Tested by Fire
October 20, 2024
Preached by Ron Smith
Scripture Reading
1 Corinthians 3:10-23
10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
Have you ever walked into a room and asked, is someone burning something? Was something burning? Think about lighting a match and then blowing it out or blowing out a candle. There is a lingering smell that something was burning. Well, this passage gives me the impression that when we get to heaven, we are going to be looking around trying to figure out what was burning. There are going to be people smelling like smoke because they sought to build the church with the wrong materials.
To be clear, he is talking to Christians. Christians are the ones doing the building. Sometimes we as Christians don’t build the way we should. We don’t use the right material. We think too little of the foundation which is Christ and seek our own building constructed to what we think is right. Why do we do that?
As we walk through this passage, let’s use it as way to examine how we are building. To allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the rotten materials we are trying to use that don’t bring honor to Christ, as well as the solid materials we are using that do honor Christ.
If you are here this morning and not a believer, I invite you to listen along, to see the beauty of Christ despite the brokenness of the church. We are not perfect. Maybe you have seen Christians build with some really bad and even harmful materials. The abuses that have come through various church leaders over the years is not in line with the foundation of Jesus Christ. The fault lies with them. So, the invitation is to look beyond the imperfect builders to Jesus. He gave his life for the church. It is self-sacrificial love that is at the heart of the foundation of the church. Look to Jesus and consider how the church is supposed to be built upon that foundation.
So, again, we will use this passage to examine how we are building. And to help us with our examination, I would like to answer two questions. How are we supposed to build the church? And why is how we build important?
How are we supposed to build the church?
Paul in the previous verses was using the metaphor of plants. He said that he planted, and Apollos watered, but it was God who gave the growth. Then at the end of verse 9, he makes a transition from the field to the building.
Look again with me at verses 10 and 11:
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
We find a clear command in verse 10: let each one take care how he builds upon it.
Each one of us needs to take care how we build. Notice that I am including all of us as builders. In the NT we see that all of those who are part of the church have a role in the building of the church.[1] So how we build is relevant to all of us. But before we get to the how we are building, the first question we need to ask ourselves is ‘am I building?’ Am I using my gifts for the edification of the church? Am I allowing other things to pull me away from building? Answer those questions while recognizing the season of life you are in.
The gist of the command in verse 10 is to pay attention. Pay attention to how we build on the foundation that has already been laid. Paul is very clear what the foundation that he laid is: Jesus Christ. If you remove Jesus, you no longer have a church. Changing the foundation is not open for discussion, not an option. Improving the foundation is not an option.[2] If we are going to build something that lasts, then we build on that foundation. Jesus must be the center of all we do. Everything we do, everything we teach, everything we plan, must be firmly attached to him. Everything should flow from him. It should make sense. You don’t lay a foundation for a shed and try to build a sky scrapper on it. Think about the ministries you are involved with around here. Can you trace everything you do back to Jesus? Do the things you plan come from Jesus? Are they built on Jesus?
So, the foundation that Paul says we are building on is Jesus. Now we need to know what kind of materials we should be using as we build. Look with me at verse 12.
Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
Notice in this list there are three items that are flammable and three that are inflammable. The big idea is that there is a way to build that will last and there is a way to build that will not last. All our work will be tested by fire. This is not a refining fire, this is not a test of time, but it is the test of the end of time. It is the final judgment. At the end of the day there will be work that we have done that survives and work that gets burned up.
The difference between work that survives and work that gets burned up is rather or not we built with godly wisdom or worldly wisdom. Let’s look at two verses to help us see this. Back up in verse 10, Paul says,
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation…
I want to focus on that word skilled – skilled master builder. That word skilled is the same word in the Greek that we see translated as wise down in verse 18. Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.
