WEBVTT 00:00:08.969 --> 00:00:13.910 All right, 1 Corinthians 3. But I, brothers, 00:00:14.009 --> 00:00:17.589 could not address you as spiritual people, but 00:00:17.589 --> 00:00:21.269 as people of the flesh. I forgot to do the children's 00:00:21.269 --> 00:00:23.989 thing. It's okay. Just totally popped in my brain. 00:00:24.949 --> 00:00:26.870 Like right now, but it's too late. I'm sorry, 00:00:26.969 --> 00:00:29.469 kids. I will get it right one week. I'm telling 00:00:29.469 --> 00:00:33.219 you. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:37.460 you were not ready for it. Even now you are not 00:00:37.460 --> 00:00:42.420 yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For 00:00:42.420 --> 00:00:45.079 while there is jealousy and strife among you, 00:00:45.179 --> 00:00:48.960 are you not of the flesh and behaving only in 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:52.740 a human way? For when one says, I follow Paul, 00:00:52.859 --> 00:00:55.880 and another, I follow Apollos, are you not being 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:59.810 merely human? What is Apollos? What is Paul? 00:01:00.549 --> 00:01:03.530 Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord 00:01:03.530 --> 00:01:07.349 assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, 00:01:07.349 --> 00:01:10.390 but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants 00:01:10.390 --> 00:01:13.250 nor he who waters is anything, but only God who 00:01:13.250 --> 00:01:16.569 gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters 00:01:16.569 --> 00:01:20.890 are one, and each will receive his wages according 00:01:20.890 --> 00:01:24.069 to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:28.019 You are God's field, God's building. According 00:01:28.019 --> 00:01:31.439 to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:34.159 master builder, I have laid a foundation and 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:37.379 someone else is building upon it. Let each one 00:01:37.379 --> 00:01:40.799 take care how he builds upon it. For no one can 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:43.480 lay a foundation other than that which is laid, 00:01:43.640 --> 00:01:46.959 which is Jesus Christ. Now, if anyone builds 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:49.319 on a foundation with gold, silver, and precious 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.959 stones, wood, hay, and straw, each one's work 00:01:52.959 --> 00:01:56.400 will be become manifest for the day will disclose 00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:00.299 it because it will be revealed by fire and the 00:02:00.299 --> 00:02:03.500 fire will test what sort of work each one has 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:08.020 done. If the work that anyone has built on the 00:02:08.020 --> 00:02:11.060 foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.900 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer 00:02:14.900 --> 00:02:18.139 loss, though he himself will be saved, but only 00:02:18.139 --> 00:02:21.650 as through fire. Do you not know that you are 00:02:21.650 --> 00:02:24.530 God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in 00:02:24.530 --> 00:02:28.370 you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will 00:02:28.370 --> 00:02:32.030 destroy him. For God's temple is holy and you 00:02:32.030 --> 00:02:35.110 are that temple. Let no one deceive himself. 00:02:35.349 --> 00:02:38.729 If anyone among you thinks he is wise of this 00:02:38.729 --> 00:02:41.750 age, let him become a fool that he may become 00:02:41.750 --> 00:02:44.870 wise. For the wisdom of the world is folly with 00:02:44.870 --> 00:02:47.930 God. For it is written, he catches the wise in 00:02:47.930 --> 00:02:50.710 their craftiness. And again, the Lord knows the 00:02:50.710 --> 00:02:54.129 thoughts of the wise that they are futile. So 00:02:54.129 --> 00:02:57.710 let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 00:02:57.990 --> 00:03:02.490 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world 00:03:02.490 --> 00:03:06.870 or life or death or the present or the future, 00:03:07.009 --> 00:03:11.229 all are yours. You are Christ and Christ is God's. 00:03:11.370 --> 00:03:15.330 Now. A couple things you need to be reminded 00:03:15.330 --> 00:03:18.030 as we're going through this. There is this stirring 00:03:18.030 --> 00:03:20.250 up, this quarreling happening among the people. 00:03:20.310 --> 00:03:23.169 They're literally debating over who follows who 00:03:23.169 --> 00:03:26.909 and arguments and just acting completely childish. 