God owns the Church: 1 Corinthains 3v1-23

page 1145 of your red church bible first corinthians chapter three brothers i could

not address you as spiritual but as worldly mere infants in christ i gave you milk not solid food

for you are not yet ready for it indeed you are still not ready you are still worldly

for since there is jealousy and quarreling among you are you not worldly are you not acting like

mere men for when one says i follow paul and another i follow apollos are you not mere men

what after all is apollos and what is paul only servant through whom you came to believe

as the lord is assigned to each his task i planted the seed apollos watered it but god made it grow

so neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything but only god who makes things grow

the man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose and each will be rewarded according to

his own labor for we are god's fellow workers you are god's field god's building by the grace god

has given me i laid a foundation as an expert builder and someone else is building on it

but each one should be careful how he builds for no one can lay any foundation other than the one

already laid which is jesus christ if any man builds on this foundation using gold silver costly stones

wood hay or straw his 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 man's work

if what he has built survives he will receive his reward if it is burned up he will suffer loss

he himself will be saved but only as one escaping through the flames

don't you know that you yourselves are god's temple and that god's spirit lives in you

if anyone destroys god's temple god will destroy him for god's temple is sacred and you are that temple

do not deceive yourselves if any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age he should

become a fool so that he may become wise for the wisdom of this world is foolishness in god's sight

as it is written he catches the wise in their craftiness and again the lord knows that the thoughts

of the wise are futile so then no more boasting about men all things are yours whether paul or apollos

or cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future all are yours and you are of christ

and christ is of god

thank you chris

well we're going to pray please keep your bibles open in first corinthians chapter three

as we go through this section together and we continue in our studies

messy church holy church

let's pray together

we have not received the spirit of the world

but the spirit who is from god

that we may understand what god has freely given us

our father god we thank you for the wonderful gift

of your holy spirit

and we pray for his help

right now

that he would give us understanding of these words

that he would drive them deep into our hearts

that he would help us to see

who you are

what you have done

and what it means to be

the holy church

of god

we need your help

and we humbly ask for it

and it's in jesus name we pray

amen

would you ever grow up

you're behaving like a baby

i'm sure we all remember that rebuke from our parents

if you keep behaving like a baby

then i'll treat you like a baby

well sadly it's a rebuke

the church also needs to hear

look at verse one of chapter three

brothers and sisters i could not address you as spiritual

but as worldly

mere

babies

in christ

in fact he says you're about as mature as a baby

on the bottle

verse two

i gave you milk

not solid food

for you were not yet ready for it

indeed you are still

not ready

do you see we can we can start off

with milk

we can start off with the simple gospel of

jesus christ who died for our sins and

forgave us and rose again from the grave

but we never move on into

solid food

not that we put the gospel aside

but that we don't grow up in the gospel

and when we don't grow up

well then we mess up

verse three

you are still worldly

for since there is jealousy and quarreling among you

are you not worldly

are you not acting like mere men like the rest of people

for when one says i follow paul and another i follow apollos

are you not mere men

you see instead of this church being united by gathering around christ and his cross