Wisdom will be used when we build. The question is what kind of wisdom? Is it godly wisdom (like we see in verse 10 – skilled or wise master builder) or is it the wisdom in this age (like we see in verse 18)? There is a stark difference. Ultimately, the church is birthed by the Spirit of God. So, if we are going to build, we need to build with the wisdom that comes from God which may run in direct opposition to the wisdom of this age. And as we see here, if we truly want to be wise builders, we need to become a fool – a fool by the world’s standards.
Building with the wisdom of God means we build by his grace. That’s why Paul says it is according to the grace of God given to him that he laid a foundation. It is God’s grace that leads us, God’s grace that empowers us, it’s by God’s grace that we can understand how we build in such a way that brings him honor. Building in this way we are left with work that survives the fiery test. And, we receive a reward. (Men’s and women’s ministries, Community groups, ELL classes, planning of the Sunday AM service. Lots of good building with the wisdom of God taking place!)
Building with the wisdom of this age is a total other ball game. What does it look like?
Putting all our eggs in one basket – depending on one person. I think this is very apparent in the context of these verses. The Corinthians were more concerned with following one person – Paul, Apollos, or Cephas – instead of following Christ. Perhaps the reason, what seemed wise in their eyes, is that the particular person they followed showed signs and giftings that they thought would help the church grow. Perhaps some of them became believers under the different ministries of those guys and they felt a sense of loyalty. Whatever the reason, it didn’t lead to the building up of the church. It led to divisiveness. You can’t build anything if all the workers are divided on what should be done, how it should be built. What the Corinthians were missing was the wisdom of God. If they had built with his wisdom, they would have realized that they didn’t have to choose among these star leaders. Paul says at the end of this chapter starting in verse 21, So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
God in his wisdom was using all these men in different ways to build the church. They could have enjoyed the fruit of the Spirit’s work in all three instead of jealously trying to guard the reputation of one man and boasting in him. Watch out in elevating one person above others. You see this happen when churches build all their ministries all around the lead pastor. You see this happen when a congregation is divided by those who support the pastor and those who don’t and it leads to a nasty church split. It can also happen in more subtle ways. I know people who have turned away from the church because the pastor was caught in some sin. Obviously, that is horrible and needs to be dealt with, but if we are looking to Jesus, our faith should not be shaken when people we love and respect fall short. So, as an examination question, ask yourself, are you building up the church or the ministry of one person?Another way we build by the wisdom of the world is to build in such a way that we think the work depends on us. This would be boasting in yourself. You elevate your own giftings to the highest level of importance. People use their gifts to support your ministry. Or you don’t allow others to use their gifts because you might lose control if you do that. You become possessive of the ministry. You have to be involved with everything because if not, it might not be done right. Paul says in the last verse, you are Christ’s. You belong to Christ. You are his servant. Being his servant means you are free to serve others. It means the ministry belongs to him, not you. You are free to follow his lead even if you think there’s a better way that somehow always involves you. Ask yourself, are you possessive of the ministry you are involved in, or do you allow others to use their gifts in the building of the church?
There is one other way we could build with the wisdom of this age I would like to mention that I think is more tied to the day and age we live in today. That is by building by looking for the fastest and easiest way to build. There is something inferred in these verses that building the church is no easy task. There is hard work. For example, Paul says that he laid a foundation and others are building upon it. He doesn’t lay the foundation and build in such a way that he finishes the work. It takes time. (The main cathedral in Milan, Italy, was built over a 500 year period. Pretty impressive. But think about how many master builders or chief architects that would involve over time). I think Paul understood it would take a long time to build the church. And, the materials he mentions that we should build with – gold, silver, and stone – are all materials that take more time to work with, to fashion. The wisdom of our age is to seek the fastest easiest way. It is the get rich quick idea of church growth. We faced this temptation in Italy. As we were church planting there were times that were extremely frustrating. People weren’t responding to the gospel. People weren’t attending church services. There was an indifference that people had to Jesus. What do you do? It’s tempting to just do events that attract a crowd. To stop doing anything religious at all. Unfortunately, as I consider my time as a youth pastor I would say I did build with wood hay and straw. Just doing a lot of events that had no eternal significance that was not building God’s church in his wisdom. Pizza parties, trips to the amusement park are all fine, but when that becomes the focus of the ministry instead of Christ, there are problems. That is not God’s wisdom. Sometimes building God’s way takes time. Sometimes it is hard. Not always. Are we willing to be patient in building the church? Are we ready to put in the hard work?
