March 24, 2014
Zechariah 3:8, 9; I Cor 3:10-15

(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)

We are on the fifth facet of The Seven-Faceted Stone, Jesus Christ as He is prophesied in Zechariah 3:8 and 3:9:

    …behold, I will bring forth My servant the Branch….For behold, upon the
    stone that I have set before Joshua, upon that one stone are seven eyes or
    facets….Behold, I will carve upon it its inscription, says the LORD of hosts,
    and I will remove the iniquity and guilt of this land in a single day….

This facet is similar to the last one, Jesus is The Foundation of the Church.  But here, in I Corinthians 3:10 and 11…

5.  …the Lord is the foundation upon which we are to build our lives.  Paul writes in our scripture:

    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.  But let each one take heed
    how he builds on it.  For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is
    laid, which is Jesus Christ.

This agrees with what Jesus said in John 14:6:  “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father, except through Me.”  He is the only way!  He is the only foundation!  Christianity is very exclusive – very narrow in this sense!  This fact excludes all other religions that do not have Jesus Christ – the Son of God, God the Son come in the flesh – at its core!  And if that causes some to argue that Christianity it too narrow, the argument is with the Lord Himself, not with the one proclaiming such!

That said, let’s move on to what the foundation upon which we are to build our lives means.  Paul is speaking to believers in I Corinthians 3 – those who already have the Savior in their hearts and lives.  The foundation is laid!  What you then build upon this foundation – how you live your life after salvation – is the issue here!

You have two choices of building materials according to I Corinthians 3:12:

•    “…gold, silver, precious stones….” – These valuable materials represent things you do with your Christian life that are for the Lord and the furtherance of His Kingdom.  They are what is done for His pleasure – according to His will – not yours!

•    “…wood, hay, straw….” – These combustible materials are things done – not for God’s glory, but out of your own will – for your own pleasure!

Both will be tested and revealed by fire, according to I Corinthians 3:13.  The result of such testing is in the next two verses, I Corinthians 3:14 and 15:

    If anyone’s work abide which he hath built on it [the foundation of Jesus Christ]
    endures, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer
    loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

The one will have eternal rewards in heaven.  The other will have heaven – which is plenty! – but that is all!  By the way, the fire of judgment here is the penetrating gaze of the Lord as he examines how we lived our Christian life.  John spoke of the eyes of the glorified Jesus in Revelation 1:14, “…His eyes [were] like a flame of fire….”  All He will have to do is look upon the works of our lives and He will know – and so will we at that time!

Although he is talking more about his pre-Christian time, Paul applied this concept to his own life in Philippians 3:7 and 8:

    …what things were gain to me, these I counted loss for Christ.  But indeed, I
    count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
    Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rub-
    bish, that I may gain Christ…

The point is, Jesus and His will and work are to take complete precedence in our lives after accepting Him as our Savior!

Here is the tragedy – the foundation of Jesus Christ can support the biggest, greatest, most elaborate and valuable mansion that we could imagine!  The foundation is that huge, solid and strong!  But too many believers build on that massive foundation a shack – a tottering one-room shanty that will be blown over and burned up!  And he or she could have built a beautiful structure that would bring honor and glory to their Lord!

It is not too late!  What have you been building with your Christian life on the foundation of Jesus Christ?  What do you choose to build from now on?