they have divided by gathering around people and their status

they each have their own little group of followers

paul they say well he's a powerful speaker

he plants churches

have you seen all that he does

we're following him

he knows what strategy is all about

others were saying

well we follow apollos

he's an educated man

a great speaker

do you see the way he draws in the crowds

if the church is going to grow

then we need a program that's going to be delivered in style

we need pastors who are going to be successful

and so the fights continue today

christians behaving like babies

my youth group leader has more people coming to faith than yours

well my pastor is a lecturer in a bible college

we've had people healed in our church

well we've had more baptisms than you

it's all worldly and immature

instead of growing up in the gospel

they are messing up

relying on people

and their status

you see if we were spiritually mature

if we were spiritual adults

well then we would understand that the church

is gods

have a look back at chapter 1

and verse 2

because this is how he wrote to the church

reminding us at the very beginning

chapter 1 verse 2

to the church of God in Corinth

you see the church doesn't belong to any person

and the success is not dependent on any program

it's God's church

he owns the church

and we are to be united around God

and the way in which he works

so there's three things we're going to look at this morning

three things that we're told

about God and his church

that will help us to grow

to be spiritually mature

here's the first one

he tells us that the church

is a field

that God grows

the church is a field

that God grows

so look at verse 9

this is back in chapter 3

he says

for we are God's fellow workers

you

that's the church

are God's field

God's building

the church is to be seen

as a large field

that is meant to grow

and produce a crop

but all the growing

that takes place

is done by God

look at verse 5

so they've been dividing

and arguing about

who they should follow

and he reminds them

what after all

is Apollos

and what is Paul

but well

they're only servants

through whom

you came to believe

as the Lord

has assigned

to each his task

Acts records for us

this whole story

of how the church began

when Paul went

first to Corinth

he went persuading

and reasoning

that Jesus

was the Christ

and we're told

that people

came to believe

and we're also told

in Acts

that when Paul

left Corinth

then Apollos

arrived

and he began

to teach

and to prove

that Jesus

was the Christ

so we had

two great teachers

two great minds

who came to this city

working together

well able to reason

and debate

with the best

each of them

building

on the other

each bringing

the gospel

and encouraging

people

in God's word

but notice

where the credit

lies

verse 6

Paul says

I planted

the seed

Apollos came

and watered

it

but God

made it grow

you see

we can so

quickly

put all our

attention

on people

and status

we think

it's about

getting the right

person

with the right

experience

with the

proven track

record

and if you

get them

then you

will be

guaranteed

that your

church

is going

to grow

after all

success

and popularity

will always

draw a crowd

but it's

never about

us

or our

gifts

verse 7

so neither

he who

plants

nor he

who waters

is anything

only God

who makes

things grow

it's crystal

clear

it's God

who grows

the church

just as a

farmer will

plant

and water

his seed

he has

no control

over the

germination

process

no control

over the

fruitfulness

of the crop

he may have

a full harvest

the harvest

might be

sparse

and in the

same way

we don't

have control

over the

growth

of the

church

God

does

it's his

church

he owns

it

and he

grows it

now that

doesn't mean

we're just

useless

bystanders

just trotting

along and

letting God

do everything

no have a

look back

at verse 5

verse 5

tells us

we are

servants

that God

has gifted

as the

Lord

assigned to

each his

task

so God

distributes

amongst

his church

gifts

as he

pleases

to each

of his

people

and some

of the

people

within

church

life

will be

those

who

sow

the

gospel

seed

and there

will be

others

who

water

the

gospel

seed

they

build

upon

it

it's

a

team

effort

everybody

working

together

verse

8

the

man

who

plants

and the

one

who

waters

have

one

purpose

our

united

desire

together

as

God's

people

is to

see that

the good

news of

Christ

goes out

that people

are built

up and

growing in

it

that they

come to

faith

one

person

may

invite

somebody

to an

event

a

different

person

might get

to share

the good

news

with them

then another

person

might build

upon it

and teach

