Relationships In The Body Of Christ
10/29/06
1 Cor. 3:10 By the grace God
has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is
building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For
no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus
Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver,
costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what
it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire,
and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14If what he
has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned
up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping
through the flames.
The deep things of Christ are
not what we know but what we do!
This passage of scripture has
been taken out of context as much or more so than any other passage of
scripture in the Bible!
I have never heard it
preached on in context with the chapter.
1 Cor. 3:1 Brothers, I could
not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2I
gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you
are still not ready. 3You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy
and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere
men? 4For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow
Apollos,” are you not mere men?
Then we go to verse 21....
1 Cor. 3:21 So then, no
more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22whether Paul or
Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the
future—all are yours, 23and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
The “So then” means this
whole chapter stays on the same thought.
It must stay in context with what Paul is addressing.
In this context, the material
we build with on the foundation of Jesus is how we relate to one another in the
body of Christ!
Look at it like this. Are my actions “material” that is building
up the body of Christ or, are my actions “material” that is hindering the
building up of the body of Christ?
Now, let’s read the whole
chapter again....
1
Cor. 3:1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere
infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were
not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are
still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you
not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4For when one says,
“I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only
servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his
task. 6I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only
God, who makes things grow. 8The man who plants and the man who
waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9For
we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as
an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be
careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other
than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man
builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or
straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will
bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the
quality of each man’s work. 14If what he has built survives, he will
receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he
himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
16Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple
and that God’s Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God’s
temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that
temple.
Am I the temple of God or, am
I part of the temple of God?
Eph. 2:19 Consequently, you are
no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and
members of God’s household, 20built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In
him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in
the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a
dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Now, back to 1 Cor. 3....
18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he
is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may
become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s
sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” ; 20and
again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” 21So then, no
more boasting about men! All things are yours, 22whether Paul or
Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the
future—all are yours, 23and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
The apostle Paul takes us to
an even higher level of understanding with this....
1
Cor. 11:17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your
meetings do more harm than good. 18In the first place, I hear that
when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some
extent I believe it. 19No doubt there have to be differences among
you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20When you come
together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21for as you eat,
each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry,
another gets drunk. 22Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or
do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What
shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
Now, let’s go to verse 33....
33So then, my
brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34If
anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may
not result in judgment.
Now. let’s read it again in
complete context....
1
Cor. 11:17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your
meetings do more harm than good. 18In the first place, I hear that
when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some
extent I believe it. 19No doubt there have to be differences among
you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20When you come
together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21for as you eat,
each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry,
another gets drunk. 22Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or
do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What
shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to
you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and
when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for
you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25In the same way, after supper
he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this,
whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26For whenever you eat
this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of
the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and
blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats
of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and
drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on
himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a
number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we
would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we
are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
33So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat,
wait for each other. 34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home,
so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
Relationships as Christians
are of utmost importance to the Lord!
Mat.
6:5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell
you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when
you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is
unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And
when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be
heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your
Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9
“This, then, is how you should
pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your
kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us
today our daily bread.
12 Forgive
us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And
lead us not into temptation,
but deliver
us from the evil one.’
14For if you forgive men
when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But
if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
1 Pet. 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with
your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with
you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
1 Cor. 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have
not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries
and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender
my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
One of the hardest issues
Christians have to deal with is how to deal with sin, immorality, and injustice
and still not be hardened.
The Lord Jesus does not want
us to be soft on sin, but we don need to show proper respect for people.
During the Lord’s Supper today, it’s a good time to get humble.........