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Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 3:10-15
I. The unique foundation having been laid — 1 Cor. 3:10a, 11.
II. Building on the unique foundation — v. 10.
III. Building with gold, silver, and precious stones — v. 12a:
А. Gold symbolizing God’s nature.
B. Silver symbolizing Christ’s redemptive work.
C. Precious stones symbolizing the Spirit’s transforming work.
IV. Building with wood, grass, and stubble — v. 12b:
А. Wood signifying human nature.
B. Grass signifying man in the flesh — Isa. 40:6-7.
C. Stubble signifying lifelessness.
V. Every man’s work will be tested by fire — 1 Cor. 3:13-15:
А. If any man’s work stands the fire, he will receive a reward.
B. If any man’s work is consumed, he will suffer loss:
1. He himself will be saved.
2. Yet so as through fire.
Following the previous lesson concerning strange fire, we need this lesson on taking heed how to build. These lessons may be considered as a pair, like two “sisters.” They are brief, so they need much labor and development on our part.
We have to tell the saints that all real service is a building work. The church service is not merely a work but a building work. There are many works that are not building works. Only certain works are building works. Since we are going to serve, to build, we have to realize that we cannot lay a foundation. The unique foundation has been laid by the apostle Paul. Today we are still building on his foundation. Paul says, “According to the grace of God given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid a foundation” (1 Cor. 3:10a). Then he says, “Another foundation no one is able to lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (v. 11).
Our service must be a building work on the unique foundation (v. 10). We cannot lay a foundation, nor can we build something on another foundation. We have to strongly stress these points. Even though all denominations claim that Christ is their foundation, actually many works in today’s Christianity are building works on some other foundation. We do not like to set up social and charitable works such as schools and hospitals. The apostle Paul did not do this kind of work. Our service must be a direct building on the unique foundation. There is much charitable work in Christianity that is good, but it is not built upon Christ as the unique foundation. Whatever we do in the church must be something built directly on Christ. This is why the apostle Paul speaks such a strong word in 1 Corinthians.
The proper building materials for the church are gold, silver, and precious stones (v. 12a). Gold symbolizes the divine nature of God the Father. Silver symbolizes Christ’s redemptive work. Precious stones symbolize the Spirit’s transforming work. This indicates that what we build upon the foundation of Christ should be something of the Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
We should not build the church with wood, grass, and stubble (v. 12b). Just as gold signifies God’s nature, wood signifies the human nature. Grass signifies man in the flesh (Isa. 40:6-7). Stubble signifies lifelessness. Stubble is the stump of the crops after being reaped. With the stubble there is no seed, no life. We have to admit that most of the work in Christianity is according to and out of these three negative items — the human nature, the human flesh, and lifelessness.
I feel that this lesson is greatly needed among us. We may appreciate certain brothers’ capabilities for doing things, but in the church life the main thing is not to accomplish things. The main thing is to build with the Triune God upon the foundation already laid, that is, upon the all-inclusive Christ. If we just depend upon our capability, talent, or skill to finish something, that means we are serving according to wood, grass, and stubble, not gold, silver, and precious stones. We need to serve with the Father’s nature, in the Son’s redeeming way with the cross, and by the transforming Spirit. If we serve according to ourselves, there is no transformation, no cross, and no divine nature. Then what we do is just a secular thing that has nothing to do with the church. The church is altogether a composition of gold, silver, and precious stones — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3 that every man’s work will be tested by fire (vv. 13-15).
Verse 14 says, “If anyone’s work which he has built upon the foundation remains, he will receive a reward.” This has nothing to do with salvation. In verses 14 and 15, both reward and salvation are mentioned. The reward is not for salvation. Neither can salvation replace the reward.
If our work, our service, is really of gold, silver, and precious stones, it can stand the test of fire. These materials will not be burned. If our work is with these materials, we will receive a reward. The reward in the coming age will be the richer and higher enjoyment of the Lord. Today in our church life, in our work, and in our service, we enjoy the Lord. But in the coming age the reward will be the richer, higher, and greater enjoyment of Christ. Apparently speaking, that will be an entering into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, but our entering the kingdom is for the greater, higher, and richer enjoyment of Christ.
Verse 15 says, “If anyone’s work is consumed, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” Wood, grass, and stubble are not good for building materials but good for being burned. Today many Christians are producing fuel for a burning to come. The more they do, the more they have something for burning.
If anyone’s work is consumed, he will suffer loss. Loss here means that he will lose the reward. He will lose the richer, higher, and greater enjoyment of Christ. The Word says clearly, however, that he himself will be saved, yet he will be saved as through fire. This indicates some kind of punishment and discipline, not just a loss.
We saw in the previous lesson that we must avoid anything of strange fire in our service. Also, all the work of wood, grass, and stubble must be avoided. We must build with gold, silver, and precious stones.