them

and explain

it a little

bit more

and there

will be

another

person

who's

praying

for that

person

each

one

is

gifted

each

role

is

vital

and

nobody

can

say

well

my

part

is

better

than

your

part

should

you

only

invite

it

I

explained

there's

no

superiority

in

all

of

this

we

have

one

purpose

so

neither

he

who

plants

or he

who

waters

is

anything

it's

not

about

us

it's

about

God

who

does

all

the

growing

so

that's

the

first

picture

he

gives

us

the

church

is

a

field

that

God

grows

the

second

is

he

says

the

church

is

a

building

that

God

tests

the

church

is

a

building

that

God

tests

so

in

verse

nine

we're

told

yes

we

are

God's

field

and

then

he

uses

a

different

metaphor

he

says

we're

God's

building

the

church

is

to

be

seen

like

a

great

big

building

that

God

tests

to

see

if

it

is

structurally

sound

so

that

it

will

endure

look

at

verse

10

by

the

grace

God

has

given

me

I

laid

a

foundation

as

an

expert

builder

so

what

is

the

foundation

that

Paul

has

laid

well

look

down

at

verse

11

he

says

no

one

can

lay

any

foundation

other

than

the

one

already

laid

which

is

Jesus

Christ

so

when

Paul

arrived

in

Corinth

the

foundation

that

he

laid

was

the

message

of

Christ

and

his

cross

that's

what

he

preached

and

people

heard

that

good

news

and

they

believed

in

it

and

as

a

sign

of

their

commitment

to

Christ

they

were

baptized

that's

how

the

church

in

Corinth

started

and

that's

how

this

church

here

in

Carigoline

has

started

and

that's

how

any

true

church

starts

so

the

gospel

has

been

laid

the

good

news

has

been

rooted

in

people

have

come

to

faith

but

go

back

to

verse

10

again

let's

read it

he says

by the

grace

God

has

given

me

I

laid

a

foundation

as

an

expert

builder

and

someone

else

is

building

on

it

now

I

think

the

context

is

implying

that

there's

a

problem

with

the

building

that's

going

on

on

top

of

the

foundation

yes

the

foundation

is

solid

but

the

bricks

and

blocks

going

up

are

a

little

suspect

it

seems

Paul

is

concerned

here

that

new

teachers

have

come

along

and

they're

not

building

with

the

gospel

instead

of

preaching

Christ

and

his

cross

instead

of

bringing

people

back

to

God's

word

they're

more

interested

in

programs

and

style

they're

more

interested

in

clever

arguments

and

clever

people

but

what does

he say

the end

of verse

10

but

each

one

should

be

careful

how

he

builds

verse

12

if

if

if

anyone

builds

on

this

foundation

using

gold

silver

costly

stones

wood

hay

or

straw

his

work

will

be

shown

for

what

it

is

because

the

day

will

bring

it

to

light

the

day

the

day

the

day

of

the

Lord's

return

when

Christ

will

come

back

again

to

judge

and

when

he

comes

back

again

to

judge

it

will

be

complete

and

thorough

no

stone

will

be

left

unturned

everything

will

be

laid

out

in

finite

detail

and

everything

and

everyone

will

be

tested

look at

the rest

of

verse

13

it

will

be

revealed

with

fire

and

the

fire

will

test

the

quality

of

each

man's

work

when

any

large

structure

is

built

when

it

is

finished

it

must

be

tested

by

the

chief

engineer

the

materials

used

in

the

building

will

be

tested

to

see

if

it

is

structurally

sound

so

that

when

the

wind

and

the

rain

comes

that

building

is

going

to

remain

strong

it's

not

going

to

fall

down

in

the

same

way

when

the

Lord

Almighty

comes

to

his

church

he's

going

to

test

it

with

fire

to

see

that

it

is

sound

he

will

test

to

see

what

materials

were

used

in

the

church

so

what

did

we

use

to

build

this

church

in

Carigoline

did

we

build

with

the

gospel

or

did

we

rely

on

programs

and

style

did

we

make

the

cross

of

Christ

central

to

our

gatherings

was

God's

word

the

priority

and

the

focus

and

did

that

drive

everything

we

did

or

were

we

relying

on

people

and

their

status

anything

that

is

not

of

God

will

be

burned

up

and

shown

to be

nothing

verse

14

if

what

he

has

built

survives

well

he

will

receive

his

reward

if

it

is

burned

up

he

will

suffer

loss

you

see

the

church

of

God

will

not

escape

God's

judgment

and

all

those

who

are

involved

in

the

building

up

of

the

church

those

who

sow

and

those

who

water

that

is

people

like

you

and

me

we

are

not

going

to

escape

this

judgment

either

we

will

have

to

be

tested

our

work

in

Sunday

school

the

things