We could come up with a long list of ways we build with the wisdom of this age. But please recognize one thing, it is not always so apparent. We need the guidance of God’s word, and we need one another to help us see what we don’t see. Each of us needs to take care how we build. We need to look, we need to observe, we need to be aware, always ready to learn. And we need to direct our attention to the foundation. Let’s not think too little of the foundation and seek our own building constructed to what we think is right. We must not lose sight of Jesus.
That way when the fiery test comes in the last day, our work will stand. If it is burned up, Paul says we will suffer loss, though we ourselves will be saved, but only as through fire. Just like a burning stick plucked from the fire. We will stink of smoke, and we will lose all our work, but we will be saved. Pay attention to how you build the church.
Why is how we build important?
Now, for the why question. Let’s bring this to a close and consider why how we build is important.
We could simply respond, because we will get rewards if we build well. And that would be true. But it is not the ultimate motivation. There is a more important answer to the why question.
Look at verses 16 and 17. Do you not know that you[c] are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
The idea of the temple is something that would have resonated with Paul’s audience. For both Jews and Gentiles, a temple would have been understood as the very dwelling place of that god. Of course, for the Jews, this meant that Yahweh’s presence would have been in the temple. We learn in the OT that God’s presence was found in the most central part of the temple, in the holy of holies. His presence brought holiness. And for that reason, everything associated with the temple needed to be purified, it was set a part for special use and considered holy because God’s presence was there.
But notice the radical shift that Paul takes here in these verses. The temple is no longer a place you go to, but rather he says, ‘you are God’s temple.’ That is the church is God’s temple. We are the dwelling place of God because of Jesus. He entered the holy of holies in heaven, made the ultimate sacrifice for us so that we might be purified from our sins in order for the very presence of God to live in us.
Notice though, that when Paul says you are the temple that the you is not singular. You plural. As we gather together, we are God’s temple. God’s presence is here. I know that the wisdom of this age screams that we need to emphasize that we as individuals are God’s temples, and there is biblical truth to that. However, what is in view here in these verses is the cooperate aspect. We are the temple of God. We together are where the Spirit lives. And that means there is an exceedingly high expectation of holiness. That’s why how we build is so important.
Build well. Build in a way that reflects his holiness.
Think twice before you build in any way that would bring dishonor, that would damage or destroy God’s temple. Paul gives a strong warning for those who would destroy God’s temple: God will destroy him. This is serious. Do not destroy his temple. Don’t miss this warning. But also, don’t miss that while this warning is strong, it should be an encouragement for us as a church. He loves the church; he protects the church.
Let each one of us take care how we build upon the foundation that has been laid which is Jesus Christ. Don’t be misled by the wisdom of this age and think you know a better way. Build in such a way that allows people to see the holiness of God.
[1] In chapter 12 of 1 Corinthians, we will see that each of us have been given various gifts for the edification and proper functioning of the church. Paul says in Ephesians 4 that when each one of us is doing our part in the church, the church is built up.
[2] Someone trying to change the foundation would be indicative of a person who does not even know Jesus, who does not even understand Christianity. Those who change the foundation typically add something to Jesus. To be saved you need Jesus plus something, like good works. We can think of Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons. Changing the foundation is not an option.
Sermon Discussion Questions:
Are you building the church? Are you using God given gifts for the edification of his church? If not, why not?
How do we build using the wisdom of God (with gold, silver and precious stone)?
What are other ways we can build using the wisdom of this age?
Why is the cooperate idea of the temple, that we together are the temple of God, important?
How would you evaluate your building? Are you building in a way that will last, that will survive the test of fire? Are there things you should do differently?