God's Sure and Steady Foundation
1 Corinthians 3:1-15 • Sermon • Submitted
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But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
I Corinthians 3:1-
As we come to chapter 3 in the study of 1 Corinthians this morning, I want to thank you all and Kyle for inviting me to join you all in this journey through 1 Corinthians. As Kyle may have told you all I not only came to faith under his ministry, but he was the one whom introduced me and my family to verse by verse expositional preaching which God used to put the desire in my heart to be able to expound and explain His Word that others may come to know and grow in Him!
So this morning my goal is to walk through verse 1 - 15 then come back tonight and unpack verses 16-23. I want to ask you to think back with me for a moment to the beginning of the Scriptures and consider some of the family issues that we see amongst God’s people.
Adam and Eve fell by disobeying God.
Cain killed Abel out of jealousy.
Jacob deceived Esau out of a selfish heart.
Joseph was sold into slavery because of his brothers dislike and disrespect of him.
King David’s own son tried to kill him and take his throne because of his sons wicked heart. From the beginning of humanity God’s people have has jealousy, strife, and sin in the midst of their own family.
Here in it is no different. God’s family, His church is being divided and denigrated because of the sinful fleshly living of the people of God. So what Paul does is remind the Corinthians how they acting, who they actually are, and the foundation on which they must continue to build.
In light of that this morning I want us to see three primary points of application we can learn from chapter three of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. These points of application will by God’s grace reveal to us any sin we need to repent of, any division that may need to be repaired, and how we can avoid damaging the household of God. The first point I want us to see this morning is as people of God we must,
This morning I want us to see three primary points of application we can learn from chapter three of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
I. Fight the Flesh (1-3)
I. Fight the Flesh (1-3)
We ought to especially remember,
A. Don’t Fight Your Family
A. Don’t Fight Your Family
But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:3:
Paul begins chapter three reminding the Corinthians who they are in Christ. They are brothers (and sisters). They are the family of God. They have the same Father, they have been adopted into the family of God and are united in Christ. Understanding the doctrine of adoption ought to unite us more than anything else, understanding that God has chosen each one of us to be his spiritual sons and daughters should humble us, and comfort us at the same time. As God’s sons and daughters we should recognize that we have been sought out, saved, born again and become sons of God. In this new birth, in this spiritual adoption we have become spiritual people. We have been made new creations, sanctified in Christ Jesus by the Spirit of God. We then ought to begin walking in newness of life putting off the things of the flesh like, Ephesians 5:19
English Standard Version Chapter 5
the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.
Do some of these things sound a lot like what the church at Corinth had going one? Was there sexual immorality? Was there sensuality? Was there rivalries? Dissensions? Divisions? Drunkenness? There were some of all these things happening in the Corinthian church.
Now consider the fruit of the Spirit Paul contrast to the fruit of the flesh in .
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Do you see the difference. The fruit of the flesh manifests in selfishness, division, and debauchery.
The fruit of the Spirit manifests in selflessness, sacrifice, and self control. Paul is writing to the Corinthians that they would fight the flesh, you are living lives controlled by your flesh, they were walking in the flesh not by the Spirit and Paul is saying stop it! Stop fighting, stop following after men, and stop acting the fool. You are brother and sisters, therefore quit dividing, repair the division, and fight for one another.
Paul here also differentiates between the two natures. He says, he could not address you as spiritual people.
What does it then mean to be a spiritual person? MacArthur explains it this way, “A positionally spiritual person is one with a new heart, indwelt and controlled by the Spirit Holy Spirit.”
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Paul then affirms their salvation in calling them brothers, but he also affirms their immaturity in that he could not talk to them as grown ups. They did not want to learn the deep things of God. They wanted to continue in the ABC’s but did not want to continue to grow in their knowledge of the will, ways, and works of God.
Therefore, Paul addresses them as people of the flesh. Instead of being controlled by the Spirit and the Word they continued to walk in the flesh. Like all of mankind when our flesh is still a reality, the desires of the flesh must be fought against, or as Scripture teaches us we must mortify the flesh, put to death fleshly desires, and put off the flesh.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The flesh is put to death when we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, not by the desires of the flesh and the systems of this world.
Galatians
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
Galatians 5:18
Ephesians
How then were the Corinthians and us for that matter then to do this? How are brothers and sisters in Christ to fight the flesh, and be filled, controlled, and set apart by the Spirit.
