The churches one foundation!
1 Corinthians 3:9-15 Series introduction: this is talk three in our series on the church!!!
Prayer for illumination: please join me in prayer…
Sermon introduction:
I will never forget how sad I was when my parent’s told us we were moving to the South Hill. But my sadness disappeared when I learned that they were going to build a brand new house. After purchasing an empty lot, drawing up some plans, and digging a large hole the next step was pouring the foundation. Once the foundation was poured the framers showed up to frame the walls. Throughout the process several building inspectors showed up to make sure that everything was done to code.
I know that some people don’t appreciate the fact that their tax dollars pay the salaries of the building inspectors. And I know that some people think that building inspectors are intent on making their lives miserable.
But building inspectors really do serve a purpose. They make sure that your house is being built with the right materials in the right way. This really benefits you and me because if your house is built with shoddy materials and techniques your house will come tumbling down.
In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 Paul compares the church in Corinth to a building. A firm foundation was laid for the church in Corinth but later on some new builders showed up and began to build on the firm foundation with some flimsy materials. Fortunately, on the day of final judgment there will be a building inspection.
When people build the church with the wrong materials it will inevitably lead to problems.
The church in Corinth was notorious for problems because it built with the wrong materials.
So what should we build the church with? The gospel of Jesus Christ and nothing else! If we build the church with anything other than the gospel the church is in deep trouble!
To help us understand the metaphor in 1 Cor. 3:10-15 we are going to look at four things!
The builders of the church The foundation of the church The materials for the church The building inspection First, the builders of the church
Who are the builders of the church in Corinth? Pastors!
1 Corinthians 3:9–10 (ESV) — 9 For we (Apollos and Paul) are God’s fellow workers. You
(congregation) are God’s field, God’s building. 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.
In 3:10-15 Paul is talking about pastors in particular and not all Christians.
To prove this we need to look at the context of these verses.
1 Corinthians 3:5–9 (ESV) — 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
In Verses 5-9 Paul and Apollos are God’s workers. They are working in the field but they are not the field. The church is the field. Why is this important? Because we see the same distinction in verses 10-15.
In 3:10-15 Paul, Apollos, and other unnamed pastors are the builders and not the building itself. In other words, they are the construction workers who build the building, which is the church.
Summary…
In the first metaphor (5-9) the pastors are the workers and the field itself is the congregation/church.
In the second metaphor (10-15) the pastors are the builders and the building itself is the congregation/church.
The context of chapters 1-4 and the immediate context of chapter 3 indicate that Paul is picking on pastors. Pastors are not more important than the congregation. But if we think that Paul has every Christian in mind in 3:10-15 we are taking the passage out of context, which means the application will be out of context.
Here is how Gordon Fee summarizes 3:10-15-
“Here is another paragraph that has suffered much in the church from those who would decontextualize it in terms of individualistic popular piety (i.e., how I build my own Christian life on Christ),… certain
Protestants… have used it as grist for the Calvinist-Arminian debate over the security of the believer,… the Roman Catholic tradition… has found in it the single piece of NT evidence for the doctrine of purgatory. Paul addresses none of these issues, not even indirectly. His concern is singular, that those currently leading the church take heed because their present work will not stand the fiery test to come, having shifted from the imperishable ‘stuff’ of Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (Fee, 136-137)
Who are the builders of the church in Corinth? Pastors!
Application:
Both the field and the building metaphor point out how unimportant, in one sense, the pastors are. They are just tools in God’s hands. It is God who makes the field grow not Paul, Apollos, or anyone else.
This means we should not be too attached to pastors. We should be attached to God!
This is incredibly challenging in our evangelical culture of celebrity pastors.
John Piper Matt Chandler Tim Keller
These are all men I respect but they are just tools in God’s hands.
They are just workers in the field.
This also means that pastors can do nothing to change anyone!!! Nor can you!!! It is God who changes people through pastors. So pray!!!
First, the builders of the church!
Second, the foundation of the church!
