BUILDING ON JESUS
May 14, 2018
Every moment is accounted for. Every decision is weighed. Every word is recorded. Every thought is naked. Every motive is exposed. Every failed battle against the flesh is known. Every mumbled inner-curse against one’s neighbor loudly echoes with clarity. Every brick laid will be tested. God knows all. Nothing is hidden from Him. He is not surprised by anything. The God who created man and woman knows man and woman fully (see Corinthians 13:12). For the Christian, this is great news. The God who created everything and everyone, who intimately knows all personal struggles and shortcomings: willingly put on human flesh, lived a perfect life, and then stripped himself of words by shutting his mouth all the way to the point of death on a tree for our sins, so that His Father would be glorified and His people would have an eternally perfect home in His Kingdom now and to come.
Jesus’ finished work.
Because of Jesus’ perfect obedience, born-again believers have a foundation to build from - namely on Jesus’ finished work. The new heart God gives His people is one intimately connected to Him by the Holy Spirit. God’s people have no need to hide their sin from God, no need to spend hours cleaning the “outside of the dish”, no need to invest in a temporary kingdom, and no need to seek God’s approval through good works alone or passive religious traditions that portray a man-centered righteousness. The born-again Christian was loved and found by God while sick and dead in sin. The thought of God’s people trying to hide their current or future sins from Him is laughable. So is trying to self-atone for past, current, or future sins. The enemy wants to distract the Christian from embracing the authentic freedom found in Jesus’ finished work by trying to convince them that Jesus is not enough. Jesus’ finished work produces grace-driven laboring, which illuminates a Kingdom to come in the new hearts of God’s people.
Paul addresses grace-driven laboring to the Corinthians:
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their 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 person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved - even though only as one escaping through the flames.” 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
With so much in these verses, I want to focus on just three parts of the text: grace fuels one to build on Jesus Christ; the intentions of every work (whether fueled by grace alone or work alone) is fully known by God; and God should be embraced as both Savior and Lord.
Grace fuels.
Paul wrote, “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder…” Because Jesus Christ is love: he extends life-transforming grace to all people who turn from their sin, their gods, their way, their wisdom, their old heart, and their throne to His righteousness, His Father, His way, His wisdom, His new heart, and His Father’s throne. When Paul said, “By the grace God has given me…” he established the foundation of everything he was building upon by humbly acknowledging that Jesus’ grace is the fuel. Grace fueled Paul to build on Jesus’ foundation. Grace must fuel what born-again Christians do, say, and build today. Grace produces humility, hope, and hunger to live-out and share the love of Jesus Christ to a broken world. When Paul experienced God’s grace, he laid down his man-made accomplishments and righteousness at the feet of Jesus. Paul experienced the level ground found in Jesus, which welcomes all people to experience His new Kingdom - not just the “religious elite”. If God’s grace alone isn’t fueling the Christian to build, then “man-made works” apart from Jesus will. “Man-made works” apart from Jesus is dangerous ground to build on, as it’s temporary and sinking.
Intentions known.
Paul wrote, “But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” In essence, Paul is saying to bring all your intentions to God before building (and as you build). It’s not like the Father doesn’t already know one’s intentions, so submitting every thought to Christ makes sense for the Christian (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). Ask God to examine and prune your intentions before building (and while building). Are you building to impress others? Are you building for self-glorification? Are you exclusively building for the outside to look nice? Are you building just to build? If so, repent, turn from temporary aspirations, and move to Jesus-centered intentions. From my experience, it is easy to sway into temporal pursuits, but God is good to refine, realign, and redeem upon repentance, seeking Him, listening to His word and Spirit, and applying His reproof moving forward. Born-again Christians will make mistakes while building (I have and will continue to) but be hopeful and encouraged in front of the Father with a heart willing to be shaped by God’s love and purpose - moment by moment - from Jesus’ finished work.
