1 Corinthians 3:9-17
In 2005 George Barna wrote the book Revolution — one of the worst books I’ve ever read. He pronounced the death of the church — people can fulfill the ideal of the life of Christ despite the fact that they rarely attend church.
Is Barna right? Is this a time for a new approach to faith?
The church is the only institution that Christ ever promised to build. If you want to save the planet, build the true church.
You don’t have to embrace Barna’s approach to do irreparable damage to the church — many things churches and people do have unintended consequences. This was exactly the concern Paul had for the Corinthian church.
In 1 Cor. 3 Paul introduces two metaphors for how the leaders are to think about the church — agricultural and architectural (vv. 9ff). These verses deal with the architectural metaphor — how leaders build the church.
Paul was a son of the city, raised in Tarsus and most of his ministry was to strategic cities. It is no surprise then that he uses this image — the church is a building.
Sobering imperative — each man must be careful how he builds. This command is addressed to the leaders — those who build. Paul is primarily talking to those who are involved in leading the church. Be careful how you build. Weigh carefully and constant watching — constantly assess how you are building the church.
Make this passage a blueprint for your ministry — Paul tells us how to build a church God’s way. Three foundational instructions for how to build a church.
1. Build on the right foundation (v. 10)
Paul likens his role as an apostle to a skilled master builder (arcatektwn). This man was the construction manager. God had chosen Paul to be that construction manager — Paul laid the foundation. Large stones were cut and placed as the foundation — here Paul says he laid the only legitimate foundation for the church. If you build on a different foundation, it will not be the church of Jesus Christ.
What is the foundation that Paul laid? Paul emphasizes his own apostolic authority. In Ephesians, he further explains this metaphor (Eph. 2:20ff) — the foundation is the apostles and prophets: they received the revelation from God and the church is built on that foundation. When Paul says they are the foundation of the church, he means the revelation that came through them. (Note that Christ is still the corner stone of that foundation — the ultimate measure of everything that is in the building). To lay Christ as the chief cornerstone is that everything revealed about Jesus Christ is the cornerstone and everything must be tested against that. To build on another foundation is to build on anything that is not built on that foundation.
Another is building on it — i.e., others in the Corinthian church, but by application us. The picture in this image is of the old method of constructing buildings — the temple of Artemis took over 100 years to build — those who began it never say its completion. We are just the latest generation of workmen to work on the plans decreed by God.
There are many options now exist in book catalogs, but it’s not our prerogative to change the plan of God — just stick to the plan! “The only mark of a Christian church is following and obeying the Word of God.…Do the people have the word of God there and do they accept it?…” (Luther) Is the focus on your ministry the Word of God. Build your church on the right foundation — the revealed Word of God about Jesus Christ.
2. Use the right materials
Six materials are listed here, but he is emphasizing two contrasting kinds of materials — the first group has more intrinsic value and they both have their individual place and purpose.
The most important difference is this — the first group will not burn (the greatest danger in the first century) — Rome had burnt Corinth to the ground and it sat there for 100 years. They understood the value of building with materials that were not combustible.
What do these materials represent? Examine the context — Paul would come back to this future judgment in chapter 4. He will evaluate us on the character of our teaching and preaching (4:1) — stewards of the mysteries of God. We will be judged on how we handled God’s revelation. Were we faithful? How can we be unfaithful?
- inadequate prep
- by misinterpreting the passage
- by downplaying its importance
- by placing the emphasis on what I want to say rather than what God has said
We will also be evaluated by the content of our hearts (cf. 4:3-5). Motives are an essential part of what will determine reward. What motives are important? Notice the contrasts in chs. 1-4 of Paul’s motives with other leaders in Corinth.
- 1:10-17 — motive to encourage people to be loyal to Christ more than to us.
- 1:18-31 — a desire to elevate the glory of God in the gospel more than our own glory
- 2:1-16 — a desire to promote the wisdom of God in the word of God rather than our own cleverness. You can’t exalt your own cleverness and the glory of God at the same time.
- 3:1-9 — a desire to magnify the work of God rather than our own accomplishments — we’re just workers; God is the one who is doing the growing.
You can build the church on the right foundation and still use the wrong materials! And Christ will reveal it in judgment and testing (cf. v. 13). Notice the extent of the evaluation. It will be individual and comprehensive. Each one will give an account for how he builds. It is the quality of each man’s work.
It will become evident — the judgment will show it for what it really is. All that hides its true nature will be uncovered. Fire represents the all-seeing, all-knowing work of God. Only two results: 1) reward — there is a real connection between our work and our reward. Matt. 25 seems to indicate that the reward will be of the Lord’s praise and a greater capacity to serve the Lord in all of eternity. 2) loss. This is a word that referred to penalties levied against workers fro poor workmanship. The poor worker doesn’t get paid. His work will be lost and reward will be gone, though he will be saved. Yet so as through fire = standing before Christ and suddenly fire breaks out in the building we built — we escape, but everything else is lost.
Don’t ever forget that someday we will stand before Jesus Christ and He will evaluate the character of our teaching and the motives of our hearts. “This ought to be extremely sobering…” (Carson)
3. Remember the rightful owner (v. 16)
Do you not know…? Paul reminds that what we are building is the entire church — a temple belonging to God. You (pl.) are a temple (singular). We’re building a temple for God, not a house for ourselves.
If any man = same as throughout this passage — still addressing leaders.
destroy = a worker’s personal liability if he damaged something that had already been completed. If you are careless with the church, then God will take that very seriously and deal with you in kind. If you harm God’s sanctuary, God will harm you. Damaging the church comes with a serious penalty. In the OT it came with the penalty of death. God is just as concerned with the spiritual church in the NT as He was of the physical one in the OT.
How can you damage the church? It doesn’t have to be intentional. The damage comes when we monkey with the plan. Cf. Carson.
Don’t ever forget that what you are building doesn’t belong to you.
Be careful how you build. This is a perpetual warning and we can never let down our guard.
Be careful how you build.
Words of Grace 