Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 3:10-15
The foundation of God's building is always the same. Christ Jesus is the foundation that God Himself has laid. The building differs in its material and workmanship, but there would be no building without Christ as the foundation. Many of God's servants use gold, silver, and precious stones. God does not and will not ask how large a building we have built or how clever, speedy, or ornate it is, but of what material has it been built with. It is not enough to assent to this or to see the truth of that. Even such "seeing" may be wood, grass, and stubble. The matter of importance is whether or not we are using gold, silver, and precious stones. Gold means God — all that God does, all that is out from God — the glory of God. If God is doing everything, all the glory goes to God. Man only gets glory when he is mixed up with it. Silver means redemption. We know that all our work is based on and hinges on the cross. Precious stones represent the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the complete cycle of what our materials should be.
Isaiah 40:6 says, "All flesh is grass." This is the "grass" that will be burned up. All that is of the flesh will be destroyed. "Wood" refers to man in contrast to God. "Stubble" represents the weakness of man, the deadness, flabbiness, and uselessness of the natural life, the feelings, and the mind. The one who uses gold, silver, and precious stones knows God as the Father, knows the cross subjectively as well as objectively, and has died to all that he is and has. He also knows that everything must be the work of the Holy Spirit. People often want us to help them, or rather, we want to help them spiritually. But the question is, "What is our motive?" Is it to gain a bit of comfort, ease, or pleasure for ourselves? Is it to be doing something? Is it to get something later? We cannot help them, and we are held up because we know that this desire has not had the cross applied to it; it has not gone through death. We also may feel led to go and talk to someone, and we may know what to say, but we go beyond and say more. The cross had indeed cut off some of what was not of God, but the cutting work was not complete; we said what God gave us plus something else.
The precious stones mean that which is first wrought in us and then manifested in life and words to others. Precious stones are rare and hard to come by, but stubble is plentiful. Many Christian workers are working mainly according to their feelings. When they feel good, feel on fire, or feel close to the Lord, they work hard for Him! But if they feel cold, tired, dull, or indifferent, they do nothing. Being hot and cold is just of ourselves, and it is useless. Everything that is based on feelings is stubble. Many others only use the materials of the flesh, that is, intelligence, cleverness, expressiveness, eloquence, resourcefulness, ability, etc., but these are all grass. They are earthly, not heavenly, and they will be entirely burned up because they are entirely natural. God will bring into the light our strongest and most pivotal things. He will expose them and deal with them.
Wood represents that which is human and earthly. Most of the Christian work we see has not come forth from God. People think that only the gospel counts in preaching the gospel, rather than the person who is preaching; they think that the Word does the work. But no, God wants to know who is preaching, that is, through whose hands it has gone forth, in whose strength it was preached, and by whose command. He wants to know by whom a person is sent and of what material his work was built. There can be no mixture about it; it must all be of gold, silver, and precious stones. Gold, silver and precious stones are costly; wood, grass, and stubble cost little. There is also a difference in the weight. Wood, grass, and stubble are very light, but gold, silver, and precious stones are heavy. What is our weight? If only people would talk a little less about spiritual things! Often their lives and their words do not tally! Their lives do not match their words.
