Get over here in I Corinthians. We're in chapter 3. I want us to look at a part of this passage
here this morning that probably is as much misunderstood and
misapplied as any other passage in the Scripture in my estimation. And it is vitally important that
we understand the context in which Paul is giving this and
most especially to remember what he said here at the close of
the second chapter. when he said, But the natural
man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they
are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they
are spiritually discerned. Now it is not possible that man
in natural understanding can comprehend what it is that Paul
is speaking about here. And we're no different because
we have carnal understanding. Now we have been given spiritual
understanding. He goes on to say, He that is
spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no
man. So we have spiritual understanding
if we be in Christ. He said, For who hath known the
mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the
mind of Christ. That is, we have been given spiritual
eyes. to see spiritual things. And
so we must not approach spiritual things with carnal eyes. I mean, that's the whole point
of what he's been saying from the beginning here when he began
to upbraid them about one saying, I'm of Paul and I'm of Apollos
and all of these things. I've been baptized by this one
and that one. And he's saying you're taking
something that is spiritual and you're turning it into something
that's carnal. And that's how he begins this
particular chapter. As he says, our brethren could
not speak unto you as unspiritual. He's showing them the contrast.
He's saying your mind is not contemplating such things as
your baptism in a spiritual manner. You're thinking of it in a carnal
fashion. Because what difference does it make who baptized who?
If you understand what baptism is, what is baptism? Is baptism
some initiation rite that brings you into something or is that
some honor or power conferred upon you by the hand of the one
doing the baptizing? It doesn't have anything in the
world to do with that. Peter plainly said that baptism
is the answer of a good conscience toward God. The only thing that
matters in baptism is the faith of the person being baptized.
That's what matters. You see, that's the spiritual
concept of what baptism is. It's not some carnal significance
that's placed upon it. But it is bad because if you
miss, it'll make a difference how many times you've been baptized,
been through the water. And these people have been baptized
four and five times, you know, because they joined up with this
group or that group and they said, well, you need to be baptized,
you know. Well, I've been baptized. Well,
no, that don't count because, you know, you've got to be baptized
by us. Well, that's because they're
looking at baptism in a carnal way. A carnal man can't do anything
for somebody in baptism and never was meant to be. Nothing is conferred
with water baptism. But it is, according to what
Peter said, the answer of good conscience toward God. It is
an act of obedience and what matters is how the person who
is being baptized regards that. That Ethiopian eunuch, he regarded
it in the right fashion, did he not? How do we know that?
Because he went on his way rejoicing. He said, Well, you know, what
would hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, Well, if you
believe with all your heart, then you may. He said, I believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he said, I want to
be baptized. And he was. And so it was the
answer of a good conscience toward God, which is demonstrated by
the fact that he was overjoyed as he went on his way. And so
it is. that we must approach spiritual
things spiritually or it's going to cause strife and trouble.
Now, most of the strife and divisions that arise in the... Well, let
me back up. All strife and divisions that
arise among the saints of God stems out of carnality. Because the fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance,
faith. Against such there is no law.