What is the foundation of the church in Corinth? The gospel of Jesus Christ!
1 Corinthians 3:9–11 (ESV) — 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. 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 built this church on the foundation of Jesus Christ. In other words the foundation of the church in Corinth was the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:22–24 (ESV) — 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 2:1–2 (ESV) — 1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1 Corinthians 15:1–5 (ESV) — 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also
received: that 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, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
Acts 18 describes Paul’s first visit to Corinth. He laid the foundation of Christ and him crucified for 18 months in one of the most godless cities in the Roman Empire.
Any other foundation will lead to massive problems.
Illustration: Roughly ten years ago we bought our first house in NW Spokane by Audubon Park. This house was built in 1927. When we bought the house it had 1000 square feet of unfinished basement. So we saved all our money and added 3.5 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a storage room to the basement.
It did not take long to realize that our basement foundation had issues. To make a long story short, my study, and all three of the bedrooms needed to be torn apart and rebuilt. In each room water leaked through the foundation, causing mold which ruined the dry wall, carpet, and trim. This meant I had to tear all this stuff out and reframe, re-drywall, repaint, etc…. this was an incredibly sanctifying season for me. The worst part about all of this is that I’m still not sure how water got through certain parts of the foundation.
Bad foundations can cause major problems.
The church is no different. If the churches foundation is anything but the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ there will be problems.
What are some other foundations that churches build on?
The charisma of a pastor!
Doctrinal precision!
Certain Social behaviors that are often grouped together (home schooling, courtship, and family integrated worship)
Being reformed, being Charismatic, being missional, etc…
Etc…
And ten thousand other things…
This is so easy to do!!!
Why must the gospel be the foundation of the church? It is my only hope and your only hope for this life and the life to come.
If the church is built on any foundation but the gospel there will be problems.
The builders of the church The foundation of the church
Third, the building materials!
What materials were used to build the church in Corinth? Wood, hay, and stubble!
1 Corinthians 3:10–12 (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. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—
Paul lays the foundation for the church in Corinth with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Eventually Paul and Apollos move on (1 Cor 16:12) and new pastors (unnamed) are now building the church.
Illustration: it may seem strange to us to think that Paul laid a foundation and now years later someone else is building on the foundation but this was normal because buildings frequently took a long time to build in the ANE. Someone laid the foundation (this may take years) and years later someone else would build the roof.
Unfortunately the new pastor is building on Paul’s gospel foundation with the wrong material. He is building the church with wood, hay, and stubble. How do we know that he is using the wrong building materials? Because the churches walls were falling down!
Divisions among the people
Sexually immorality including incest Christians are suing Christians Christians are getting divorced There is Idolatry
People are taking cuts in the communion line and others are getting drunk at communion People are boasting in their spiritual gifts
The worship is disorderly
Some are even denying the resurrection
Not only must a church be built on the foundation of the gospel it must continue to build with the gospel.
What exactly were these Corinthian Pastor’s building the church with? In other words, what was the wood, hay, and stubble? We don’t know for sure but we know that it was not the gospel!!! These are the same types of things that people build the wrong foundations with today.
The things people build the church with usually become the main thing in that particular church…
Relevance (seeker sensitive model)
Family integrated worship becomes the main thing Doctrinal precision becomes the main thing
Home schooling becomes the main thing
Youth ministry or college ministry becomes the main thing Or the Charisma of the pastor is what the church is built on
Or the latest findings in pop psychology are what the church is built on.
Or some type of seeker sensitive model
Or the latest program or managerial techniques
Here is the trick… most Christian churches will say that their foundation is the gospel and they are building with the gospel. So how do we know if this is really the case???
Answer- if a church builds with the gospel it will produce the fruit of the gospel!
Is there a heart for lost people?
Is there joy?
Is there genuine love for others?
Is there and absence of spiritual pride?
We are not immune from drift!!! America is littered with churches that started out on the foundation of the gospel only to drift into other issues. Every church must be vigilant to keep their focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray for your pastors!
