Okay, let's look back at 1st
Corinthians chapter 3 The main text of the message this morning
is verse 11 For other Foundation can no man
lay then that is laid Which is Jesus Christ? The title of this
message is Christ the only foundation the only foundation. Now, there
are basically three issues that have to be identified and settled
out of this passage to understand why the Holy Spirit motivated
and inspired Paul to write these words to the church at Corinth. And I want to just go back to
verse one. We're going to identify these
issues. Because it's very important,
you know, when you read passages of scripture like this that have
to do with things like in verse 13, where he says, every man's
work shall be made manifest, that means be brought out into
the open. For the day shall declare, what
day is he talking about? There's some differences in commentators
on that day. I believe he's talking about
the day of judgment. And he says, it shall be revealed by fire.
Fire is the judgment of God. That's what fire always represents
in the scripture symbolically. And we think about that. Who's
he talking about? What does it mean? And then I
want us to see in the context why it's so important. It's vital
to the life of a believer, to the life of the church, to focus
in on verse 11. and to keep our eyes and our
hearts by the grace of God. We know that if left to ourselves,
we'd leave in a moment, we'd leave him. For other foundation,
Christ is the foundation of the church. He told his disciples
that. Matthew 16, when he asked them that question, who do men
say that I am? And they got all kinds of answers,
just like you'll get all kinds of answers today. I know people
don't, you know, most people who don't really study the scriptures
don't, they're kind of amazed at that. You know, I'll never
forget, I was talking to a young man who was going to a Bible
college. He was getting ready to go to
a Bible college. This is when I was in Albany. And he wanted
to come by and talk to me. He'd seen our TV program down
there. And the more he talked, the more I saw that he just did
not understand and know the true gospel of Christ. And I felt
so sorry for him. I wanted to help him, but you
know, anytime you talk to people and tell them the truth about
these things, you know, by nature, we just don't receive them well
because they're offensive, the offense of the cross. And I just
asked him this question. I said, are you sure, are you
sure that where you're going to school and what you're believing,
that it's not a counterfeit Christ instead of the true and living
Christ of the Bible? And he said, what do you mean
a counterfeit Christ? What's that? And I said, well,
the Bible speaks of counterfeits, a false Christ. He said, where
does it talk about that? And then I turned him to the
book of 2 Corinthians chapter three, where, or chapter, I got
the chapter wrong, didn't I? It's, let me find it, because
I don't want to mess you up on this. 2 Corinthians chapter 11,
isn't it? Yeah, chapter 11. Listen to this
in 2 Corinthians 11. where he's talking about people's
minds being corrupted from the simplicity that's in Christ.
And he says in verse four, for if he that cometh preacheth another
Jesus. Now that word another there means
another of a different kind. Not the same Jesus we preach.
There are counterfeit Christ. And I don't want to be found
preaching a counterfeit Christ." Well, when Christ asked the disciples
that question over in Matthew 16, you know, who do men say
that I am? He got all kinds of answers, but Peter spoke up.
And in speaking for the disciples, he spoke by the Spirit of God.
He said, Thou art the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One,
the Son of the Living God, God in human flesh. And then Christ
said, blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood hasn't
revealed that to you of my father which is in heaven. And he said,
thou art Peter, you're a little rock. But upon this rock, a different
word, a big rock, the rock of Christ, the rock of his person,
the rock of his finished work, I will build my church and the
gates of hell will not prevail against it. He's the foundation. He's the foundation stone. He's
identified in prophecy as the foundation stone, as the chief
cornerstone. That's the first stone that's
laid by which all the other stones are measured. Your position in
the church, the true church of the living God, has to be measured
in your relationship to Christ. It's not measured by what you
do. where you go, how you act. Now listen to, now I'm not saying
that Christians can act any way they want. That's not what I'm
saying at all. But that's not how your position in the true
church is measured and judged. Your position in the true church
is measured and judged by how you stand in relation to Jesus
Christ, the chief cornerstone. You say you're righteous. Well,
how are you righteous? If it's by your works, you don't
measure up. You say, my righteousness is
Christ. His blood, his righteousness,
his finished work on the cross, that's my righteousness. That
measures up before God because that's his work, not mine. My
work always falls short. Your work will too. You see what
I'm saying? And so he's the chief cornerstone.
