1 Corinthians 3:10-17

Applebury's Comments

The Church is the Temple of God (10-17)

Text

1 Corinthians 3:10-17. According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder I laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 But if any man buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 each man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work shall abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire. 16 Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye.

Commentary

According to the grace of God.Paul looked upon his ministry as favor God had extended to him. His attitude was one of humility. His example would have helped the church to see the error of dividing the body of Christ through exalting one leader above another.

a wise masterbuilder.Paul had spoken of himself in relation to the church as a minister (deacon) of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 4:15, he refers to himself as a teacher and father. The figure of masterbuilder fits this context since the church is presented as a temple. But he is a wise masterbuilder. As the apostle of Christ, he spoke the revealed wisdom of God rather than the wisdom of men. The foundation of the temple of God could not be laid in any other way, for it was God who was building the church through His workers.

I laid a foundation.The Corinthians are reminded that the foundation of their Christian life was laid by one who knew how to lay a proper foundation, Their spiritual immaturity could not be blamed on the foundation or the one who laid it. Paul laid the foundation by preaching Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2); by showing that it was necessary to believe the word of the cross in order to be saved (1 Corinthians 1:21); by instructing the believer to be baptized, not in his but in the name of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-2; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

another buildeth thereon.This is a reference to Apollos and other faithful teachers like him who instructed the new converts at Corinth. It has nothing to do with false teachers or to building on a false foundation.

let each man take heed how he buildeth thereon.It was just as important for the builder of the superstructure to exercise every care in his work as it was for the one who laid the foundation. The foundation that Paul laid was the true foundation. That, however, did not guarantee the success of the building that was to be erected upon it. Consequently, the apostle warns other faithful teachers to take heed as to kind of building materials (disciples) they use.

foundation. is Jesus Christ.The temple of God can have only one foundation, Jesus Christ. The rock upon which Jesus said He would build His church is the truth that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Peter's own statement should be considered when interpreting what Jesus said to him (Matthew 16:18). He speaks of the Lord as a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God, elect, precious (1 Peter 2:4-8). See also Isaiah 28:16 and Psalms 118:22 from which Peter quotes. In the light of these remarks, it is difficult to see how Peter could be considered as the foundation of the church. The reference to the foundation of the apostles and prophets in Ephesians 2:20 is to the foundation which they laid by preaching the Word.

gold, silver, costly stones; wood, hay, stubble.These are the two classes of building materials. One is fireproof, the other will burn; one is costly, the other is relatively inexpensive. The point of the apostles-' concern, however, is their ability to withstand fire. These building materials represent two classes of disciples a teacher may have. Some are like fireproof materials for they will withstand the fiery trials through which they are to pass. Others are like wood that can be destroyed by fire. They will not stand the trials that come upon them to prove them (1 Peter 4:12-13).

the day will declare it.Of course, each one will face the Day of Judgment and give account of the deeds done in the body (2 Corinthians 5:10). But in all probability, the day to which Paul is referring is the Christian life with its fiery trials. In Paul's time, many were called upon to give their lives for their faith in Christ. Some were burned at the stake; some were tortured to death; some fought with wild beasts in the arena to the amusement of heartless spectators. The ancient martyrs, of course, were not the only ones to face persecution for the sake of Christ. The test that comes to most Christians today is the test, not of dying, but of living for Christ. We are reminded of the trials of Israel in the wilderness that caused many of them to fail to enter the Promised Land (1 Corinthians 10:5-10). For a list of the sufferings of Paul, see 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 and 1 Corinthians 4:9-13.

the fire will prove each man's work.The trials of the Christian life will demonstrate what sort the teacher's disciples are. Will they be destroyed like wood, hay and stubble, or will they withstand the fiery trials like gold, silver and costly stones? This was the problem at Corinth. The foundation had been laid by Paul. Apollos and others like him had continued to instruct the new converts. But they had not grown to maturity; they were filled with jealousy and strife; they were a disappointment to their teachers; they were not standing the test.

if any man's work shall abide.The task of the faithful teacher is not completely discouraging. Apollos and others like him could look with confidence to the faithful endurance of trials by some of those who had been instructed in the gospel by them.

God's Word is complete in matters pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). It tells how to become a Christian and how to live the Christian life. It furnishes the Christian with the whole armor of God that he may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11). It equips him with the shield of faith with which he is able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). Paul warns against overconfidence, but he also shows that the way of escape has been provided that the man of faith may be able to endure the trials of the Christian life (1 Corinthians 10:12-13). Peter points out the course to follow to make sure of entering the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-11).

he shall receive a reward.The reward that the faithful teacher receives is the joy of knowing that he has been faithful to the Lord and the joy of seeing those whom he has instructed serving Christ, remaining true to Him through the trials of life (Philippians 4:1).

if any man's work shall be burned.Even faithful teachers cannot be sure that those whom they instruct will withstand the fiery trials. Jesus faced this in His ministry. Judas betrayed Him; Peter denied Him. At one time, the crowds who had been fed on the loaves and fishes deserted Him to such an extent that He said to the apostles who remained with Him, You wouldn-'t go away also, would you? (John 6:66-69) Paul wrote with an evident note of sadness of Demas who had forsaken him because he loved this present age (2 Timothy 4:10). The writer of Hebrews warns of the peril of those who were once enlightened and then fell away (Hebrews 6:4-8).

he shall suffer loss.The teacher should do everything possible to help those whom he instructs to stand the trials of the Christian life. Nothing short of declaring the whole counsel of God will accomplish this (Acts 20:27).