00:03:27.150 --> 00:03:29.949 And what Paul is doing here is he's rebuking 00:03:29.949 --> 00:03:33.009 them for that and the reality of what their responsibility 00:03:33.009 --> 00:03:37.469 is and who they are. It's very important. In 00:03:37.469 --> 00:03:39.389 other words, Paul is clarifying the identity 00:03:39.389 --> 00:03:42.699 of the people here. They are the church of Jesus 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:46.159 Christ, the temple of God, the people of God. 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:48.000 And he's saying, so act like it. That's really 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:50.419 what he's saying here. Now, there are going to 00:03:50.419 --> 00:03:53.120 be four principles as usual. And then we're going 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.120 to go through the verses, okay? True spiritual 00:03:56.120 --> 00:04:00.639 maturity is seen in how we live amongst one another. 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:04.479 So you want to see how mature a people are? Watch 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:07.439 how they live with each other. Okay. In John 00:04:07.439 --> 00:04:11.539 13, 34 through 35, it says it this way. A new 00:04:11.539 --> 00:04:14.259 commandment I give you that you love one another 00:04:14.259 --> 00:04:17.639 just as I have loved you. You also are to love 00:04:17.639 --> 00:04:20.639 one another by this. All people will know that 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:23.040 you are my disciples if you have love for one 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:26.379 another. Pretty simple, isn't it? Paul clarifies 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:29.620 some things here in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 1 00:04:29.620 --> 00:04:32.399 through 3. But I, brothers, could not address 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:36.220 you as spiritual. In other words, the word spiritual 00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:39.259 means to be controlled or governed by the Spirit, 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:43.120 by the Holy Spirit. He could not address them 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:46.339 as people who are governed and controlled by 00:04:46.339 --> 00:04:51.060 the Holy Spirit, but only as people of the flesh, 00:04:51.139 --> 00:04:55.279 people who are worldly and sinful. So how should 00:04:55.279 --> 00:05:00.660 God's people be described in how we live and 00:05:00.660 --> 00:05:03.480 how we... communicate with each other how we 00:05:03.480 --> 00:05:06.839 deal with conflict how do we deal how do we as 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:10.279 God's people should live with each other especially 00:05:10.279 --> 00:05:14.279 around the community in which we reside are we 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:18.300 governed controlled by the spirit no Paul says 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:22.579 he actually calls them as infants but as people 00:05:22.579 --> 00:05:26.920 of the flesh as infants in Christ as childish 00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:30.800 untaught and unskilled is the word infants here 00:05:31.660 --> 00:05:35.079 He calls them childish. You're unskilled in the 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:38.680 simple things of God. You can't even do the basic 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:41.740 little things. And that's exactly what he says 00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:47.319 in verse 2. I fed you with milk. This word fed 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:51.699 means to offer water. The simplest thing that 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:56.480 I could give you as an infant is water. That's 00:05:56.480 --> 00:06:00.319 the idea. It's a simple gesture. It means to 00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:05.720 teach teachings easy to understand. I gave you 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:10.439 easy to understand truths about Christ. How do 00:06:10.439 --> 00:06:13.199 we know that? Because the word milk literally 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:17.199 means simple truths. So this is what he says. 00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:25.139 I gave you a drink of simple truths. I gave you 00:06:25.139 --> 00:06:28.759 a drink of simple truths, the simple things that 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:32.759 are easy to understand, but you didn't even understand 00:06:32.759 --> 00:06:36.819 those things. And look what he says and continued 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:40.639 in verse two, not solid food. I didn't give you 