Faithful Builders
1Cor 3:5-23
One of the things I love about Paul’s letters to the Corinthians is that we’re shown a church that was pretty messed up. Despite the fact that Paul had planted this church, and then at some later date Apollos came and built upon what Paul had started, they still got sidetracked on some doctrines and moral issues. For example, our chapter today addresses the divisions and factions that had arisen in the Corinthian church where they bragged about following certain teachers. But we also find in this letter that they had an issue with sexual immorality where a man was physically involved with his father’s wife, and the congregation didn’t try to correct the issue.
There’s also the issue of believer’s bringing lawsuits against other believers, and the abuse of Christian liberty they displayed concerning eating food sacrificed to idols. They had disorderly worship and the misuse of speaking in tongues that needed correction and the misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper where some gorged themselves while others went hungry. Some among them denied or were confused concerning the resurrection, and finally, the lack of love and spiritual maturity they were displaying toward those who didn’t have the same gifts as others.
One would think that with Paul and Apollos being their foundation layer and builders, the church in Corinth would be near perfect. But here we are, reading about how imperfect they were. And in a way it gives me hope. It gives me hope because if a messed-up body of believers like them could still be 1Co 1:2 …sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, and also 1Co 1:5 …in everything…enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, and be confirmed 1Co 1:8 …to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ and also still be 1Co 1:9 …called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, then friends, there is also hope for us!
There is hope for us because like the Corinthians, we also had faithful builders who were careful how they built.
1. The Builders
1Co 3:5-9 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. [6] I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. [7] So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. [8] Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. [9] For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.
The Corinthians had gotten caught up in a prideful “keeping up with the Joneses” type mentality. It’s prideful because they were using their teachers as a club, wielding their names around as if one were better than the others. “I am of Paul!” “I am of Apollos!” “I am of Cephas!” And then those few who would trump them all by proudly declaring, “Well, I am of Christ!” But Paul is telling them that this kind of attitude, especially among the church, is nonsense. It’s causing division where there should be no division. Paul, Apollos, Cephas were nothing but workers in God’s field. One cultivated the ground and planted, the other came along and applied the water, someone else might even have come along and done some weeding. The one who does the real work, the one who causes the cultivation, planting, watering, and weeding to be effective is God. Nothing anyone else does means anything if God isn’t giving the increase!
Terri and I planted some tomatoes in containers this year. We fixed up the soil as best as we could. We watered. It rained. The sun shined, but our little tomato plants grew long stems and a few leaves that mostly withered. They produced 3 or 4 little cherry tomatoes, but that’s mostly it. All our efforts had very little effect. And you know, it’s been this way with us and growing tomatoes for years. We seldom get a decent crop while others, they’re pulling in tomatoes by the bucket.
I don’t know what we’re doing wrong, but like Paul said, we’re not anything. It’s all about God who gives the increase—who causes the growth! Human leaders, teachers, pastors, we’re simply instruments used by God, so all credit and growth belong to Him and Him alone. The emphasis here is unity within the body of Christ and recognizing that all Christian laborers are working together for God’s purpose, not their own.
Now, in verse 9, Paul makes a change. I want you to notice that he switches analogies from agriculture to construction. He said, 1Co 3:9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. He switches from field and growing crops to building construction, and when constructing a building, the most important part of that project is…
2. The Foundation
1Co 3:10-11 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. [11] For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
First, I want to say that Paul isn’t being prideful here. He said that he was like a “wise master builder.” This isn’t bragging. Paul was a highly skilled, very learned biblical scholar, and that’s what he’s talking about. Like the artisans of the OT, Bezalel and Oholiab who were skillful men, filled with the Spirit of God in wisdom, understanding, and knowledge as craftsmen of textiles, gold, silver, bronze, precious stones, and wood who designed all the clothing, utensils, ark, altar, laver, tent, and everything else in the wilderness tabernacle. They were wise master builders in their fields just as Paul was a wise master builder in his field.
But as wise, as skilled as he was, all his labor would have meant nothing if he hadn’t laid a good foundation. In constructing a building, the foundation is crucial. A building with a firm, solid foundation will last several lifetimes, but if the foundation is flimsy, or like Jesus said, if it’s a foundation built on sand, then you’ll find that when Mat 7:27 "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall."
Of course, the building Paul is speaking of here isn’t an actual building of brick or stone. The building is the church, which isn’t a physical structure, but is a spiritual body comprised of individual believers who have faith in Jesus Christ! They love and follow Him, being obedient to His instructions. They come together as a group of believers in a common Lord, a common faith, and a common baptism. Eph 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, right?
The foundation of the church is Jesus Christ. He is 1Pe 2:7 "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone," No other foundation can be laid because Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church. So, what this means is that all Christian ministry, teaching, preaching, encouraging, fellowship, or any other ministry must be founded upon Jesus Christ. If someone comes along and tries to lay any other foundation, if what they teach doesn’t align with our foundational beliefs as revealed to us in the holy Scriptures, then they are to be turned away and rejected. They are teaching another Jesus and trying to lay another foundation, and like the apostles who fought against the false teachers of their day, we will also fight against and turn away the false teachers of our day.
Our solidity with; our living by and promoting the apostolic teachings and the doctrines of our Lord Jesus Christ are the materials we use to build upon the foundation. Every Christian builds on the foundation of Jesus Christ, but every Christian should be very careful of what building materials they use.
