1 Cor. 3.9-15
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Good Morning, Everyone,
We are back with the Apostle Paul, providing guidance and understanding to the church in Corinth.
Before we dive back in, we must do a refresher since it has been a few weeks.
We Learned in the first eight verses of chapter Three.
We are just Slaves for God. Doulos. We are nothing special, and we are to serve our Heavenly Father. We are not God. It is not God's mission to cater to us but for us to cater to our creator. We are just the hands and the mouthpiece to spread the word of God. We are all a part of a team that spread the Gospel and not just one person. One Person plants the seed, one nurtures it, and God allows it to grow.
We cannot fight among ourselves over who is our Biblical teacher or what church we go to. If someone says, hey, I go to such Baptist church. Good for you. We might disagree with their doctrine, and it might not be correct, but we must teach them with respect and honesty because we all are children of God.
WE follow God and not man. WE follow what Scripture says. If that person on the pulpit is wrong, it is your duty and job to say something.
++You are a piece of the puzzle. We all work together to do what God has asked us to do. Spread the Gospel to everyone we see and interact with. Spread the message of God to the end of the earth.
++You are a Spiritual Soldier. You might not see that Person get saved or Baptized, but there is a reason you are in that Person's life. God has a reason for everything, and we do not have the battle map, but we are the soldiers in the trenches.
1 Corinthians 3:9–10 ESV
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 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 of how he builds upon it.
We learned in the previous verse the Apostle Paul is talking about fields and planting, but there is a change from the field to a foundation like a building. We continue the thought that we are a part of a bigger picture or a puzzle. This is a tag-team effort where the Apostle Paul makes one claim, Apollos does another, and God provides the plan and its ability to occur. Of course, God does not need help from anyone, but he wants us to have something in the game. Some teeth because if you give someone what they want, they might change their mind, or you get burned.
The job of spreading the Gospel is just like a building. We have the master Builder or the Architect who designs and coordinates how the house is built. Then you have the workers; some lay the concrete, framing, electrical, and the dreaded plumbing. God is using this image for us to understand that everyone has a job or purpose in the overall goal of spreading his word through the world.
Here is a great real-world example for verse 10, where the Apostle Paul talks about the church's Foundation. Now it is no secret that I am a deli guy, and the more I get older, maybe that is what God wanted me to do in the real world.
We all have had a sub. We start with the bread—the Foundation that holds the meat and the cheese together. Now, if you have a good sub maker, everything is even. The baker has perfected the proofing of the bread and the right time and temperature in the oven. God is the Bread. We add other items to it to add our jewels or, in this case, our toppings. We add the mayo, lettuce, tomato, ovens but most importantly, you add the meat. Do you want your sandwich that you present to God to be a small dinky sandwich like subway? Or do you want a 7-inch-tall sandwich that you cannot possibly eat without pressing it down and eating it with a knife[RS1] ?
The Apostle Paul provided the Foundation or template for churches to grow in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece. However, he also trained others on how to increase the church. We are the building or the church itself. Everyone has this concept that the church is a building you go to on Sunday morning, but the church is the people. You can have a church hanging out in the parking lot of a convenience store because it is the people who are trying to spread the message of God.
God has given each of us skills, abilities, and things we are simply good at. Not everyone is good at technology or woodworking. We might not even have the interest to learn these things. For example, a plumber might be excellent at pipes but horrible at something that will shock them. We, as followers of Christ, are no different and have skills[RS2] and Spiritual Gifts.
1 Corinthians 3:11–12 ESV
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—
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—
We all have been Believers of Christ for a while. But let us think about something that would happen if our homes or the church building did not have a firm foundation: no concrete, sand, or other building materials. We would have a hard time walking around; the floor would be a little wonky and would cause some safety issues. Jesus is our Foundation in this world. There is no substitute for him, not your job, family, favorite Hulu show, or the next big gadget. We are nothing without this Foundation because we are adrift, just like a boat in the ocean without a rudder. Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church. He is paramount at being the focus of everything we do.
Verse 12 ties into verse 9 by stating that the Believers, the workers, the slaves are building the church and spreading the message. The Author mentions strong metals to show that nothing can break the Foundation of the church. Gold, Silver, and jewels or precious stones were rare and the equivalent of Tungsten. Super strong and extremely hard to break. Anyone that knows metal or even sells jewelry knows that Tungsten is incredibly hard and can take a significant beating. Therefore, when I chose my wedding band, my bride suggested this type of metal. These metals represent the effort that we must build the church. We do not want to make God's church with Popsicle sticks and some scotch tape. We want to provide something substantial to go with the Foundation that we have through the blood of Jesus.