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:44.800 solid food. I gave you simple truths, easy to 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:48.620 understand truths. What is solid food? Solid 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:51.259 food is that which delights and truly satisfies 00:06:51.259 --> 00:06:55.689 the mind. That's the deep things of God. Are 00:06:55.689 --> 00:06:58.069 we going to be just satisfied with the simple 00:06:58.069 --> 00:07:00.610 things that Jesus died on the cross, was buried 00:07:00.610 --> 00:07:02.689 and rose again on the third day, which is simple, 00:07:02.769 --> 00:07:05.149 but still difficult. We read that in chapter 00:07:05.149 --> 00:07:07.589 two of first Corinthians, did we not? But the 00:07:07.589 --> 00:07:11.910 reality is the simple things of God. Are we going 00:07:11.910 --> 00:07:14.810 to settle there or do we want to know our God 00:07:14.810 --> 00:07:18.649 as fully as we possibly can know him now? We 00:07:18.649 --> 00:07:21.310 should want to know him more. As the scripture 00:07:21.310 --> 00:07:25.050 says. So this solid food, Paul could not give 00:07:25.050 --> 00:07:27.430 them because they couldn't even deal with the 00:07:27.430 --> 00:07:31.930 simple things. And so he says, that which delights 00:07:31.930 --> 00:07:35.209 and truly satisfies the mind. We read that in 00:07:35.209 --> 00:07:38.189 Psalm 119, did we not? In Psalm 119, it says 00:07:38.189 --> 00:07:42.730 that the word of God is a lamp unto my feet. 00:07:42.790 --> 00:07:46.410 Not Psalm 119. The word of God says, how can 00:07:46.410 --> 00:07:48.410 a young man keep his way pure? By living according 00:07:48.410 --> 00:07:51.029 to your word. I have hidden your word in my heart 00:07:51.029 --> 00:07:54.019 that I might not sin against you. So the whole 00:07:54.019 --> 00:07:56.459 point is that everything concerning the psalmist 00:07:56.459 --> 00:08:00.459 in Psalm 119 is the word of God matters to him. 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:04.139 It is his delight and it truly satisfies as honey, 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:08.680 as sweet as honey. But, Paul says, for you were 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:11.980 not ready for it. What were they not ready for? 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:14.920 They weren't ready for the delights that truly 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:18.720 satisfy the mind. They weren't ready to eat the 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:21.879 solid food, the meat. People want meat, but you 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:23.899 can't eat meat. Because you're not ready to eat 00:08:23.899 --> 00:08:27.019 it. And that's why when we're preaching and teaching, 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:29.379 and we're teaching deep things of God, it's kind 00:08:29.379 --> 00:08:30.920 of like we got to do a little bit here and a 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:33.799 little bit there. Sometimes I got to give you 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:36.259 broccoli, and you don't want broccoli. You want 00:08:36.259 --> 00:08:42.200 the steak, right? Rare to medium rare. Salty. 00:08:45.139 --> 00:08:49.299 Mushrooms with some fried onions. Yeah, you want 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:51.700 that, but you got to be able to drink the milk 00:08:51.700 --> 00:08:56.879 first. And so, Paul goes on, and even now you 00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:00.700 are not ready. For you are still of the flesh. 00:09:01.220 --> 00:09:05.740 You are still worldly and simple. Why? Look what 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:08.159 it says in the rest of verse 3. For while there 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:11.740 is jealousy and strife among you, are you not 00:09:11.740 --> 00:09:15.139 of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 00:09:15.899 --> 00:09:19.500 Now, second principle. Well, let me say it this 00:09:19.500 --> 00:09:22.870 way. That proves the reality. Of mature believers. 00:09:22.870 --> 00:09:25.830 Is they don't get into jealousy and strife. For 00:09:25.830 --> 00:09:29.370 foolish reasons. You shouldn't be in jealousy 00:09:29.370 --> 00:09:32.909 and strife at all. As a matter of fact. Principle 00:09:32.909 --> 00:09:36.549 number two. All of God's people are one in Christ. 00:09:36.950 --> 00:09:40.389 No one is more valued than the other. Very important. 00:09:41.289 --> 00:09:44.610 Galatians 3 .28, there is neither Jew nor Greek. 