BUILDING OUR CHURCH
1 CORINTHIANS 3:10–17
October 2, 2019 – WED p.m. – MBC baesa)
Introduction:
• All our Fellow workers under God- 1 Corinthians 3:5-9
→ Paul wants these Corinthians to learn and abandon the party spirit that marked their church, Paul emphasised that their teachers are equally fellow workers under the authority of God.
• Paul positively explained how his readers should view him and his fellow workers.
• The Corinthian were the field in view in the preceding illustration (1 Corinthians 3:6-8).
→ It is God who deserved more credit for the church in Corinth than either its planter or its nurturer. Let us realize that next to God, the others were nothing. Human laborers are just human with their human limitations therefore they are all equal. As the Bible teaches us the Lord will reward each servants at the judgment seat of Christ in heaven after the rapture for the work they have done. Notice, it is our labor that will be the basis of our reward and not the fruit of our labor.
• Now this time Paul compared the Corinthians to a building. We can this illustration in 1 Corinthians 3:10- 17. This is transitional verse.

I- THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR CHURCH STRUCTURE (v. 10–15)
• Here are the Builders of the Temple of God
• This passage explained most of the time about describing the building of the Christian life. We all Christians build on Christ but some people use good materials while others use poor materials. The reward you will receive is based on the kind of materials you use.
→ Although this could be a valid application of this passage, however it is not the basic interpretation because Paul here is discussing the building of the church, the temple of God.
     A. THE FOUNDATION SUPPLIED BY THE LORD (v. 10–11)
1 Corinthians 3:10-11 “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
• “I have laid the foundation” – In the new illustration Paul laid the foundation of the church in Corinth by founding the church, Paul’s special mission from God was to found churches (Romans 15:20).
• “and another buildeth thereon” – others added the walls and continued building on that foundation.
• “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder,” – He readily acknowledged that it was only by God’s grace that he could do so as a skillful master-builder. (Master-builder is person notably proficient in the art of building. The ancient Egyptians were master builders. Specifically: the master-builder is one who has attained proficiency in one of the building crafts and is qualified or licensed to supervise building construction
• “But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.” – Paul added a word of warning that the quality of the materials and workmanship that went into building the church are very important
• “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” - Christ Himself is the foundation of the church (Matthew 16:18; Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:6).
→ It is improper to base a church on the work of any other person, even Peter.
→ Paul said he laid the foundation for the church in Corinth when he preached Christ and Him crucified there.
→ Listen carefully the apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church but in a secondary sense only – Ephesians 2:20.
     B. THE CONSTRUCTION SCREENED BY THE LORD (v. 12–15)
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
• “Now if any man build upon this foundation” – We all know that the foundation must be the best quality however the building depended on what others built on top of the foundation.
• “gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;” – The contractors in Paul’s day, like today build buildings of durable or combustible materials.
• Paul here denoting six materials arranged descending from three good to three bad qualities.
          1.) Durable Materials: gold, silver, precious stones
General Example: Activities that comes from reliance on the foundation, Christ.
Purpose: Strengthening the believers permanently.
Specific Example: Teaching and preaching in the Holy Scriptures, Training in evangelism, refuting of error.
          2.) Combustible materials: wood, hay, stubble
General Example: Activities that comes out of human wisdom in its form.
Purpose: No lasting effect, although they may serve some temporary need.
Specific Example: Teaching opinion and ideas opposed in Scriptures, social work that excluded the gospel, using of time and financial support for temporal purposes.
Note: The main concern of Paul in this metaphors was those builders rather than the building itself.
• “Every man’s work” – v.13; “If any man’s work” – v.14 – Paul uses these pictures of materials in verse 12 represent what he calls “work”.
• “If any man’s work abide, …he shall receive a reward.”
→ Paul encourage building with quality materials that will meet the approval of God that they may receive eternal reward. Paul in his used symbols combined several things that resulted to please Christ and reward the believer. These included the sound doctrine, activity, motives, and character in Christian service.
→ The rewards mentioned here are opportunities to glorify God by serving Him. The Christian faithfulness on earth now is proportion to their greater or lesser opportunities to serve during the Millennium and forever.
→ The writers in the New Testament refers these rewards as symbols of a crowns – 1 Corinthians 9:25; Philippians 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 2 Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4; Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:11.
