Real Achievements
REAL ACHIEVEMENTS
1 CORINTHIANS 3:10-23
Are our lives valuable for Christ or do we fritter away our time and energy in useless pursuits?
Paul as a townsman never seemed happy with agricultural illustrations (see Romans 11:17-24, where his use of the olive tree metaphor seems adapted to his own purpose contrary to nature!). It is not unexpected therefore that he prefers to drive home his point with the imagery of a building (3:10-15).
The argument is constructed in a logical fashion. Every building must have a solid foundation (3:11)—the church is secure at this point at least (Matthew 16:18; 21:42; Ephesians 2:20; Revelation 21:14), as Jesus had himself emphasized (Matthew 7:24-27) and it was the unique privilege of the apostolic ministry to lay that foundation by their preaching and confession of Christ. In that sense the Corinthian church is Paul’s work (9:1); and he was careful not to claim more than his rightful assignment as “a skilled master-builder” (Romans 15:20; 2 Corinthians 10:13-18).
The foundation has been well and truly laid, but he is anxious that the erecting of the building shall also be done competently and with the right materials (3:10b), because the final inspection will quickly show up any defect—and that Day of testing is certainly coming (3:13).
Various building materials are available. Some are suitable, others are not (3:12). The contrast is between what is durable (gold, silver, precious stones) and what is not (wood, hay, stubble), when the building catches fire (3:13). Then, the fire will test the worth of the builder’s effort—and if he has used useless materials, his work will be destroyed, although he doesn’t forfeit his life in the fire (see 9:27).
One particular building next occupies the apostle’s attention, namely God’s sanctuary (3:16-17), for this is the application of the building metaphor and its teaching. 1 Peter 2:4-10 is the best commentary on these verses, with its reminder that the church is God’s people as a worshiping community and his witness as a holy people in a fallen world.
3:18-23 bring together the varied themes of the previous discussion. Human wisdom is futile—a truth buttressed by two Old Testament quotations (3:19-20); even Christians lapse into worldly patterns of thought when they pin their hope on the people who are merely God’s instruments (3:21); and so, far from claiming a party-allegiance, let the Corinthians recall the vastness of their heritage as God’s people (3:23) in which the Messiah and his people are viewed as one entity which belongs to God (12:12). No inferior subordination within the Godhead should therefore be read into the closing phrase.