3. The Materials
1Co 3:12-15 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, [13] each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. [14] If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. [15] If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Now, at first glance, we might think that gold and silver really aren’t strong materials to build with. You can build a strong structure that will last for generations with wood, but gold and silver are soft and malleable. They aren’t a good material to use in building construction. But an actual building isn’t what’s being constructed here. What’s being constructed is the Church. Not a physical building but a spiritual building consisting of not only individual believers, but also all spiritual believers when built together, comprise the Church, the body of Christ.
You must also understand that the builders of the Church aren’t just the apostles, or pastors, preachers, teachers, or evangelists—those people who are actively and primarily employed in Christian work. No. Not just them, but all believers. All members of the body of Christ, the Church. In one way or another, all Christians are to be engaged in the process of building up the Church of Jesus Christ.
Now, you cannot choose the foundation. The foundation is and has always been, Jesus Christ. He is the foundation that has already been laid. However, you can choose the materials you use to build with. The materials that Paul lists here are not equal in value. Gold is more precious than silver. Gold, silver, and precious stones have greater value than wood. Wood is better than hay or stubble, but it still doesn’t equal the value of gold, silver, or precious stones.
So, with that in mind, it’s obvious that the notion some people have that it really doesn’t matter what you do, if you are sincere and well-meaning, then all is well. Well, that’s just wrong. It’s also lazy. Why would someone intentionally build with hay or stubble when they could build with gold or silver? Laziness maybe? It could also be that the one using those materials simply didn’t know any better. It’s possible they themselves were built with the same stuff because their teachers were lazy, ignorant, or false.
Think of it like this: a sermon that exalts Christ is gold, while a sermon that’s filled with worldly wisdom is wood. A song that glorifies the Lord is silver, while a song that displays my skill or giftedness would be hay. A worship service where Jesus is central is precious stones, while a service that makes me look good is straw.
But you know, those things that I just used in illustration are not things all Christians would be involved in, but all Christians are involved in loving their neighbor. All Christians should be involved in witnessing for Christ. All Christians should be working at helping others, encouraging others, serving others, and just simply living the life of Christ on this earth. Those things would also be gold, silver, or precious stones.
We should endeavor to always use the more valuable materials in everything we do because folks, one day there will be a reckoning. There will be a time when everything we’ve done, every word we’ve said, and every non-loving thought we harbored in our hearts will be exposed, reviewed, and given an account for. Paul spoke of those things being revealed by fire. All of the inferior building materials you used will be consumed by our God who is a consuming fire, but all of the superior material you built with will continue. They’ll stand, where the others will disappear. Whatever remains, you will receive rewards for.
Now, we don’t know what the rewards will actually be, but I think Jesus gives us a bit of a hint when He told us that those servants who are doing God’s work and increasing God’s kingdom when He returns will hear Him say, Mat 25:21 …'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
“Well done…” You know, if the reward were simply to hear Him say, “Well done”, I would think that would be more than enough. We shouldn’t be laboring in this world for the reward. We should labor to please our Lord and honor Him. I don’t know about you, but I would think that heaven is its own reward, and heaven is heaven because Jesus is there.
The poor construction, the bad work you built using inferior materials will be consumed. You will suffer loss, real loss, but you will not lose your salvation. Paul said, 1Co 3:15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. So, clearly, if you have built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, but you used the weaker, inferior material, what you thought you had stored up in the kingdom will be gone once tested. You will suffer loss, but because Jesus is your foundation, your salvation is secure.
Friends, there is no such place as purgatory. If your foundation is Jesus Christ, then you are saved. You have eternal life. But if your foundation is something or someone other than Jesus, then you never were saved to begin with. Only Jesus saves. Not Muhammed, Hare Krishna, or any other person, place, or thing. Jesus, and only Jesus. So, if He is your foundation, then He is your Savior, and you have been building His temple.
4. The Temple
1Co 3:16-23 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? [17] If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. [18] Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. [19] For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, "He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS"; [20] and again, "THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS." [21] So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, [22] whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, [23] and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
Friends, you are the temple of God. Ever since you first believed in Jesus, you have been building your temple. Your Bible study, SS lessons, sermons heard, Christian teaching videos watched, classes taken, prayer meetings attended, living and following the teachings of the Word of God, and any other things you do that build you up spiritually has gone toward building your temple.
But there’s another temple that we build as well, the temple that’s known as the Church, the corporate body of Christ. Rather than your own individual temple, this other temple consists of every individual who believes in Jesus and follows Him. We are to do those things that build ourselves up in the faith and also builds other people up in their faith. This is what this chapter in Corinthians is all about. We are to steer away from things that divide and focus on that which unifies us. The Corinthians were dividing the church by claiming to “belong” to this or that teacher. And you know what? We do the exact same thing today when our emphasis is on denomination.
It’s like when we use terms like “African American”, “Asian American”, “Mexican American”, “Anglo American”, we’re defining ourselves by what divides us. Instead of simply being Americans, we’re encouraging division. Well, the same is true in the Church when we emphasize denominations. The truth is that there will be no denominations in the kingdom of God. All those who are in heaven or are on their way to heaven are simply Christians. And Christians do those things that build up and edify Christians without regard to denominational differences. Everyone who has Jesus Christ as their foundation is our brother or sister in Christ.
1Co 3:21-23 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, [22] whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, [23] and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
As the Church of Jesus Christ, we are to look at all things and all people through the lens of who we are—God’s people in Christ, and who they are—potential brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to remember the fact that we have been called, fed, and sent for the sake of the world. Remember that—for the sake of the world! Not for our own sakes, but for everyone’s sake.
And that is why the Lord told us to, Mat 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