00:09:44.789 --> 00:09:48.169 There is neither slave nor free. There is no 00:09:48.169 --> 00:09:52.330 male and female, for you are all one in Christ 00:09:52.330 --> 00:09:56.309 Jesus. Why do I share that? Because in verses 00:09:56.309 --> 00:09:59.370 4 through 9 of 1 Corinthians 3, Paul gets into 00:09:59.370 --> 00:10:03.090 this understanding that Apollos and I are of 00:10:03.090 --> 00:10:08.230 the same fabric. Look what he says here. For 00:10:08.230 --> 00:10:12.830 one says, I follow Paul. And another, I follow 00:10:12.830 --> 00:10:16.769 Apollos. Are you not being merely human? Yes, 00:10:16.889 --> 00:10:20.610 you're being merely human. When you're not talking 00:10:20.610 --> 00:10:22.769 about the reality of following Christ and Christ 00:10:22.769 --> 00:10:26.409 alone, and he is the final and only one that 00:10:26.409 --> 00:10:29.490 matters, and you continue to look at others as 00:10:29.490 --> 00:10:32.490 a source of hope and not look to him as a source 00:10:32.490 --> 00:10:35.929 of hope, you are being merely human. This should 00:10:35.929 --> 00:10:40.029 speak volumes today. What then is Apollos? What 00:10:40.029 --> 00:10:44.990 is Paul? Slaves through whom you believed. Servants 00:10:44.990 --> 00:10:48.049 through whom you believed as the Lord assigned 00:10:48.049 --> 00:10:52.990 to each. God has assigned Apollos to do something. 00:10:53.169 --> 00:10:57.909 And God has assigned me, Paul, to be the apostle 00:10:57.909 --> 00:11:01.450 to the Gentiles. My responsibility is different 00:11:01.450 --> 00:11:03.830 than Apollos' responsibility. But there is one 00:11:03.830 --> 00:11:06.049 mission that we're both on. And guess what that 00:11:06.049 --> 00:11:09.919 is? The gospel. If Apollos waters and I plant, 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:13.059 that's all that matters. Because planting the 00:11:13.059 --> 00:11:15.500 gospel and watering with the gospel is the gospel. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:19.980 That's his argument here. I planted. Apollos 00:11:19.980 --> 00:11:23.340 watered. But who gets the growth? Who makes the 00:11:23.340 --> 00:11:26.940 church grow? Who builds the family? God gave 00:11:26.940 --> 00:11:31.700 the growth. So what's a planter? Nothing. Who's 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:36.519 a waterer? Nothing. What's it matter if I plant 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:38.200 and it doesn't get water? Or if I water and it 00:11:38.200 --> 00:11:42.100 dries up, does it matter? Because in reality, 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:44.639 there's something has to happen for that to grow. 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:48.860 It's just a seed and it's just a water. God makes 00:11:48.860 --> 00:11:53.659 it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:56.940 waters is anything. Because without God growing 00:11:56.940 --> 00:11:58.639 it, it's not going to grow. But only God who 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:03.149 gives the growth. God takes a dead seed and makes 00:12:03.149 --> 00:12:05.809 it alive. Lanny would probably know this more 00:12:05.809 --> 00:12:09.129 than most. He plants a lot of seeds, and I can 00:12:09.129 --> 00:12:12.750 probably guarantee that about 20 or 30 percent 00:12:12.750 --> 00:12:16.230 of the seeds that he plants never grow. Why? 00:12:16.929 --> 00:12:19.769 Doesn't matter how much he waters it. Doesn't 00:12:19.769 --> 00:12:22.789 matter how deep he plants it. If God doesn't 00:12:22.789 --> 00:12:25.590 grow it, it's not going to grow. That's the point. 00:12:26.980 --> 00:12:29.220 Look what it says here in verse 8. So he who 00:12:29.220 --> 00:12:32.480 plants and he who waters are one. This word one 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:36.779 means one and the same. Same importance and esteem. 00:12:36.779 --> 00:12:40.000 We are the same thing. I'm the gospel planter. 00:12:40.019 --> 00:12:42.580 He's the gospel waterer. What's the same? Gospel. 00:12:42.700 --> 00:12:45.480 It's the same thing. One and the same. What's 00:12:45.480 --> 00:12:48.179 the same? The mission. I want you to hear that. 00:12:48.820 --> 00:12:50.379 That's the mission. You want to know what the 00:12:50.379 --> 00:12:53.019 church's responsibility is? It's to preach the 00:12:53.019 --> 00:12:55.789 gospel. The church's responsibility is to not 00:12:55.789 --> 00:12:58.850 take the seven mountains of influence. It's to 00:12:58.850 --> 00:13:01.450 preach the gospel. The church's responsibility 00:13:01.450 --> 00:13:03.889 isn't to go and take the government. It's to 00:13:03.889 --> 00:13:06.490 preach the gospel. That's the church's responsibility. 