And he sets all the stones in the building of his church where
he wants them for his purpose, framed, the book of Ephesians
chapter two says framed fitly together. In other words, wherever
you are in the church, that's where he puts you. Many aren't
satisfied with that. We've seen that happen in our
church, in this local body here. People weren't satisfied with
that. They wanted other positions, so what do they do? They leave.
They divide. Now here's where we're coming
to. You see, this thing is about church division. And I've had
this on my mind quite a long time. That's what he's talking
about. Let's look at the first verse.
Go back to 1 Corinthians 3. Now listen to this. Here's the
first issue that needs to be settled in this, and that's this.
Here it is, professing Christians, acting carnally, acting in the
flesh. Now we've talked about when I
did that series on the warfare of the flesh, the warfare between the believers and the
world, and the warfare of the flesh and the spirit, and the
warfare between the church and the devil. And we saw in the
scripture that in every believer there's a warfare. It's a warfare
that goes on every day, it never ceases. And I mean it's a warfare
every day. And it's a warfare that has to
do with whether I should follow God or follow myself. That's really what it is. We
think of the flesh as some kind of entity within. It's not. It's
me. It's you. And that's the fight. And so here's what he says. Look
at verse one. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto
spiritual. In other words, you're not acting
spiritually. What is it to act spiritually? Well, it's to see
Christ and Him crucified as your only hope of salvation, your
only reason for being, your only motivation for acting in whatever
way it is you do. Am I going to glorify and honor
Him or am I going to get my way? Well, these folks, they wanted
their way. And he says, so I can't speak to you as unto spiritual. You're not acting spiritually.
It's not that you're saved one day and lost the next. That's
not the gospel. That's not scripture. That's
a denial of Christ. But they're acting in a way that
is not consistent with their profession. Well, were they all
saved? Probably not. The Bible tells
us that in the church here on this earth, there'll be a mixture.
In the church, in the true church. And I want you to understand
something about this. These were people who were professing
belief in the truth, not a lie. Now you've got to understand
that. These weren't the freewill work salvation people here. These were people who'd heard
Paul preach. and believe what Paul preached,
the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ. They
weren't professing a lie. They professed to believe what
you believe. You profess to believe what I profess to believe. All
right? But he said, I can't speak unto
you as mature spiritual people because you're acting, he says,
look at verse one, but as unto carnal. That word carnal means
fleshly. It's the same word. Walking after,
minding the things of the flesh. That's the same word, flesh.
That's sin. Selfishness. It's my way or the
highway, that kind of thing. And he says, even as unto babes
in Christ, now that's the best he could say for them right there. Some people who've been in this
for years, but still acting like babies. And he says, I fed you
with milk and not with meat, for hitherto you were not able
to bear it. You're not able to bear the meat
of the word. Neither yet now are you able.
Now it's one thing, listen, there's nothing wrong with the milk of
the word, nothing wrong with it. The Bible says in 1 Peter
chapter two, desire the sincere milk of the word, doesn't it? We're to desire the sincere milk
of the word. But what does it say after that?
That you may what? Grow thereby. Now if you're not
growing, there's a problem. Keep your finger there, turn
over to Hebrews chapter five. desire the sincere milk of the
word, nothing wrong with that. And I know people have different
ideas on what is the milk and what is the meat. I'm not gonna
get into that this morning because I don't have time. But I know
this, there are fundamentals of the faith. They're the ABCs
of the gospel. We cannot deny or divide or differ
on those things. But look here at Hebrews chapter
five and verse 12. Listen to what he says here to
these Hebrew believers. He says, for when, well look
at verse 11 first. He's talking about Melchizedek.
You know who Melchizedek was. He was a type of Christ in the
Old Testament. He met Abraham on Abraham's way
back from the conflict with the kings. And he blessed Abraham.
