1 Sunday, January 10, 2015 I Crinthians 3:9-11: The Wise Masterbuilder Intrductin/Review Last week we resumed ur study f I Crinthians 3 by lking at verses 4 thrugh 8. In ding s we bserved the fllwing pints. I Crinthians 3:4 Paul cites their man fllw factins as further prf f their carnality. I Crinthians 3:5 accrding t Paul, he and Aplls were simply ministers thrugh whse ministry the Crinthians believed. I Crinthians 3:6 Paul says that he planted (nte the past tense). Paul planted the seeds f the gspel when he was with them in Acts 18. Aplls came alng after Paul in Acts 18:27-19:1 and watered (again nte the past tense) the seeds the Paul had previusly planted. But nte the strng cntrast in verse 6 that sets apart Gd s rle frm that f Paul and Aplls. The increase r the grwth was given by Gd. Gd caused the seed t germinate thereby making them new creatures in Christ. Likewise, whatever grwth r increase that seed experiences is the result f Gd s wrking nt the human agents. I Crinthians 3:7 serves as the cnclusin (S then) t this argument Paul has been making regarding planting and watering. Neither Paul, the planter, nr Aplls, the waterer are anything. But the strng cnjunctin emphasizes the fact that Gd is the ne wh gives the increase and prduces grwth. I Crinthians 3:8 Paul s pint here at the beginning f verse 8 is t state emphatically that he and Aplls are nt at variance with ne anther with the gal f establishing rival sects but that they are ne in the spiritual grwth prcess f the saints in Crinth. The fact is bth planting and watering have a single bject i.e., the prductin f fruit. Bth Paul and Aplls had the same bject in mind as they ministered in Crinth. Namely t prduced spiritual fruit-bearing believers. And every man shall receive his wn reward accrding t his wn labur nt nly are they ne in terms f planning and watering but they are als equal in terms f their reward fr service. Each minister will be rewarded accrding t the actual energy he has expanded. There is n discriminatin n the basis f wh they are. Equal labr utput results in equal pay. The end f verse 8 intrduces the reader t the next theme/tpic Paul is ging t tackle in I Crinthians i.e., the issue f reward and labr. T this discussin we will nw turn ur attentin. Pastr Bryan Rss
2 I Crinthians 3:9 Fr we are laburers tgether with Gd: ye are Gd's husbandry, ye are Gd's building. Fr we are laburers tgether with Gd given the cntext we have been studying, I take the first part f verse 9 t be a reference t Paul and Aplls. Paul describes himself and Aplls as being laburers tgether with Gd. This fllws frm Paul s statement in verse 8, the he that planteth (Paul in verse 6) and he that watereth (Aplls verse 6) are ne. Verse 5 Paul and Aplls are bth ministers. Verse 6 Paul and Aplls are bth invlved in spiritual grwth prcess via planning and labring. Verse 7 neither f them is anything with respect the prcess f spiritual grwth because Gd gives the increase. The underlying Greek wrd translated laburers tgether is used many times in Paul s Epistles when he described his fellw-labrers in the wrk f the ministry. Rmans 16:3 Pricilla and Aquila are described as Paul s helpers in Christ Jesus Rmans 16:21 Timtheus my wrkfellw... II Crinthians 8:23 fellwhelper Philippians 4:3 fellwlaburers Philemn 1 fellwlaburer I Crinthians 3:9 the ye in the secnd half f verse 9 is a reference t the Crinthians. Here Paul describes the Crinthians as Gd s husbandry. The Greek wrd translated husbandry means a cultivated field r tillage. Accrding t Webster s 1828 Dictinary the English wrd husbandry means: the business f a farmer, cmprehending agriculture r tillage f the grund. Ntice that verse 9 explicitly calls the saints in Crinth Gd s husbandry. Gd was tilling the grund in Crinth thrugh the ministry f Paul and Aplls. The Crinthian saints are the field int which Paul and Aplls had planted and watered. The field is described as belnging t Gd in verse 9 because He is the ne giving/prviding the increase in verses 6 and 7. Pastr Bryan Rss
3 Ye are Gd s building at the end f verse 9, Paul intrduces a secnd example by referring t the Crinthians as Gd s building r edifice. That this building represents the greater bdy f Christ f which the Crinthians are a part seems apparent when ne cnsiders Ephesians 2:19-22. The Crinthians are part f the building that Gd seeks t inhabit thrugh the Spirit i.e., the bdy f Christ. The illustratin f the building is new t the flw f the cntext f chapter 3 and Paul is ging t explain it in the fllwing verses. That being said, given that the field and building are figures f the bdy f Christ it fllws that Paul and Aplls were laburers tgether in cultivating/building Christ s bdy. I Crinthians 3:10 Accrding t the grace f Gd which is given unt me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the fundatin, and anther buildeth theren. But let every man take heed hw he buildeth thereupn. Accrding t the grace f Gd which is given unt me the