1 Corinthians 3:9

For we are laborers together with God, and you are God's husbandry or field. You are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds thereon. But let every man take heed how he builds thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire. The fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss. But he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.

Let's pray. God, we pray that on that day when we stand before you—and we will—we pray that as the fire of your holiness, your glory, goes through the structure that is our lives, that is our church, there would be found gold, silver, and precious stones. Of course, we know that there is wood, hay, and stubble. There is our flesh that will be done away with at that point. But Lord, we pray for gold, silver, and precious stones.

Lord, we pray for the work that even at this very moment is being started in San Francisco. We pray for Daniel and the team that have sought to plant this church from Mill Valley, and we just lift them into your hands today. We ask, Lord, that you would pour out your Spirit. We know that the city of San Francisco is a city filled with lost people that need you.

And Lord, we ask that your word would go forth in that city, that it would transform hearts and lives, and ultimately transform that city. God, we know that the only hope for lost man is you and your word. We ask that you would just sustain the work there, that it would be founded upon the rock. As we consider the passage before us today that talks about the foundation and the structure,

We pray, Lord, that our lives would be built upon You and built in a way that honors and glorifies You. For we ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

Paul is writing to a church that, in many ways, was experiencing similar problems to those we see in our own nation and in our own state. It was a church that had been influenced by the ways of the world and the philosophies of man. The things of the world had crept into the body of Christ and within that church. They were exhibiting tendencies that lined up more with the works of the flesh than with the Spirit of God and the fruit of the Spirit. Unfortunately, that can happen within our own lives individually and within our church corporately.

As we move through 1 Corinthians, we recognize and know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Allowing such things to remain is very dangerous in our lives individually and in the church corporately. Paul is writing here in this passage to rebuke wrong attitudes, wrong motives, and wrong actions within the church at Corinth.

Of course, they had been divided. One of the issues that had divided them was the various teachers that God had used to establish the work in Corinth. Whether it was Paul, or after him, Apollos, or even at that same time, Peter (Cephas), who came into the region of Corinth, factions began to form. People started to divide into camps, saying, "I'm of Paul," "I'm of Apollos," and "I'm of Cephas." Paul writes and says, "Listen, this is wrong. This is carnal." He reminds them in verse 9, as we considered briefly last week, that these workers are workers together with God. They are united with the Lord, and it is ultimately God's field.

Then he develops a different metaphor for God's work, calling it God's building. God's building can be classified both as the church corporately and the individuals of the church personally. God wants us to be built, number one, upon the right foundation, but furthermore, built in the right fashion. The foundation and the fashion are extremely important. There are four things that we see about this work as we look at this passage.

Number one, if you're taking notes, God is its designer. When you consider the church, God is the one who designed it for a specific purpose. He has a plan, a role that He wants the church to fulfill. He is the one who ordained and planned it. In essence, if you think of it in this context, God is the one who drew out the plans. He established the blueprints. Many within our fellowship come from a construction background, and you know that if you have plans for a construction project, you need to follow those; otherwise, you will not pass inspection. We know that there is coming a day when we will stand before the Lord, as we will see later in this passage, for inspection. So, God in the work is its designer.

Number two, if you're taking notes, Christ is its foundation. In the work, Christ is its foundation. The foundation of my life individually, and the foundation of our church corporately, must be the Lord Jesus Christ. The foundation ought not to be Luther, Calvin, Wesley, or even Chuck Smith. They may be used of God, just like Paul was in the city of Corinth, as wise master builders, but they cannot be the foundations. Although we sometimes refer to them as founders, we can never see them as the foundation upon which our lives or our ministry is built. Yes, they may have good things to say, and yes, God may have worked through them in mighty ways. However, there is a very real danger when we begin to look at an individual person and side with what they said over what God said. We always need to look back to the Word of God. So, in this work, in the church corporately and in the individual lives of those within the church, God is its designer, and Christ is its foundation.