And Abraham paid tithes to him. He was a priest, not after the
order of Levi, you see, but he was a type of Christ. And he
says, of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered,
not hard because they're difficult to say or explain, hard because
you're dull of hearing. That's the problem. The problem
wasn't in the truth of Melchizedek and all of that. You know, people
say, well, that's deep doctrine. No, you just got shallow ears.
That's the problem. That's what he's saying here.
You just don't wanna hear it. You're dull of hearing. And he
says, verse 12, for the time you ought to be teachers. In
other words, you've been in this thing long enough, you ought
to be able to teach it. Now that doesn't mean everybody's gonna
be a teacher or have the gift of teaching or the office of
teaching, but what he's simply saying is you ought to be grown
up here. You ought to be mature here. You ought to be knowledgeable
here. He says, you have need that one teach you again, which
be the first principles of the oracles, the word of God. and
are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat."
There's nothing wrong with milk. But if the only reason you can
only feed on milk is because you're dull of hearing and won't
grow, that's a bad situation. That's a bad attitude. He says,
for everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of
righteousness. That's the gospel. The gospel
of Christ. That's the word of righteousness.
the word of how God can be just and justify the ungodly, for
he's a babe. But strong meat belongeth to
them that are of full age, mature. And he says, even those who by
reason of use, now you know what that means? That means exercise.
That's what that is. If I lay my body down and never
get up, it's gonna disintegrate, isn't it? It's gonna deteriorate.
What is atrophy, they call it? But I gotta exercise it. And
I do, not enough, but I do. I do. And that's how you work
your muscles. Well, it's the same way with
the mind. It's the same thing with the
spirit. You see, you've got to exercise it by reason of use,
have their senses exercise. Now look at the last line there,
to what? To judge between, to discern between good and evil. In other words, here's a group
of people that have become so, they profess to believe the gospel,
they become so dull of hearing, so immature, so carnal, that
they can't even tell the difference between good and evil. Now go
back to 1 Corinthians 3. That's the problem here. That's
professing Christians acting carnally. Look at verse 3. He
says, for you are yet carnal, you're yet fleshly. For whereas
there is among you envying, You know what envying is, that's
looking at someone else who has this position or that position
or this gift or that gift and you despise them or you resent
them because they have that gift. That's envy. Strive, strive,
that's the friction that comes from the envy. And then look
here, division, that's sectarianism, that's schism, that divides,
you see. He says, are you not carnal and
walk as men? You're not walking as spiritual
men, but you're walking as natural men. That's it. You know, I told
you one time, I said, when you think about Christianity and
really understand it from the scriptures, you know what you're
talking about? You're talking about advanced citizenship. That's
what it is. I'm telling you, this is advanced
citizenship. It's no easy ride, is it? It's
not just walking down an aisle, making a profession, getting
baptized and everybody's smiling. It's living a life of warfare,
fighting yourself just as much as you fight the world, fight
the devil. It's fighting yourself more,
I think. Realizing more and more how sinful we are and realizing
more and more how great Christ is. Listen, I value his precious
blood and his righteousness imputed today more than I ever have and
I hope it keeps growing. And to honor and glorify him.
But when we act carnally in this sense now, then there's the problem. Now here's the second issue.
and that is identifying the problem. Well, now how specifically were
they acting currently? Well, if you read the book of
1st and 2nd Corinthians, you're gonna see this is a church with
a lot of problems. But you know what, I've said that before,
and I got to realizing, I said, you know, every church here on
earth has a lot of problems. We do, don't we? We have a lot
of problems. Just when I think I'm dealing
with one problem as your pastor, another one comes up. And I think,
well, I'm gonna have a little reprieve this summer. No, there'll
be something else come up now. It's gonna come. And I'm not
just blaming you, it's me too. I'm the problem too, you see.
We're sinners saved by the grace of God. Now what holds us together?
Verse 11. For other foundation can no man
lay than that which is laid. Jesus Christ. Now that's it. We agree on the gospel. And if
we don't, there ought to be a division. That's not acting contrary. Let
me tell you something. When you divide over the gospel, who Jesus
Christ is, what he accomplished at Calvary, did he actually save
his people from their sins or did he just try to save you if
you'd let him? See, that's two different gospels.
