A Building That Endures - 3:9-15

When you build carefully, paying strict attention to the selection of materials, crafting each part with care, you can have a building that will stand the test of time.

There is a comparison made in God’s Word, and it appears in our passage today.

In Scripture the life of the believer is compared to a building.

What we will deal with today is how we can have a spiritual building that endures.

How can we have a spiritual building that will stand up to any test?

That is what we will discover today.

We will be dealing with the topic of rewards.

Paul mentioned rewards in v. 8 and now he expands that concept explaining the gain and loss of reward.

Today we consider how we build and what we build with that we might have a spiritual building that endures.

Eternal rewards depend on our activities in this life.

Will our works endure?

To have a building that endures we must take four actions.

Action #1…

1. To Endure, Build Carefully vv. 9-10

There is a saying when working with wood.

“Measure twice, cut once.”

This is one of those sayings that I know, but… I don’t always do the best at following it.

When Jess and I first got married I built us a bed.

For the headboard and foot board I boat these really nice boards that I had to cut to size.

To figure out the size I needed to add several measurements together.

What I forgot to account for was the thickness of the beams the side rails were anchored into.

The bottom line was that when it was all put together, it was about 4 inches too wide.

Now, we made it work, but had I built more carefully, things would have gone much better.

In our passage today, Paul encourages the Corinthian believers to build carefully.

He then describes what a careful builder looks like.

Here are two characteristics of a careful builder.

Characteristic #1…

a. A careful builder works v. 9

1 Corinthians 3:9 NKJV

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

In verses 5-8 Paul explained how some plant, some water, but God gives the increase.

We all will be rewarded according to our labor.

Here he explains that he and Apollos are both workers, they are laboring to bring forth a harvest.

They are building with the Lord.

There is something important in this verse that we can easily miss.

In my preaching and teaching I use the NKJV. Why I have chosen to do so is another conversation.

There is, however, something that we lose in modern translations that is evident in the KJV.

We lose easily recognizable plurals.

In the KJV when you read verse 9 you have two “ye’s.”

What a “ye” does is let’s you know that Paul is addressing his comments here to the church, not just to individuals.

Look at what it says.

1 Corinthians 3:9 KJV 1900

9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

What these two “ye’s” tell us is that Paul is addressing this comment to the church as a whole.

The church is God’s field and building.

This verse is vital in understanding vv. 16-17, which we will hopefully get to next week.

In vv. 16-17 Paul brings in the effect one believer’s actions have on the rest of the body of Christ.

If, in my personal life, I am living in rebellion to Christ, it can bring defilement into the church of God.

The Church is the bride of Christ! It is His holy, set apart, body!

No defilement is tolerated in the church.

That’s the point Paul is going to make.

In leading up to that point we have a discussion on our personal responsibility as we work for Christ.

Again, this discussion is happening because How I behave in my personal life has an effect on the corporate body of Christ.

Paul and Apollos work with the Lord in building the building that is the church at Corinth.

If we are to have a building that endures, it must be built with care.

For any local church to endure, it must be built by God and by leaders who work at His direction.

A building is only as good as the work that went into making it.

Half-hearted work results in a building that has serious problems.

Paul calls the Corinthian church the field and building of God.

A field is cultivated by a farmer. He tends and cares for it.

Part of that care is to watch for plants that become diseased or harmful to the plants around it.

The first step is then to try and treat the diseased plant.

If it cannot be treated, the plant is removed.

If a building has a support that is weakened, a good builder will seek to support that weak spot. If support doesn’t work, the part must be removed.

These two ideas lie at the heart of what Paul will be discussing.

The health of the field is affected by the health of individual plants.

The health of a building is affected by the strength and integrity of each part.

Careful building requires diligent work.

Are we working to have a healthy field and a strong building?

Is there anything we are doing that may undermine this local church?

We build carefully and that means we work hard.

Characteristic #2…

b. A careful builder watches v. 10

1 Corinthians 3:10 NKJV

10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.

