Kindom Construction: Building Christ's Church

Intro:

-God’s speaks to humanity in his reveled word and he speaks in ways that the human mind can understand his words with clarity. Therefore throughout the scripture, The HS is using word pictures and analogies from our earthly realm to teach us. He does this to communicate heavenly truth to earthly minds.

For Example:

Farming/gardening

Matthew 13:3–6 ESV

3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.

Athletics

1 Corinthians 9:25 ESV

25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

Creation

Matthew 6:30 ESV

30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Construction:

Last week : 1 Cor 3:9

1 Corinthians 3:9 ESV

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

Construction has been an area of interest with me for many years. My Great Grandfather owned an electrical business (see pic), which he trained and turned over to my grandfather, Cito, who trained my dad, who trained me. That gave me a love for fixing things and therefore construction is a natural path for me. You can say its in my DNA.

Passages like this really speak clearly to me and Paul, understanding the culture of Corinth, is speaking to them as well. You don’t have to be a construction foreman to understand the basics of how buildings (foundation, walls, roof) are constructed and how they are constructed well. Imagine the Corinthians, with all the elaborate buildings in this grand city like the Acropolis and the temples to the Greek gods like Apollo and Aphrodite. Even a working knowledge of such amazing structures, the Corinthians like the current believer ,can easily discern Paul’s word pictures.

Paul speaks to communicate in these verses to the Corinthians how to build the church properly. He is warning them as he warns us that there is a right and wrong way to construct God’s church. let’s look and see how

Components of Constructing God’s Church (v.10-11)

The Church

Remember that Paul is speaking to believers and therefore when he says, “you are God’s building” he means you are the church for the church is NOT a building but a people. Even though Paul is talking about beleivers in Jesus Christ who make up the church, he uses the analogy of a physcial building construction to illustrate how the church should be properly built by the power of the Holy Spirit, through its members.

“The church is the people of God who have been saved through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and have been incorporated into his body through baptism with the Holy Spirit. It consists of two interrelated elements: the universal church is the fellowship of all Christians that extends from the day of Pentecost until the second coming, incorporating both the deceased believers who are presently in heaven and the living believers from all over the world. This universal church becomes manifested in local churches

the church is composed of a particular people: “sojourners and strangers” (see 1 Pet. 2:11). In contrast with some common notions today, it is not a building...a denominational tag...a national or state church ... avatars worshiping together in the virtual world ... or the Catholic Church, with its claim that “the one Church of Christ . . . subsists in the Catholic Church. Rather, the church is people; specifically, the church is the new covenant people of God.”

Allison, Gregg R.. Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church . Crossway. Kindle Edition.

What Paul then is teaching in these verses is that there is a proper and improper way for the people of God, or his church, to grow. This passage then speaks to all of us and answers the question, what should we do as God’s people to grow spiritually?

The Foundation

Sometimes simplicity is all that is needed. Earlier, Paul not wanting the Corinthians to think that preaching was some mystic or complex oratory, he simply defined his preaching as

“We preach Christ crucified.”

Later in 1 Corinthians, he will spell out the gospel as: 1 Cor .15:3-4

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)

3 ...Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Now he defines for us in the simplest terms what the church is built upon. We understand this idea in construction terms as the chief importance of any building project is its foundation. If the foundation is fragile, the house will fall. If the foundation is not level, the house will not be level. Paul states simply in v 10-11

1 Corinthians 3:10–11 ESV

10 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. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Paul acknowledges that the foundation of the church is Christ and Christ alone. This was the foundation that was laid when he arrived in Corinth and he laid that foundation with faithful preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the making of disciples of Jesus Christ for a year and a half. Others have laid crumbling foundations in the start of their churches, churches built on pizazz, churches built on politics, churches built on programs.

I talked with a pastor this week who shared with me the fast growing church in his town who has rented hot air balloons before to fly the pastor into an event. We were reminded how some churches ministries are constantly trying to catch the attention of their patrons with some other means than simply Jesus Christ. He is enough and His word is enough for the people of God to worship and celebrate.