00:13:06.529 --> 00:13:09.070 It's the one mission that God gave for us to 00:13:09.070 --> 00:13:11.269 do. And we can't even get that right. We want 00:13:11.269 --> 00:13:13.990 governments. We want seven mountain mandates 00:13:13.990 --> 00:13:17.090 and dominion and Christian nationalism. But we 00:13:17.090 --> 00:13:19.909 can't even get the gospel right. And if you can't 00:13:19.909 --> 00:13:21.850 be faithful with the little, how in the world 00:13:21.850 --> 00:13:23.950 could you be faithful with the much? How about 00:13:23.950 --> 00:13:26.590 if we get people saved? How about if we preach 00:13:26.590 --> 00:13:29.710 the gospel and watch God save people as he grows 00:13:29.710 --> 00:13:32.710 it? And as a result of converted, real, true 00:13:32.710 --> 00:13:35.690 believers, then we start having a godly government 00:13:35.690 --> 00:13:39.730 and a godly schools and a godly. But no, we want 00:13:39.730 --> 00:13:44.169 to go and try to take over. To do what? Not preach 00:13:44.169 --> 00:13:46.409 the gospel. You can't even preach the gospel 00:13:46.409 --> 00:13:50.750 to your neighbor, right? What's most important? 00:13:51.370 --> 00:13:55.970 The heartbeat of the church. The gospel. Nothing 00:13:55.970 --> 00:14:00.990 matters more. For we are God's fellow workers. 00:14:02.090 --> 00:14:07.210 Verse 9. We are co -laborers. We are associates. 00:14:07.350 --> 00:14:10.389 We are helpers. As I said in first service, if 00:14:10.389 --> 00:14:13.850 you guys know Ted Sales, he's an amazing electrician. 00:14:14.409 --> 00:14:17.730 But every electrician, as a matter of fact, Andrew 00:14:17.730 --> 00:14:20.889 knows about this. Before you became like your 00:14:20.889 --> 00:14:23.879 own business owner, An electrician, you were 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:28.240 what? A helper. He was an apprentice. Well, guess 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:32.320 who the chief architect of his church is? God. 00:14:32.419 --> 00:14:35.759 Guess who's building his church? God is. Guess 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:39.360 what you are? You're a grunt, a gopher. You're 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:42.320 an assistant. You're a co -laborer. You're a 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:45.100 helper. That's what we do. Why can't we be happy 00:14:45.100 --> 00:14:49.120 with helping? No, we got to build our own kingdoms. 00:14:49.379 --> 00:14:51.620 We can't even build a kingdom that he's given 00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:54.370 us. How about if we remember that, that we are 00:14:54.370 --> 00:14:58.889 his workers, fellow workers. You are his field. 00:14:59.929 --> 00:15:02.649 The word field here means cultivated field. It 00:15:02.649 --> 00:15:07.929 means a land already prepared and being fruitful. 00:15:08.529 --> 00:15:12.690 That's what that means. Not that God is making 00:15:12.690 --> 00:15:16.370 a field. God has already made the field. It is 00:15:16.370 --> 00:15:19.110 a completed field and it's producing fruit. You 00:15:19.110 --> 00:15:27.460 are that farmland. You. Isn't that amazing? We 00:15:27.460 --> 00:15:30.440 are God's building, meaning his structure and 00:15:30.440 --> 00:15:34.220 his temple. I want you to hear that. You're not 00:15:34.220 --> 00:15:37.799 making a field. God made the field. You're not 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:39.840 making a building. God already made the building. 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:41.980 How about just play the part you're supposed 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:44.700 to play? And that's exactly what he says concerning 00:15:44.700 --> 00:15:47.559 the body. One wants to be an ear. One wants to 00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:49.480 be an eye. Can the eye say, I don't need you? 00:15:49.940 --> 00:15:53.720 Third principle. God will not only judge our 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:57.500 lives lived in service, but especially on how 00:15:57.500 --> 00:16:01.480 we work, care, and guard his church, meaning 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:03.639 his people. We're not going to be judged just 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:06.700 on our lives and how we lived. We're going to 00:16:06.700 --> 00:16:10.539 be judged in how we steward. Galatians 6 .10. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:15.200 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:18.779 to everyone, especially those who are of the 00:16:18.779 --> 00:16:22.149 household of faith. 