What materials were used to build the church in Corinth? Wood, hay, and stubble!
What materials should the church be built with? Gold, silver, precious medals!
v. 12 again.
Paul uses Gold, silver, and costly stones because these materials featured so prominently in the construction of the Temple in the OT. And the church is God’s new temple. Plus these materials will not perish in the fires of judgment.
How do we know that Gold, Silver, and precious stones represent the gospel? Paul exhorts pastors to build the church with Gold, Silver, and precious stones and when we look at Paul’s ministry he built the church with the gospel.
1 Corinthians 1:22–23 (ESV) — 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
2 Corinthians 4:5 (ESV) — 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
Galatians 6:14 (ESV) — 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
1 Corinthians 2:1–2 (ESV) — 1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
We know from Acts 18 that when Paul first came to Corinth he spent 18 months there. So is Paul saying that for 18 months all he talked about was “Christ and him crucified”??? Really????
I’m sure Paul talked about
Marriage, parenting, election, the end times and many other things!!!
Yes Paul addressed many subjects but all the subjects he addressed he addressed through the lens of the cross and resurrection.
The cross is the paradigm for all of our ethics and the cross is the paradigm for all of our relationships.
The cross is not the ABC’s of the Christian life it is the A to Z of the Christian life…
The cross is not the door into the house of Christianity it is the house of Christianity…
David Pryor, “We never move on from the gospel only into a more profound understanding of the gospel.”
We want to build this church with the gospel by following Paul’s paradigm.
Application for GCF:
Our counseling Our small groups Our elders meetings Our giving
Our church planting
All must flow out of and be motivated by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our singing
Our celebration of the sacraments Etc…
The builders of the church The foundation of the church The materials for the church Fourth, the building inspection!
Illustration: We bought a new house three years back. Right away we decided to finish off our
basement. I did most of the wiring myself. In obedience to Romans 13 I pulled the appropriate permits, which means that a building inspector eventually came and checked my work. He wants to see if you are building with the right materials and doing things up to code. If not your house may literally burn down.
He was checking the quality of my work.
In a similar sense, Jesus will one day inspect the quality of the work of pastors. He will specifically inspect the foundation that was built and the building materials that were used.
When is the building inspection? Final judgment!
1 Corinthians 3:13–15 (ESV) — 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.
Again this is not a reference to individual Christians. This is a reference to the specific work of pastoral ministry. Please don’t read this text and think that someone can make a profession of faith in Christ and live like the world and still get into heaven. There is zero warrant for this interpretation anywhere in this passage.
Paul is saying that Pastor’s will be judged on the day of Final judgment for how they built the church. If they built the church on the foundation of the gospel and continued to build the rest of the building with the gospel they will receive a reward. Yes, God rewards his people.
On the other hand if a Pastor believes the gospel yet builds the church with materials other than the gospel he will be saved but his work will burn up and he will not receive a reward.
The image here is of one being pulled from the rubble of a church after it has collapsed. The pastor escapes but just barely as the church collapses.
“This ought to be extremely sobering to all who are engaged in vocational ministry. It is possible to
‘build the church’ with such shoddy materials that at the last day you have nothing to show for your labor.
People may come, feel ‘helped,’ join in corporate worship, serve on committees, teach Sunday School classes, bring their friend’s enjoy ‘fellowship,’ raise funds, participate in counseling sessions and self help groups, but still not really know the Lord. If the church is being built with large portions of charm, personality, easy oratory, positive thinking, managerial skills, powerful and emotional experiences, and people smarts, but without the repeated, passionate, Spirit-anointed proclamation of ‘Jesus Christ and him crucified,’ we may be winning more adherents than converts.” (Carson, 80)
Conclusion:
The builders of the church The foundation of the church The materials for the church The building inspection
How one builds the church of Jesus Christ is very serious business because the church is the bride of Christ. If we build the church with anything other than the gospel of Jesus Christ the church will come crashing down. Lets pray…
