Building with Gold, Silver, and Precious Stones

To build God’s new covenant temple with gold, silver, and precious stones is to minister the weak folly of the crucified Messiah, which demonstrates God’s wisdom and power.

The Tower of Babel was a human effort to be religious. Through the work of their own hands, the people became irrelevant. This is a problem in the church today as the same rebellion against God’s word continues. We are trying to make names for ourselves more than we are trying to extend the glory of God over all the earth. At best, we are building with wood, hay and straw. At worst, we will be told to depart from the presence of God, for He never knew us.

1. The foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10-31)

First, we must go earlier in this book, to 1 Corinthians 1:17-2:12. Anyone who would believe that God came in flesh and was put to death would be regarded as a fool. But the world does not know God through their wisdom, but through the folly of preaching. Christ is the power and wisdom of God. Not our efforts or our wisdom. God saved us in a way that was shocking, unexpected and illogical to shame those who would do the work of God in ways that are wise in the eyes of men. How it is that the crucified son of God could be our savior is only perceivable through the Spirit of God. By the world’s standard, the work of Christ would be deemed a failed project on the part of God. By the standard of God, power is seen as a baby is born to a poor family, born into a bad political situation, submits to the cross and rises on the third day. This must be known through the power of the spirit and not by our own wisdom, lest they be without power.

What Paul is saying that he laid a foundation based on a multitude of things that were considered folly to the world. Now there were others building on this foundation, and some were looking to worldly standards to measure their success. “I follow Paul” and “I follow Apollos” are signs of this. This is true today as well. Do we minister to others with a call to rejoice in weakness or do we try to build their emotions up toward strength? Christianity is a call to revel in our weakness so that the power of God will be shown through us.

2. Building on the Foundation (1 Corinthians 3:12)

Paul lays out two sets of building materials. One set will withstand fire and the other will not. We may think that gold, silver and precious stones are impressive, so why is Paul speaking of them in this way? It is because he is saying that the precious metals and jewels are precious from God’s point of view, not ours. When a church adopts their programs from the business world, they are building with wood hay and straw no matter the outcome. Their building will be burned in the fire.

Does the ministry of the local church cause us to trust in ourselves or in God? This is a question that each Christian should be asking themselves. If we cultivate man-centered worldliness in ministry, than we build with wood. If we build the church with the folly of the cross, we are building with gold.

3. What the Day Will Disclose (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)

The day of judgment is not the only place that you will find our work tried. Psychological methods in church reveal how self-absorbed we can be.

4. What Is Built and What Is At Stake (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

God now dwells in His people where He once was found in a temple. Those who think they are doing Christian ministry through the wisdom of the world will find their work burning up. And those pastors who submit the people of God, the temple of God, to this danger will not stand on that day.