These things are spiritual. They are not carnal. And so it
is that divisions and strifes arise because of the carnality
that we have. It is nothing to be proud of. Now, as Paul goes on to tell
these Corinthians, he said it is necessary that these things
happen. He said it is necessary that
strife be in your midst. It is necessary. Now, is it a
thing that we like to see? No, of course not. But it is
necessary. Why? Because we have to be reminded
what we are by nature. Because when we rely on the arm
of the flesh, That's what it gets us. And that's the place
we'll be at by the work of the flesh. Because the Spirit of
God does not lead us into division. The Spirit of God does not lead
us to be at odds with one another. But He leads us to be loving
to one another, forgiving of one another. And so it is. As we look at this passage of
Scripture here, as He says to them, I fed you with milk and
not with meat because you couldn't take it. You are yet carnal,
for whereas there is among you envies and strife, divisions,
are you not carnal? And walk as men, for while one
saith, I am of Paul, another, I am of Apollos, are you not
carnal? Who then is Paul? Who is Apollos? But ministers by whom you believed,
even as the Lord gave to every man." They are just mouthpieces,
he said. They are not important. See,
God does not need preachers Now, he has used preachers, and he
does use preachers, but preachers are a dime a dozen. I mean, to
use a very crude illustration, they're like toilet paper on
a roll. You just tear it off and use
it, and then you roll some more off of it. You know, it's not
that God is sitting back and He says, Oh, I've got to have
this little square here. He's just using preachers for
His purpose. And so they're nothing. What's
something is the message. What's something is the Word
of God that He is pleased to bring forth in that measure,
but it's not the vessel. You know, it's not that which
is to be regarded, but it is the message that is set forth
there. So He says, I planted a pile
of water, but God gave the increase. God gave the increase. That's
how it came. It didn't come by the way of
men or by the power of men or by the ability of men or by the
effort of men. It didn't come that way. So He
said, get over it. Now men don't like to get over
it because, wait a minute, what we do has got to have something
I mean, there's got to be some benefit in what we do, isn't
there? I mean, you mean to tell me that I can spend my whole
life doing this and it doesn't really amount to a hill of beans?
Well, in that respect, it doesn't. It doesn't make any difference.
Why? Because it's God that gets the glory. It's God that we want
to have the glory. We don't want people to ride
by the cemetery out there and look at us and say, what a great
man. If they have to say anything
at all, say, He had a great Savior. I mean, that's the only thing
that's important, is it not? It's not what we did. It's what
He did. And that's a glorious thing.
Now that is spiritual. The flesh does not like that.
There is nothing about that at all in the flesh life because
the flesh likes something that it can say, well, I did this
or I was responsible for that. But you see in spiritual things
we are not responsible for anything. It is God who is rich in mercy. with the great love wherewith
He loved us and worked in us and through us according to the
good pleasure of His will. So neither he that planteth anything,
neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one. And every man
shall receive his own reward according to his own labor."
Now this is where people get off track. And they start making
something out of what Paul is saying here that I don't believe
Paul is saying. Now, how would it be that Paul
would move from contrasting that which is purely spiritual and
saying that it doesn't make any difference what men do and then
turn around and say, but it does make a difference what men do.
Now would that make any sense in the argument that he's making?
Now you're looking at the whole chapter now. Read through the
whole thing and get through all the way to the end of it. And
then go back and say, now does that make any sense that he would
just plug that in there in the middle of that? Now is he talking
about, is he saying here? Now he that planteth and he that
watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward
according to his own labor." I believe what he's saying here
is that that which men do is zero. Now, it's not about a reward
in the sense that we are going to be honored for what we have
done. We're going to be honored because
we're the sons of God. And what we have done amounts
to zero. And so what he's saying here
is this, as we read on through this, that man shall receive
his own reward according to his own labor. Now, if a man is spiritually
looking at his labor, what does he think of it? Nothing. Can a man look at his
Lamb and say, well, buddy, I can't wait to get my reward for what
I've done? I mean, that's totally contrary
to what it is that Paul is saying in the context of this passage.
He's not saying that. And yet, that's what the flesh
automatically considers that he must be saying. Well, you
know, God's going to reward men according to what they did. No,
dear brethren. Any reward that a man receives
is going to be on the basis of what Christ did. Everything. Because what men did amounts
to zero. Because it doesn't make a difference
if we water or that we plant. Now, as Paul said, well, you
know, some planted just the right depth. Some planted just the
right seed. Some watered with the sprinkler
head on their bucket that was, you know, just exactly right.
The pattern, when they drilled the holes in it and made it,
it was just right. And so they watered and God said,
well, look how good he watered. I'm going to reward him. Now
that's exactly opposite of what Paul is saying here. He said,
neither he that watereth nor he that planteth is anything.