One's a false gospel, the other's the true gospel. What did he
do? Why did he do it? Where is he
now? That's fundamental. Listen, if we divide over that,
that's acting spiritually. We must divide. When people get
together and agree to disagree on the gospel, that is not godly. That is not love. Not godly love. That's self love. That's carnal. So we don't, but here's the problem
in Corinth. Look here, verse four. Here's
how they were acting carnal. For while one saith, I am of
Paul, and another saith, I am of Apollos, are you not carnal? What's the problem? Division
over men. That's the problem. Division
over preachers. Look over at 1 Corinthians chapter
1 and verse 10. You know, this was such a problem
there, and I want to tell you something. It's a problem today. It's a problem in every age.
I think it's one of the main tools that Satan uses to divide
the church. Divisions over preachers. That's what he's talking about.
Paul was a preacher. He was an apologist. Apollos was a Greek
Believer who preached the gospel Tradition says he was a very
very eloquent man Apollos was But look here verse 10. He says
now in 1st Corinthians 1 I beseech you brethren by the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ that you all speak the same thing and that
there be no divisions among you but that you be perfectly joined
together in the same mind and in the same judgment, for it
hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them that
are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, and every one
of you saith, I am of Paul, here's the contention, I'm of Paul,
and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, that's Peter's Greek name, that's
the Apostle Peter, and I of Christ. You know, you always have that
element, say, well, I don't follow any man, I follow Christ. Now that's the problem. Division
over preachers. You see, let me show you this. Turn to John chapter three. I
want to show you something. John the Baptist. I love to read
and study John the Baptist. He's one of the most fascinating
persons in the whole Bible, as far as men go. Sinner saved by
the grace of God. Because I think about him. You
know, John, think of his credentials. I mean, think about that. You
know, preachers love to talk about their credentials. You
know, a lot of times I'll meet somebody and the first thing
they want to know is what my degree was in and all that, you
know. Are you Dr. So-and-so? They love those credentials. They love those labels. They
love those titles. They want that esteem. Well,
think about John the Baptist. Now think about it. John the
Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets. That's a position of prominence,
isn't it? He was the last of the Old Testament prophets. And
he was the one prophesied of. John the Baptist could point
back in the Old Testament and say, you know that verse, who
that's talking about? That's talking about me. That's talking about
me personally. Malachi chapter three, we're
gonna study that tonight. The messenger, the prepare the
way. That's talking about John the Baptist. And then over Malachi
four, it talks about Elijah being risen from the dead. That's not
talking about Elijah personally. That's talking about the prophetic
tradition and truth raised up in John the Baptist. That's talking
about him. And then think about this, you know what the Lord
said of John? He said, there was none greater born of woman
than John. Christ said that. Boy, how would
you like to put that on your resume? And yet, what did John say of
himself? He said, I'm nothing. He said,
I'm a voice crying in the wilderness. He said this, he said, I'm not
even worthy to stoop down and untie the Savior's shoe. He said,
Christ must increase, I must decrease. Look here at John 3
and verse 23. Now listen to this. He says,
and John also was baptizing in Enon, John 3, 23. And it's, look at verse 22, I'm
sorry, verse 22. After these things came Jesus
and his disciples into the land of Judea, and there he tarried
with them and baptized. And John also was baptizing in
Enon, near to Salem. And because there was much water
there, and they came and were baptized, for John was not yet
cast into prison, John the Baptist. And then there arose a question
between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying.
And they came unto John and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was
with thee beyond Jordan, speaking of Jesus Christ, to whom thou
bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come
to him. Now the indication and the answer
that John gives indicates here that what they're saying, they're
coming to him and not to you, Rabbi. Why? That's not right. Why aren't
they coming to you instead of Him? Now listen to John's answer
in verse 27. John answered and said, A man
can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. You
yourselves bear witness that I said, I am not the Christ. I'm not your Savior. I'm not
your Lord, but I am sent before him. He that hath the bride is
the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom which standeth
and heareth him rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.