Paul began Chapter three by calling the Corinthians to fight the flesh. The second lesson we learn about fighting the flesh is,
B. Don’t Spit Out Solid Food
B. Don’t Spit Out Solid Food
B. Don’t Spit Out Solid Food
B. Don’t Spit Out Solid Food
Do you see the picture Paul is painting? He ends verse 1 with telling the church at Corinth he could not address them as spiritual people but as infants in Christ. And in verse 2 he writes,
I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,
Paul says I still have you on the bottle because you weren’t ready for big boy food. I have put meaty doctrine on your plate and you refused to eat it. You desired milk when you should be able to eat meat. Therefore, here we are again talking about the same things over and over again.
In other words, the Corinthians wanted shallow preaching and teaching that allowed them to live how they wanted to satisfy their own carnal desires without confronting them with conviction. You could think about it this way, they wanted to hear the gospel and the benefits of salvation, but:
They did not want to hear the gospel call to submission. Submission to Christ, Submission to the Word of Christ, Submission to the under shepherds of Christ.
They did not want to hear the gospel call to separation. (Sin, World, Flesh)
They did not want to hear the gospel call to sanctification. (Set apart, consecrated, made holy)
They did not want to hear the gospel call to purification. (Being cleansed from all unrighteousness, washed by the water of the Word)
Instead,
You are fussing about who you follow, when you ought to be calling out to God for wisdom.
You are dividing over foolishness when you are forgetting who you are in Christ Jesus.
You are stunted in your growth because you are spiritually discerned.
Listen to what the author of Hebrews says,
for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.
Here is the question, Do you think this goes on in our local churches today?
Let me give you some examples of things I have heard and seen.
“Expositional preaching is my least favorite kind of preaching.”
“I just can’t understand what they Pastors are talking about, I feel like they are trying to have a big word contest.”
The steeple removed because we don’t want to look like a church?
Charles Spurgeon wrote,
Spurgeon Commentary: 1 Peter Exposition
What a good thing it is to have spiritual hunger and thirst! When people are not hungry, you may set a fine meal before them but they will turn up their noses at it. But let a man come fresh from the field hungry, down he sits, no matter how rough the fare. He only wants it to be sweet, wholesome, and nutritious, and he cuts huge slices for himself, and feeds to the full. Give me a congregation of hungry hearers, with eyes that seldom turn from the preacher, and with ears that catch every word!
How about you and I? What do we do when a big T-bone is put on our plate, will we take out our knife and fork and begin to work through it or will we push the plate away and ask for our milk in a sippy cup?
Let me give you an example of some meat I have had to chew on,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
Spiritual blessing in the heavenly places -
Now if you ask most of us we would say, Paul here is talking about our salvation and that one day we will spend eternity with our Savior - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.
However DA Carson explains it this way,
The sphere in which these spiritual blessings in Christ occur in the heavenly places is the spacial equivalent of realized or inaugurated eschatology!
Final things are partly here! We already have some of these blessings now!
Final things are yet to come. When Christ consummates His Kingdom there are greater blessings to come.
All this occurs in a real, spacial, place, the abode of God where he is already ruling and reigning. He is sitting on His throne. We are so much in Him that we are seated with Him. Our union with Christ is Scriptural, theological, and spiritual.
Paul goes on to say in your fight against the flesh remember,
C. Don’t Behave Like Babies
C. Don’t Behave Like Babies
for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
Paul says you are not ready for solid food, for deep doctrine, for the teaching that will make you strong in the faith because, you are still in the flesh.
Paul here is referring to being human at a disappointing level of behavior or characteristics, (merely) human.
A. Don’t Fight Your Family
A. Don’t Fight Your Family
Paul doesn’t leave us guessing what this looks like in the life of the Corinthians either. What does he say,
For while there is jealousy and strife among you,
jealousy n. — a greedy or prideful longing for something that belongs to another; even something intangible, such as a skill.
We wouldn’t know anything about that would we? Let’s be transparent for a minute. I believe we would all have to admit there have been times even in the church, even among the family of God we have been jealous of someone. We desire to be able to sing like them, witness like them, teach or preach like them, or maybe even have a career or job like them? Why is that? Because like the Corinthians we are of the flesh. Instead of seeing things as spiritual gifts and blessing that someone else has, we see them as something that we deserve and should belong to us!
Then what happens? This jealousy turns to strife! It turns into disagreement ansd conflicts as we begin to let our carnal jealousy bear fruit in our lives. We may start acting rude toward that person, we may start to ignore that other person, it may even turn into slander of the other person. We may say they sure can sing, but they ......... You fill in the blank.