1 Corinthians 3 .10. According 00:16:22.149 --> 00:16:26.070 to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled 00:16:26.070 --> 00:16:30.230 master builder, I laid a foundation. So what's 00:16:30.230 --> 00:16:36.409 this mean? That Paul, trained by God to be a 00:16:36.409 --> 00:16:41.710 builder of the church, he laid a foundation that 00:16:41.710 --> 00:16:44.740 was already laid. What is the foundation? Jesus 00:16:44.740 --> 00:16:47.620 Christ, the chief cornerstone, the gospel of 00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:51.120 Christ, and the doctrine of Christ. All of it 00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:54.159 is Christ. There is no other foundation besides 00:16:54.159 --> 00:17:00.720 Jesus. You want an excellent education system? 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:04.279 Build it on Jesus. You want an excellent government? 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.930 Build it on Jesus. You want an excellent medical? 00:17:08.109 --> 00:17:11.390 Build it on Jesus. But the problem is those foundations 00:17:11.390 --> 00:17:14.390 and those things aren't built on Jesus. Wrong 00:17:14.390 --> 00:17:19.609 foundation. Think about it. The only thing that's 00:17:19.609 --> 00:17:22.930 built on the foundation of Christ is this church. 00:17:23.349 --> 00:17:27.710 Now, look what it says here. And someone else 00:17:27.710 --> 00:17:30.630 is building upon it. So here's what Paul means. 00:17:30.789 --> 00:17:34.390 I, the Apostle Paul, went to you, Corinthian 00:17:34.390 --> 00:17:37.509 church, and I preached Christ and him crucified. 00:17:37.650 --> 00:17:41.369 And I have taught you the simple truths of doctrines 00:17:41.369 --> 00:17:45.630 concerning the foundational things of faith. 00:17:46.410 --> 00:17:49.509 And I have given you the gospel, Christ, the 00:17:49.509 --> 00:17:53.049 gospel, the foundational things of Christ. And 00:17:53.049 --> 00:17:59.400 now you, as a pastor, elder of the church, you're 00:17:59.400 --> 00:18:01.779 building upon something that I had already laid 00:18:01.779 --> 00:18:04.619 for you to build upon. And guess what? Someone 00:18:04.619 --> 00:18:09.700 laid a foundation here in 1884. You know what 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.339 that foundation was? Go over to the old church, 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:17.140 bottom left corner, Lutheran Reformed Church, 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:21.940 built on biblical reform theology. That's what 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:24.400 this church was built on. And it's been here 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:27.880 for 142 years. Why is this important? Because 00:18:27.880 --> 00:18:32.160 it's about sound truth. It's about doctrine. 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:34.619 It's about Jesus Christ. It's not about what 00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:37.579 I want, what I feel, what I think. It's what 00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:40.859 does the word of God say concerning himself? 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.319 That's really what the church has been built 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:50.200 on. And it's still thriving for each one. Take 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:53.440 care how he builds upon it. I'm just building 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:57.720 upon what was already laid 142 years ago. I didn't 00:18:57.720 --> 00:19:00.660 get the privilege to plant. I get the privilege 00:19:00.660 --> 00:19:03.640 to build upon what was already built. For no 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:05.940 one can lay a foundation other than that which 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:09.859 is laid, which is Jesus Christ. There's your 00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:14.430 answer. What is the foundation? Jesus. Now, if 00:19:14.430 --> 00:19:16.730 anyone builds on a foundation with gold, silver, 00:19:16.910 --> 00:19:19.509 precious stones, hay, wood, and straw, each one's 00:19:19.509 --> 00:19:23.230 work will become manifest for the day we'll disclose 00:19:23.230 --> 00:19:26.769 it. Now, I know I've heard, I mean, I used to 00:19:26.769 --> 00:19:30.289 teach this wrongly until I started growing up 00:19:30.289 --> 00:19:33.130 spiritually. Because we've all been told, like, 00:19:33.170 --> 00:19:36.890 it's all about what I do for Jesus. It's about 00:19:36.890 --> 00:19:40.329 my ministry. What I do, am I going to do it with 00:19:40.329 --> 00:19:43.950 gold, silver, and precious stones? The church 00:19:43.950 --> 00:19:45.990 here, he's talking about a foundation that's 00:19:45.990 --> 00:19:48.390 already been laid in Corinth called the foundation 00:19:48.390 --> 00:19:53.230 of Jesus Christ. And the church of Corinth is 00:19:53.230 --> 00:19:55.890 being built upon this. And there's someone who's 