I mentioned Spiritual Gifts just a few minutes ago, and it is something that does not go into details from the Author until chapter 12, but we still need to talk about it.
1. Administration –
a. The person that is helping maintain the goals of the church. They ensure that the results are being made. Planning, organization, supervision, and usually are all traits of being a manager in the secular world. Some Believers are great at Administration, and some struggle. We all have different gifts.
2. Being an apostle –
a. When we hear of an Apostle, we think of the guys in the Bible. The human Authors of the Bible, but this is little A. The gift could be thought of as being a missionary and going out to spread the Gospel to every corner of the earth. However, they also could be someone that helps other churches that are struggling. They are doing zoom calls to meet and help them organize goals and plan. Help the leadership teamwork on the administration side.
3. Discernment
a. A fancy word for the ability to distinguish the difference between something that is truth and something false. Do you take everything at face value, or do you question everything? Require proof, and then fact-check everything. This is a gift, even if it is a little annoying.
4. Evangelism
a. Who remembers the old-school preachers that are just beating the pavement telling everyone about God and what Jesus has done for them? The gift to tell those that do not believe or are entirely against religion to listen and hear the Gospel.
5. Exhortation
a. Someone who offers the encouragement, comfort, support for someone to do everything that God has called them to be. Imagine your best friend who is being a cheerleader telling you that you can do it. Hey dude, you are doing fine; you got this. This is a significant gift because not everyone can be an encouraging person.
6. Faith
a. A believer that has this gift has such power and confidence in the awesomeness and promise of God. They are unshakable in their relationship and belief in the power of God. They have a bad day or period and time, and their faith that God can make it better does not waver or stop in any fashion.
7. Giving
a. The gift of giving is just like it states. Someone who has been blessed financially or in other ways can give to others and the church. It could be money or an item. This is more than just doing your ten percent of your income to the church. Still, this individual is the person that gives everything they can to support the ministry of a church or another organization with a mission to spread the Gospel.
8. Healing
a. Now I know everyone is thinking of the Charismatic laying of hands, but this is different. This is someone with the skill, ability, and understanding to help someone physically, mentally, or spiritually. They could be a doctor or an average person that has the gift of listening. We can go much more into the present but let us leave some for ch.12.
9. Helps
a. Someone that has the time, effort, and willingness to help people around them. These are the individuals that it pains to see people suffer. They have the heart to help anyone that needs it, even if the request comes from someone that bugs them.
10. Hospitality
a. No, we are not talking about opening a Marriot hotel but something close. This gift is something our ladies in the church have. They have to ability and passion for ensuring that we have food, the environment, and everything we need for the event. Pre-Covid, we used to have district meetings all over the state with food and the Pastors. I remember hearing stories about how awesome we did because it was not pizza.
11. Knowledge
a. Do you have the desire to learn everything you can about Scripture, about God? Well, you got this gift because this is the gift of having something only feeding on his word will help your craving.
12. Leadership
a. A word you see everywhere. Fifty great tips to being a successful leader, but indeed they are the ones that are driving the boat so that a company, church, or organization can achieve its goals. They take the negative and give praise to the workers or others.
13. Mercy
a. Compassion, understanding, love for those that are hurting or suffering. These individuals used to be someone with a bleeding heart, but they hurt when you hurt. They genuinely feel bad and want to help someone that is pulling in any way they can.
14. Prophecy
a. The ability to speak the message of God to others to show encouragement to those who need it or an excellent warning system.
15. Servicing
a. Someone amazing at seeing what needs to be done for the church and using what you must get it done. It might not look pretty, but it works, and they are honoring and glorifying their heavenly Father.
16. Speaking in tongues
a. The supernatural ability to speak in another language that the individual does not know beforehand. I must add that this gift is not required anymore because it was only required for validation or proof in the early church. We have our evidence, and we have the proof that God is greater than anything.
17. Teaching or Shepherding
a. The ability or skill to teach others about the Bible so they can tell others what Scripture is saying.
18. Wisdom
a. The final gift is the process in which the selected individual can sort through and discover what tasks, projects, or items need to be done for the glory of God.[1]
Alrighty, everyone knows we know what the spiritual gifts are and how every Believer has some of these. We can understand that we use these gifts to help continue, built, and honor our Heavenly Father. I also encourage everyone to take a test and see what their talents are. There are so many, but I used the Tyndale ministry spiritual gifts test.
Let us get back to the foundation, and the building materials of the house are mentioned.
