Part 8: What Kind of Building are You Constructing?

Introduction

On June 29, 1995, the Sampoong Dept Store in Seoul, South Korea collapsed, killing more than 500 people and injuring more than 930.

It collapsed bc corners were cut and engineering regulations were not kept when it was redesigned to be a dept store. It was originally to be a four-story office building.

In the redesign support columns were removed to make room for escalators. Restaurants and swimming pools were added to a fifth floor.

Contractors warned of the danger of added weight and structural issues, but they were fired and new ones brought in.

Then, on June 29, cracks were visible in the 5th floor ceiling, and they were widening all day long. By lunchtime, the 4th floor ceiling was sagging. Finally, at 5:50 PM, the staff attempted to evacuate the building. But it was too late.

What materials and how we build is just as important as the foundation that is laid.

[see Encyclopedia Britannica article online]

We saw Paul explaining that what matters most in preaching is Christ crucified. It’s not about how one speaks it per se. It’s about the message of Jesus.

The wisdom Paul has is from God, not the world. Although he may not speak with flowery words, the message he preaches is divine wisdom.

One of the underlying practical points for Paul’s audience: The Corinthians are not spiritual Christians; they are “natural” Christians. Paul is laying it all on the line.

As we continue in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he continues the theme of how it’s not about following the person who preached or baptized them. Dividing over such things is sinful. Paul focuses in this passage that all are workers in God’s Kingdom. And what matters is that the workers lay the same foundation (Christ). But the workers will receive different rewards/payment based upon their works. But that is not up to us to give; it’s God’s to give.

For us: we must all unite on working in the kingdom and we must be careful how we build.

1. The Principle: All are Kingdom Workers, but All do not Receive the Same Pay (3:8-10a)

The Principle:

1 Corinthians 3:8 NASB95

Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

The theme of unity is continued here. But there is the idea of unity within diversity.

Those who feed the word of God to others are, indeed, one. The ministry is the same: the Word of God. But note that one plants and another waters. Each Christian plays a different role in dispersing the Gospel.

Note, however, that the reward or the pay for one’s work is different: “BUT each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.”

In short, there is a work ethic in God’s kingdom: a person is rewarded for the work he does. If he works well and his efforts bear lasting, good fruit, then he will receive a great reward. But if he does not work well, or not at all, then he will not receive a great reward.

What this is not saying: that we are saved by our good works—if we just work a little harder and keep God’s laws, etc. that we will definitely be rewarded with salvation and heaven.

This is why learning how to study the Bible is so important. We do not want to misunderstand what is being taught. Context is key here. What Paul is talking about is about rewards for Christians who are already saved.

Another way to say what Paul is saying: “Each Christian will receive a reward according to his own work at ministering to others, and esp by how he makes disciples of others.”

NiRV: “The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose. The Lord will give each of them a reward for their work.”

Paul is specifically telling the Corinthians that he, the apostles, and their understudies will receive different rewards for their work although they are all working for the same thing, namely, the Gospel.

We are Workers (v.9a)

1 Corinthians 3:9 NASB95

For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

“fellow worker” = idea that they are working for God

Charles Hodge:

An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians Reproof of the Corinthians for Their Dissensions about Their Religious Teachers. vs. 1–23

This is at once the reason why ministers are one, and why they are to be rewarded according to their labours. They are one because they are all co-workers with God in the same great enterprise

Paul then calls the Corinthian church “God’s field.” Scripture often compares the church, his people, to a field and the things that grow in it:

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

But even more so, God refers to his people, Christians, as a building:

You are God’s Building (v.9a-10a)

1 Corinthians 3:10 “. . . you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. . . .”

God’s people—the church—as a building in Scripture:

Ephesians 2:19–22 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

(Explain highlighted phrases)

That it is even possible for the church to be like a building requires that it was founded by Christ as the cornerstone. But is was also necessary for the apostles and prophets to serve as the foundation . . .

What is the Significance for Us?

We are to be workers in God’s kingdom.

We are an established building, laid on the foundations of the apostles and prophets (Scripture’s teachings), and we need to be workers in God’s kingdom.

Luke 9:62 “But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.’”

2. We need to have unity (in purpose) in diversity (of gifts)

This is actually Paul’s main pt here. He is asking the Corinthians why they are dividing over whom they follow—Peter, Paul, Apollos, etc.? All these are workers in God’s kingdom intent on one purpose. Don’t make distinctions among yourselves, elevating certain people above others. They are all ministers of the Gospel, and God will give them the proper rewards for their work.

For us, we need to remember this as well.

1 Corinthians 12:4–7 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

1 Corinthians 12:12–13 “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”

3. We will receive a reward from God for our work.

This may be a difficult thing to grasp. Maybe we have never heard about it before. But this is exactly what Paul is teaching us in 1 cor 3:8-15. This is actually the point, as we will see.

Thing to keep in mind: Receiving rewards from God is not inconsistent with being saved by grace.