This is my joy therefore fulfilled. Men coming to Christ is my joy
fulfilled. That's what John's saying. And look here, verse 30. He must
increase, but I must decrease. Now that's what John said. Now
look back at 1 Corinthians 3. Well look at 1 Corinthians 1
again. Now remember Paul said you're divided. Say I'm of Paul,
I'm of Apollos. Listen to verse 13. Here's what
he says. Now, now think about this in
this context. Do you claim to know and believe
in and rest in and love Christ? Is that what's your claim? Is
that what I claim? Is that our profession? Well, here's your
answer. Verse 13, is Christ divided? No. You say you follow Paul? Well, was Paul crucified for
you? Did Paul die for your sins? Did Paul establish a righteousness
whereby God could justify you? Did Paul do that? No. Or were
you baptized in the name of Paul? No, you were baptized in the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And then
he says, I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius.
You see, look back over at chapter three now. There's the problem. Dividing over men, following
men. It'll never come to any good. Well here's the third issue,
what's the solution? Well look at verse five, here's
the solution. There's two things. First of
all, put things in their proper perspective now. Think about
this. And lay the right foundation.
Now he says this in verse five, who then is Paul and who is Apollos?
Now you claim to be of Paul, you claim to be of Apollos, let's
start a church and call it the Pauline denomination or the Apolitan
denomination. That's the way people do now.
Well, who is Paul? Who is Apollos? But ministers,
you know what ministers are? A minister in the scripture is
not the Reverend or the right Reverend Dr. So-and-so. A minister
in the scripture is not the clergy. A minister in the scripture is
literally servant. Servant. You going to divide
over servants? Bondslave. I'm of this bondslave. I'm of that bondslave. Well,
what about the owner of the house? Where's he come into the picture
here now? What about the foundation? Where does that come? Huh? You're
dividing over servants. Voices? The voice of one crying
in the... I'm going to divide over this
voice. I'm going to follow that voice. Well, whose voice is it
we need to hear? Christ. And then he says, ministers
by whom you believe, even as the Lord gave to every man, by
whom you believe. Faith is the gift of God, but
you want to know something? I didn't give you that gift. Brother Mahan didn't give you
that gift. God gave it to you. For by grace are you saved, through
faith that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. Now, God uses instruments like
Paul, Apollos, like me, like Brother Mahan, and other ministers.
But that's all we are. We're just a conduit through
which the Word comes. We can't even give you life.
We can't make you believe it. That's God's business. Look at
verse six. I planted. Paul was the first
one to preach the gospel in Corinth. That's what he means. I planted.
I sowed the seed of the word. I preached the gospel of Christ.
And Apollos came along later and he watered the seed that
was sown. Now how did Paul plant? Preach
Christ. How did Apollos water? He preached Christ. But now where
did this church come from? the Corinthian Church, 13th Street
Baptist Church, or any other true church. Well, here it is.
But God gave the increase, the growth, the members, everything. God gave it. It's of God. Not
of Paul, not of Apollos, but of God. Noah preached for 120
years. Did God give any increase there?
No. God was still glorified, and Noah still did what he was
supposed to do. Paul preached, he planted, he
laid the foundation. Look at verse seven. So then
neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth. We're
nothing. In this matter now, I know we're
to love each other, you're to love your pastors, you're to
thank God for them, but here, when it comes to your salvation
and your eternal life and the unity of the church, you know
what we are? We're nothing. It's all about Christ. It's not
about me. Not about Henry Mahan, it's about
Christ. And if it's not about Christ,
you're in trouble. I'll show you that in just a
moment. Look here, he says, but God gave the increase, now he
that, now look at verse eight, now he that planteth and he that
watereth are one. Now, that means the true ministers
are united in the preaching of Christ. Just like John the Baptist,
they believe Christ must increase, I must decrease. Now what if
they're not one? Then what happens? What if you
have two ministers, two servants, and they're not together in this
thing? What happens? Then you have division.
What does the Bible say in Proverbs chapter six? It said, God hates
those who sow discord among brethren. You have a problem, you see.