Moreover, Paul was saying that born-again Christians should not create a different foundation or take from or add to Jesus Christ. Paul is urging the Corinthians not to be entangled with impure motives. He is reminding them to stay rooted in the grace that Jesus has extended to both Jew and Gentile through His death on a tree, resurrection from the grave, and current mediation between believers and the Father. Oh, the freedom that is in Jesus Christ alone! The pure intention of building from Jesus’ foundation is for others to be earnestly transformed by Jesus. Cleaning the inside of the bowl can only be accomplished by humbly allowing God’s intentions to reign over one’s selfish intentions, so that earnest transformation, sanctification, and building can occur individually and corporately. God knows all intentions. Christians must continually seek to submit and align theirs to His.
Savior and Lord.
Paul wrote, “If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved - even though only as one escaping through the flames.” Paul makes the point that some born-again Christians embrace Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. In essence, they call on Jesus to save when in need but have not fully submitted their intentions and continued work to Jesus as Lord of their lives. Yes, they are saved, but they build on their own wisdom, not on Jesus’ finished work. My prayer for Son Mission, the corporate church, my personal life, and you reading this is for us to embrace Jesus as both Savior and Lord - building on Jesus with continually edified, pure intentions that come from Him alone. Our one life and walk with Jesus on this earth does not need to be one that just “escapes the flames” but rather one that is joyfully and confidently resting and building from the grace continually given us.
The Two Foundations.
So how does one build on Jesus Christ?
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on a rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it has been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the floods came, the wind blew and slammed against that house; and it fell - and it was a great fall.” - Matthew 7:24-27
These were Jesus’ last words in His sermon on the mount. To build on Jesus Christ is to accept Jesus’ finished work, believe His word, and actively put His word into practice by the power of the Holy Spirit. One either builds on Jesus or doesn’t. The storms of life are coming to test the foundation one is building on. How much wiser is building on the One who controls the storms, than on the one who can’t?
Solid Ground.
God’s grace tastes so good because mankind will never meet God’s standard alone. But by grace through faith in Jesus, Christians are imputed Jesus’ righteousness. The Father sees Jesus’ perfection when looking at His redeemed children. This is why GRACE tastes so good! Christians no longer need to hide themselves from God in the garden. Because of Jesus’ finished work, Christians can boldly approach God’s throne of grace with confidence - as they stumble to build authentically on Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4: 14-16
Kingdom Coming.
God’s people are experiencing God’s kingdom in part now, but a time is coming when His children will experience His kingdom in full - when Jesus consummates all things. If you feel as if your work today is useless, you may not be considering the hope found in the Kingdom to come, or you may be working with the wrong intentions, or you may be building on sinking sand. Jesus’ kingdom to come is not some place where “good people” float in the sky with harps. God’s kingdom is a real place where death is mocked, pain is gone, tears are no more, and love reigns. Jesus ate real fish in His resurrected body, Adam worked the garden before sin entered the cosmos, and Isaiah paints us a picture of peace among the created. When you are building, are you experiencing a genuine hope of God’s kingdom or are you sinking on temporal ground? Oh, the hope found in Jesus’ Kingdom to come!
Paul addresses grace-driven laboring to the Corinthians:
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their 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 person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved - even though only as one escaping through the flames.” 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
With so much in these verses, I want to focus on just three parts of the text: grace fuels one to build on Jesus Christ; the intentions of every work (whether fueled by grace alone or work alone) is fully known by God; and God should be embraced as both Savior and Lord.
Grace fuels.
Paul wrote, “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder…” Because Jesus Christ is love: he extends life-transforming grace to all people who turn from their sin, their gods, their way, their wisdom, their old heart, and their throne to His righteousness, His Father, His way, His wisdom, His new heart, and His Father’s throne. When Paul said, “By the grace God has given me…” he established the foundation of everything he was building upon by humbly acknowledging that Jesus’ grace is the fuel. Grace fueled Paul to build on Jesus’ foundation. Grace must fuel what born-again Christians do, say, and build today. Grace produces humility, hope, and hunger to live-out and share the love of Jesus Christ to a broken world. When Paul experienced God’s grace, he laid down his man-made accomplishments and righteousness at the feet of Jesus. Paul experienced the level ground found in Jesus, which welcomes all people to experience His new Kingdom - not just the “religious elite”. If God’s grace alone isn’t fueling the Christian to build, then “man-made works” apart from Jesus will. “Man-made works” apart from Jesus is dangerous ground to build on, as it’s temporary and sinking.