Number three, God's servants are its builders. We clearly see that in this passage as Paul says that God chose him by grace to be a wise master builder in verse 11. He then speaks about another building there upon the foundation, also in verses 10 and 11. We recognize that God is the one who has designed this, and Christ is to be the foundation of the church, the foundation of the work. But God has chosen, by His grace, to elect, call, save, and equip individuals within the body of Christ to build this structure. Now, in Matthew chapter 16, you may remember that great profession of the apostle Peter.

When Jesus asked, "Who do men say that I am?" He received the response, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." In Matthew 16, verse 18, Jesus said, "And I say unto you also, Peter, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

We recognize that God ultimately is the one who builds His church. When He is the one who has built His church, it will stand against the plans and attacks of the enemy of hell. However, God uses the body of Christ, the people within the body of Christ, to do that work. In Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11 and 12, Paul states that God has called and ordained some as prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. This is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the body of Christ.

It is not just the prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers who are doing the work; it is the body of Christ that is equipped by those leaders to see the church built. God assigns the tasks within the body of Christ. When we get to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, we will see that it is God who gifts the workers within the body of Christ to accomplish the tasks. Additionally, we see in this passage that God is the one who ultimately gives the rewards to those who do the work.

So, God is its designer, Christ is its foundation, and God's servants are its builders. If you're taking notes, number four: God's builders must build with care. This is really where the focus of our attention will be this morning in the time that we have remaining. How are we building? If God is the designer, He has given us the plan for how His church ought to be constructed.

I am not just talking about physical buildings here, because this physical building is nothing more than just a shell. The reality of the church is you and I; we are the church. This building is where the church meets; this building is not the church. The Bible doesn't specifically give blueprints for how to build buildings. Perhaps you came out of a church that met in a much more holy-looking building than this, and when you came to Calvary Chapel, you looked around and thought, "Is this the church?" No, this is not the church. This is our temporary building where this church meets. Who knows if the Lord would have us go somewhere else someday?

We don't know, but we are the body of Christ. We are the church, and we, as God's builders, must take care in the way that we build. We must build with the right materials and ensure that we have the right focus. In building with the right materials, we must make sure that our focus is of good quality and that we have a focus on eternity. We should build with good quality and maintain a focus on eternity.

I emphasize good quality because, in our society today, a church is often judged more by the quantity of those who attend than by the quality of those who are there. There are many very large churches in our own community and in our nation as a whole. The mega church is quite an American phenomenon, and in many ways, it seems to be a fading trend, a fad of another generation. However, there is a prevailing view that if you have a large church, then it is a successful, prosperous, and good church. While that may be true, it could also be the case that the church is a mile wide and an inch deep.

There is a very real danger when we equate success in ministry solely with a large reach. We need to prioritize quality over quantity and ensure that we have the right perspective as it relates to eternity. There is coming a day when you and I individually will stand before Christ and be inspected. The structure of our lives, how we have built, will be examined by the chief inspector. Not just our lives individually, but the building corporately, which is the body of Christ, will stand before the Lord one day and be inspected.

It is interesting, as we read in this passage, that this inspection will come by fire, as stated in verse 13. Every man's work, the work that God has called us to, will be made manifest. It will be clear and evidently set forth for all to see, for the day shall declare it. Underline the words "the day" in verse 13 in your neighbor's Bible. The day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire, which is the fire of God's holiness. The fire shall try every man's work to determine what sort it is. The word "sort" could also be translated as "what quality it is" or "what substance."

What's the substance of the work? The foundation is clearly important, but the structure is also important. In Matthew chapter 7, turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7 for a moment. There, in the Sermon on the Mount, as Jesus is closing his teaching to his disciples, he speaks about the foundation.

In verse 24, Jesus said, "Therefore, whosoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man which has built his house upon the rock." The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon the rock. "Everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which has built his house upon the sand." The rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.

Here, Jesus identifies two different foundations. He also identifies that the foundation that needs to be under the strong house is the foundation of his words and his works. Notice he does not say just his words; he says, "Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them." It is the individual who is applying God's word that has built a strong foundation.

