1 Corinthians Commentary Chapter 3 (2)

1 Corinthians Commentary Chapter 3 (2) Ministers must consider whether to build on the foundation of Christ or on people.Then they must be able to discern whether to build on gold, silver, and precious stones that do not burn, or on wood, grass, and straw that burn.Ministries that pursue quantitative growth like the current situation will eventually end up in big trouble.1 Corinthians 3:10 “According to the grace of God which is given to me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid a foundation, and another builds thereon. But let every man take heed how he builds thereupon.”The grace of God which was given to me is none other than Christ.He is the carpenter, the wise master builder, and the general overseer of the construction (Ephesians 5:15, Matthew 7:24).Christ laid the foundation of the church.He laid the foundation of the church, the cornerstone, and others build on it (Luke 6:48, 14:29, Ephesians 2:20, 1 Timothy 6:19). In fact, the four gospels are the foundation of building the body of Christ, and the epistles are the work of building the church on it, that is, building the tent.It is significant that Paul, a tentmaker, wrote the church epistles.Therefore, building the tent is like Paul, building it for himself first and then serving to build the tents of others.We build the body of Christ, which becomes the temple where God dwells (Eph 2:20-22).The method begins with the washing of feet, that is, receiving one another.Since Christ loved us and received us into him, we can also receive the Lord and grow in him by eating him.Therefore, the method to build a house in the Bible is receiving.However, other religions and education are about achieving.That is why modern education is the enemy of the cross.The message of the cross is that the Lord gave us his body, and we receive Christ as Lord and offer ourselves to the Lord, and we become the house of God in which the image of Christ and His character are revealed through repeated self-denial, in which he increases and I decrease.Also, the ministers receive the saints, and the saints receive the ministers, so that they become one and the body grows up to the head in Christ.Just as there is a saying that people grow up to  their heads, the head and the body become organically one and give and receive, and the body grows up to the head, which is the mystery of the church. Verse 11 “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”There can be no other foundation.If there were another foundation, it would be a church belonging to the world built on sand, that is, on people, and it would be a harlot church, Babylon.Therefore, the house built on the foundation of Christ must have Christ as its standard, Christ as its material, and Christ as its method. Verse 12 “Now If any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble”Gold, silver, precious stones, that is, the issue of value (2 Tim. 2:20, 1 Pet. 1:18, Rev. 3:18)There are green trees and dry trees in tree. (Luke 23:31, Rev. 7:1, 9:4)Grass is put into the fire and withers and becomes nothing but a flower (Matt. 6:30, James 1:10, 1 Pet. 1:24)The flesh is like grass, and its glory is only the flower of grass, without fruit.stubble is a swaying reed (Matt. 11:7).That is, it is like John the Baptist under the law. Verse 13 is an eval‎uation of the work, that is, the work.“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: 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.”In fact, the Lord is also a servant of the God (John 4:34, 14:10,12 17:4)Even now, He does not sleep or slumber, but does the work of God the Father.And the work of James 2:14 is our work.This work is ours that works through Christ's indwelling work through faith in Christ within us.. When this work is revealed and, God will reward according to the work.In other words, it means that He builds a building, inspects the completion, and gives a reward according to the results.God tests (dokimazo), or examines, the status of each person's work.However, there are works that are revealed in the fire. God uses angels as wind for the salvation of the saints and as fire for judgment (Hebrews 1:7).This is the meaning of baptism with the Holy Spirit and baptism with fire.Baptism with the Holy Spirit means immersion in Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), and baptism with fire means immersion in the lake of fire. It's very simple. So John baptizes with water, but the Lord baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11).However, when the Holy Spirit comes in you, you feel hot, so you should not call it baptism with fire.If you receive baptism in the Holy Spirit and become one with Christ, you cannot even visit the lake of fire. Verse 14 “If any man’s work abide which he has built thereupon,, he shall receive a reward.”If the work that he has built abides, it means that it must abide as gold and silver and jewels.Just as metals remain forever once they enter our bodies, the results of what we have done in Christ must abide.Since the Word does not abide in you (John 5:38), the Word must abide in us.Or, the Lord says that it is the meat that endures to eternal life (John 6:27).The Father is always in the Son, and the Son is in the Father (John 14:10).They must always abide in us and remain forever.And we must grow in Christ.That is the work of my salvation, and the result of the ministry that served others for this salvation is also work.God gives a reward according to this result.It means that the ministry was done to remain forever. Verse 15 “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss:  but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.”The meaning of ‘burning’ is that branches that do not bear fruit will be burned by fire (John 15:6). The chaff will also be burned (Matthew 3:14).The constitution, that is, the elementary teachings, will also be burned. It means that those who belong to the flesh will be burned (2 Peter 3:10). In addition, the words in Matthew 16:26, “If I lose my life,” are the words that mean I will suffer.If the message of the cross of Christ is not equipped in their body, they do not know the secret of having the life of Christ, so they cannot give up their own life, take up their own cross, follow the Lord, have that life, and enter into His glory. Therefore, it is said that the sorrow that is according to the will of God is to repent and not to suffer loss (2 Corinthians 7:9).Paul counted all his physical conditions as loss for Christ’s sake (Philippians 3:7).Paul counted all things as dung and there is a secret to obtaining Christ, being found in Christ, and participating in the power of resurrection, and there is a routine of faith that forgets what is behind and runs toward the goal ahead toward the prize of the calling from above (Philippians 3:7-14).This is because giving up one’s life is an essential process of self-abandonment for those who are connected to eternal life in Christ.So, by paying the dowry of the bride who becomes one bread, one body, one spirit with Christ through suffering, and by constantly beating oneself and obeying, and by showing Christ to oneself, by filling up in one' body what is remaining in Christ's sufferings, we accumulates in her body works that will never burn. But what kind of works are Christians of this age building up?The salvation haved from fire refers to salvation that is achieved through refinement.It is not about riding the bus of salvation, but being dragged along.We know that Abraham and Job were contemporary figures.However, Abraham received the word and his body was tamed by the word and followed it, but Job only clashed with his body.Even now, there is a type of faith that receives the Word and is guided by it, and while suffering leads to patience, patience leads to refinement, and refinement leads to hope (Rom 5:3-4), there is a type of faith that stands upright and walks after experiencing the pit of fire.So, Jude 23 tells us to save them by pulling them out of the fire. In fact, there is no such thing as a shameful salvation in the Bible.There may be suffering or humiliation in the process of refinement of faith, but the results of salvation are all glorious. The results of salvation are a happy ending for everyone.The only question is whether it is Abraham's process of receiving the promise or Job's process, which is the opposite.It's like sitting on the KTX or being dragged along by the train. Written by Ptr. Yohan Kim.Translated by  Nancy Chung COME AND SEE WORLD MISSION To God be the glory.