Paul carries forward his illustration of building to drive his point home.

By God’s grace, as a called and commissioned apostle, Paul has laid the foundation.

What is the foundation? We’ll get to that.

Paul laid the foundation; someone else is building on it.

We must be careful how we are building on the foundation.

That’s the big picture of this verse.

Let’s pick out a few details to deal with.

Paul states that what he accomplished at Corinth was all due to God’s grace.

He further states that God’s grace was given to him.

The word translated “given” is passive.

This means that Paul did nothing to receive the grace of God. It was given to Him.

We do nothing to receive God’s grace. Yet we can do nothing without it.

God’s grace has been given to each of us, how are we using it?

When Paul refers to himself as a master builder it is not an exercise of pride.

He is expressing his position as an apostle within the bounds of his illustration.

When we trust in Christ, the foundation is laid.

It is our responsibility to build on that foundation with care.

To that end, we must take heed how we build.

Take heed – βλέπω (blepō) see. to watch carefully. To be vigilant, be on the lookout or be careful.

Take heed – βλέπω (blepō)

A careful builder is vigilant.

If you have ever had a building project you know the term “inspector.”

Loved, hated, and feared, inspectors come onto job sites to ensure that everything is being built carefully.

Paul is calling each of us to be building inspectors.

The building we are to inspect is ourselves.

In the end of this verse Paul switches to the singular.

Each person in a local church is part of the building, but we build individually.

Paul is calling for us to be very careful in our building.

Careful building requires diligent study.

We watch. We observe. We pay careful attention to the work.

Why?

Because one mislaid beam can bring down a building.

One diseased plant can spoil an entire field.

To have a building that endures we must take action.

Our first action is to build carefully.

That means we work hard and we are on guard against corruption.

Action #2…

2. To Endure, Build Correctly v. 11

There is a picture that I have seen several times and it always makes me laugh.

The problem is, it is a picture that is all too relatable.

SLIDE

This is what is commonly called an IKEA fail.

IKEA is famous for selling furniture you have to put together yourself.

Anyone who has put something together knows that it can be a frustrating experience.

Especially when we get a step wrong.

I had a friend say something like this the other day, “when you are on step 43 of 50 and realize you made a mistake back in step 4 do you: (a) Start over or (b) keep going and hope for the best.”

When we are building we must build correctly.

When we don’t, the building becomes unusable.

Paul acknowledges our need to build correctly and provides us with two guidelines to accomplish it.

#1. To build correctly we must have…

a. A correct fellowship v. 11a

1 Corinthians 3:11 NKJV

11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Why does Paul bring this up here?

There are people out there trying to lay a different foundation.

Paul addresses this very clearly in Galatians.

Look with me at Galatians 1:6-9.

Galatians 1:6-9

Galatians 1:6–9 NKJV

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

There is only one gospel!

Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

He did not say a way, a truth, and a life.

We must fellowship with those who agree to this simple truth.

Faith in Jesus is the only acceptable method of salvation.

No other foundation can anyone lay.

Earlier we sang a song about a foolish man who attempted to build his house on the sand.

When tested, his house fell.

Only the foundation of Jesus Christ can stand.

Those who teach a different foundation are the enemies of Christ.

We would call these people false teachers.

Don’t fellowship with false teachers.

That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t know them and try to reach them with the gospel.

It means we don’t go to them for encouragement and strength.

We don’t go to them for the things only the body of Christ can provide.

If we are going to build correctly we must have correct fellowship.

That’s guideline #1.

Guideline #2. To build correctly we must have…

b. A correct foundation v. 11b

1 Corinthians 3:11 NKJV

11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

There is only one foundation.

When Peter addresses the Sanhedrin in Acts 4, this is what he tells them in v. 12.

Acts 4:12

Acts 4:12 NKJV

12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

No other name.

No other foundation will do.

This is the rock upon which we establish our lives!

Jesus is the only foundation that will endure the storms of life.

What is your foundation?

Are we building on Jesus Christ or are we building on sand?