The Apostle Paul then goes on the other end of the spectrum and mentions some of the weaker materials. Wood, hay, and Straw are more fragile materials and are not going to hold up to the weight of anything.
Now, does anyone know the difference between hay and Straw? Something exciting but so fundamental.
Hay is grown and used to feed animals. However, Straw is the byproduct or leftover of a grain crop—something used for bedding for animals, clothing, and even an ingredient in composite lumber.
These products have their place but not something I want to use to build a house. I want my home to be made with concrete, wood, and metal. Not something that if I blow on it, the items blow away.
Now, let us go on a rabbit trail and talk about the three little pigs. Here is a little refresher for the original version.
"Setting the Stage.
Three little pigs were sent out into the world to make a life for themselves.
They passed someone selling Straw, and piggy number one thought, "Hey, I can build a nice house, cheaply and quickly, and I'll have time and money to go to ballparks and pubs to watch all the great sports. In the world." So, he built himself a lovely house of Straw and watched all the sports he wanted.
The second little piggy saw scrap lumber on sale and reckoned, "I'll be more responsible than my lazy bum brother and build a better house. My method will also leave me plenty of money for shopping–I can't go out with ratty old clothes, now, can I?" So, she built a house of wood and looked cool after hitting the malls.
The third little piggy thought ahead:
Do not build a house cheap and fast. It would help if you were wise to make it last.
While the other two piggies were out enjoying themselves, Number Three built a solid brick house.
Crisis
Then a big wolf appeared on the scene, ugly he was, hungry and meant, looking around for something to eat, sniffing the woods looking for meat. Who should he smell but pig number one watching his sports, having some fun?
You know what happened. Number One thought he was safe, but all it took was a huff and a puff, and the big, bad wolf blew his house down, grabbed him, and locked him up in his big mansion's walk-in refrigerator.
Piggy Lane, he reasoned, was easy pickings, so he came back. When Number Two looked in the mirror to admire her new outfit, an extra pair of eyes stared back at her. Horror and fright, not much of a fight. Sticks, it turned out, cannot withstand huffing and puffing either.
Depositing Number Two with his team of gourmet chefs, Wolf returned to where he saw another little piggy, all juicy and plump. But, as he looked through the window, he locked eyes with Number Three, who was expecting him. He tried to entice his would-be meal out of the house, but the perky little pig put his thumbs in his ears, waggled his fingers at the wolf, and stuck out his tongue to taunt the frustrated beast.
Huffing and puffing did not work this time–the brick was just too solid. Vowing to make a meal of the impertinent little twerp, Wolf clambered onto the roof to slide down the chimney like Santa. He underestimated Number Three, though. As he began sliding down, he first felt and then saw the boiling cauldron waiting for him. Too late.
Those being the days before political correctness, Piggy Number Three made a small fortune selling the beautiful wolf pelt to fur traders. Then he moved into Wolf's enormous mansion, taking over his properties, staff, and investments. He freed his siblings, who were only too happy to pay him to rent for the rest of his life for the brick house they didn't feel they needed to build" http://williamcowie.com/
Now there is the reason why we had a refresher on this nursery rhyme of the three little pigs. Let us apply the concept to what we have learned in this verse. Jesus is the concrete foundation. It is not going anywhere, but we as the church. The workers can help build up to spread the Gospel.
What if we used hay as our walls in our house? But that hay is terrible doctrine. Stating what we want the Bible to say and not what needs to be said. We cannot water down Scripture and ignore the challenging parts. What if we allowed the world to tell us as Believers what God's word is saying? We have turned the muscular wall of steel or concrete into something that will blow away in the wind or by a big bad wolf. The world wants to do what they want to do and not what God has commanded us to do. Just like when you are arguing with a toddler to eat their veggies or change their pull-ups.
Now let us look at the wood aspect of it. The wood that the pigs had their houses made of is the relationship we have with each other. I am not saying that relationships with fellow Believers or the community are bad, but it should not hold up your faith. Without a relationship with your heavenly Father, your house will fall. What if you lose your community? That person you confided in helped you when things got tough. Humans will let your downtime and time again, but our Father will never leave us or forsake us.
Now I know I said three little pigs, but there are four little pigs in this example. The last piggy has Straw. A byproduct of what has been made and is not the greatest in holding a roof and a house together. In your Christian walk, this is when you are a Sunday Christian. Someone who acts one way on Sunday but is committing every sin and transgression towards their Heavenly Father. Now I am not saying that anyone is perfect. We cannot have lukewarm faith or once a week faith because where does our Foundation go. Our relationship with our creator is nothing and can be shaken ed.
