Christ is the Foundation (1 Cor. 3:5-15) *Verses in NKJV*
– 1 Cor. 3:5-15, 5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
– The Christian coverts in Greece often brought their own ways and culture into the mix. They want to put heroes on a pedestal. They have a lifetime of building their identity by who they followed. (Example: Reminds me of sports teams, Seahawks fans hating Patriots fans, etc…)
– Paul calls them immature and carnal for doing this, reiterating that only Jesus should be lifted up.
– 1 Cor. 1:12-13, Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
– 1 Cor 3:4, For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
– This type of tribalism quickly becomes divisive. We must stay united as Christ’s church.
– Eph 4:17, This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
– Paul is telling the Corinthian church to adjust their priorities, and be “Christ-like”, not “world-like”.
#1. It’s not a competition.
– In our worldly nature, we view the goal of competition as simply not being the loser, instead of trying to be the winner. It’s easier to “shoot for the middle”.
– We hope and pray that our rival fails, allowing us to win by default. This effects the way we view scripture… and how we view our Christian brothers and sisters.
– 1 Cor 9:24-27, Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may [i]obtain it (win). 25 And everyone who competes for the prize [j]is temperate (has self-control) in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
– In a physical race, only one will win the prize, but that is not the point. You are not in competition with other Christians for obtaining glory. You are graded against a standard, not on a curve.
– The point here is to train spiritually the way you see championship athletes train physically.
– They are disciplined, make sacrifices, train daily, because they want to be the best! The reward you are seeking is to please God and make heaven… there is room for all of us to win.
– We each have a calling and a role to play. Stop comparing yourself to others. Run YOUR race to win the reward, not at the expense of others running THEIR race.
– The goal is to spread the gospel and build a “house” that lasts. It takes many hands…
– 1 Cor. 3:5-9, Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
– The Christians in Corinth had formed factions of loyalty to different church leaders, but the leaders themselves seemed to have no such conflict. (One God, one gospel, one mission…)
– 1 Cor. 11:1, (Paul says) Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (Or, Follow me as I follow Christ.)
– This is the heart of Paul and Apollos. Follow Christ, not a man.
– (Some scholars speculate that, in 1 Cor. 16, that is why Apollos was “quite unwilling” to return to Corinth with the rest of the team. As not to create any division by his presence there.)
– We are all on the SAME team, only playing different positions, but with the same goal!
– Romans 12:3-5, For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
– We each are responsible for pursuing the calling God has placed on our own lives, because “each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” (Don’t worry about your neighbor.)
– It’s not by our strength, because God brings the increase!
– 1 Peter 4:11b, … If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the [d]dominion forever and ever. Amen.
#2. Christ is the foundation.
– 1 Cor 3:10-11, According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
– A building must have a solid foundation, or it will eventually fall.
– Example: Mexico poorly constructed houses, no concrete floors, not level, rain comes right in… sketchy foundations or hillside locations… (Picture of house supported by tires… cardboard walls)
– Q Missions takes teams down to Mexico to build houses to replace these, every year. (Picture of Mexico house, solid foundation)
– Example: Homes of Hope selects a family, preps the site, and pours the concrete foundation before we even arrive to build. They also do all of the follow up after we leave too…
– There is a building plan, a solid foundation, and builders who come alongside the team. Many hands and hearts, coming together in unity to accomplish the mission. A real-life spiritual metaphor!
– There are significant advantages to the concrete foundation in a Homes of Hope house:
– With a concrete floor: “Preventative health care and medical treatment are improved. A house with a cement floor, as opposed to a dirt floor, leads to a 78% reduction in parasitic infestations, 49% reduction in diarrhea and 81% reduction in anemia. Disease, injury and physical ailments from exposure are significantly lessened.”
– “The stability and safety of a home environment are important for establishing and maintaining mental health and welfare, significantly lowering rates of depression and perceived stress. Quality of life is increased for a family living in a home.”
– A family gets a home, the gospel is ministered, and God gets all the glory for it!
– CHRIST is the firm foundation that our spiritual lives are built on!
– Luke 6:47-49, (Jesus said) Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
– This is what Paul is telling them. There is no other foundation than the one he laid for them. Christ!
– Eph 2:19-22, Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
– Just like the homes of hope, our lives should be built on the hope that is in Jesus.
#3. HOW you serve the Lord matters.
– 1 Cor.3:12-15, Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
– Building on a firm foundation is essential, but what and how you build there is also important.
– The context of these verses is talking about those who minister the gospel, those who preach and teach, building solid churches that are rooted on Jesus Christ and his gospel. BUT, I think it can also apply to how we build our spiritual lives and the Christian community around us.
– Example: Peru building after the earthquake. It was fine one day, and flattened the next day. (Picture of Peru building)
– The building had a solid foundation, but built poorly out of loose stones, all the houses were.
– Crazy thing, earthquakes are common in this valley… Why do they continue to build this way?? We could ask the same thing about how we build spiritually.
– The example Paul uses describes many different building materials. I think this symbolizes the costly sacrifice and devotion we put into building Christ’s church on the foundation of the gospel.
– Gold, silver, and precious stones represent a costly sacrifice, hard work, and quality… best effort.
– Wood, hay, and straw represent quick, cheap, and easy… or good enough but nothing more.
– One effort will survive the fiery trials, and one will be burned up and you’ll barely escape it.
– To extend the metaphor, what if sticks and straw are all that you have? You will be judged on your work, not on what you have to work with. We all have different gifts and resources.
– Example: I’ve seen reed-island homes on Lake Titicaca, bamboo huts in Cambodia, mud huts in Sierra Leone… They are building sufficient homes with what they have. Still sacrificial and costly!
– We are accountable for doing our best with what we have… Heart condition and motives matter!
– What about us though? Do we have sturdy materials, but choose the cheap, quick, easy route?
– We are accountable for the way we serve Jesus, with what we have, to our fullest ability.
– Romans 14:12, So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
– Eph 4:1-5, I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
– Walk worthy, in unity, with Jesus Christ as the firm foundation of our faith and our churches.
Alter call: First you need to have a foundation in Christ, before you can build anything in your life…
– prayer –
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