But it's God that gives the increase. Now He says here, He that planteth
and he that watereth are one. We're all the same. It doesn't
make a difference which one we do. It makes no difference. And every man shall receive his
own reward according to his own labor. What are we going to get
for it? Nothing. Nothing. Now that might let somebody
down expecting on a big reward for some labor in the flesh that
they've performed. Wouldn't it? I mean, that's certainly not
how the flesh thinks about that, is it? No? Well, wait. Wait. I mean, remember when Peter came
to the Lord and he said, Lord, we've been with you since the
beginning. And he says, when you come into your kingdom, are
we going to get greater things? And the Lord gave him the parable
of the workers in the vineyard. And he said, hey, some men went
out to work first thing in the morning and they agreed to work
for a dollar a day. I think it was a penny a day,
according to what was there. But anyway, whatever it was,
they agreed. And then some came later on in
the day, as you remember, and they, those that, they just were
working for what they were going to be paid. When it got to the
end, the Master paid all of them the exact same thing. And those
that went out early in the morning, what did they say? Well, this
isn't right. You know, you gave them this,
and I said, have I mistreated you? Didn't you agree to work
for a dollar a day? They said, well, yeah. Yes, we
did. Now, don't the children of God
serve Christ just simply because they're overjoyed that He has
brought them out of darkness and into the light? I mean, what
further blessing could they have? What would be the greater thing?
What would be the basis upon which their reward could come? For we are labors together with
God. You're God's husband or you're
God's building. Who's the builder? He is. Who's the one? Now when it says
we're labors together with Him, Does that mean like that He has
appointed us each a task and He's put us off on our own and
then later on He's going to come back and He's going to say, well,
let's see what you did. What? You did good. Yep, I'm
going to give you a bonus because you did good. No. When it says
we're laborers together, He just simply means that we are working
by the same power. I mean, whatever we do, If it
be of any benefit whatsoever, it's produced by the hand of
the Lord. It is that which is of the mercy of God. For we are laborers together
with God. We're not laborers for God. Now you see a lot of people think
about their service to the Lord like that. Well, we're out here
working for God. Well, we're going to help him
out. We're going to give him something that he really wants
us to bring. No, we're not working for him.
We're working with him. It's his vineyard. You see, it's
he's the one doing it. He's given us tasks and he's
told us, but it's a privilege to work in his vineyard. And
so we're working together with him. We're seeing what he's doing.
You're God's building. according to the grace of God
which is given to me." Now, Paul, of all things, if Paul was talking
about reward, wouldn't he have some, well, you know, the Lord
has given me this task and I'm important and I'm going to receive
more than somebody else. No, he said, by the grace of
God given to me. How does a man obtain spiritual
gifts? By the grace of God. I mean,
the word gift is grace. It's chorus. That word means
grace. And so if a man has a gift, it's
been given to him. And if it's been given to him,
what does he have to boast in? What can he say? Well, I did
this, Lord. You left me here and we did great,
you know, while you were gone. According to the grace of God
which is given unto me as a wise master builder. Now see, he says
the grace of God was given to me as a wise master builder.
He does not deny the fact that God gave him an important task
to do. Paul was one of the apostles.
The church is built on the foundation of the apostles, Jesus Christ
Himself being the chief apostle, the chief cornerstone. You see,
He is the one upon whom the whole thing rests. But there have been
those that have been given the task of being wise master builders. Now, are they going to obtain
a share in the kingdom? greater than the man who is just
the water carrier for the builders? No. Because, you see, the water
carrier or the master builder, they are all the same insofar
as how they obtained what it is that they do. It is not under
man's glory, but it is under God's. It is not under man's
benefit. But it is unto God. According
to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master
builder, I have laid the foundation. Now he is not saying that in
a boastful way like I have set forth a foundation that I made
up. No. You see, he was given a plan. He was given a blueprint. He
was provided with material. And he was sent to the task equipped
to do the job that the one who is the architect of all these
things had mapped out ahead of time. I have laid the foundation. Now,
it wasn't his foundation, but it was what? The foundation of
Christ. But what is that foundation?
It is Christ. I have laid the foundation, and
another buildeth their own." So he's saying, the Lord sent
me out with this foundational work, and I've gone out preaching
Christ, and others have come along and built on it. as God,
by the same token, has given it to them. Now they're no different
than I was. I'm no different than they are.