Paul turns this into a question, are you not behaving only in a human way? The Corinthians were letting the carnal, worldly desires stunt their spiritual growth, causing them to remain as babes in Christ, and behaving in a way that was immature and hindering the unity and growth of the body.
Warren Wiersbe commented, The immature believer lives on “Bible stories” and not Bible doctrine.
Paul corrects the Corinthians carnal living by first of calling them to fight the flesh, secondly he calls them to,
Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 914). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
II. Follow God (4-9)
II. Follow God (4-9)
Paul begins in verse 4, by showing the Corinthians,
A. The Folly of Following Men
A. The Folly of Following Men
For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?
The Corinthians were forgetting who called them, who went to the cross for them, and who had regenerated them, and was sanctifying them. They were caught up thinking that they could choose the right man to follow and therefore grow spiritually by picking the right person to align with. They thought if they had the right teacher they would be spiritually superior to others.
But Paul’s says when you do this you are being merely human, you are not thinking spiritually, you were acting out of your own wisdom. You are forgetting that these men are only servants of the most High God, therefore don’t follow these men, but,
B. Follow God Who Gives the Growth.
B. Follow God Who Gives the Growth.
Notice what Paul says in verse 6-8
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.
even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul and Apollos were just sharecroppers. They only did their part in God’s field. Both were critical to the mission but neither one was the source of growth alone.
God is the one who controls the production of fruit. Paul and Apollos did their part in the planting and irrigating process. But ultimately neither one of them had control over the fruit that would come up out of the ground.
Paul, Apollos and any other worker in God’s field are responsible for doing what God has called them to do, and both will receive their wages for the work they have done!
This is why it is crucial that we don’t follow individuals, that we follow God who gives the growth, and that we,
C. Don’t Forget Who We Are.
C. Don’t Forget Who We Are.
Notice what Paul writes in verse 9,
For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
We are God’s fellow workers.
Paul wants the Corinthians to understand they have the same boss, they are working for the same Lord, they are slaves to the same master. Therefore they are working toward the same goal, seeing gospel fruit produced in God’s field!
Not only are they God’s fellow workers, Paul reminds them,
2. You are God’s field.
Not only were Paul and Apollos farming alongside God they like us were part of God’s field in which fruit is being produced. While we are working out in God’s field God is working in us! While we are co-laboring together God is causing spiritual fruit to be produce in us.
Another way to say it is, while we are working to make disciples, God is discipling us! The Corinthians could have worked and wished for all of the spiritual fruit to be produced in their lives you could imagine, but if God through His Son, and by His Spirit is not working in us then we will be a barren and fruitless field. It doesn’t matter what teacher, preacher or discipler we have, apart from the work of God in our life we will behave in a merely human way!
Paul is about to switch metaphors on the Corinthians and it is not just to be creative, or cute, but instead Paul is about to change metaphors in order to point the carnal church to Christ!
Notice he writes,
3. You are God’s building.
We are God’s building.
Paul just shifted gears on us. He went from the metaphor of a field to the metaphor of a building. The church of God is not only a field in which God is producing fruit, the church is also a building which belongs to God!
This is not just any building, this a building with a particular foundation. A building with Christ as the cornerstone. A building that Peter says is held up buy the Living Stone,
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Understanding then that we are God’s building, Paul goes on to remind the church at Corinth that they must have the right foundation, or another way to summarize Paul’s building metaphor is we must,
II. Fireproof your Foundation (10-15)
II. Fireproof your Foundation (10-15)
In other words a building built on any foundation other than the Lord Jesus Christ will crumble and fall. A building that is not God’s building that is built on any other foundation will be burnt to the ground. Notice first of all,
A. The Apostle Paul laid a foundation on Christ.
A. The Apostle Paul laid a foundation on Christ.
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
1 Corinthians 3:10
1. The apostle Paul laid a foundation according to the grace of God given to him,
Not according to his own wisdom. (I Corinthians 2:1-2)
Not according to his own will. (Acts 9)
Not according to his own work. ( )
But according to God’s grace!
Paul was a “General Contractor according to the grace of God!”
God not only gave Paul the gift of salvation, but gave Paul the gift of service. Paul was an apostle , missionary, pastor teacher, church planter, theologian, author, in other words Paul was a master builder of Christ’s church. He was the one who laid the foundation. Paul would come to town, preach Christ crucified so that men and women would be built into the community of God with Christ as their cornerstone!