Perhaps teachers should ask themselves if they are like the father Jesus mentioned who, when his son asked for bread, gave him a stone (Matthew 7:9-10). But the teacher will suffer loss if the pupils fail. That loss may be the grief over the unfaithful one as opposed to the joy over those who remain true; it may be the loss of time and effort that could have been spent on others who might have responded more favorably. It is a hard thing for a teacher to know when to apply the rule Jesus gave when He said, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs; neither cast your pearls before swine, lest haply they trample them under foot and turn and rend you (Matthew 7:6).

be himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire.The teacher's own his own faithfulness to Christ. He too faces trials and hardships, dissalvation does not depend on the faithfulness of his disciples, but on couragements and heartaches. Thus he is to be saved as through fire just as anyone else.

ye are a temple of God.All that the apostle had said about builders, foundations, and buildings is suddenly focused on the Corinthians themselves. Don-'t you know that you are God's temple? Evidently they were not aware of it. The church to them was more like an ordinary political assembly. They had failed to see that it was the assembly of those who had been called out of the world of sinners by the preaching of the gospel to enjoy the rights and privileges of free citizens of the kingdom of heaven. How could they have missed this when they had been taught the revealed wisdom of God by His inspired apostle? But they did.

This rebuke is probably the strongest blow the apostle strikes against the sin of division. What an awful thing that they should desecrate the spiritual temple of God! The desecration of the Jew's temple by Antiochus Epiphanes is one of the outstanding atrocities visited upon ancient Israel. See 1Ma. 1:1-64. This pagan ruler dared to change the laws of God pertaining to worship and sacrifice. It was especially insulting to the Jews and to their God for him to order them to use swine's flesh in their sacrifices. The cleansing and rededication of the temple following this incident was commemorated by the Jews in the feast of dedication (John 10:22).

At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the passover feast. There He found that men had turned the sacred area of the temple into a place of merchandise (John 2:13-16). He cleansed the temple and reminded the people that they were not to make His Father's house a house of merchandise. But in three short years it had again been put to the same use. Jesus cleansed the temple again and said to the money-changers, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer (Matthew 21:12).

Wicked as all these sinful deeds were, they did not compare with the sin of division that was destroying God's temple, the church. The solution to the problem of division in Corinth begins with the correct view of the church as God's temple. Paul speaks of it as the temple where the Spirit of God dwells. To profane this temple is to deserve the destruction that will surely come to the guilty ones.

the Spirit of God dwells in you.It will help us to understand this expression if we look at the camp of Israel with the tabernacle in its midst. The tabernacle was called the tent of meeting because God met His people there, and through His appointed servant, Moses, He spoke to them, giving direction for conduct that would let the nations about them know that He was the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel. The ark of the covenant which was kept in the holy of holies further emphasizes the presence of God in the midst of His people. Within the ark, among other things, the tables of the law were kept. Through the law Israel was taught that they should love God with all the heart, soul, and mind, and that they should also love their neighbors as themselves (Matthew 22:37-40).

When Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem that took the place of the tabernacle, he made it a thing of splendor, fitting, within the limits of human endeavor, as a house of God. But long after that, Stephen said, Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands for heaven is His throne and the earth His footstool (Acts 7:48-49).

The church that honors God by exalting Christ; that obeys His Word rather than the doctrines of men; that is transformed by the renewing of the mind so that the members approve the will of God, the thing that is good, complete, and acceptable to Him (Romans 12:1-2) can truly say that God is in its midst. See comment on 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 where the body of the believer is called the temple of the Holy Spirit.

If any man destroyeth the temple of God.In a sense, the church cannot be destroyed because it is divine. Paul said he made havoc of the church, that is, he was attempting to do so by persecuting the church (Galatians 1:13). But it is true that the effectiveness of the church can be destroyed by the sin of division. The sin of division dishonors Christ, the head of the church; it dims the glory of the church, the bride of Christ; it tends to neutralize the message of the church, the gospel of Christ; it weakens the believers who are members of the body of Christ.

him shall God destroy.For the fate of the Israelites who displeased God, see 1 Corinthians 10:5-10. For the fate of those who trample under foot the Son of God, see Hebrews 10:28-31. For the punishment of the sin of Nadab and Abihu, see Leviticus 10:1-3. For the punishment of Uzzah who acted with every good intention when he touched the ark in violation of God's law, see 2 Samuel 6:6-7. For the story of Uzziah the presumptuous king who undertook to perform the task of the priest contrary to God's law and was punished by being stricken with leprosy unto the day of his death, see 2 Chronicles 26:16-21.

Paul declares that God will destroy those who attempt to destroy His temple, the church. This should make the promoters of division stop and think. God has never permitted man to desecrate holy things and go unpunished.

such are ye.What an exalted view of the church this isye are the temple of God! But how could the apostle refer to people who were so far from the ideal of Christ as the temple of God? Perhaps it was to remind them of what God intended them to be, that is, new creatures washed in the blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11). Perhaps it also expressed the hope of the apostle that they would respond to the instruction for overcoming their spiritual immaturity.

As to a practical application of this important point, think of the church today with its many divisions often warring against each other rather than carrying on the good fight of the faith (1 Timothy 6:12). But concerned men are doing much to lead the church toward the goal for which Christ prayed when all who believe on Him through the word of the apostles may be one (John 17:21). Men who have caught the vision of the church as the temple of God are pleading for the restoration of the church that is described in the New Testament in its doctrine, its ordinances, and in its life. A return to the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3) would present the church, even today, as the glorious church Christ intended it to be.