00:19:55.890 --> 00:19:58.089 coming and building upon what was already laid. 00:19:58.390 --> 00:20:01.309 Now, if that man comes and builds with gold, 00:20:01.329 --> 00:20:03.230 silver, and precious stones, and you participate 00:20:03.230 --> 00:20:07.250 as a worker, as a collaborator in helping to 00:20:07.250 --> 00:20:10.890 lay the stonework of the building, is it gold, 00:20:10.930 --> 00:20:14.859 silver, and precious stones? Or is it wood, hay, 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:18.759 and straw? Is it really worthless service and 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:21.500 worthless work? That's what he's talking about 00:20:21.500 --> 00:20:24.740 here. This is really about building the church, 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:28.720 not building my little ministry. Are we partnering 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:31.740 with God, doing what he's commanded us to do, 00:20:31.859 --> 00:20:35.359 building what he's commanded us to build, and 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:39.019 one day he will come and establish his kingdom 00:20:39.019 --> 00:20:42.490 forever, for the day will disclose it. That day 00:20:42.490 --> 00:20:47.430 we will know who did the work because it will 00:20:47.430 --> 00:20:50.589 be revealed by fire. That word fire there means 00:20:50.589 --> 00:20:54.769 judgment, wrath. It's cleansing, purification. 00:20:55.250 --> 00:20:58.990 The fire will test, there it is, what sort of 00:20:58.990 --> 00:21:03.250 work one has done. If the work that anyone has 00:21:03.250 --> 00:21:07.769 built on the foundation survives. Do you hear 00:21:07.769 --> 00:21:11.220 that? Work. is building, built on the foundation 00:21:11.220 --> 00:21:14.980 that already exists, survives. He will receive 00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:18.920 a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will 00:21:18.920 --> 00:21:21.859 suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:23.980 but only as through the fire. What is the foundation? 00:21:24.259 --> 00:21:27.000 The foundation is Jesus Christ. Concerning what? 00:21:27.079 --> 00:21:30.240 The temple of God, the church. So what's our 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:33.680 responsibility? Build the church. Do you not 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:38.420 know that you are God's temple? That God's spirit 00:21:38.420 --> 00:21:42.000 dwells in you, not only in you individually, 00:21:42.259 --> 00:21:46.299 but he dwells in you as a people. Isn't that 00:21:46.299 --> 00:21:49.779 important? God will destroy. If he destroys God's 00:21:49.779 --> 00:21:52.339 temple, God will destroy him for God's temple 00:21:52.339 --> 00:21:56.779 is holy. And you are that temple. Since all things 00:21:56.779 --> 00:22:01.039 concern God's people, we must. Become fools so 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:04.420 that we may become wise. Wisdom is to be skilled 00:22:04.420 --> 00:22:07.539 in the ways of God. That's what true, real, biblical 00:22:07.539 --> 00:22:10.500 wisdom is. To be skilled in the ways of God. 00:22:11.539 --> 00:22:14.480 Ephesians 5, 15 through 17 say it this way. Look 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:19.180 carefully then how you walk. Not as unwise, but 00:22:19.180 --> 00:22:22.380 as wise. Making the best use of the time because 00:22:22.380 --> 00:22:26.000 the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, 00:22:26.059 --> 00:22:28.160 but understand what the will of the Lord is. 00:22:28.220 --> 00:22:31.480 What is God's will? His word is his will. His 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:35.380 word. This is the will of God right here. If 00:22:35.380 --> 00:22:37.920 you want to know God's mind, it's in his word. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:40.859 If you want to know God's ways, it's his word. 00:22:41.579 --> 00:22:43.839 If you want to know what God thinks, it's his 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:45.980 word. If you want to know what God commands, 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:49.579 it's his word. So let no one deceive, verse 18 00:22:49.579 --> 00:22:53.160 through 23, let no one deceive himself. If anyone 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:56.119 among you thinks that he is wise in this age, 00:22:56.259 --> 00:22:59.779 let him become a fool that he may become wise. 