If the foundation of your life and our church is upon God's words and applying what God has said, then we will have a strong foundation. There will be storms that come in this life, and when those storms come, the foundation is revealed. A lot of times, you don't see the foundation. It's not until that storm comes that you recognize, "Man, that's got a very shallow foundation."

I always find it very interesting that every number of years, when we have big rains in California, which doesn't happen often, I remember in '97 we had El Niño, and we've kind of had an El Niño at this point in time. You always see these grand structures, these beautiful homes built on the cliffs in Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, or even locally here in La Jolla, whatever it may be. When the rains come, these beautiful structures, worth millions and millions of dollars, slide down the hill. It's just phenomenal. They come to nothing very quickly. The storm reveals the foundation.

There are storms that come into our lives that reveal our foundation. Thankfully, growing up in the family that I did, the Lord placed me in a situation where I received a strong foundation at a young age. I am very appreciative of that. My parents took my family and me to church, and my mom tells me that at four years old, I prayed to receive Christ as my Lord and Savior.

For many of you, that may not be the case. There was a strong foundation laid early in my life, but that foundation is built on the words of Jesus and applying those words in my life. Perhaps it wasn't until you were later in high school that someone invited you to church, and a foundation started to be built. For some of you, it wasn't until you were well into adulthood that the storms of life came, and you recognized that you did not have a good foundation. Your life was falling apart, and somehow you ended up at church or a crusade. Then someone preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to you, and now a foundation is being laid.

The foundation must be Jesus and His word being applied. If it is a different foundation, whatever you build will fall. The storms of this life will not stand up, and ultimately, when you stand before the Lord, not only will the structure be done away with, but the foundation as well. You will find yourself judged as a fool, cast into hell.

However, there are those who seek to build upon other foundations. Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 that there really is no other foundation that can be laid other than that which is Jesus Christ. He is the only sure and steadfast foundation. Yet, there are people trying to build upon other foundations. There are even churches in our community and in our nation that have signs outside their doors suggesting they are Christian churches. They may have the name of Christ, and people even carry Bibles when they attend. They might have fish symbols on their bumpers, whatever it may be.

But within the walls of those churches, you may find that the foundation is not based on Jesus' words and applying His teachings. Instead, the foundation is often man's philosophy, the world's wisdom, political activism, social justice, and dozens of other causes and needs that may seem like good things. Ultimately, however, the foundation is not Jesus Christ. Therefore, whatever structure they build will ultimately collapse when tested because it does not have a sure foundation. They may have a lot of people, a lot of programs, and may be doing many things, but without the right foundation, it will not stand.

But the foundation is wrong, and that is a very real danger. We need to make sure that our focus is not just on founding our church upon a political activism sort of thing. There are people who have done that. In fact, I will go so far as to say that those who hold liberation theology have the wrong foundation. They have built upon a foundation of political activism.

In the last ten or so years, you may have heard the term "the emergent church." The primary foundation of the emergent church is social justice, a social gospel. Their focus is on taking care of problems and needs, dealing with AIDS in Africa, addressing hunger, and whatever else it may be. Healthcare is one of the focuses they have. All those things may well be good, but they are the wrong foundation. They may even have a great structure, but it is built on the wrong foundation.

Jesus, in Matthew chapter 7, says, "Listen, disciple, church, make sure you have a right foundation." That foundation is the words of Jesus being applied in our lives. Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, knowing that he established for them a good foundation, says that not only do you need a good foundation, but you also need to make sure that you are building on that foundation in a proper way. This must not be dictated by the philosophies of this world, the wisdom of man, or our own appetites and desires.

What was going on at Corinth was that they were a church given over to their own appetites and desires. There you see the structure of the church of Corinth. Paul comes in and says, "Man, this foundation is great." But as a wise inspector, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says the structure needs to be taken down.