We must build correctly and that means we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

There are no substitutes.

There are no additions.

It isn’t Jesus and… anything.

It is Jesus alone.

The only correct foundation is Jesus.

We must reject anything else.

If we are building correctly, we have the fellowship of others who are building on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

He is the only correct foundation.

If we want to have a building that endures, we must build upon the right foundation.

Okay.

Action #1. We build carefully.

Action #2. We build correctly.

Action #3…

3. To Endure, Build Competently vv. 12-13

Jess and I enjoy doing projects together.

We will buy a dresser for one of the kids and repaint it, or we will redo one of the items we already own.

There was one particular dresser that we had been given and we were repainting it for one of the girls.

So we went online and ordered some handles for the drawers.

The handles arrived and we eagerly took them to the dresser only to discover that neither one of us had measured how wide the handles needed to be.

The new ones didn’t fit.

When we build we must be careful to ensure that we have everything we need to complete the job.

We need to make sure we have all the correct items to achieve the desired result.

If we are going to build competently, there are two choices we must make.

#1…

a. Choose your materials v. 12

1 Corinthians 3:12 NKJV

12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,

We have already discussed our foundation.

Our foundation is Jesus Christ.

Paul’s point here is what will we build on that foundation?

What materials will we use?

We can build carefully and correctly but without the right materials, we will still end up with a building that will not endure.

The best buildings have the best materials.

There are two categories here.

Gold, silver, precious stones.

Wood, hay, straw.

Here is the really important thing about our Spiritual works.

The quality of our works can only be known by us and the Lord.

I cannot tell for certain what you are building with and you cannot tell what I am building with.

We know, and God knows.

You may be thinking, what if I have built with straw in the past?

You cannot change the materials you have already built with.

All we can do is move forward and choose better materials in the future.

We may wonder why the material we choose matters.

Remember our title today.

A building that endures.

Of the materials listed, some endure and some do not.

We want to build with that will last.

We must consider what type of materials our foundation is worthy of.

Jesus Christ deserves our best.

We choose the building materials that exalt Him.

He is the one we are building to please.

The choice of our materials is tied into the second choice.

We must be selective in our materials because of choice #2…

b. Choose your outcome v. 13

1 Corinthians 3:13 NKJV

13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.

Our choice of material matters because it is going to be tested.

Question.

What happens to wood, hay, and straw when it is put into a fire?

It burns up!

What happens to gold and silver? It is purified.

What happens to precious stones? Nothing.

Paul says here that our works will become clear.

One day we are going to know the quality of our works.

It will be evident.

How?

The Day will declare it.

This is a reference to the judgment seat of Christ.

We know this because it is referencing a specific day in which the works of the believer will be evaluated.

That takes place at the judgment seat of Christ.

“Declare” means to reveal or make manifest.

The quality of our works will be made manifest at the judgment seat of Christ.

Our works will be revealed by fire.

All of our works will be evaluated by fire and this will make known to all the quality of our work.

Paul ends the verse by declaring that to be the whole point.

The fire will test our work and reveal what kind of work it is.

What does all this mean?

It means that We have right now to choose our building materials.

Will my works endure the flame? Will yours?

I believe that all of us are going to have some works burn.

I also believe that we will have some works endure.

My goal is not to frighten us, my goal is to challenge and encourage us to build carefully, correctly, and competently.

Why?

So that our building will endure.

The endurance of our works depends on our choices.

Will we build with lasting materials?

Will we build with materials that will burn?

Why does it matter?

Because of Action #4.

To recap.

If we want to have a building that endures.

We build carefully.

We build correctly.

We build competently.

Finally. Action #4…

4. To Endure, Build Conclusively vv. 14-15

You may or may not have noticed that the picture with today’s title is a blueprint.

SLIDE

When we build it is always good to have a plan.

We need to have a goal, a guideline that determines how we are building.

If I were to grab a saw, nail gun, and some wood and just start randomly cutting board lengths and nailing them together, I’m not going to end up with a house.

