1 Corinthians 3:11-15
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.
This is a rich verse in 1 Corinthians! It speaks of both the foundation… Christ…. and of the works we are created to build upon Him, our foundation. The only sure foundation upon which to build is the one that ALREADY has been laid. …. the eternal nature of the kingdom of God in Christ is also referenced and confirmed in Matthew 25:34:
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
and in Ephesians 2:10, this same dynamic is observed;
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Isaiah 28:16-17
So this is what the Lord GOD says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
the one who believes will never be shaken.
I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the level.
Observered: Our Foundational creation event is defined as having Jesus Christ laid as the cornerstone, the foundation from Creation, at the very beginning of creation and completed through our works being built upon Christ Jesus….. Our purpose is described as carrying out continued good works, which were also prepared for us beforehand… We build upon Christ, our foundation, with the various gifts and talents and abilities….described as a variety of works as though they are of varying substances-
“gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw.”
On the day of judgment, our construction, made of our good works, laid upon the foundation of Christ, will be tested with fire. The fire of that day will prove the quality and durability of our construction. If one’s construction survives the fire, a reward will be received. If the construction upon the foundation is consumed by the fire, the builder will be saved, but just barely…. “even though as one escaping through the flames.”
Just as one’s works don’t secure her salvation, the inadequacy of one’s works also does not destroy it. The foundation of Jesus Christ alone assures the sufficiency of our salvation.
Furthermore, even the “building blocks”, the works used to build the house, must be those provided by the Lord, not our own.
If one looks at the blessed “building blocks” of the dwelling place built with “living stones” (1Peter 2:5- “.. “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ) . This is a holy habitation in which Christ will dwell. One can see them described by Jesus in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. They are: godly grief, meekness, pursuit of righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, perseverance in the face of persecution, even of the degree carried out against the prophets throughout the ages. Those whose construction from such as this will survive the fiery judgment and not only belong to the kingdom of God but will also be comforted, will inherit the earth, will be satisfied with having received righteousness, will receive mercy, will see God, and will be called sons and daughters of God, This is the great reward for having built well upon the foundation laid by the Lord who will have also provided these eternally durable building blocks for the completed dwelling. Such a dwelling will withstand the flames and be purified. Anything used of lesser quality than these will prove to have been destroyed and such builders receive no such reward.
Those who merely purchase “fire insurance” and build according to their own desires instead of by the Lord’s design will have their lives saved, but the Lord’s dwelling place with them will have been destroyed and they will not receive a reward.
So who will be the priests who serve the holy God in the holy temple built of living stones? As Protestant Christ-followers. we believe that all believers who are these “living stone” building blocks will be both the temple and the royal priesthood that loves, obeys, and serves the Lord!