us His love, we can never build anything for the Kingdom of God. Paul wrote in Romans 12:3: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Paul needed God’s grace given to him to do the work of ministry! In Ephesians 3:8, Paul wrote: “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”

Why is this such an important statement for Paul to make? If we need grace to do ministry then this means we need grace to preach, teach, to be deacons and trustees, to play musical instruments or sing. But ministry is not confined to these areas. We need grace to be fathers and mothers, workers, students, community leaders, business owners, etc…Understand the importance and impact of Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 3:10. We need God’s grace to be everything He wants us to be in Him. Without His grace then we become everything we want to be in us, and that is not good!

Partnership

1 Corinthians 3:10 “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.”

Paul used similar language in Ephesians 2:19–22 that he wrote in 1 Corinthians 3. He wrote: “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” The Lord’s churches are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets. This explains why the church in Jerusalem (Acts 2:42) “…continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine…” Their doctrine laid the foundation for the Lord’s churches of which, Jesus is the chief cornerstone. This does not mean the Apostles were the only ones able to start churches throughout the Roman Empire. Rather, the doctrine they taught and preached and was implemented by others, laid the foundation for the expansion of the Lord’s churches. Albert Barnes noted: “The doctrines which they taught are the basis on which the church rests.” The foundation the Apostles laid was :”Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

God could have used any Christian who taught and preached the Apostolic doctrine as a “wise masterbuilder” to start the church in Corinth; however, God chose Paul. Paul was not the only “wise masterbuilder.” If we are following Paul’s argument for church unity in chapter 3, then the “another” person who built upon his work was Apollos. However, the reason he did not mention Apollos by name was the “another” was not exclusive to just Apollos. We see this at the end of 1 Corinthians 3:10 “…But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.” The “another” is every man that builds upon the foundation.

The key word in the partnership of building a church is “another.” In the Greek, there are two main words translated in our New Testaments as “another.” One word means “another of a different kind.” An example of this is Hebrews 7:11 “If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?” Jesus is the “another priest (that) should rise after the order of Melchisedec.” Though He is another priest, He is not the same kind of priest that served in the Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament. The Levitical Priests were sinners that needed the same sacrifice to be accepted with God. Jesus lived a sinless life and needed no sacrifice to fellowship with God.

The second word for “another” is “another of the same kind.” An example of this is Matthew 8:9: “For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.” The “another” person is the same as the first person by being under the authority of the captain. Therefore, they have the same position. The word that Paul chose was the second word. The “another” is someone of the same kind. Now, why is this important? It is not just Apostles who lay the foundation of the local church or build upon that foundation. Paul was an Apostle but Apollos was not an Apostle. Therefore, in what way was Paul and Apollos the same, and Paul and others who built upon the foundation the same? The answer goes back to the first part of v.10 - “According to the grace of God which is given unto me…” God’s grace working through Christians lives is what unites us together in the work of building.

This means you do not have to be an Apostle or seminary graduate (not that being a seminary graduate is a bad thing) to do the work of ministry within a local church that helps build the church. But, you do need God’s grace working through you. I assume that most Christians know or are familiar with Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” However, there is a connecting verse to these two verses in v.10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” The word “for” connects v.10 to the 2 previous verses. “(T)he result of receiving the gift of grace is that we are God’s handiwork, and the purpose of God’s grace gift is to empower us to do the work He has assigned to us.”

in 1 Corinthians 3:10 (“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon”), the root word for “buildeth” is translated later in 1 Corinthians as edifying the body or local church in Corinth. The purpose of spiritual gifts is to edify or build up the Lord’s church. We are building upon the foundation by edifying or building up people in the church. Do you tear people down or build people up? There is a sense in which both are necessary to build up. The Lord said to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:10: “See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.” However, based upon my anecdotal experience, when I see someone tearing down another person, there is little building back up again. We attack, condescend, hurt, and devalue. Proverbs 15:1 says: “A soft answer turneth away wrath: But grievous words stir up anger.”

Warning

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

Paul gives the warning in the last part of v.10 and v.11. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:10–11 “…But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” We need to be careful how we build upon the right foundation, and we need to make sure we build upon the right foundation. David Guzik wrote: “There is only one foundation for the church. If it isn’t founded on Jesus Christ, it isn’t a church at all. So one can’t build on any other foundation; but one can build unworthily on the one foundation.”

First, Paul argues that no man can build on another foundation that is not Jesus Christ. Even in the first century, there were other foundations being built. There was a different Gospel foundation. Paul wrote in Galatians 1:6–8: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” And, there was a different Christ foundation being built. Paul wrote of this in 2 Corinthians 11:4: “For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” A “wise masterbuilder” builds upon the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Brian Bell wrote: there can be “no other redemption; no other salvation; no other Savior; no other Christ.” “Spurgeon said, ‘None but Jesus, the divine Savior, could sustain the weight of a single soul with all its sins, much less of all the souls which are built up into the Temple of God.’” John MacArthur wrote: “Some builders have tried to make the foundation of Christianity to be church tradition, others the moral teachings of the human Jesus, others ethical humanism, and still others some form of pseudo-scientism or simply sentimental love and good works. But the only foundation of the church and of Christian living is Jesus Christ. Without that foundation no spiritual building will be of God or will stand.”

Second, Paul argues that we need to build correctly upon the right foundation. It does matter how we build upon the foundation of the Apostles with Jesus being the chief corner stone. Teaching, practice, and spirit are important in building effectively upon the right foundation.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:12–15 “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” “This foundation” is the Apostolic foundation; the doctrine the churches of Jesus Christ was built upon and pursued after.

Paul list 6 items that can be divided into 2 groups. The first group is gold, silver, and precious stones; the second group is wood, hay, and stubble. “For the day shall declare it” is a reference to the Judgement Seat of Christ. There are two judgements: the Judgement Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgement. The first judgement is the Judgement Seat of Christ. Paul mentions explicitly the Judgement Seat of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” The word for seat comes from the Greek word “Bema.” This judgement will take place in heaven probably during the 7-year Tribulation period.

“In the world of the New Testament, the bēma was a raised platform, usually mounted by steps, used to make public pronouncements and to award prizes. In the Grecian games, the umpire or referee sat on a bēma seat, and from that seat he rewarded those contestants who had run so as to obtain the prize (1 Cor 9:24). That seat could be a judicial bench (Acts 18.12), but Paul employs the term in its more prominent social sense referring to a prominent elevation from which honor of various sorts – political, athletic, civil – was awarded or withheld by a presiding official (2 Cor 5:10; Rom 14:10).” The purpose of this judgement is not to judge sin; rather, to determine rewards a Christian receives in heaven based upon their faithful living. Sin will not be judged at this judgement; our sins have already been judged by Jesus Christ crucifixion on the cross. Therefore, in this judgement we will either win or lose rewards based on how we built upon the foundation of the Apostles. Did we build righteous acts upon this foundation of not? This judgement has nothing to do with our eternal destiny. Paul concludes that though it is possible for Christians to suffer loss of rewards. yet, “he himself shall be saved.”

The second judgement is the Great White Throne Judgement. Only unsaved people will be judged during this judgement. The Great White Throne Judgement takes place after the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. This event will end temporal history and usher in eternity. All the unsaved people from the history of humanity will be decisively judged and cast into the Lake of Fire for ever (Revelation 20:11-15). Fire will reveal whether or not we built upon the right foundation with the correct material. Fire increases the value of gold, silver and precious stones but destroys the value of wood, hay and stubble.

Conclusion