2. There were faithful men who continued building upon it.
Paul left Titus in Crete
Paul left Timothy in Ephesus
Paul left Apollos in Corinth.
3. There have been faithful men from the time of the Christ to today who have continued building upon it.
The apostles, Peter, James, John
The elders/shepherds appointed in the Scriptures.
The early church fathers
The reformers Luther, Calvin, Knox, Zwingli
Puritans and Preachers from the 18th and 19th century Thomas Watson, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, John Wesley, Spurgeon, and Andrew Fuller just to name a few.
Paul next gives us a point of application, Let each one of you take care how he builds upon it.
Paul tells the Corinthians by grace, like a skilled master builder, he laid his foundation on Christ. Men came after him building on the foundation he laid on Christ. Here he tells the Corinthians to take care how they continue to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
We don’t need to come with lofty speech or wisdom of man, but with the message of the gospel.
We don’t need plausible words of wisdom, but instead we plead for the power of the Spirit to be displayed in us.
We don’t need wisdom of this age or rulers of this age to build upon the foundation of Christ but godly wisdom gleaned from the Scriptures.
It is our calling and responsibility today to build upon the sure and steady foundation as Pastors, Teachers, Deacons, and members of God’s building.
We don’t need pragmatic methods from human wisdom to build upon the the foundation, but wisdom taught by the Spirit, that we might understand God’s building plan.
It is our calling and responsibility today to build upon the sure and steady foundation as Pastors, Teachers, Deacons, and members of God’s building.
What or who are you building your foundation? Your finances? Your family? Your finite wisdom?
Paul is about to affirm.....
B. There is no other foundation except Jesus Christ.
B. There is no other foundation except Jesus Christ.
For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
I corinthians 3:11
Remember the Corinthian issue, they have a flesh problem, they are people of the flesh, who are behaving only in a human way. They are fussing, fighting, allowing fornication in the church they are forgetting the Father who is in heaven. They are forgetting their spiritual birth, their regeneration and most importantly they are trying to build upon another foundation.
So Paul reminds them for no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.
Any thing you seek to build apart from Christ will crumble.
Any thing you construct without Christ is a house of cards.
Any thing you try and construct without the Chief Cornerstone will come crashing down.
Peter reminds us,
English Standard Version Chapter 2
6 For it stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Jesus Christ is the exclusive foundation of the Church there is no other. He is the only way to salvation, to the Father, to be recieved as sons and daughters of God, to be added to His Body. It is Christ and Christ alone who is the Cornerstone!
Christ’s church is built upon the Rock and it will not be destroyed. He promises Peter, the disciples, and the church today,
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Do you hear that? Christ said “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” You want to be a member of Christ’s church that is going to stand against Satan? Do you want to be a member of Christ’s body that will withstand the onslaught of attacks from Hell?
Build on Jesus Christ and Him Alone!
Are you are saved by Grace Alone - repenting of your sin and self righteousness. Do you understand salvation is through Faith alone - understanding that we are trusting in the Person and Work of Christ alone for our Salvation. Then we must seek Sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone for our source of truth, our teacher, our final authority for living out our faith and practice. All of this is for Sola de Gloria - for the glory of God alone.
Make sure you are trusting in Faith alone - understanding that we are trusting in the Person and Work of Christ alone for our Salvation. Then we must be seeking Sola Scriptura, or Scripture alone for our source of truth, our teacher, our final authority for living out our faith and practice.
How do we live out this Faith with Christ alone as our Foundation?
Pray to Christ in repentance and faith.
Prioritize the pure spiritual milk of Christ’ s Word.
Look to Christ as the foundation and Head of His Church. We stand on Him as our foundation and we look to Him for leadership.
Preach Christ and His Word.
Pray to Christ to Build His Church. When the church is exploding in Acts what is going on? Preaching, Praying, Fasting, and Fellowshipping. Not Giving talks, Feeding the carnality of men, and politicking. Not trying to figure out how to satisfy people of the flesh, but they were seeking how to exalt Christ, and proclaim Him as Lord and Savior then calling people to repent.
Proclaim Christ in our singing, by singing theologically rich songs full of the gospel!
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
So far we have seen Paul and the Apostle’s have built their foundation on Christ Alone, next he proclaims that there is no other foundation other than Christ, and he is about to warn that,
C. The Day will disclose a foundation not built on Christ. (12-15)
C. The Day will disclose a foundation not built on Christ. (12-15)
Paul begins by laying out the building materials used for construction. Here Paul is talking about the construction of God’s community. He is not talking about individual salvation, because he is talking to those who have built on the sure and steady foundation.