Intentions known.
Paul wrote, “But each one should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” In essence, Paul is saying to bring all your intentions to God before building (and as you build). It’s not like the Father doesn’t already know one’s intentions, so submitting every thought to Christ makes sense for the Christian (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). Ask God to examine and prune your intentions before building (and while building). Are you building to impress others? Are you building for self-glorification? Are you exclusively building for the outside to look nice? Are you building just to build? If so, repent, turn from temporary aspirations, and move to Jesus-centered intentions. From my experience, it is easy to sway into temporal pursuits, but God is good to refine, realign, and redeem upon repentance, seeking Him, listening to His word and Spirit, and applying His reproof moving forward. Born-again Christians will make mistakes while building (I have and will continue to) but be hopeful and encouraged in front of the Father with a heart willing to be shaped by God’s love and purpose - moment by moment - from Jesus’ finished work.
Moreover, Paul was saying that born-again Christians should not create a different foundation or take from or add to Jesus Christ. Paul is urging the Corinthians not to be entangled with impure motives. He is reminding them to stay rooted in the grace that Jesus has extended to both Jew and Gentile through His death on a tree, resurrection from the grave, and current mediation between believers and the Father. Oh, the freedom that is in Jesus Christ alone! The pure intention of building from Jesus’ foundation is for others to be earnestly transformed by Jesus. Cleaning the inside of the bowl can only be accomplished by humbly allowing God’s intentions to reign over one’s selfish intentions, so that earnest transformation, sanctification, and building can occur individually and corporately. God knows all intentions. Christians must continually seek to submit and align theirs to His.
Savior and Lord.
Paul wrote, “If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved - even though only as one escaping through the flames.” Paul makes the point that some born-again Christians embrace Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. In essence, they call on Jesus to save when in need but have not fully submitted their intentions and continued work to Jesus as Lord of their lives. Yes, they are saved, but they build on their own wisdom, not on Jesus’ finished work. My prayer for Son Mission, the corporate church, my personal life, and you reading this is for us to embrace Jesus as both Savior and Lord - building on Jesus with continually edified, pure intentions that come from Him alone. Our one life and walk with Jesus on this earth does not need to be one that just “escapes the flames” but rather one that is joyfully and confidently resting and building from the grace continually given us.
The Two Foundations.
So how does one build on Jesus Christ?
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on a rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it has been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the floods came, the wind blew and slammed against that house; and it fell - and it was a great fall.” - Matthew 7:24-27
These were Jesus’ last words in His sermon on the mount. To build on Jesus Christ is to accept Jesus’ finished work, believe His word, and actively put His word into practice by the power of the Holy Spirit. One either builds on Jesus or doesn’t. The storms of life are coming to test the foundation one is building on. How much wiser is building on the One who controls the storms, than on the one who can’t?
Solid Ground.
God’s grace tastes so good because mankind will never meet God’s standard alone. But by grace through faith in Jesus, Christians are imputed Jesus’ righteousness. The Father sees Jesus’ perfection when looking at His redeemed children. This is why GRACE tastes so good! Christians no longer need to hide themselves from God in the garden. Because of Jesus’ finished work, Christians can boldly approach God’s throne of grace with confidence - as they stumble to build authentically on Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4: 14-16
Kingdom Coming.
God’s people are experiencing God’s kingdom in part now, but a time is coming when His children will experience His kingdom in full - when Jesus consummates all things. If you feel as if your work today is useless, you may not be considering the hope found in the Kingdom to come, or you may be working with the wrong intentions, or you may be building on sinking sand. Jesus’ kingdom to come is not some place where “good people” float in the sky with harps. God’s kingdom is a real place where death is mocked, pain is gone, tears are no more, and love reigns. Jesus ate real fish in His resurrected body, Adam worked the garden before sin entered the cosmos, and Isaiah paints us a picture of peace among the created. When you are building, are you experiencing a genuine hope of God’s kingdom or are you sinking on temporal ground? Oh, the hope found in Jesus’ Kingdom to come!