1 Corinthians 3:10-17 – God’s building, the church.

Picking up from verse 9 Paul begins to develop on the concept of God’s building. He saw himself as a master architect that laid the foundation of the building. His role was a God-given role. That’s why he said he laid the foundation according to the grace of God given to him.  Paul also made it clear that Jesus Christ was the foundation. He is the only kind and there will never be another of a similar kind like Him. Everyone else in the church is given the task to build on that foundation. Because this building is God’s, every person must exercise great care in building on the foundation. By being careful Paul delineated a few things: each builder must build it according to the grace given him or her. No one should try to lay another foundation alongside this foundation and each should build to last, not something that will be burnt up on the Day of Judgment. So here Paul established that the first thing for a lasting building was to have a right foundation. And Jesus Christ is the foundation.   

 

A lasting building not only requires a right foundation it also needs the right material. Paul then went on in verses 12-15 to name six kinds of material that could be used to build God’s building. They were put into two broad categories:  (1) gold, silver and precious stones; or (2) wood, hay or straw. Paul was not emphasizing the material per se. He was referring to the value of the material. One category is permanent, the other is temporary. He was probably contrasting a life built on the Word of God or one that was built on human philosophies, worldly thinking and fads of this world.  There are those who think that Paul was referring to people. Why? Because people and the Word of God are the only two things that would last forever. Paul said that at the end of time, all building material will be tested through fire. The permanent material will stand the test but the flammable material will go up in smoke. Believers would realize then that what they treasure most would either stand or be burnt, although they themselves would not go into the unquenchable fire. Furthermore, those whose lives were built on lasting material would be rewarded.

 

To remind them of the seriousness of what he was saying, Paul told them that they were God’s temple, the dwelling place of God’s Spirit. It was a holy place and should be handled with care. Anyone whose work destroys the temple will be dealt with by God. They would be destroyed.

In the light of what Paul had said, we need to be reminded that God loves His people who corporately form His dwelling place. We should take care not to destroy one another by our attitudes or activities. We are called to build one another up so that each of us will grow.