The Church and God's Work

1 Corinthians 3:5-17 - Riley Boggs

This morning we are going to be looking at what I think is a very interesting and applicable passage, specifically for us as a new church. I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but being a part of a new church is a bit of weighty task. We are in a very formative time. The patterns and practices we establish now, God willing, could last for a long time. And so we do things carefully and prayerfully. We are trying to build something that will last because it has been built well.

The reason I say that, is because in this passage we are looking at this morning, Paul is saying the same thing to this relatively new church. He tells them what their role in God’s work is, as the church. And then breaks down what good work, not great work, and bad work looks like. I don’t have much of an introduction this morning because I want to spend the majority of the time fleshing out the applications of this text, because I think there are a lot in the latter half of this passage. And so that is how I am going to frame the text this morning, because that’s how Paul does it. We will look at the overreaching role of the church in God’s work and then dive into what that specifically looks like. 

1.) As the church, we are participants in God’s Work (vv.5-9)

Paul starts off by mentioning himself and Apollos, who was a preacher in Corinth after Paul. Remember, the church of Corinth was dividing themselves between these teachers and it’s resulting in unnecessary division within the church. And so Paul starts off here by asking the question, “What is Apollos? And what is Paul?”. And then he gives the direct answer. They are servants through home you believed. In other words, we were the vessel that God used to bring you the Gospel and to teach you the things of God. They are servants in this way.

Then Paul elaborates on this dynamic and explains how it has worked. He says that he planted, that is, he came and started the church. He sowed the initial Gospel seeds, saw people come to faith, and began the church. Then, after he left, Apollos watered. That is, he aided in the continual growth of the church. He fed the church and helped them continue on. But who does Paul say actually gave the growth? Is it Paul? No. Is it Apollos? No. It is God who gave the growth. And then he applies this further and says in verse 7, “so neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”               And then Paul almost anticipates someone saying, “so if planting and watering doesn’t actually cause growth, but only God, then why should I do anything?” And to that he says starting in verse 8, “He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”

Here’s what is being conveyed. We, as those in Christ, are participants in God’s work. God uses us, the church, to complete His work on earth. We are the ones who go out and take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We share the good news of Jesus Christ with those who are lost, and God uses our words to convict sinners, brings them to repentance, and gifts them the faith to believe. And then, that person joins other brothers and sisters in a community of faith. There, the pastors teach them, equip them, and shepherd them. And the fellow believers loves them, bears their burdens, rejoices with them, prays for them, disciples them, and so on. Ultimately, all of this, causes them to grow in holiness and become more like Christ. And then they themselves go and share the Gospel with someone, and the whole thing starts over again.

Notice that throughout all of this, at every stage, the church, God’s people are being used. But they are not the ones who causes the growth, it is God. But, because God loves us and wants us to use us to accomplish all that He wills, He uses us for it all. 

And that is what Paul is getting at here, and it’s what he is rebuking the Corinthians for. They are dividing themselves between Paul and Apollos, for what? They are only servants of God who are planting and watering, but it is God who is causing the growth. Why would they divide among them? They are missing it. Paul and Apollos are participants in God’s work. They are instruments, vessels. They are not the growers.

And so the application here for us is two-fold. Plant and water. This is the mission of the church, to plant and water. Actually, it is directly what Christ commands the church to do in Matthew 28:19-20. He says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” 

Actually, if you’ll look at the front of our bulletin, that is our mission statement as a church. That is our task. To make disciples by sharing the Gospel with them, planting seeds. And then watering the seeds by baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded. And we do all of this as participants in God’s great redemptive work. Not as the ones who cause the growth, but as instruments in the hands of our glorious God who loves us enough to use us in such a way.

Paul says all of this to remind the church that they shouldn’t divide in this way, but also to set up another point. And that point is this…

2.) The way we participate in God’s work matters (vv.10-15)

Paul starts off in verse 10 by talking about how he laid the foundation there in Corinth, and he says that by the grace of God, he laid a good foundation, which he tells us in verse 11 is a foundation of Jesus Christ. And then he says now, there are those who are building upon it, and that this is a good thing. He came, shared the Gospel, saw people come to faith, started the church, and now there are those who are teaching in the church, making disciples, and continuing on in the work that Paul had begun.  

But, there’s an issue. Well, there’s sort of an issue. This is where the text gets a bit tricky to follow what he is saying. I am going to read verses 12-15, try to explain what I think he is saying here, and then make some very practical application for us.

Starting in verse 12, he says, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

Okay, what I think he is saying here is how we, as the church, participate in God’s Work matters. Just because God gives the growth does not mean that no matter what we do the end result will be the same. Not at all. What we do matters a lot. And the analogy that he uses here to show this point is building.

He established that the foundation in Corinth is solid, and he knows it is solid because he is the one who established it. But now, as people begin to build on it, there building in different ways. He mentions gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, and I think he means these in 2 different categories. You can either build with the first 3, gold, silver, or precious stones. Or you can build with the last 3, wood, hay, or straw. 

And what’s the difference between the 2 groups? The first 3 will outlast a fire and the last 3 will burn up in a fire. And then he says, if the work that someone has done outlasts the fire, they will receive a reward. But, if someone’s work burns up in the reward, they will not receive a reward, but will still be saved.

This gets a bit confusing trying to make sense of what he is saying, because he is using metaphors. So let me try to explain it this way. He isn’t talking about literal building materials, which we know because the foundation he laid was Jesus Christ. He is saying that if we build up the church well, if we participate in God’s work well, then there will be nothing lost in the end. There will be reward for us. On the other hand, if we build up the church with poor workmanship, we won’t lose our salvation or anything like that, but our work will not last.

And he’s using this analogy because it is the same with building a house. If a builder tries to cut corners, uses cheap materials, and isn’t mindful of what they are doing, the building isn’t going to last. It isn’t going to be strong and though it may appear okay for a time, it isn’t. On the other hand, if a builder doesn’t cut corners, uses quality materials, and is mindful of what they are doing, the building is going to last. It is going to be strong and what you see is actually what you get.

Now let’s apply this to the church, like Paul is. Let me paint 2 different approaches to ministry. 

Approach number 1. Let’s say a church is sort of marked by superficiality. The preacher isn’t committed to preaching the Bible exegetically. That is, they don’t try to bring out the meaning of different texts, but instead they think they have all these great ideas, so they write their sermons about them, and then find different verses in the Bible to support it. And it also means that they avoid hard or confusing texts and never preach them, which means the members never come to a better understanding of those passages.

The church is more focused on how cool they are than they are true Biblical faithfulness. They prioritize all this “stuff” over community, discipleship, and accountability. It’s more about getting as many people in the doors as possible, and almost nothing about equipping the people who are actually there. Members of the church aren’t fed because every sermon is solely aimed at the visitor, not the members. (No church discipline, not careful with membership, too quick to affirm salvation) You get the picture.

Now, here’s the thing. There may be a lot of souls won to Christ in this way, really. But, there will also be not so good repercussions. It’s poor workmanship because its being built on stuff that doesn’t last. It’s being built on the flashy, the cool, and the interesting, but not the quality. And so while fruit can be born out of this at times and the people in this kind of ministry aren’t going to lose their salvation or anything like that, it isn’t the best way. It's going to be burned up in the end.

Approach number 2. Let’s say a church is marked by Biblical faithfulness as best as they can. The preacher is committed to preaching exegetically through the Bible, even when hard or confusing passages surface. The church creates a welcoming and hospitable environment, constantly inviting people to come join them. They recognize they must be fed each week. And so the Sunday service tries to take primary aim at the believers gathering to worship and be fed, while also including an element of inviting others to believe the Gospel. But the church refuses to water down everything for the sake of more and more people. They are committed to quality, Biblical faithfulness, community, discipleship, accountability, and all of that, no matter how cool it is.

In this situation, growth may be slow. It will take more time, it will take more intentionality, and it will likely be harder at times. That’s because what is being built is being built to last. And, Paul says that this is the better way and that there is reward for those who do ministry this way, when the building survives.

I think a great example of this is Coral Hill. Their growth has been very slow, but it has been marked with an intentionality and a clear goal in mind. They have no compromised anything for the sake of growth. And really, if you ask the pastors, they have never seen numerical growth as their goal. They desire holiness in the believers, more people to come to Christ, and faithful discipleship. Many of us are products of this kind of ministry. And now, they have sent us out to do the same thing. 

Paul is saying all this to the church in Corinth, because they haven’t considered that the way they participate in God’s work matters. They have been prioritizing the wrong things, dividing in the wrong ways, and having an overall superficial approach to ministry. And it’s causing problems. And so Paul says, God may use your work, even if it is shoddy workmanship. And you won’t lose your salvation or anything because of it. But, you can do better. If you build upon the foundation I have laid carefully and with the proper materials, amazing things will take place, and they will last. 

Then, in the last 2 verses, Paul says that there is one more category of work. Shoddy workmanship isn’t good, but it isn’t necessarily always sinful or outright destructive. For work that is sinful and is outright destructive, Paul has a different message.

