Good morning, I trust you’ve had a
great week!
We’re going to take a few minutes and look at 1 Corinthians 3. It’s an essential passage, and we’re going to read several verses beginning with verse 9.
Apostle Paul is writing, and he says, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.” Of course, Paul’s talking about the fact that he’s an apostle and also referencing others in ministry such as teachers, instructors, etc. He is drawing the simile regarding the way God views the lives of people being like a field that is tended, nurtured, and cared for. He’s also making the comparison that it is like building a building, and in order to construct a structure properly, there has to be a secure foundation in place. You don’t lay the block before the foundation has been laid. You don’t put a roof on before the walls go up!
Apostle Paul continues in verse 10, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it.” God desires that you and I function as wise master builders who understand how essential it is to have a great, solid foundation. Listen, not every foundation is suited for every building!
A foundation must hold the entire
building. It’s an amazing thing. If all you’re doing is building a house on a
concrete slab in Florida, the foundation on that type of structure is only
about a foot deep! You don’t have to dig down very far, and then you pour the
slab. You cannot use the foundation of a residential home in Florida for a
power plant or an apartment building! Those would both require pile-driving and
concrete being poured many feet into the ground . . . deep, deep, deep.
We would be wise master builders if
we'd check our foundation every once in a while! The footing, or footer, is
essential. The block layers will come behind the concrete workers that have set the footings in place. The
next thing you know, if the footer is not plumb and true, the walls will not be
straight! If that happens, then you'll end up with a building that is out of
whack.
That is why there might be a lot of
wacky Christians in the world today. I’m not judging you; I’m just saying,
there’s too much wackiness in the Kingdom. A lot of foundations have not been
set properly in order, and a building can only go as high as the foundation is
strong to hold it up! Are you with me?
We can’t try to build a skyscraper on
a residential foundation. If the foundation is not deep enough to bear the
weight or stress of your building, then you need to go back and put in a deeper
foundation.
Paul regards himself here as a wise
master builder, but then he makes a very important statement in the second half
of verse 10, “Let each one (you and me) take heed how he builds on it.” In
other words, it is up to you and I to pay attention and to give thought to how
we build upon the foundation. He has already told us that the foundation that
is set is Jesus Christ. He is the One upon which eternity rests.
Let’s consider the doctrine of
Christ as found in Hebrews 6:1-2. Many Christians don’t even know what the
doctrine of Christ is! Oh, they know Jesus, but they don’t know the foundational
principles according to the Scripture. Many of you are saying, “Gosh, I don’t
even know what they are.”
Therefore, that is your homework for
this week! Open up your Bible to Hebrews 6, verses 1 and 2, and you’ll see that
there are six foundational principles listed. If you already are aware of the
basic principles as found in Hebrews 6, then I encourage you to read through
them once again and refresh your memory as we’ll pick up right here next week.
May God bless you today in all that
you do. Vickie and I send our love and prayers, and as always, we look forward
to hearing from you.
Grace and peace,
pg
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