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:04.099 If you think you're wise, if you think you know 00:23:04.099 --> 00:23:07.700 what it is to live in this world, please become 00:23:07.700 --> 00:23:11.099 foolish so that you can become wise and skilled 00:23:11.099 --> 00:23:14.220 in the ways of God. For the wisdom of this world 00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:30.619 is folly. Do you hear that? Let no one boast 00:23:30.619 --> 00:23:33.900 in men. Are we boasting in Christ? Are we boasting 00:23:33.900 --> 00:23:38.019 in men? That's a good question. Where's our hope? 00:23:38.619 --> 00:23:42.519 In Christ or in men? Who do we want to become 00:23:42.519 --> 00:23:47.049 like? Like Christ? Or like a man, I am a Christian. 00:23:47.549 --> 00:23:52.269 I am a believer. We are Christians. We are believers. 00:23:52.549 --> 00:23:57.150 We are not Charlie Kirk. We boast in Christ and 00:23:57.150 --> 00:24:00.750 Christ alone, not in men. For all things are 00:24:00.750 --> 00:24:04.190 yours. This word, this term literally means all 00:24:04.190 --> 00:24:07.630 things concern you. I want you to hear this. 00:24:08.289 --> 00:24:11.190 All things concern us. Why? Because all things 00:24:11.190 --> 00:24:15.269 concern the gospel. All things concern you, whether 00:24:15.269 --> 00:24:19.390 Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life 00:24:19.390 --> 00:24:23.490 or death or the present or the future. All things 00:24:23.490 --> 00:24:26.069 concern you. All are yours, it says here. This 00:24:26.069 --> 00:24:29.329 is not a dominion statement. This is a proclamation 00:24:29.329 --> 00:24:35.069 statement. All things concern you in whether 00:24:35.069 --> 00:24:37.769 it's Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or 00:24:37.769 --> 00:24:40.940 life or death or present or the future. All of 00:24:40.940 --> 00:24:44.660 it is concerning you, priest of gospel. Priest 00:24:44.660 --> 00:24:47.380 of gospel is what he's saying here. You are in 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:49.500 Christ. You are Christ. You belong to Christ 00:24:49.500 --> 00:24:52.400 and he belongs to you. You are his temple. You 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:55.500 are his people and he is our God. That's what 00:24:55.500 --> 00:24:59.079 this means. All things concern us because it 00:24:59.079 --> 00:25:03.509 concerns the gospel. And we are in Christ. What's 00:25:03.509 --> 00:25:05.190 interesting is I think they could have translated 00:25:05.190 --> 00:25:06.849 this a little bit better at the end where it 00:25:06.849 --> 00:25:09.930 says, Christ is God's, meaning God owns him. 00:25:09.990 --> 00:25:13.710 No, what I think really is said here, especially 00:25:13.710 --> 00:25:16.029 when you look at the original language, it says, 00:25:16.069 --> 00:25:20.890 if we are in Christ, Christ is God. All things 00:25:20.890 --> 00:25:23.809 concern you and you are in Christ and Christ 00:25:23.809 --> 00:25:27.990 is God, the ruler of all things. That's what 00:25:27.990 --> 00:25:31.690 this means. How do we know? Because it fits the 00:25:31.690 --> 00:25:33.490 context of everything that's been said here. 00:25:33.890 --> 00:25:37.410 So that's my challenge to you. So in closing, 00:25:37.589 --> 00:25:42.329 we must be truly spiritually mature in how we 00:25:42.329 --> 00:25:46.910 live among each other. That we must, as God's 00:25:46.910 --> 00:25:51.269 people, know that we are one in Christ and that 00:25:51.269 --> 00:25:54.349 all of God's people are valued in him. We must 00:25:54.349 --> 00:25:57.650 also... Understand the importance and the responsibility 00:25:57.650 --> 00:26:00.569 of how we are to work and care and guard for 00:26:00.569 --> 00:26:03.869 his church. That's what matters. And lastly, 00:26:04.009 --> 00:26:07.630 concerning all things, it is about the gospel 00:26:07.630 --> 00:26:12.769 because we are in Christ and he is our God. That's 00:26:12.769 --> 00:26:14.869 what all this means. It's like, why are you fighting 00:26:14.869 --> 00:26:18.049 over dumb and foolish things, Corinthians? You 00:26:18.049 --> 00:26:20.670 belong to Christ and he is God. That's how he 00:26:20.670 --> 00:26:23.549 ends it there in chapter three. Father, I want 00:26:23.549 --> 00:26:25.470 to thank you so much for your goodness and faithfulness. 00:26:25.910 --> 00:26:28.250 Thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you that 00:26:28.250 --> 00:26:30.589 your word is true, that you are the God of all 00:26:30.589 --> 00:26:32.910 creation, and that you have called us as your 00:26:32.910 --> 00:26:35.569 people to do the work, to be fellow workers, 00:26:35.690 --> 00:26:39.750 helpers with you in accomplishing your purpose 00:26:39.750 --> 00:26:42.269 and plan and in building your church and that 00:26:42.269 --> 00:26:46.230 the gates of hell will not ever prevail over 00:26:46.230 --> 00:26:49.569 her. We praise you and thank you for your faithfulness. 00:26:49.609 --> 00:26:51.289 In Jesus' name, amen.