This is that which God gave and He laid it out. Now other foundations
can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. So there's no other message that
we have, as he says there. He says, I have laid the foundation
of another, built it thereon, but let every man take heed how
he built it thereon. Now we are not sent into the
world to figure out some new and exciting way. I mean, Brother
Al has been blessed to give us a great study here in the book
of Genesis, and the Lord has given him insights into things
that are there. But did he come up with the insights? I mean, did he write the book?
Did he cause these things to occur as they did? Did he have
anything to do with it? No, he's just a reporter. That's
all he is. Anybody that is a preacher or
teacher of the gospel, we're just reporters. We just report
the news. Who was it in some program the
reporter always used to say, you know, we just report the
news? Yeah, I mean, you know, that's just the way it is. I
mean, we just tell them what it is. There's nothing attached
to that. We didn't do anything, really. We just came along and there
it was. I mean, just like a guy I had
read about here just this week, he had a pearl that he had taken
out of an oyster or clam or something and had had it under his bed
for like 20 years. And they estimate this pearl
to be worth a hundred million dollars. Now let me ask you a
question. What did that man do to get that
pearl? Huh? He just opened up a clam
one day or oyster and that thing was in there. Now that's all
that anybody who is preaching the truth of God is. You know,
the Lord gives the tool to open the clam, and it's in there.
And there it is. And it's what it is. He didn't
add one dime to the value of it. He didn't change it. He just
found it. And there it was. And it was
brought forth according to the purpose of God. I have laid the
foundation, another buildeth thereon, but let every man take
heed how he buildeth thereon, for there is not another foundation."
There is not any other thing that God's people have been sent
into the world to declare. We are not sent with some other
message. It is Christ. And we need to be heedful of
the fact that it is Christ. You know, we're not trying to
set forth some other message. And then he says this, Now if
any man build upon this stone, gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, stubble. Now, those are all pretty diverse
materials, are they not? And he said, if any man builds
on these things with these things, every man's work shall be made
manifest, for the day shall declare it. Now, what men often say is,
well, some build with gold, some with silver, and then some, on
the other hand, are building with wood, hay, and stubble.
And so consequently, those things that are pure, they're going
to stand, Other things are going to burn up. And that's going
to be the way it is. And some people are going to
get a reward when they go into heaven. And others, they're not
going to get anything, but the Lord is just going to say to
them, Well, you're saved, but you just messed up. You didn't
do right. Now, is that in keeping with
what Paul has been saying? He said, This is the Lord's building. And indeed, as he's saying to
them there, he's warning them against carnality. He said the
materials are important. Let a man take heed of what materials
that he is using here as the Lord has given him charged into
these things or as any man is given to represent the gospel
of Christ. Be careful what it is. Why? Because these things are
just simply the things that men use in the building of things,
but it's God that places the value on those things that are
good and true and right. Now if any man build upon this
foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, it
doesn't make a difference what he builds. Every man's work shall
be made manifest. Every man's work shall be made
manifest. The Lord has a purpose in the
working of every one that he calls into this work. Now that's
what he's saying there about Paul, about Apollos. He said,
why are you concerned about who it is that's bringing you this? It doesn't make a difference
because every man's work is going to be made manifest. And if you
come and you say, well, I'm of a policy, if a policy isn't preaching
the truth of God, what good is it? Nothing. It's just useless. And it's going
to be seen for what it is. For the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try
every man's work of what sort it is. Well, now, let me ask
you a question. What is your work? What sort is it? Now there is a man that understands
what the work of man is. Now some people would tell you,
Oh, I am working with gold here. No, your work is wood, hay and
stubble and it is going to be burned up. I mean, anything you
do, because you see, it's not of Paul, it's not of Apollos,
it's not of the carnal workings of man, but it's rather that
which the Lord gives. Yet he shall be saved. Now again,
this is not somebody being picked out here. Here's the man over
here that he's been faithful and he's done all these faithful
