Taking Heed to How We Build on the Foundation (22nd Feb 2014)

Taking Heed to How We Build on the Foundation

But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

1 Corinthian 3:10b

One of the issues that Paul sought to address in his Epistle to the Church at Corinth was that of party spirit in the Church. This can be seen in 1 Cor 1:12 and 1 Cor 3:4. There were folks in the church who said that they were of the party of Paul and some of Apollos, which evidently manifested their carnal thoughts. It was also probable, as one commentator noted, that below the party strife was also the desire to introduce human wisdom that would undermine the Gospel leading to the weakening of the Church or even forsaking the very foundation that Paul had laid at the Church of Corinth. Paul argued that they should not have the party spirit because it is God who caused the church at Corinth to grow and they, Paul and Apollos, were but co-workers for God to cultivate and build the Church which was described as God's Vineyard and God's Building (1 Cor 3:9).

Here Paul used the imagery of a Building to depict the Spiritual life of the Church whose foundation is Jesus Christ himself. Paul, the wise master builder, who in today’s lingo would be the main contractor, laid the foundation of the building while sub-contracting the work to Apollos to bring up the external edifice of the building. Specifically, you may ask, what did Paul do by laying the foundation? He laid the foundation by establishing the hearts of the Corinthians on the one and only foundation Jesus Christ. It goes without saying that the folks at the Church in Corinth, who were predominantly non-Jewish, would have repented and believed in the good news of Jesus Christ. They would have been motivated to change their mind under compunction, having felt the weight of the Law of God on their sin while Paul preached the Gospel, running to the Saviour Jesus and relying on him for reconciliation with God the Father. Having seen the Corinthians repent and trust in the Lord Jesus, Paul then left the work to Apollos who continued to bring the Word of God for their edification and growth in the Lord Jesus.

Paul was nevertheless concerned about how others build on the foundation which he had laid and hence we see the verse in 1 Cor 3:10b urging co-workers to take serious heed as to how they build up the Church at Corinth because God would test the work of the co-workers when they were called to give an account, on what they had done, at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor 3:13). If they had been negligent in carelessly applying the Word of God in the process of building up the church, what they had done would be judged to be useless and they would not receive any reward of Grace and as such suffer loss. On the other hand, if the co-workers would labor to bring the precious Word of God and apply it to the life of the Church at Corinth from week to week, their labor would be received and the co-workers would receive the reward of Grace.

Paul used the metaphor of two kinds of building materials to describe what was used by the co-workers in building up the church. On one hand were the precious materials of Gold, Silver and precious stones which represented the precious Word of God which is of great and precious value as Christ himself; on the other hand is the group of worthless materials of wood, hay and stubble which represented erroneous teaching. Paul likened the judgment day (Rev 20:12) to the test of fire whereby the labor of applying precious materials to the building of the Church will not be consumed while the labor of applying useless materials will be consumed and turned into ashes. Who wants to spend all his life in the ministry and end up in this way?

Perhaps you are conscientious and wonder if this warning of Paul applies to each and every Christian besides the ministerial band? Surely, every one of us, who professes the name of Christ, who has denied himself and be willing to die for the Gospel, is also called to work on behalf of the Lord Jesus. The call by our Saviour to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness would have come into your mind. This is also underscored by the import of the Lord's prayer and nothing is clearer than the parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14-30) and the parable of the Pounds (Luke 19:11-27) in regards to working and being accountable to the Master. If each is called to work on behalf of Christ as the all-consuming priority, then this same warning applies to each of us. We therefore need to take serious heed because it is indeed possible that all that we have done in this life could be consumed and turned into ashes if we do not apply the precious words of God to our life and manifestation and instead follow the whims and fancies of the world in running our life. Who wants to spend all his life as a Christian and end up in this way? Do you? There would be no word to describe the despair that will consume you during the judgment day if you are found to be wanting even though you are saved (1Cor 3:15).

There is no reason why we should end up in the way of suffering loss at the judgment seat of Christ because God has given all things to us (1Cor 3:21b). One can picture these holistic blessings (1Cor3:22) as “multitude of servants that surrounded us on bended knees holding out to us their precious offerings”. The thoughts should overwhelm one with blessedness to motivate and strengthen us to lead a useful life by building up our spiritual life zealously and carefully and be confident too because we are ourselves Christ's possession (1Cor3:23) which is a blessing that envelopes all! Amen.