Post by Watchman on Sept 9, 2006 13:56:04 GMT -5
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 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. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
1 Corinthians 3:9-15
What does this mean?
Jesus (Yahshua) not only accomplished what He set out to do, but He also glorified YHWH in the way He did it. He drew attention to the fact that He knew God had sent Him to do what He did. He expands His divine commission to those He called and appointed as apostles:
"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you. " (John 20:21). Apostle means "one sent."
This principle of sending is throughout scripture. In Isaiah 43:11-12, all Israel was intended by YHWH to witness in His behalf, so also is the entire church of God. In effect, God sent them into the world to be His witnesses.
I, [even] I, [am] YHWH; and beside me [there is] no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when [there was] no strange [god] among you: therefore ye [are] my witnesses, saith YHWH, that I [am] God.
Paul expands on this principle in 1 Corinthians 3:6-17:
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, 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 labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, [ye are] God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Yeshua the Messiah.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 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. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] 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.
This passage begins by seeming to say that God sends only the ministry to labor in His behalf. However, as Paul proceeds, the context reaches out to embrace all the called of God by admonishing us to take heed how we build the Temple, the church of YHWH.
1 Corinthians 12 leaves no doubt that all true believers are members of the Body of Christ, and it is the Body of Christ that is sent forth to witness for God in the world. The Body of Jesus Christ- Yahshua the Messiah is the Israel of God.
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace [be] on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
All of us are considered sent by YHWH even as He sent Yahshua and the apostles. John 4:35-38 includes us in the same work God has been doing since the beginning:
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and [then] cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
YHWH has summoned and sent us forth to labor. We are among the very few who have ever been accorded this privilege!
Anyone who can bridge the connection between the Sender and His purpose and the called being sent to labor for Him will view his life in an entirely different way than the rest of mankind. His life will no longer be trivial, small, and insignificant. He will live every day to see that YHWH's will is done in it. His life will no longer be his own! That is how Yeshua lived. He recognized that YHWH sent Him, and He yielded Himself to accomplishing His will.
We are summoned to Be Worthy!
Notice a common thread that flows through these verses.
1 Corinthians 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]:
Ephesians 4:1-3: I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Philippians 3:14: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12: Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of [this] calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of [his] goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 3:1: Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
2 Peter 1:2-3: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
John 6:44 states, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." YHWH foreknew us and determined to call us before He ever made His summons known to us. We are in this special group, the called, only because the great God of heaven and earth specifically summoned us by bringing the true gospel to our knowledge so we would be motivated to choose to respond freely to it.
He then led us to true repentance, to a personal understanding of the sacrifice of Yeshua, and to an acceptance of it. Then He gave us His Holy Spirit to enable us to obey the obligations of the New Covenant. We see in Christ the pattern of what we ought to be, and the motivation to be in His image begins to arise in us. We see Him as our Brother, our Friend, and our Example. But this occurs only because YHWH has summoned us to be His 'peculiar people', the firstfruits, to run for this awesome goal.
These verses in 1 Corinthians 3 should be very personal and intimate the individual Christian. Lets look again; and remember, Paul was writing to true believers, not to the unbeliever.
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, [ye are] God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
Many say that Paul is speaking only to men in the ministry here. He is not speaking only to ministers. He is talking about how we should build on this foundation because each one of us has a responsibility in his growth as a living stone.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, Yahshua the Messiah, is the Foundation. He is permanent. Any other foundation is going to cause ruin for one's life.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 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.
This fire will tell you what you have been building with. This fire is the trials and persecution which test the faith of every Christian- those who call upon the name of YHWH with fear and trembling!
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
Read Proverbs 10 to see the effect for our efforts whether good or bad.
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
This fire is the refiners fire and the fullers soap. All works not on built on the Foundation will cause us misery and pain in our lives. All these things will need to be burned up for us to enter into the Kingdom! To stand unashamed before Him on THAT DAY! YHWH will purge the threshingfloor of all the chaff. These are the things in our lives which cause us to fail in our walk. We will still be saved, but only through great trial and affliction of purging, if we have not built with things eternal!
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of YHWH 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.
All Christians start with the same foundation. It is through Yeshua's sacrifice, His life that we are all called, forgiven, and converted. He is the beginning. Paul in Hebrews 2 calls Him the Author, and Finisher of our faith. He is the ground of everything that we are and do in our conversion.
The truth that we learn all comes from Him. The truth throughout our entire conversion process is from Him. He is the One who inspired the Prophets. He is the One that inspired the Apostles. He is the One who said and did all those things as our Example.
But, Paul warns at the very end of verse 10, "But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon." Notice the assumption here.
Once the Foundation is laid, everyone is going to build upon it one way or the other. Paul says that it is the manner in which one builds that he is concerned about.
This is a warning for us to be cognizant of what we are doing with our lives. This is why we must 'prove all things'. Christians should be the most thoughtful and careful, and concerned people in the world about how their lives are going, because we have to take heed to how we are building on that perfect foundation. This perfect foundation has no place for syncretized paganizm and false doctrine.
HE IS COMING!
He that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the WORD, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty.