→ We serve Christ to gain a crown that one day we may lay at the feet of our Savior Jesus Christ. (Matthew 6:20)
→ The Crown represents faithful service in life because of our gratitude for His grace.(Rev. 4:4; Rev. 4:10-11)
→ If you are not comfortable to serve God for a reward, please read Jesus Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5 to 7, the Lord there appealed to His audience to follow His teaching for if they do so they will potentially receive the rewards. However, many bible writers repeatedly urged Christians to serve the Lord out of love for others, the fear of the Lord, giving accountability of our lives to God in judgment in heaven and others.
→ The judgment seat of Christ as the bible describes must affect the way we think and live godly with a major scriptural motivation to joyfully anticipate His return and to live pleasing to Him, not worrying about the way others treat us or what other think of us.
• “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it” – That will be the day of God’s exposure of the work of each servants of God. All believers stand and give account before God of the stewardship of life at the judgment seat of Christ. – 2 Corinthians 5:10
• “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
→ This is nothing to say or no support for the unbiblical doctrine of purgatory. It is the Christian works that subjects to the fire testing not the Christian. The fire determine the quality of the works not to purify the believer
→ Those who suffer loss were identified as being Christians who seek to build the church with materials that fail to withstand God’s assessment. They do not refer to all carnal Christians in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, although we agreed that carnal Christians may fail to make lasting contributions to the church.
→ At the judgment seat of Christ, the fire of God’s judgment will test the quality of each believer’s work and his workmanship, but not his salvation. The durability or transience of those works will become apparent.
→ If the believer service made a lasting contribution to the building of the church by emphasizing some aspect of the gospel then that servant of the Lord will be rewarded. On the other hand, if anyone has not contributed on that aspect but has pursued human wisdom will not be rewarded although will remain saved.

II- THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR CHURCH FUNCTION (v. 16–17)
• Paul gives us a warning against destroying the church.
→ In the New Testament we find here perhaps the strongest warning against taking the lightly then dividing and destroying the church with the wisdom of the world.
     A. THE CHURCH THAT INDWELLS BY THE LORD (v. 16)
1 Corinthians 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
• Paul was not speaking here of individual believers being temples of God though we are (1 Corinthians 6:19)
• Paul was not speaking here of universal church as the temple of God though it is (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5)
• Paul was speaking of the collective body of believers that made up the local church.
→ It is clear because of the plural use of the Greek “you” and the singular use “temple”.
→ This local congregation was not any building but a sanctuary (Greek “naos”) that God inhabited.
→ The presence of the Holy Spirit marked them as God’s sanctuary in the Corinth.
→ Notice carefully, the bible records Ten (10) times in this Epistle alone that Paul asked, “Do ye not know?” or “Know ye not?” (1 Corinthians 5:6; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 6:15-16; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 Corinthians 9:13; 1 Corinthians 9:24) Each time Paul rises this question, no one is able to challenge, it is indeed indisputable truth of the Scriptures.
• In the New Testament the church “a group of believers” often times refers as God’s temple. The New Testament writers did not usually make the distinction between the holy place and the holy of holies that existed in the physical temples of Israel but these writers pictured this temple as a whole. But in our passage Paul here distinguish the God’s dwelling place, the temple building itself (Greek “naos”), from the precincts of the temple that surrounded the area included the sanctuary (Greek “hieron”).
     B. THE CHURCH THAT MAINTAINS BY THE LORD (v. 17)
1 Corinthians 3:17 “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
• “If any man defile the temple of God” – If anyone tears down the church by trying to destroy or causing division instead of building it up, God will destroy them accordingly (Acts 9:1-4). God maintains the church.
→ As God maintains His church, He sends temporal discipline (1 Corinthians 5:5)
→ In our study verse the word “defile” in KJV was translated destroys in NASB (Greek “phtheiro”).
→ To destroy or defile a holy temple and that is what the local church is (“which temple ye are” – KJV; “that is what you are” -NASB), is indeed a very serious thing.
Example: In the ancient world destroying a temple was a capital offense.
• “the temple of God is holy” that God set it aside to glorify Himself even though it is not always as holy in its conduct as it is in its calling.
• “him shall God destroy;” – God maintains the church, therefore never attempt or attack the local church, the holy temple of the living God that is what you are. Don’t be involved in sowing discord among brethren, gossip among church members, doctrinal errors, financial problem, living in immorality, rebellion against the Pastor, etc. Be warned, God will destroy you. Don’t be a company of or withdraw from those temple destroyer or else God will destroy you!