Throughout the history of the church, since its inception at Pentecost, there has been nothing that has solidified the structure of the church in this world other than Jesus Christ and his word. The promise of the Scripture is that “the gates of hell will not prevail against (the Church)” because it is the church with a foundation laid which is Jesus Christ which will stand and remain and produce Spirit empowered results.

The Workers

In v 10, Paul starts in a humble way with himself, in his analogy stating he is the “wise master builder. ” He is wise in comparison to the confused culture that taught that integrating cultural influences was necessary to build a successful ministry. Instead, he demonstrated true wisdom in resting his head at night knowing the church was built upon the solid foundation of Christ.

Secondly, he calls himself a wise “master builder” which in the GK is ARCHITEKON which sounds like our english word Architect. This implies that while the building the church most simply rests on building it on Christ alone, it is also complex and requires careful attention to detail. Like a master builder, plans need to made, strategies need to be laid out, and actions steps in correct order need to be followed. Healthy churches are not grown willy nilly. All steps in a growing a healthy church then must be filtered through what the Word of God teaches about the church, which serves as the blueprint for how we are to live and function as God’s people.

Secondly, Paul talks about others who build upon his work, in this case, it would be what Apollos accomplished after him. Again, Apollos’ work wasn’t in opposition or competition to Paul’s, for both heralded the cause and glory of Christ in the church. Therefore, Paul states that those who came after him, build a structure upon the foundation. These are the WORKERS, or LABORERS who follow the design and plan of the build and bring it to fruition. A couple of truths to consider:

the workers don’t re-write the design of the building, its been done for them by someone greater

the workers accomplish the task of building the structure upon what was already been laid, carefully paying great attention to how they build upon the foundation of Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:10 “ Let each one take care how he builds upon it.”

the workers accept their role of faithfully building, not as consumers, not sitting idly by doing nothing, and not wasting precious time that has been given to them to complete the task.

You and I then are God’s fellow workmen. We are the laborers at the construction site of God, building the church, God’s people. We understand our role and we accept the responsibility as a community. This is not just a message for pastors, but all of us because individually, we are responsible for our own growth and corporately, the growth of our local assembly. We grow in Christ as one people!

We take care how we build the church when we first take care how we are growing spiritually as individuals in Christ. Are we resting in Christ’s finished work of redemption? Are he longing for the salvation that is to come? Are we confident in his sovereign rule over all time and history? Are we trusting in the power of the resurrection to gain us victory over sin? Are we hopeful for His return?

The Materials

1 Corinthians 3:12–15 ESV

12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 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. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Paul then continues this metaphor looking at the materials that are being used in the build. In my line of work, we use high quality materials in comparison to poor quality. Everybody wants a cheaper price and they sacrifice quality for price. They will choose cheap veneer cabinets only to replace them sooner than quality ones made with solid and true materials.

Paul states that we take care how we build the church when we consider the quality of materials that are used. He names :

Gold, Silver, Precious Stones

These materials would have been used in the ornate buildings like the temples of his day. In the Jewish temple at Jerusalem, in the temples of the Greek gods. They quality of the materials served as an expression of worship for the temples to whom they were dedicated.

YHWH gave great detail to Moses about the materials and craftsmanship that was needed to what he was instructed to build for worship. If you look back in Exodus, the first item to be constructed was not a building or structure, he started from the inside and worked his way outward. What was the first thing Moses was instructed to build? An ark to contain the word of God and the Ark would be made with valuable wood, overlayed with precious metals so that God’s word, the ten commandments could be contained within. From there it was articles of worship that would have function in the worship of God, until finally the instruction of the tabernacle, the meeting place for God with man.

This gives us great instruction as we consider how God wants the church to be built for his pattern, was centered on the written word of the law. Therefore, our assembly focuses on the living word who is Christ and the written words about him in the Scriptures. Therefore the precious materials correlate to the one they are used to honor. Precious materials for a precious Lord!

Paul is making the point that the church is built up by individuals who accomplish good works that honor Christ. These works do not save us, but they are marks of precious materials that form the structure of a healthy body of believers:

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

God’s holy materials that build his church are good works brought about by the Holy Spirit. That is good works in conjunction with obedience to his word. That obedience and good works flows out of each individual and flows into the corporate body which is the composition of each believer. We have individual and corporate responsibility as God’s workers and laborers in the church.