1 Corinthians 3:9-15
What does this mean?
Jesus (Yahshua) not only accomplished what He set out to do, but He also glorified YHWH in the way He did it. He drew attention to the fact that He knew God had sent Him to do what He did. He expands His divine commission to those He called and appointed as apostles:
"Then said Jesus to them again, Peace [be] unto you: as [my] Father hath sent me, even so send I you. " (John 20:21). Apostle means "one sent."
This principle of sending is throughout scripture. In Isaiah 43:11-12, all Israel was intended by YHWH to witness in His behalf, so also is the entire church of God. In effect, God sent them into the world to be His witnesses.
I, [even] I, [am] YHWH; and beside me [there is] no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when [there was] no strange [god] among you: therefore ye [are] my witnesses, saith YHWH, that I [am] God.
Paul expands on this principle in 1 Corinthians 3:6-17:
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, 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 labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, [ye are] God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Yeshua the Messiah.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 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. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] 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.
This passage begins by seeming to say that God sends only the ministry to labor in His behalf. However, as Paul proceeds, the context reaches out to embrace all the called of God by admonishing us to take heed how we build the Temple, the church of YHWH.
1 Corinthians 12 leaves no doubt that all true believers are members of the Body of Christ, and it is the Body of Christ that is sent forth to witness for God in the world. The Body of Jesus Christ- Yahshua the Messiah is the Israel of God.
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace [be] on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.
All of us are considered sent by YHWH even as He sent Yahshua and the apostles. John 4:35-38 includes us in the same work God has been doing since the beginning:
Say not ye, There are yet four months, and [then] cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
YHWH has summoned and sent us forth to labor. We are among the very few who have ever been accorded this privilege!
Anyone who can bridge the connection between the Sender and His purpose and the called being sent to labor for Him will view his life in an entirely different way than the rest of mankind. His life will no longer be trivial, small, and insignificant. He will live every day to see that YHWH's will is done in it. His life will no longer be his own! That is how Yeshua lived. He recognized that YHWH sent Him, and He yielded Himself to accomplishing His will.
We are summoned to Be Worthy!
Notice a common thread that flows through these verses.
1 Corinthians 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, [are called]:
Ephesians 4:1-3: I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Philippians 3:14: I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12: Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of [this] calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of [his] goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 3:1: Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
2 Peter 1:2-3: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
John 6:44 states, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day." YHWH foreknew us and determined to call us before He ever made His summons known to us. We are in this special group, the called, only because the great God of heaven and earth specifically summoned us by bringing the true gospel to our knowledge so we would be motivated to choose to respond freely to it.
He then led us to true repentance, to a personal understanding of the sacrifice of Yeshua, and to an acceptance of it. Then He gave us His Holy Spirit to enable us to obey the obligations of the New Covenant. We see in Christ the pattern of what we ought to be, and the motivation to be in His image begins to arise in us. We see Him as our Brother, our Friend, and our Example. But this occurs only because YHWH has summoned us to be His 'peculiar people', the firstfruits, to run for this awesome goal.
These verses in 1 Corinthians 3 should be very personal and intimate the individual Christian. Lets look again; and remember, Paul was writing to true believers, not to the unbeliever.
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, [ye are] God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
Many say that Paul is speaking only to men in the ministry here. He is not speaking only to ministers. He is talking about how we should build on this foundation because each one of us has a responsibility in his growth as a living stone.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, Yahshua the Messiah, is the Foundation. He is permanent. Any other foundation is going to cause ruin for one's life.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 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.
This fire will tell you what you have been building with. This fire is the trials and persecution which test the faith of every Christian- those who call upon the name of YHWH with fear and trembling!
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
Read Proverbs 10 to see the effect for our efforts whether good or bad.
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
This fire is the refiners fire and the fullers soap. All works not on built on the Foundation will cause us misery and pain in our lives. All these things will need to be burned up for us to enter into the Kingdom! To stand unashamed before Him on THAT DAY! YHWH will purge the threshingfloor of all the chaff. These are the things in our lives which cause us to fail in our walk. We will still be saved, but only through great trial and affliction of purging, if we have not built with things eternal!
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of YHWH 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.
All Christians start with the same foundation. It is through Yeshua's sacrifice, His life that we are all called, forgiven, and converted. He is the beginning. Paul in Hebrews 2 calls Him the Author, and Finisher of our faith. He is the ground of everything that we are and do in our conversion.
The truth that we learn all comes from Him. The truth throughout our entire conversion process is from Him. He is the One who inspired the Prophets. He is the One that inspired the Apostles. He is the One who said and did all those things as our Example.
But, Paul warns at the very end of verse 10, "But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon." Notice the assumption here.
Once the Foundation is laid, everyone is going to build upon it one way or the other. Paul says that it is the manner in which one builds that he is concerned about.
This is a warning for us to be cognizant of what we are doing with our lives. This is why we must 'prove all things'. Christians should be the most thoughtful and careful, and concerned people in the world about how their lives are going, because we have to take heed to how we are building on that perfect foundation. This perfect foundation has no place for syncretized paganizm and false doctrine.
HE IS COMING!
He that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the WORD, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty.