1 Corinthians 3:10-15

1 Corinthians deals with a number of problems within the Corinthian church. Specifically, we have been talking about the problem of Sectarianism—the problem of people in the church splitting into competing parties, based around individual ministers. Paul has shown how this attitude is fundamentally flawed and is symptomatic of a deeper spiritual need.

Starting in 3:4, Paul moved away from the specific issue of sectarianism to the more general issue of the role of ministers within God's work. In verses 4-9, he showed that the church comes from and is built by God, with ministers as His intermediary workers, and with the faith and growth of Christians as the end result.

This passage expands on the ideas established in the last section. The church is something built and created by God. And ministers—really all humans who have a part in the work of the church—are only working for God. They are workmen; not the contractor nor the homeowner. And because of that fact, they have certain responsibilities. 

In verse 9, Paul spoke of the church as God's building. In verse 10, he begins expanding that image. He says that he tried to work like a wise masterbuilder. Other translations translate that as “skilled” and/or “expert.” Paul was working as someone who knew what they were doing.

The basis for Paul's action was “the grace of God which is given unto me.” Paul was working not for himself but for God. Speaking of  God's grace is probably a reference specifically to Paul's history. He was always acutely aware that his ministry was solely because of grace. Later, he will tell the Corinthians: “For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10) All Christian workers are constituted by grace because all Christians are, but perhaps this was more clear for Paul than for most because of his past.

And probably, this analogy was not in Paul's mind, but I think of this almost like this: God gave Paul grace like a contractor would give his workers money to buy supplies for a project. God had given Paul grace, not merely for Paul's own sake, but so he could use that grace to build up the church.

Paul had built, like a master builder or architect. I'm not sure I understand why Paul uses that term for himself—this term is usually used for the person in charge of an entire building process, and Paul, as he shows, is only one part of this. But perhaps he uses it because he had done the most important part—he had laid the foundation.

When he preached the gospel to the Corinthians, he had laid the foundation for the church. Having laid that foundation, Paul had moved on and now others were building on that foundation. This repeats the image of the planter and the waterer from the previous passage. But there, the emphasis was on cooperation. Here, we have a tone of warning: “Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.” NET Bible: “And each one must be careful how he builds.”

In verse 10, Paul was speaking specifically of himself. But the rest of the passage is more general and applies to anyone who works for the gospel. There are two kinds of such work—there is the foundation, and there is that which is built upon the foundation.

Paul said that he had laid a foundation. But the foundation was not Paul or Paul's work. The foundation is Jesus Christ and there can be no other foundation for a church. Again, this points back to chapter 1: “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18) It is the gospel—the story of Christ and His atonement—which is the foundation of our faith. Anything that can be called Christianity must be built upon that. Anyone who is working to start a church, who is leading groups or individuals to Christ, must lay this foundation. That is the first responsibility.

The second responsibility has to do with what is built on this foundation. Given the basic gospel of faith in Christ, given initial salvation, what other doctrines and practices are we going to teach? What else is there to the life of the Christian or the church beyond the mere fact of becoming a Christian? That is the idea of building something on a foundation. Sometimes the foundation and the building are done by different people. Sometimes it is the same person. But the question is: what will they build?

Paul lays out two possibilities: on one hand, they might build with gold, silver, and precious stones. Robertson says this doesn't mean gems or jewels, but rather valuable types of stone like marble. On the other hand, they might build with cheap and rickety building materials such as wood, hay, and stubble. 

These builders are true Christians, as we see later. They are building on the true foundation, the gospel of Christ. But there is the possibility that, even at that, they will teach wrong ideas; faulty doctrines; perhaps true but shallow ideas; truths that are lopsided or lack proper balance. All such error is represented by the wood and hay. 

“My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.” (James 3:1) To be a master or a teacher within the church means taking responsibility for what we teach. Albert Barnes writes: “Error sanctifies no one. The effect of it even on the minds of true Christians is to mar their piety; to dim its lustre; and to darken their minds. No Christian can enjoy religion except under the full-orbed shining of the word of truth; and every man, therefore, who gives false instruction, is responsible for all the darkness he causes, and for all the want of comfort which true Christians under his teaching may experience.”

Paul makes it clear that this is a possibility—a possibility that good men, sincerely trying to build up the church—will use faulty materials and unsuitable doctrines. Perhaps the subtext here is that the Corinthian church had such faulty material—there certainly were a number of problems and false ideas within the church, whether those had been planted by Apollos or another missionary or whether they came from people within the church.

So, we have the church built on the foundation of Christ and His atonement. And on that, we have the particular doctrines and practices taught by the ministers of the church—some of which are true and solid, and others are weak and ineffectual. Both of these types of materials may be built into the church.

At the present, it can be hard to fully see the outcome of a preacher's labor. But there is coming a time when it will be put to the test. There is coming a time of testing. At that time “every man's work shall be made manifest”--the NET Bible translates that: “each builder’s work will be plainly seen.” It will be revealed on “the day”--most commentators believe this refers to the Judgment Day. It will be tested by fire—which is frequently used as an image of judgment or testing in scripture.

So let's compare these things. Wood has an ignition temperature of 450-500F; that means that wood heated to that temperature will begin to burn (if oxygen is also present.) Gold will not actually burn at any temperature, but it will melt if heated to 1945F—in other words, at almost four times the temperature. It's easy to see that a fire that would destroy a building made of wood, wouldn't destroy a building made of gold.   

That is the image Paul is using. At the day of judgment, the work of ministers will be tested and that which is not true or pure will be destroyed while that which is will remain. As C. S. Lewis put it: “All that can be shaken shall be shaken; only the unshakeable remains.”

We are familiar with this concept of the great judgment—of a time when all men will be evaluated. But usually, we think of the division between sinner and saint, between the redeemed and the unredeemed. This is pictured in parables such as the sheep and the goats or the wheat and the tares. Here, Paul is referring to a specific part of the judgment; he is speaking of ministers (though perhaps this could apply to all Christians in so far as they do anything for the cause of Christ)--their work shall be judged, but this is not the judgment of the soul. Look at verse 15: “If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved.”

The preacher who built his church with shallow and lopsided doctrines will still be saved because the basis of salvation is faith in Christ, not having perfect knowledge or wisdom. But because his mistakes hurt the church, he will lose the reward that he could have had. He will be saved “as by fire.” Clarke thinks this pictures a man whose house burns down—he barely escapes with his own life and, in the fire, loses everything he had. He survives, but barely.

But, on the other side, the preacher who builds with true and pure doctrines, who teaches the Bible clearly and completely--his work will abide the judgment, and he will be rewarded.

This whole passage shows man's responsibility—especially the responsibility of preachers and ministers; those who teach and help grow the church. They are part of God's work, and with that comes a heavy responsibility. They have the chance to do great things and be rewarded, but they will be judged, and if they do not perform as they should, they will lose their reward.

A preacher is not a performer or an entertainer. Because a performer (generally speaking) risks nothing but himself and gives nothing but entertainment. You do not ask for the same credentials or assurances from a street juggler that you do for a doctor or even a carpenter—someone whose work may be a matter of life and death. And the work of a preacher is something even more than life and death, for his a building something that may last beyond this world, and so must be built well.