I will, however, end up with a mess.

Some of us in our Spiritual lives have no plan.

We just have a mess.

We need to work on our building.

In these final two verses for today Paul gives us two possible outcomes.

Which one we will experience depends on how we build.

Outcome #1…

a. Receive a reward v. 14

1 Corinthians 3:14 NKJV

14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.

Paul is still talking about building on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Every believer has the same foundation.

We all receive spiritual gifts.

How we use them is up to us.

Every single one of us can build with gold, silver, and precious stones.

It is possible.

That doesn’t mean it will be easy.

Once our works have been evaluated there will be some that have burned.

The works that do not burn serve as the basis for our reward.

The question we have at this point is, “how do I build with the right materials?”

There is a book that gives us the instructions.

When we knowingly and intentionally violate Scripture, those works will burn.

When we live and act in accordance with the Word of God, those works will endure.

Scripture reveals that those whose works endure will have opportunity to serve Christ in eternity, will have special joy and fellowship, will hear “well done” from the Lord, and have the opportunity of receiving at least 5 crowns.

Some are uncomfortable with the idea of rewards.

However, we must submit ourselves to what Scripture reveals.

When we build with gold, silver, and precious stones, those works will endure the fire and we will be rewarded for them.

Rewards are given to those who work for them.

Part of our motivation in this life are the rewards waiting in the life to come.

Do works that will endure.

When we do we have outcome #1. We receive a reward.

However, there is another outcome.

Outcome #2…

b. Suffer loss v. 15

1 Corinthians 3:15 NKJV

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

Paul is answering a question before it is asked.

What about those whose works burn?

Does it mean that they are lost?

This verse answers that question conclusively.

If all our works burn, we are still safe and secure in Christ.

How do we know that?

There are several reasons to believe that.

Let’s look at some of them.

The only people present at the judgement seat of Christ are believers.

Therefore, the person mentioned in this verse is a blood-bought child of God.

It is the works that are evaluated, not the salvation.

The foundation is Jesus Christ, the foundation doesn’t change.

We are not eternally lost because salvation cannot be lost.

However, we may suffer the loss of rewards.

That is what Paul clearly states.

If our works are burned, we suffer loss.

Loss of what?

Loss of reward.

However, we are still saved.

It is possible to stand before the creator of the universe and know that we wasted the gifts, talents, and abilities He gave.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to stand empty handed before the King of kings because all my works burned up.

The works that burn are selfish ones.

Only one life, ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Conclusion

As we wrap this up I want us to consider what building for eternity looks like in some practical areas.

Personal - This is pretty straightforward. What materials are we building with? We have the foundation of Jesus Christ! Don’t use flammable materials to build with. Practically speaking this means we walk in obedience to the Word of God. A commitment here could look like self-evaluation to reveal areas we have allowed sin to creep in.

Relationship - Are we focused on eternal goals in our friendships? Have we given consideration to the eternal destination of our friends? If they are believers, are we providing iron to sharpen one another? Are we encouraging one another? Are we challenging each other to love others and serve better? A commitment here could look like evaluating our friendships and choosing how we will build for eternity.

Parenting - So often in my parenting I am reactive instead of proactive. When we build for eternity in the lives of our children it means we parent on purpose. We teach life lessons in life situations and we lead by example. A commitment here could be taking the time to listen to the hearts of our children. What are they thinking, planning, dreaming?

Marriage - Believer or not, your spouse is an eternal being made in the image of God. Our goal and prayer must be to elevate them at every opportunity. Don’t tear one another down. Lift one another up. A commitment here could be to speak 1 encouraging word every day this week and to not speak a negative word each day.

COMMITMENT: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Eternal rewards depend on our activities in this life.

Will our works endure?

Be careful.

Pay attention to how you are building.

Be correct.

Jesus is the only true foundation.

Be competent.

Use only the best materials.

Be conclusive.

Build for eternal reward.

May Christ be glorified as we serve Him with the gifts He has given.

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