But he says those who are truly preaching Christ are one and
every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Now what's he talking about there? He's talking about preaching
the gospel and God giving the increase. That's the context
of what he just said twice. He said that twice. God gives
the increase. God gives the increase. I planted
a potless water. God gives the increase. What's
the reward here? It's not the reward of merit,
which I earned by preaching the gospel. No. It's the fact that
God gives the increase. It's grace. That's what it's
about. And he says in verse 9, for we
are laborers together with God. You are God's husbandry, you
are God's building. Who's he talking about there,
God's husbandry and God's building? He's talking about the church.
He uses two analogies here, two symbols that are often used in
the Bible. The symbol of a farmer, a husbandman,
a farmer planting a field, planting the seed of the gospel. You remember
the parable of the sower and the seed? And God gives the increase,
the good ground here, the heart prepared by the Holy Spirit in
the new birth. And that's a person who comes
to a saving knowledge of their sin. I'm a sinner, ruined in
Adam, deserving of death and hell, and cannot get myself out
of this problem. That if God were to give me what
I've earned and deserved, it would be eternal damnation. God's
holy and just, and he must punish sin. My only hope is Christ and
him crucified. My only hope. And so he says,
well, lay the right foundation. Look here, verse 10. He says,
according to the grace of God. Now that's, it's all according
to the grace of God, not the power of men, not the eloquence
of men, not the personality or the pulpit presence or the charismatic
draw of men. But it's of the grace of God.
Which is given unto me. It's a gift. As a wise master
builder, as one who takes Christ, who is my wisdom, and preaches
him, and exalts him, and builds upon him, he's the builder of
the church, I'm just his instrument to preach him, his wisdom. He says, I've laid the foundation.
How did he do it? Preaching Christ. And another
buildeth thereon. Paulus, come on, he built there,
he preached Christ. But let every man take heed how
he buildeth thereon. Verse 11, for other foundation
can no man lay, and that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Lay the
right foundation. Look back over at 1 Corinthians
1. Listen to what it is to lay the
right foundation. He talked about how they were
dividing over preachers. He said, I'm glad I didn't baptize
any of you except two men, Crispus and Gaius. In verse 15, he says,
lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household
of Stephanus. Besides, I know not whether I
baptized any other. Paul said he forgot if he baptized
any others. Boy, I tell you, you know. Most
preachers, they kind of like see baptism as notches in their
gun, you know. But he says, look at verse 17,
now look at it, here's laying the foundation. For Christ sent
me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, the good news of
how God saves sinners. Not with wisdom of words, lest
the cross of Christ, the death of Christ, the atonement should
be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross
is to them that perish or them that are perishing, foolishness,
but unto us which are saved or which are being saved, it is
the power of God. The preaching of the cross. What
is the preaching of the cross? It's the preaching of the person
of Christ, who he is. He's God and man in one person. He's the God man, he's the word
made flesh, dwelt among us. God in human flesh. It's the
preaching of His death on the cross, His atonement, what He
accomplished at Calvary. Did He die to make salvation
possible, or did He die to save His people from His sins? Well,
what does God's Word say? Huh? His name shall be called
Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. He made
an atonement. He satisfied the justice of God. He was made sin. Christ who knew
no sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. He became guilty for our sins,
charged to Him, went under the wrath of God, suffered, bled,
and died to satisfy the justice of God, to pay our sin debt in
full. He established righteousness,
everlasting righteousness, that is charged, accounted to all
His people. in order that God might be just
and justify the ungodly. It's the preaching of God's grace,
salvation totally, totally by the grace of God and not by the
works of men. It's salvation conditioned on
Christ and him alone, Christ who fulfilled those conditions,
not salvation conditioned on the sinner. It's the preaching of righteousness
for therein is the righteousness of God revealed for Christ is
the end, the fulfillment, the finishing, the completion, the
perfection of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it.
If we preach any other righteousness but that which Christ accomplished
on Calvary, we're not laying the right foundation. That's
right. Preaching the cross. We'll look
back at 1 Corinthians 3. Now listen to this, verse 12.
He says, now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble. Now there's two categories
here. There's gold, silver, precious
stones. Those are precious jewels, precious
metals. What's he talking about there?