How many construction workers here today know that feeling when the inspector comes in and says, "No, this needs to be removed"? I see some of the guys nodding their heads; they know exactly what I am talking about. Paul comes in and says, "This needs to be dealt with. This needs to be removed. It cannot just be reformed; it needs to be completely removed. It needs to be rebuilt in a proper manner."

In a way that is being built with silver, he says in verse 12, and gold and precious stones, not wood, hay, and stubble. Notice that the list goes from value down to quick combustion. There is coming a day, he says, when it is going to be tested, inspected by fire, by the fire of God's holiness.

Now, Paul is speaking to a group who had a good foundation because he, as a wise master builder, given grace by God to do so, had built a good foundation.

Paul knew they had a good foundation. Their salvation, which is their entrance into the kingdom of God, was based upon the foundation of Jesus Christ—His death, burial, and resurrection—and not on the works that were built upon it. I need to make that very clear: our salvation is dependent upon the foundation that is Jesus Christ. It is not dependent upon the works that are built on top of that.

We see this very clearly in verse 15. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved. You see, salvation is not dependent upon works here. However, there is something that is dependent upon works, and Paul refers to it in verse 14 as reward.

I have talked with many believers over the years, and I have even felt this a few times as I studied the Scriptures. To me, getting into heaven is reward enough. Many people say, "Well, that's it. I'm going to be with the Lord eternally." However, many times in the New Testament, Jesus, along with the authors of the New Testament, makes it very clear that beyond entry into heaven, there are rewards. Sometimes they are spoken of as crowns, such as the crown of righteousness, the crown of life, and so forth.

We recognize that after we pass from this life and step into the next life in eternity with the Lord, God is going to give rewards to His servants, to His builders. This passage states that rewards will be given according to how they have built. Have they built with gold, silver, and precious stones, or with wood, hay, and stubble?

On the day of Christ Jesus, when the fire of God's holiness comes through, the wood, hay, and stubble, which are all associated with the flesh, will be purged and burned away. The gold, silver, and precious stones will remain, and those things will bring honor and glory to God. He will reward His servants accordingly.

But again, I must emphasize that this has nothing to do with salvation; it has to do with reward in heaven. Many other religions and philosophies assert that your salvation is dependent upon your works. When you stand before Allah or any other deity, your works will be judged, and your salvation will depend on that. Not so in Christ. Our salvation is in accordance with the work that Jesus did on our behalf.

But there are rewards that will come in heaven. The fire of God's holiness will come through and purge my life, your life individually, and our church corporately. All the flesh will be burnt up. All the wood, hay, and stubble will be consumed, while the gold, silver, and precious stones will remain.

All of us remember a few years back in 2007 when we had that fire come through here. I recall that just a couple of days after the fire burned the bulk of this area in North County, Pastor Eric and I found ourselves in Rancho Santa Fe, among some of the largest and most beautiful homes in our entire nation. We were with the Rancho Santa Fe Fire Department and some other groups, going house to house to these homes that had been built. We were primarily there as chaplains to support families who had lost everything.

Although these homes were massive and beautiful, with some valued at tens of millions of dollars, when the fire came through, nothing was left but ash and smoke. Just like in Rancho Bernardo, just like in Ramona, wherever the fire came, it left everything the same. It all looked the same. However, I found one house very interesting that we came to. As we walked up the long driveway, I could tell there was a very nice custom Ford truck that once was there. You could still see the melting emblem of the Ford vehicle, and you could see the alloy wheels running down the hill.

At that same house was at least a $70,000 Porsche, devastated and burnt in the front yard. Wood, hay, and stubble were destroyed. However, the family that lived there, four or five of them, along with a group of firefighters, were in the middle of this smoking, smoldering pile. They were picking around and finding diamonds—diamonds from the jewelry box, diamonds from the safe, whatever it may have been. They were picking these diamonds, one after another, out of the rubble. Everything else was destroyed, except for the gold, silver, and precious stones.

Now, of course, when we think of precious stones, our minds automatically go to rubies, diamonds, sapphires, and so forth. But in this passage, it speaks about the precious stones that are cut by those manufacturers who built the foundation of the temple. So, how is our life built? How are we building? Because there is coming a day when it will be revealed.

