Lesson for April 10, 2022
The Book of I Corinthians
Chapter 3:9-15
Verses 9-10
“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God, which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.”
An analogy to being God’s field is found in Hebrews 6:7-10. “For ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God, but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.” We have the two alternatives being illustrated for believers after salvation. First, we have a believer advancing toward spiritual maturity. Second, we have a believer retreating into reversionism. Believers are represented by the ground. The ground producing healthy vegetation is a picture of spiritual advance and divine production. The rain is used to illustrate Bible doctrine. The rain (Bible doctrine) is absorbed through the study of God’s Word.
Which often falls upon it illustrates Bible doctrine being taught accurately and believers listening, understanding, and believing it. If the ground (believers) accepts the rain (Bible doctrine), there will be healthy vegetation (divine production/blessing from God). If the ground (believers) receives no rain (Bible doctrine), it produces worthless thorns and thistles, which means no healthy vegetation (no divine production/no blessing from God). Healthy vegetation by advancing believers is useful for spiritual growth, but unhealthy vegetation by retreating believers is useless for spiritual growth.
God’s building is a reference to the Edification Complex of the Soul. God’s Word likens spiritual growth to building a house. Often expressed as edification, the concept is to build or to build up. For Christians, this occurs in their souls as they study and learn Bible doctrine and apply it to their lives. Ephesians 4:11-12, “And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ.”
As with any building, we must be careful to first lay the right foundation before we build on it. The Scripture is clear that the only foundation for us is Jesus Christ Himself. Our foundation is the mind of Christ, which is the Word of God. The Word of God is meant to be understood and used as a blueprint for building our spiritual buildings (the Christian life). I Peter 2:5, “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by people but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
The Greek word for edification is “oikodome,” meaning the act of building a structure, to edify, to instruct, or to benefit, resulting in spiritual growth. Like any structure, the spiritual building which is being built in our souls, must have a firm foundation, and must be properly constructed. Our foundation is Jesus Christ, and the floors of building can be likened to the categories of Bible doctrine. Once the foundation is in place, then we can begin to build upon it with full confidence that it will firmly stand. The foundation is received at salvation, but “the floors” must be built over a period of time, as Bible doctrine is learned, believed, and applied consistently. (Ephesians 4:12,16,29; Colossians 2:7; I Timothy 1:4; James 1:4)
The basis for any system from God is always grace. The word grace itself makes it clear that God’s system for building a spiritual building is void of any human merit, human works, human ability, or human viewpoint. The reason that God planned it this way is to eliminate Human Viewpoint Thinking and/or human effort as the means for building anything spiritual. Instead, He provided a non-meritorious system for both understanding and living the Christian Way of Life, which is faith. This method is the only one that can bring honor and glory to God. (Hebrews 11:6)
Our spiritual building is built using the Bible doctrine we have learned. Consistent study and proper application of that doctrine is the method for developing our building. Christ indwells every believer, but His character is not formed in every believer. Jesus Christ had a spiritual building formed in His soul. He had all the characteristics of spiritual maturity: 1) He was full of grace and truth 2) He had a relaxed mental attitude 3) He was free from mental attitude sins 4) He had capacity for virtue-love and 5) He had divine inner happiness. Christ built His spiritual building demonstrating to all believers that it is possible for them to do the same through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 4:19; John 1:14)
As believers, we have the opportunity to build a spiritual building in our souls. With Christ as our example, we simply follow His pattern. Christ built His building under the filling of the Holy Spirit as He learned and applied the Word of God. As we abide in Him (fellowship with God), and His word abides in us (Bible doctrine), we are allowing the Holy Spirit to produce the character of Christ in our lives. (John 15:10) The Bible uses a number of terms to refer to this building process, such as, walking in the light (I John 2:3-11), walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23), imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1), Christ at home in your hearts (Ephesians 3:17), and Christ formed in you. (Galatians 4:19)
The true function of our spiritual lives is the development of a maturing relationship with God. This relationship is our unseen, private life with God. You and you alone know what the quality of that relationship is. (I Corinthians 2:9-16) There are many counterfeits to the spiritual life. It is therefore of extreme importance for each of us as believers to learn, understand, and execute the true spiritual life.
Without a correct understanding of the Biblical spiritual life, believers will go through life practicing some form of religious legalism that leads to self-induced misery and unhappiness. The spiritual life is not what you do for God. The true spiritual life is your invisible relationship with God and what He does for you.
Therefore, building a spiritual building is a process of transformation (not reformation), which takes place in the minds of believers as they consistently think Bible doctrine. We call this thinking Divine Viewpoint Thinking. As our spiritual building is being built, happiness and stability are being produced by the Holy Spirit in our life. (Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:22-23) Our way of life right now is being influenced by what we think. Since we have free will, we can think whatever we want to think. According to Proverbs 23:7, we ARE what we think.
According to the grace of God, which was given to me, like a wise master builder, I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. The word master builder means the chief contractor or the head of the builders. So, Paul considered himself to be the chief contractor since he was the one who founded the church in Corinth. After Paul left Corinth, others became the pastors there (like Apollos) and continued the “building process.”
But each man must be careful how he builds on it. Some believers have only a foundation and fail to ever build on it, some believers have a building that is crumbling around them, some believers have an incomplete building, and some believers have a beautiful, strong building which they are continuing to build.
Verses 11-15
“For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
Paul had been to many cities and had seen the magnificent buildings in these cities inlaid with gold, silver, and precious stones. He had also seen poorly constructed buildings made from wood, hay, and straw. From his observation came an analogy of how believers build their spiritual lives.
Gold, silver, precious stones represents the divine good works of believers. Wood, hay, and straw represents the human good works of believers. Paul used these items as an illustration of the two methods for building a spiritual building. As the building process begins, believers must be confident that the material they are using is correct according to the blueprint. Failure to follow the correct blueprint precisely, or failure to use the correct material, leads to a poorly constructed spiritual building.
Each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If the material a believer uses to build a spiritual building is based on the accurate teaching of the Word of God, their spiritual building will be strong and will be able to withstand any “storm of life” that comes their way. On the other hand, if the material a believer uses to build a spiritual building is based on human wisdom, human viewpoint, and inaccurate Bible doctrine, their building will not stand against “the storms of life.” Our blueprint for building a spiritual building is the Word of God, properly interpreted.
The final evaluation of how well our spiritual building was constructed will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ. (II Corinthians 5:10 and Romans 14:10) After the Rapture of the Church, when we are all in Heaven with Christ, each one of us is going to be evaluated individually based on what we did with our Christian lives.
It is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. The “test of fire” will reveal whether our good works were divine or human. Each man’s work refers to our production, whether it was divine production or human production. The good deeds that were produced from our sin nature are represented by wood, hay, and straw, and will be “burned up” (not considered for eternal rewards) because there is nothing in our sin natures that is acceptable to God. (Isaiah 64:6.) The good deeds that we produced from the filling of the Holy Spirit are represented by gold, silver, and precious stones, and we will be rewarded accordingly. If a believer has only human works to present to Christ, they will suffer the loss of the rewards, but as a believer in Christ they can never be condemned to the Lake of Fire.