Let us dive deeper into what the Apostle Paul is telling us.
1 Corinthians 3:13–15 ESV
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.
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 will be saved, but only through fire.
Now here is my time to admit I had no clue what manifest meant, but it means revealed. Each one's work will be shown for the day. The day is referring to judgment. Before you throw Dixie cups at me, this is not referring to Fire, Brimstone, and a reference to Revelation. Everyone Remembers our example of fire in the previous weeks.
Fire is not always destructive. It adds new growth. It purifies what it burns, just like a phoenix, the mythical bird. It burns up and turns into ash, but it is renewed, reborn, and a new bird. The Author refers to burning the house created by the Believer built on the Foundation of Jesus Christ's love and sacrifice. The house is set ablaze, and it is time to see what is left. Now you have a burning house. What happens when wood burns? Giant fire, everything that is left is ashes. Nothing left. No particles left; no jewels left to place at the feet of God. Imagine if the house that is burned is yours?
You think that you have all these excellent building materials in your house. The walls are made from stone, the roof is Gold, the walls are steel, and the table is a precious stone. Now we do not know what kind of stone but imagine granite or something fancy. That house is not going anywhere. You have a home that is honoring and glorifying God.
Now I want to ask a question, but I would not say I like the answer.
The house that you present to God at the altar will be made of some wood and some precious stone. Will it go on fire like I put gasoline on it? These are things that we must think about? we go about in our lives and go through the motions but are we going to present a house made of wood or metal.
Now that we have almost beaten our example of the house to death, what happens if you have wood, Straw, and hay. are you a believer?
Well, their house has nothing. Nothing but ash and that smell of burnt BBQ. Is the owner of the house a believer of Christ? Do they get to party in Heaven with Jesus?
Well, yes, they still get to be in Heaven. Pastor Rich has used the example where we all have long heard of long flowing robes and how the length results in your good works. I am not stating that your faith is based upon works but what you do for the kingdom of God. Some people rob will be if the coast of Florida. Long and pure as snow. Other's robe will be short and possibly a Bikini, barely covering everything that needs to be protected, so you are not thrown in jail for indecent exposure.
Our Salvation does depend on what Brian does or what you do? Because honestly, if it did, I am going somewhere toasty. We all sin and are a work in progress. Sometimes more than other times, but do you want to hear praise and an atta boy from your Heavenly Father. This is like Gold for guys usually, and the way I grew up means the world to me to hear it from someone I respect and look up to. It adds fuel to the fire and gets you there. Will us wanting to build a house or a long robe drive us when we have nothing left. WE get burned by that Person we worked so hard to make that relationship to share Jesus with them, and then your shut out. Or you have a bad day and show that you are human and sin in front of a coworker who is not a believer. We keep those comments or moments that show appreciation or praise to help us get through it. When we were kids, we all wanted to be adults, but no one made us listen that it is complex, challenging, frustrating, and heartbreaking. We must focus on the reward of being one of his chosen.
So, let us wrap this into a bow so that we can remember it.
God is the Foundation.
We all know the song. Jesus is the rock. He is the firm foundation. This song reminds us and tells us that we are not what we stand upon. We add nothing to the equation and provide stress and a load on the Foundation. Leave the Foundation which Jesus laid by dying on the cross to him and focus on the building materials or jewels that we present to God when we are in Heaven.
2.Salvation is permanent.
We as a church know that our Salvation is not something we can lose but do the people we interact with, and we know that our followers understand this. Imagine living with the thought that you are on eggshells because you could be sent to hell for having a bad day or telling a white lie. No, I am not saying this gives us a whatever we want card because then we must address whether we ever saved if there is no difference between pre-salvation and Salvation of ourselves or others.
3. Live your life for him.
Live your life like the materials for your house are needed. What if your current home was made from hay, straw, and wood. What if one match and everything was gone with no safeguards we currently have. Believers are judged on what they do for the kingdom. Who does not want to honor and hear well-done Daughter or son?
4. Take an inventory.
We live in a world where everything is so fast and noisy and busy. Go somewhere quiet, alone, and talk to God. What demons do you face, what do you hide from yourselves, others and wish you could hide from God. Will your house you present to survive the fire test, or will be smell like Paradise, California.
5. We have gifts.
As followers of Christ, we each are different with certain things that we are good at. Some are good at paperwork, and others are good at being an ear to a friend that needs it. We are different, and just because person A can work with something does not mean it will work with you. We are different but alike because we are followers of Christ.
[1] Tyndale ministries Spiritual gifts.