that

we

taught

the

children

what

we

did

at

polo

our

conversations

what

the

rock

was

all

about

what

we

teach

our

children

in

our

own

homes

the

things

that

we

share

with

our

friends

at

work

our

witness

the

work

that

I

do

as

a

pastor

every

single

sermon

and

every

talk

that

is

given

it's

all

going

to be

tested

and if

people

have been

saved

because

they

heard

the

message

of

Christ

they

will

remain

because

it

will

be

true

and

they

will

last

but

if

people

have

just

been

trusting

in

programs

and

leaders

and

all

sorts

of

other

things

then

people's

faith

will have

been in

something

that is

not

solid

and

it

will

be

burned

up

and

it

will

be

shown

for

nothing

can

you

see

the

picture

that

he's

building

here

that

we

could

do

all

kinds

of

things

together

as

a

church

and

have

lots

of

people

here

and

think

my

isn't

it

great

that

all

these

people

have

come

to

Christ

but

when

it's

all

tested

we

discover

that

they

haven't

been

trusting

Christ

they've

been

trusting

in

other

things

the

shocking

reality

is

that

believers

who

trust

in

their

methods

rather

than

the

message

will

just

about

escape

God's

judgement

look

at

verse

15

these

are

serious

words

he

himself

this

is

the

end

of

verse

15

he

himself

will

be

saved

as

if

just

by

the

mercy

of

God

he

will

be

saved

but

only

as

one

escaping

through

the

flames

just

as

a

person

would

jump

out

the

window

of

a

burning

building

so

God

is

saying

the

person

who

has

built

the

church

and

invested

in

all

sorts

of

other

things

rather

than

the

gospel

even

though

they

believe

they

will

just

escape

so let

me ask

us all

the

question

what

are we

building

this

church

with

is it

going to

stand

make

every

conversation

count

because

it will

be tested

so it's a

field

that God

grows

it's a

building

that God

tests

and

third

the

church

is a

temple

that

God

protects

a

temple

that

God

protects

verse

16

don't

you

know

that

you

yourselves

are

God's

temple

and

that

God's

spirit

lives

in

you

the

Old

Testament

temple

that we

read

about

was

central

and the

focal

point

of the

city

but

more

importantly

it was

the

place

where

God

came

to

dwell

amongst

his

people

of

course

this

great

and

grand

Old

Testament

temple

it

could

never

contain

God

it

was

simply

a

way

for

God

to

show

his

desire

to

be

with

his

people

in

a

sense

God

was

declaring

to

his

people

I'm

moving

in

with

you

I

want

to

get

close

to

you

now

all

of

that

was

a

picture

of

the

true

temple

to

come

which

was

the

church

God

doesn't

live

in a

building

made

of

wood

and

stone

look

at

verse

16

again

don't

you

know

that

you

yourselves

are

God's

temple

and

that

God's

spirit

lives

in

you

the

local

church

carigoline

baptist

church

has

become

God's

home

address

where

does

God

live

here

within

his

people

he

resides

in

his

people

he

says

I

have

moved

into

you

by

my

holy

spirit

and

because

God

has

made

his

church

his

home

he

cares

deeply

for

his

home

he

is

protective

of

his

home

he

jealously

guards

his

home

verse

17

if

anyone

destroys

God's

temple

God

will

destroy

him

for

God's

temple

is

sacred

and

you

are

that

temple

let

me

read

verse

17

again

and

just

change

the

word

slightly

if

anyone

destroys

God's

church

in

Karigaline

God

will

destroy

him

for

God's

church

in

Karigaline

is

sacred

and

you

are

the

church

in

Karigaline

can

we

see how

protective

God

is of

his

church

his

home

his

people

we're

the

holy

church

of

God

and

he

cannot

tolerate

any

kind

of

unholy

behavior

so

he's

saying

to

them

if

you

fight

and

squabble

if

you're

the

cause

of

division

if

because

of

your

sinful

behavior

you

start

leading

people

away

from

Christ

then

look at

verse

17

God

will

destroy

you

we

can't

treat

God's

house

as we

please

and

expect

God

to

ignore

it

and

say

you

know

what

it

doesn't

matter

just

do

what

you

like

it's

alright

no

the

church

is

special

and

precious

to

God

in

other

words

God

will

see

to

it

that

they

do

not

enter

our

eternal

home

the

kingdom

of

heaven

instead

they

will

be

shut

out

from

his

presence

the

church

is

God's

holy

temple

where

he

dwells

where

he

lives

and

he

will

protect

it

so

we

are

a

field

that

God

grows

a

building

that

God

a

temple

that

God

protects

and

if we

are to

follow

that

we

will

be

a

wise

church

look

at