Simply put, we put on the items listed by Paul to the church as Colosse:

Colossians 3:12–17 (ESV)

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

This also includes foundational principles the church is built upon:

Corporate Preaching and personal study of God’s word

Loving our brothers and sisters in Christ locally and globally

Serving the hurting and needy

Making disciples of all nations

Leading our family in understanding and worshipping Jesus

Trusting God in all circumstances through prayer and faith

Paul use of the other materials in his metaphor as wood, hay and straw serve as illustrations of materials not worthy to be laid upon the foundation of Christ’s preciousness and glory. They represent all that is being used improperly by God’s people. No doubt Paul, has man’s wisdom in mind as one element that is being used to build the church in Corinth. He states that in 3:18,

1 Corinthians 3:18–19 (ESV)

18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.

Imagine for a moment, a new foundation laid in your neighborhood, next door to your house. After the lot is cleared, a smooth and symmetrical slab of concrete is laid. But when building begins, shipping pallets are brought in to construct the structure, wrapping paper is installed on the exterior walls as covering, and smashed coke cans serve as shingles for the roof.

Not only would the neighborhood be outraged by its appearance, its functionality would be temporary. Why lay such a beautiful slab to build a house upon it made of trash?

But this is what people do all over our world. They shame the name and work of Christ by making his church a 3 ring circus. Most recently, we have seen a culture so invade the church, so that his glorious name is proclaim by illegitimate and irreverent speakers who are living in sin, who are unregenerate, and yet given a platform to dishonor Christ’s name.They heap trash upon the glorious foundation of Christ.

How are you building the church? Are you being a faithful work of good works or do you shame the name of Christ by how you live like the world? Are you loving your neighbor?

The Goal of the Finished Work (16-17)

God’s Glory

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 ESV

16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

The completed building project is not the grand purpose of building, its what comes from using it. We don’t build a house to be looked at and admired. Painting and art serve that funtion. We build and construct in order that the building will used and enjoyed.

What is the purpose of the God’s people being built up?

It is not to sit back and take pride in our accomplishments. instead, it’s to see the glory of Christ manifested to the world and beyond through His people so that He might be praised!

Ephesians 3:8–11 ESV

8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,

What does it mean to display the manifold wisdom of God? Manifold wisdom means many -sided plan and purpose of God to bring both Jews and Gentiles together as one community of faith under Christ and his saving work. This would be so greatly displayed that even the angels in heaven would look down, see this mystery revealed and praise God as they were created to do.

Macarthur writes,

The purpose of the universe is to give glory to God, and that will be its ultimate reality after all evil is conquered and destroyed...The church is not an end in itself but a means to an end, the end of glorifying God. The real drama of redemption can only be understood when we realize that the glory of God is the supreme goal of creation.

John F. MacArthur Jr., Ephesians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), 96.

Therefore Paul states that the plural YOU ALL are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The word for temple here NAOS refers not to the temple court but the inner building, where the Holy of Holies resided. There the presence of God dwelt and now in the New Covenant, the HS dwells in believers untied together in Christ.

Therefore, as the temple of God, let us so live as people who are the dwelling place of God. Let our good works reflect God living in and through us.

God’s Judgment

The warning is made that our works will be evaluated “in the DAY” and that fire will be used as the agent of testing. That DAY is Christ returning as Judge. He will judge sin for all unbelievers and He will judge our works in ways that we serve him. For those who defame the temple of God, who defame Christ’s church by trying to building upon it with trash, they will suffer loss.

What loss will they suffer? We are not told what loss will be suffered. They will not lose their salvation for we know that as believers, no one will be snatched from his hand.

But we do understand that our rewards in heaven has some correlation to our faithfulness on earth, whatever that might be. Maybe its a more intense praise from the Lord (4:5) than others. Maybe a more realized presence and joy in Christ. We are not completely sure until we experience it.

Paul gives one final warning, to those who destroy the temple of God. These are obviously those who give no regard to honoring Christ as the foundation, or even building upon it with good works. They simply want to destroy the believer and the corporate assembly of those believers in Jesus. These Paul warns are enemies of God and will therefore face his wrath!