things that he's going to go in like in a chariot with a hundred
horses. And here's the little guy that's
going to be coming up dragging up in, you know, limping. And
his work's all burnt up, but he's going to be saved. But he's
just going to barely, by the skin of his teeth, he's going
to get in. Dear brethren, all of God's people are going to
be saved so as by fire. we shall scarcely be saved. And what I mean by that is that
if you take into account what we are, it's a wonder that anybody
gets saved. It's a wonder that the Lord had
mercy on anybody. And so it's not according to
the things that men do that these things come to pass. For the
day shall declare it. If any man's work abide which
he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward." So you're going to have the pantheon
of the heroes over here, and you've got Apollos, Paul, Cephas. Which camp are you in? It's not about that, because
you see, the works of men are to be burned up. But those things
that God has built, they shall abide. And even though the men
that do them shall be saved so as by fire, yet it is according
to the mercy of God that these things occur. And so it is that
we shall at one and the same time receive a reward and receive
a the reward which Christ has purchased, but we shall at the
same time see all those things that are of the flesh burned
up and manifested to be what they are. Now again, think of
this in a spiritual fashion, not as the carnal man thinks,
but as the Spirit is teaching through Paul. Because listen
to what he says here. that ye are the temple of God,
and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. If any man defile the
temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God
is holy, which temple ye are." Now don't let a man think that
he, in the flesh, don't let a man think that he is somehow above
being obedient to the things of God, because isn't that the
way that the natural man thinks? I mean, doesn't He say, well,
it's all by grace. You said that it doesn't make
any difference. We're not going to get a reward if we do good, or
it's not going to happen to us if we do good. No, don't think
that way, because that's not spiritually thinking. That's
carnally thinking. You need to be mindful that the
work of God is a holy work. He says, let the people of God
depart from evil. The Lord knoweth them that are
His, and let every man that nameth the name of Christ depart from
evil. See, that's the exhortation that
we're given. Because these things, the Lord... I mean, when you
read in the book of Revelation, it says those that are liars
and those that are whoremongers and all of these things, it says
they shall not inherit the kingdom of God. That's what He's saying
right here. God's going to destroy the works of the flesh. And so
if you and the flesh are going to wrap your arms around Paul
or Apollos, you're barking up the wrong tree. That's carnal. It's not spiritual. For the Lord
will give to His people that which He has determined, and
it will be unto His glory and His glory alone. Now, we've run
out of time, so we're going to quit right there. We didn't get
all the way through. But as you think of this, as
you look at the context of this passage of Scripture, and I'd
encourage you to read it several times over again, And think of
it from the spiritual application of the lesson that Paul is teaching
the Corinthians, the whole tenor of what he said in the first
three chapters of this book. And it becomes clear in my estimation
the point that he is trying to make, that it is all of the grace
of God. It is not of men. It is not what
we can do. And he's not plugged in some
little vignette here in the middle of that argument to say, oh,
but it's not really all of grace. It's really about what you do.
So may the Lord help us. Somebody have a question or a
comment. He says here that if any man build gold, silver, precious
stones, by inference he's saying that man can build. Wouldn't he be referring to those
things that Christ has done through you in the building of the temple?
Well, sure. But he did it. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, he did it. What you did was just wood, hay,
and stubble. What he did is the one that gave
the increase. In other words, all of the gold
and precious stones and all that is the provision of him. The
wood, hay, and stubble is what we brought up. It's nothing.
It just passes away. Which is the contrast. That's
right. And if He's ordained that we should walk in Him, how could
we take any you know, any pride in the sense
that we're going to get something. The Lord said, you know, when
a man, when a servant has done what his Lord told him to do,
he needs to think of himself as an unworthy servant because
he only did what he was told to do. Now what did the Lord
tell us to do? He said, Be faithful. Abide and wait for my coming. And, you know, that's what He
told us to do. Now, are we going to expect that
we're going to get more at the end of the day or be glad that
He's given us what He has? May the Lord help us and teach
us.