He refers here to two sets of materials - valuable and long lasting and cheap and combustible. Paul says as sub-contractors you can build on the foundation with things that will be around after the fire or things that will be burned up in the midst of the fire.
We can build on the foundation with the things Scripture affirms like,
Prayer, pleading with God to give sound, solid, healthy growth and
Playtime, video games, smoke and lights…which may bring in people but it will not anchor them to Christ.
Sound Doctrine - preaching the word in and out of season, publicly reading the word. Singing theologically sound scripture filled songs.
Obeying the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper which point us to the savior.
Church Discipline which will shape us all into the image of Christ and keep the community a pure as we possibly can.
Childish entertainment which will feed the flesh instead of equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry.
These are the things Scripture calls the church to do, these are the things we must construct God’s church around. Yes Christ is the foundation, yes He will build his church, but we are also builders, coworkers, servants, who must take care how we build upon the foundation of Christ and make sure we are building with the Scriptures prescribed materials....
Paul warns exhorts the Corinthians and us today to use the right materials to build on the right foundation because,
each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
]
First, notice who will be tested.
Paul doesn’t say each Pastor’s work, each Deacon’s work, or each Awana leaders work…but each one’s. He is referring to the membership of the local church not just the leadership!
Second, what will be tested.
Each one’s work, not each ones salvation. But all that we have done in the name of the Lord for the building up of His building, His temple, His church. (Peanut Hull wagon…)
Third, when the testing will occur,
On the Day of the Lord, the Day Christ returns in judgement.
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.
Don’t be surprised, Scripture tells us this day of judgement is coming. Don’t stop gathering,
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews
When we consider these two verses along with 1 Corinthians 3:13 consider what we as brothers and sisters and subcontractors for Christ ought to understand. Although we don’t know the date on which the Day will fall we know it is coming. So what are to do until it comes.
Meet together
Encourage one another
Dig for precious building materials
Build on the foundation which has been laid, that is Jesus Christ. We must make sure the local assembly here at Pray’s Mill is:
Supported by Christ the cornerstone.
Building on Christ the sure and steady foundation.
Centered on Christ and His all sufficient Word.
Now we come to how each one’s work will be tested.
it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done.
There is not much that can withstand the test of fire. Fire destroys everything that is not fireproof. What is usually left when a house burns to the ground? The foundation! The slab, the concrete, that which is deep in the ground, strong, hard as a Rock.
How important is this? Remember the words of Jesus?
so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
English Standard Version Chapter 7
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Every one of us as members of God’s family, as farmers in God’s field, and framers of God’s house have a choice, will be build like the foolish man and build a house upon sand? Or will we build like a wise man and build upon the Rock as our foundation?
Verse 15 brings us to the final result of failing to build on the foundation of Christ Jesus.
If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
First of all I want to affirm, this is not talking about individual salvation, but the work each one has done in the context of a local church. We know this because Paul writes, he himself will be saved,
Paul is warning the Corinthians that when they stand before the Lord anything they have built from human wisdom, from fleshly desires and not on the foundation of Christ Jesus ans His Spirit illuminated wisdom will go up in smoke. We know this is serious, because Paul writes, he will suffer loss, he doesn’t say aw don’t worry about because you will be saved. You might smell like smoke, the hair on your arm might be singed, you might even have second degree burns, but you will be saved.
Instead he wants you and I to understand we will stand before the Lord of glory bringing what we think are works worthy of praise and they will burst into flames! Everything we thing we have done will go up in smoke as worthless hay, straw and stubble.
Wouldn’t you much rather stand before the Lord with just a handful of gold and say Lord this is all I have and hear him say “well done good and faithful servant” instead of a barn full of hay thinking that you have something for him only to watch it go up in flames!
Here is the hard truth.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
We are all like the Corinthians who must battle the flesh. We must be reminded to follow God and not get caught up in following men. We have all at some point or another built on a foundation other than Christ. However, we all have the same promise, the gift of God’s grace and repentance. It this morning you recognized that you have never even trusted Christ, call out to Him in repentance and faith. If this morning you realized that you have been causing division, following after men, or building on another foundation call out to God in repentance and faith and He promises to cleanse you from all unrighteousness!
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Do you know for certain that your name is written in the Lamb’s book? If it is you can know for certain that you will one day spend eternity in the Lamb’s eternal city where every tear is wiped away, all pain will be eradicated, and we will be in the presence of the Jesus Christ the Lamb of God forever and ever.