Illustration: Reward vs. Working for something. This is one of the basics of parenting.

If a parent tells his child that if he is nice to his sister, then he will get something in return for it, that’s a bribe not a reward. The reason why is because a child is obligated to be nice to his sister. It is just morally right to do so, and no one should get something for doing what he ought to do anyway. If a parent were to give his child something for his child every time he did what he was supposed to do, then the child would resort to always working for the gift rather than doing what is right just for the sake of it being right.

A reward, on the other hand, is not something worked for. It is something freely given by the one who has the right to give it.

So, when we work for God’s kingdom, we do not work because we are going to get something for it. We do not work for a reward; we work for the Lord.

But we must be careful how we work:

2. All Must be Careful How He Builds (3:10b-13)

1 Corinthians 3:10 NASB95

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.

When Paul came to Corinth for the first time, he laid a basic foundation of the Gospel. Many of the Corinthians responded in faith and repentance and then were baptized (as 1 Cor 1 indicates). The basic foundation, says Paul, is Christ:

The Foundation is Christ (v.11)

1 Corinthians 3:11 NASB95

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The most important part of a house/building is the foundation. One of the reasons the Tower of Piza leans is because it was originally built on marshy land. The foundation gives stability to the house.

Jesus’ parable: The wise man built his house upon the rock; the foolish man built his house upon the sand.

Matthew 7:24–25 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.”

When working in the Kingdom of God—making disciples—we must lay the foundation of Jesus Christ . . . him born of a virgin, etc. . .

As important as the foundation is, Paul also recognizes that what he taught was just a foundation. Others, like a house or building, began to construct the walls and doors on that foundation. And when they do this, they must be careful to use good, lasting materials.

The Building and Its Materials (v.12-13)

1 Corinthians 3:12–13 NASB95

Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.

Paul begins by listing three types of strong, good materials: “gold, silver, and precious stones.”

If you put fire to gold and sliver, they become more pure. Precious jewels (diamonds) are very strong.

The second three items are weak, poor materials: “wood, hay, straw”

They are weak materials is comparison to gold, silver, and precious stones. Wood, hay, and straw burn very easily.

The metaphor Paul is using here is quite clear: As workers in God’s kingdom, we want to build on Christ with lasting materials (like gold and silver in this world are valuable and lasting). We do not want to build upon Christ with poor teaching or discipling. Ie, we want to build upon the teachings of Christ with deeper truths and understanding that lead to obedience.

Paul tells us that “each man’s work will become evident,” specifically on “the day” when Christ returns. Just like fire will burn up wood, hay, and straw, if our works in the kingdom are weak and not lasting, they too shall be “burned with fire.” In other words, we’ll have nothing to show for our faith and work in God’s kingdom.

In the context, the specific work in mind are those things that come from pride and selfishness. The Corinthians, remember, were about following certain personalities and puffing themselves up.

What Does This Mean for Us?

We need to be working in God’s kingdom

Every one of us are to be involved with laying the foundation of Christ in the lives of others.

It would be good to remind ourselves: doing work in God’s Kingdom—being a Christian—is not about coming to church and giving a check every week and then going home and coming back the next week; it’s not about donating food to the poor; it’s not about being a nice guy or voting for the right guy in politics. Although these things are worthy for different reasons, this is not what being a Christian is about.

Being a Christian is about being a disciple and making disciples. It’s about working from a humble heart and selfless motivation to become more like Jesus and spreading the Gospel to others.

Jesus:

Matthew 6:19–21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

2. We need to be careful how we build

The work we do in the church is not about the ego. It’s not about “look at me.” When we build upon the foundation of Christ, it is about him, not us and our preferences.

Remember that God builds his church, not us:

1 Corinthians 3:6–7 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”

Conclusion for us:

3. What You Build With Determines Your Reward (3:14-15)

Does It Remain? (v.14)

1 Corinthians 3:14 NASB95

If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.

What we have to constantly keep in mind: the rewards mentioned here are not about working for salvation. It is about how we are working in the kingdom.

Are we making disciples, serving, and teaching? Are we laying the foundation of Jesus Christ, his death and resurrection? Are we continuing in obedience, which is the edifice of the building?

Bc of our cultural American Christianity, this may sound odd to some of us. Our American Christianity says that once we are saved, we are done. Or, at best, we can just go to church frequently, give some money, and we’re good. That’s what being a Christian is all about. There are no demands. Faith does not have to have obedience and transformation to be more like Jesus. The goal of Am. Christianity is heaven, not transformation of the self.

We need to heed Paul’s warning: if we are not building or we are building with wood, straw, or hay, then:

Is It Burned Up? (v.15)

1 Corinthians 3:15 NASB95

If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

I.e., when Christ returns and your work was poor, it will be burned up. And you will suffer loss. What this loss will be is not stated.

However, this does not mean you will not be saved. But only by the skin of your teeth will you be saved.

Jesus’ parable of the good and bad slaves:

Matthew 24:45–51 ““Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”