I believe he's talking about the people of God. Sinners saved
by the grace of God the work of God. We are his workmanship
created in Christ Jesus Unto not because of good works which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in them in other
words laying that right foundation and Building up on that foundation
preaching Christ Will result if God is pleased to empower
it to the salvation of sinners by his spirit will result in
the gold the silver and the precious stones of sinners saved by grace,
which are called God's treasure, God's jewels, that's what the
church is called, that's what his people are called. What is
the wood, hay, and stubble? Well, you see, the gold, silver,
and precious stones, they'll survive They'll survive the trials
of this life. They'll survive the day of judgment
because they'll be found in Christ. They'll be found standing before
God, washed in his blood and clothed in his righteousness.
They'll be found in Christ. But the wood, hay and stubble,
who's that talking about? I'll tell you exactly who I believe
it's talking about. It's those who are following men and not
Christ. Listen to what he says again.
Now, if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, and
precious stones, how you do that? You preach Christ. I point you
to Christ. He must increase. I must decrease. Don't follow me. Follow Christ. What's the wood, hay, and stone?
That's following men. That's people who follow men
and not Christ. He says in verse 13, every man's
work shall be made manifest whether you were preaching Christ or
seeking to build a following for yourself. For the day shall
declare it. What day? Now, some people say
that's the day of trials. Well, let me show you something.
That's probably true. Trials will reveal this sometimes.
Look over at 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Let me show you this. 1 Corinthians 11 and look at
verse 18. There'll be trials and sometimes
those trials will expose those who are following, truly following
Christ and resting in Him, and those who are really following
men. Sometimes the trials of this life will do that. And here's
what he says in verse 18. He says, for first of all, when
you come together in the church, now he's talking about when they
come together for the Lord's Supper here, but this applies,
look, he says, when you come together in the church, I hear
that there be divisions, schisms among you. And I partly believe
it. Now, what he means by that, when
that translation is said, I partly believe, what he's saying, it'd
be like us saying to that, well, I'm not surprised. There's divisions
among you, but I, and I'm not surprised. Knowing you all, the
way I do. That's what he's saying. I'm
not surprised. For there must, there must be
also heresies. That word heresies is schisms
or sectarianism, divisions among you. that they which are approved,
approved of God, those who are found in Christ, may be made
manifest among you. So that's why those divisions,
you know, people say, why do we have so much division in the
church? Well, there's your answer. Right there. That those who truly
follow Christ and stand in Him, not just a false profession,
not following men, that they may be made manifest among you.
And then back here in 1 Corinthians 3, that day I believe is the
Day of Judgment. Christ said at the Day of Judgment he's going
to separate what? The sheep from the goats. The wheat from the tares in the
Day of Judgment. So there's going to be a separation.
And he said, look at verse 13 again, he says, every man's work
shall be made manifest. In other words, whether I preach
Christ and told you to follow Christ or whether I tried to
gain a following for myself, he says, for the day shall declare
it because it shall be revealed by fire, the trials or the day
of judgment, and the fire shall try test every man's work of
what sort it is, whether I led you to Christ or whether I led
you to me. But now look at verse 14, if
any man's work abide which he hath built upon, he shall receive
a reward. Now again, that's not the reward
of earned merit. That's not what it's talking
about. It's talking about sinners being brought to Christ by the
grace of God. That's it. That's the test of
the ministry here. That's it. Is it a true godly
ministry? What's the reward of that? Sinners
being saved by the grace of God. Not what I earn or you earn,
no, sir. And then he says in verse 15,
if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he
himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Even those, even
those who sometimes allow people to follow them can be true gospel
preachers. That's sad, isn't it? But it's
so. It's so. They can preach Christ
and still allow men to follow them. And that's a sad state. But look at verse 16 and I'll
close. He says, know ye not that you are the temple of God? You're
not the temple of any man. This church is not a memorial
to any man. It's a memorial to Christ. And
those who want it to be a memorial to a man, they divide. This is a memorial to Christ.
You're the temple of God. And that, the Spirit of God,
dwelleth in you. Do you not know that? That's
the issue. The foundation laid in Christ.