Friday, May 15, 2015,
7:11 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “For By Grace.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 1 Corinthians 3:1-15 (NASB).
What Divides Us?
And
I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of
flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for
you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for
you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you
not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, “I am of
Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?
What
then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as
the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was
causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters
is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters
are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For
we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
What might this look like today? I believe we could relate
this to church denominations and/or to particular strongly held doctrinal
viewpoints. One might say that he is Baptist, while another might say she is
Presbyterian, and another Methodist, and another Charismatic or Episcopalian,
and then a Calvinist or Arminian, etc. What often happens via the divisions of
denomination or doctrine initiated by human beings is that people often end up
following the teachings of humans over the teachings of Christ and of the
apostles, i.e. those which are God-breathed. Oftentimes they follow a
particular list of scriptures, too, frequently taken out of context, which
supports their particular doctrines, and sometimes while ignoring other
scriptures which might seem to contradict their particular theology.
As well, there are many TV preachers who have gained
popularity among the people, or there are some who are renowned for a particular
book or book series they have written, and there are some who are political
activists, and thus have gained public recognition and attention in that sense.
So, people follow after these men and women, oftentimes without testing
anything they say, and with much enthusiasm and loyalty over and above faith in
Jesus Christ and dedication to the study of the scriptures. Thus, many people
are following after lies, deception, and manipulations of truth, cleverly
disguised as truth, because they are following personalities, and because they
like what they hear and it is pleasing to their ears and it makes them feel
good. And, so they end up honoring one man (or woman) above another and become
followers of man instead of followers of God.
Although I don’t believe the people mentioned in this
passage were guilty of teaching what was false, there were false teachers at
that time, and they are very prevalent in the church today. So, when we become
followers of human beings over and above being followers of God and of his
Word, i.e. that which is God-breathed, we run the risk of falling prey to these
deceivers because we are more loyal to them or to a particular denomination
than we are to Christ, to his Word and to his gospel. These deceivers then end
up destroying (ruining) God’s temple, his body, his church with these false
doctrines and false gospel and with the “wisdom” and standards of this age
(culture), which is foolishness in God’s sight. And, this is happening in the
church of today, and it is epidemic! So, we should not be deceived by being
followers of humans over being followers of God, but we should test everything
we hear or read or see against God’s revealed Word in scripture to make sure it
is true so that we are not deceived, and so we are not party to the ruining of
the church (See: vv. 16-23).
With regard to raising one servant of the Lord above
another, and becoming followers of humans rather than followers of God, the
point of all of this, I believe, is that believers who are serving the Lord
Jesus in ministry are just servants of the Lord, and each one of us has been
given a different task (assignment within the body of Christ), but God is the
one who makes the spiritual seed which was planted and watered grow. So, we
should focus our attention, praise, honor and glory on God, not on humans, and
realize that we all answer to God. As followers of Christ, we should not
compete with one another, but we should work together for the glory of God in
the work of the ministry and for God’s eternal kingdom.
On the Foundation
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. 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 said that no one can lay a foundation other than the
one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. This is not saying that humans won’t
attempt to lay another foundation or that they won’t succeed in doing so for a
time, but that for the church, Jesus Christ is the only foundation. There is
none other. If we try to lay a different foundation, then it is not a true
foundation for the church, Christ’s body, but a false one, and thus is a false
gospel and a false church with a false Christ as the head, because it is not
built on Jesus Christ. So, we need to first of all be careful to make sure we
are building on the correct foundation.
So, what is meant concerning Jesus Christ as our foundation
on which we should build our lives individually and his church collectively? He
is the basis (source, origin and center) for our salvation, our Christian
lives, and our walks in the Spirit by faith, and for the life of the church. If
he had not died on the cross for our sins, and if he had not been resurrected
from the grave, triumphing over sin, we could not be saved, so there would be
no foundation upon which to build our lives, and there would be no true church.
Yet, Jesus Christ, as our foundation, is so much more than just the fact that
he paid the price for our sins.
Jesus, as our foundation, is who he is and what he is about,
and it is his divine character and will and purpose for us, and it is his
teachings and the life he lived while on this earth, and it is his purpose in
dying for our sins, for it was not merely to free us from eternal damnation and
to promise us heaven when we die that he gave his life up for us. “He himself
bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24; cf. 2 Co. 5:15; Ro. 6). This is why he died. He
died so that we might turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan
to God, so that we may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who
are sanctified by faith in him (See: Ac. 26:16-18). He died so we might walk,
no longer according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (See: Ro. 8; cf.
1 Jn. 1:5-9; Eph. 4:17-24). And, it is on this foundation that we must build
our lives and that collectively the church (his house) must be built, too.
This passage speaks of refining fire through trials and
tribulations which test the quality of our works. The context suggests that all
who are the subject matter here are those who have clearly built on the correct
foundation. This is not about someone who does not have the correct foundation
but thinks he can make a profession of faith then live like hell and yet escape
the flames of hell because of that profession of faith which is not built on
the Rock. Scripture is real clear on the fact that if we profess to know God
and to be in fellowship with him, yet we continue in lifestyles of sin, then we
are liars. Romans 6 and 8 make it very clear that faith in Jesus Christ means
death to sin and living according to the Spirit and no longer according to the
flesh, for if we continue to live according to the flesh we will die, but if,
by the Spirit, we are putting to death the misdeeds of the body, we will live,
because it is those being led by the Spirit of God who are the true children of
God.
Some translators and interpreters of 1 Corinthians 3 have
erroneously translated v. 15, in speaking of the one whose works are burned up,
and who thus suffers loss with regard to rewards, as describing a person just
barely escaping the flames of hell, but the context does not bear that out, and
neither does the Greek. The correct translation says “will be saved, yet so as
through fire.” Some of our works, which were done in the power of the Spirit,
will survive this test by fire, and will be for the praise, honor and glory of
God, but others of our works will not survive the test because they were done
in our human flesh and thus hold no eternal value. We will be saved, though,
but not through works, but through the power and working of Jesus Christ in
refining, and in purifying (baptizing) us with the Spirit and with fire in new
birth, i.e. in the transformation of our lives away from living for sin and self
to living for the Lord Jesus and to walking daily in his righteousness and
holiness, all in the power and working of the Spirit within us, and no longer
according to our flesh.
For By Grace / An Original Work /
January 27, 2012
Based
off Ephesians 2:8-9
For
by grace we’ve been saved
Of
all our sins,
So
that with Christ Jesus
Our
lives begin.
Cleansing
us from sin,
He
made pure within
All
who trust in Him
As
their Savior, friend,
So
that with Christ Jesus
Our
lives begin.
We’ve
been saved through faith;
This
not from ourselves,
Lest
that we should boast
In
our fleshly works.
Our
salvation is
A
gift from our God,
Who
loves us so much
That
He gave His Son
To
die on the cross
For
all of our sins.
So
repent of all
Of
your sins today,
And
He’ll forgive you;
Wipe
your sins away.
Obey
all of His
Teachings
given you,
So
that you can walk
With
Him now in truth;
So
that you can walk
With
Him now in truth.
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