You may look like the most spiritual person in the church. You may sound like the most spiritual person in all of North County. But on that day, everything will be laid naked and bare. All the things you thought in the secret times of your heart and mind, all the things you did when no one else was watching, will be exposed as wood, hay, and stubble, burnt and left as ash.

And I guarantee you that although there will be many saved, there will be many who come in with zero reward. In this life, they looked like they had everything. They received their reward here. Everybody said, "Oh, you're such a magnificent pastor. You're such a magnificent this. How great you've done." But standing before God on that day, they will be left with nothing.

In contrast, the little old lady who spent the last half of her life praying diligently for the work of God, praying diligently for the pastors, she will be the one on that day who is left with much gold, silver, and precious stones. Paul asks the question, "How are you building? What is being built in your life?" Is it dictated by your appetites and desires? Is it dictated by the things of the flesh, man's wisdom, or the world's philosophy? Or is it dictated by the Word of God, built in such a way that would bring Him glory?

Because the day is coming. Romans chapter 13 speaks of that day. Paul says, "Knowing that now the time is, it's high time to awake out of your sleep. For your salvation is nearer now than when you first believed. The night is far spent. The day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness. Let us put on the armor of light. And let us walk honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envy."

We need to be ready for that coming day, the great and glorious appearing of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Titus chapter 2, verse 11 states, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared unto all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world." Why? Because we are looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Living with this recognition, with this in our minds—that there is coming a day when the work of my life, when the work of our church together will stand before God for judgment, and the fire of God's holiness will come through—when we live with that in mind, it inspires us to live more boldly in our witness, more purely in our conduct, and more desirous of fellowship within the body of Christ.

The author of the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25, reminds us that the day is coming, church, when we will stand before God, and our lives, along with all the work that we did, will be purged by the fire of His holiness.

And what will be left will be given to the Lord, and in return, He will give a reward. We may not fully understand or comprehend what those rewards are all about. It may not seem important to us now, but it will then. I guarantee it. It will make a lot more sense on that day.

Now, you might say, "Man, this is kind of a heavy message," and I'm sure Paul felt that it was a little heavy when he wrote it to the Corinthians. In Jude, chapter 1, verse 25, it says, "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted by the flesh." Sometimes, I get the sense that God has, in some way, called me to the ministry of comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable. Would to God that that would be the case, that we would recognize that what we're doing today has eternal consequences.

Yes, our salvation, won by the Lord, is established on the foundation of what Jesus did on the cross 2,000 years ago. But the reward in heaven, although it may not seem important to us now, will be on that day. The best way that I can illustrate it is through an example I heard from Pastor John Corson a number of years ago. We say, "Well, you know, getting into heaven is enough. I don't understand this whole reward thing." He explained it like this: My son, when he sees Mommy and Daddy kiss as a young child, thinks it's weird and gross. He won't think that way when he's married.

We look at rewards in heaven now and go, "Oh, what's that all about?" It's not important to us now, but it will be when we get there. The day is coming, and oh, that we would recognize that! Oh, that we would live with that in view—that there is a day coming when we'll stand before the Lord.

Notice also in this passage, Paul says, "Every man's work," in verse 13, "shall be made manifest." Not just the minister, not just the Christian that sits in the chair; every man's work will be made manifest on that day. Hebrews chapter 4 speaks about God's word, which is living and powerful, in verse 12. Verse 13 goes on to say, "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do or to whom we will give an account."

In that day, Romans 2:16 says, "When God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to the gospel." There is coming a day. Now, may we look forward to that day with expectation.

Looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let's stand and pray. Father, Your word is truth. I pray that You would sanctify us by Your truth as we prepare to go from here. That we, like James exhorts, would be hearers and doers of the word. Lord, burn away any chaff that's in our lives by Your Holy Spirit, that we would be vessels of honor unto You. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.