3.) God will destroy those who harm the church (vv.16-17)

Starting in verse 16 Paul says, “Do you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

Last week we looked at how as those who have placed our faith in Christ, we have been given the Spirit of God. And also as we looked at, that comes with a lot of wonderful implications for us.

Also, it carries a different kind of significance. The way in which God dwells among His people has changed throughout history as God’s great redemptive plan has unfolded. Think about all of them with me.

First, God dwelled with Adam and Eve in the garden, without any hindrances. Then, Adam and Eve sinned against God and our Holy God could no longer dwell among sinful man. So, the tabernacle was established, which created a way for God to still dwell among His people, though still hindered in a way. Then the mobile tabernacles gave way to the temple, where again God could dwell among His people, still hindered. Next, the Son of God came to dwell on Earth bodily, and Jesus Christ, God in flesh, dwelled with humanity. After Christ death and resurrection, He ascended to the right hand of the Father. And God sent His Spirit to dwell in His people, God in us. And then one day at the end of all things, all those in Christ will dwell with Him perfectly for all eternity. 

But back to the Spirit dwelling in us now. Throughout all of history God has dwelled among His people, and the way in which He does this now is in us. We have been made right with God, considered righteous, and the Spirit lives inside of us. And so Paul says, now there is no longer a tabernacle or temple like there once was. Now the temple of God is you. You are that temple, because God dwells in you.

Now why does he say this? Well, he says this because he wants to emphasize the severity of the point, he is making that those who harm the church. Those who harm God’s people. Those who harm God’s temple, where He dwells, will be destroyed.

This is a step beyond shoddy workmanship. This is actively destroying the body of Christ. Andrew Wilson describes the difference between them well. He says, “Shoddy workmanship in building up the people of God – the church – causes damage to everyone, but it doesn’t disqualify a person from salvation. Destroying the church, on the other hand, most definitely does. Paul doesn’t tell us whether the difference between the two is the extent of the damage, the willfulness of it, or something else, but his language here should make us want to err on the side of caution.”

So Paul looks at the church of Corinth and he sees different things happening. He sees people like Apollos, who is watering the seeds planted and building upon the foundation well. He sees people who are building, but not building very well, and he wants them to think more carefully about what they are doing so that their work has an eternal impact, so that it will last. And then he sees people actively harming the church, and he issues them a warning. God will not tolerate those who harm His Church, and in the end, they will be destroyed, lest they repent of their ways.

You all know what the common metaphor used in Scripture for Christ and the church, right? The church is the bride of Christ. Listen to Paul talk about this in Ephesians 5 starting in verse 25. He says, “25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

I know this point can sound harsh, that God will destroy those who harm the church. But husbands, you get it. No one is going to come and harm your bride easily. You love her and you have been tasked with protecting her. If someone comes with the intention of harming your bride you are going to say, “hey, let’s sit down over a cup of coffee and talk about your decision to kill my wife.” No, you are going to protect her! You might even have to lay down your life for her, but it is done with a joy because you love her. 

Now, hear me say this. Whatever love you think you have for your bride. Whatever desire you have to protect your bride. Christ’s love for His church far exceeds this. Christ loves you, church, in a way that is cannot be comprehended. 

The church is the bride of Christ. He came and died for her. He loves her. He sanctifies her, He protects her, He is going to ensure that she makes it to the end. And He will not let those who harm you off the hook, unless they repent and turn from their evil ways. 

And so this is where Paul is going with all of this. He looks at the church in Corinth and he sees all these issues and he says, listen to me. None of this work is of myself, Apollos, or yourselves. Don’t divide like this. It is all of God, and we are simply participants of this great work. 

Then he says, I laid a foundation that is solid. A foundation built of Christ and His Gospel. And now, you must build well. I see some of you building well and others not so well. But aim at what is best. Build carefully. Do the work of the church in such a way that it will not be destroyed in the end, because it is Gospel work that will last and eternity. This is what is best, and it is what you ought to strive for.

And then he says, for those of you who are intentionally harming the church. This is a warning. God dwells in His people; they are the temple. Christ loves His bride. He died for her. And if you do not turn from your evil ways of harming the church, you are going to be destroyed. 

So for us, there’s a few very practical applications. First, let’s rejoice that God uses us for His work. It is such a gift to be invited into such a thing. Second, let’s build this church well. Let’s sell out for Christ and His Gospel. Let’s seek holiness and quality. In the words of one of my previous pastors, Lee, he said, “We want the gospel to be the banner we wave and the drum we beat. When people mention our church, we want them to think of a people who are obsessed with the gospel.” And then lastly, let’s heed the warning to never do things to intentionally harm the church ourselves. But also, know that Christ loves you and He is your great protector and defender.