thing that is critical t understand here is that the fundatin Paul laid fr this building within the saints in Crinth was nt arbitrary but it was accrding t smething. It was accrding t the grace f Gd that was given unt Paul. It is imprtant t remember that Paul received his gspel by direct revelatin f the Lrd Jesus Christ. Galatians 1:6-9 ntice hw Paul uses the terms the grace f Christ and the gspel f Christ interchangeably in verses 6 and 7. The Gspel that Paul preached was related t the subject matter f the grace f Christ. Galatians 5:1-4 by seeking t place themselves back under the perfrmance based acceptance system f the Law, Paul tells the Galatians that they fell frm grace by ding this. Galatians 1:11-12 the gspel f Christ that Paul preached in Galatia he received by direct revelatin frm Jesus Christ. Paul was instructed in the grace f Christ the resurrected, glrified, and ascended Christ himself. Rmans 16:25 the first thing that smene needs t understand in rder t be stablished is what Paul calls my gspel. Nte again the expressin accrding t in verse 25. As a wise masterbuilder accrding t the grace given unt him, Paul served the functin f a wise masterbuilder with respect t lying the fundatin fr this building. The Greek wrd translated masterbuilder nly ccurs ne time in the New Testament and means: an architect, the superintendant in the erectin f buildings, accrding t Strng s Cncrdance. Pastr Bryan Rss
4 Hebrews 8:5 Mses was the masterbuilder f the tabernacle in the wilderness. Mses like Paul, gt his infrmatin directly frm Gd and then delivered it t the peple and built accrdingly. I have laid the fundatin Paul was nt building upn anyne else s fundatin rather he was laying a new ne. A new dispensatin was ushered in thrugh the salvatin and revelatin cmmitted t the Apstle Paul. Paul was using the message f the grace f Christ which he received frm Christ t lay the fundatin fr an entirely new building as a wise masterbuilder. And anther buildeth theren with the respect t the edifice Gd was building with the saints in Crinth, Paul says that he laid the fundatin and anther buildeth theren. Fllwing frm the cntext f the passage I take this t mean that Aplls was building upn the fundatin laid by Paul. Just as in verse 6, Paul planted and Aplls watered. Therefre, smene like Aplls was building upn the fundatin that had been laid by the masterbuilder Paul. But let every man take heed hw he buildeth thereupn nte the shift at the end f verse 10, the wrd but at the beginning f the secnd sentence establishes a cntrast. Paul is ging t begin shifting the fcus away frm He and Aplls and nt the Crinthians and by extensin urselves. This is evident by the expressin every man. The Greek wrd in this case ccurs 83 times in the text f the New Testament and is mst ften translated as fllws in the KJB: every man (39x), every ne (20x), and every (17x). S in the secnd sentence Paul is speaking t all members f Gd s building (v. 9) i.e., all members f the bdy f Christ. Every man is then instructed t take heed. The English wrd heed carries the fllwing meanings accrding t Webster s 1828 Dictinary: T mind; t regard with care; t take ntice f; t attend t; t bserve. 1) Cautin; care; watch fr danger; ntice; circumspectin; usually preceded by take. The basic meaning f the expressin take heed means t prceed with cautin r care i.e., t beware f. I Crinthians 10:12 take heed Galatians 5:15 take heed Philippians 3:2 beware f Clssians 2:8 beware What is every man suppsed t be taking heed f? Hw he r she builds upn the fundatin laid by Paul. The expressin take heed is in the present tense which means that each individual believer is t be cntinually and carefully watching hw they build upn the fundatin laid by Paul. Pastr Bryan Rss
5 I Crinthians 3:11 Fr ther fundatin can n man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. The main idea in this verse is that it is impssible fr any man t lay a different fundatin than the ne put dwn by Paul. Galatians 1:6-9 nt even an angel much less anther man is capable substituting Paul s fundatin fr a different ne. Hwever, this des nt mean that men will nt attempt t d s as the bk f Galatians makes plain. This is ne reasn why the warning is given in I Cr. 3:10 t take heed. Paul emphatically states that the fundatin that he laid was Christ and his finished wrk. I Crinthians 15:3-4 Christ died fr ur sins. Rmans 1:16 Paul preached the gspel f Christ. Rmans 4:25 Christ was delivered fr ur ffences and raised again fr ur justificatin. Clssians 1:14 we have redemptin and frgiveness f sins thrugh the bld f his crss. Clssians 1:20 all things in heaven and earth are recnciled back t Gd trugh the bld f his crss. Rmans 16:25 we are t preach Jesus Christ accrding t the revelatin f the mystery. Ephesians 2:20-21 Jesus Christ is the crnerstne in whm the whle building is fitly framed tgether. Nw that we knw what the fundatin is, next week we can begin talking abut hw t build upn it. Pastr Bryan Rss