Why do we elevate one human over another? Skill, talents and accomplishments separate some humans from the rest of us. Michael Jordan, Bill Gates, whoever. This is entirely natural—and it can easily bleed into the church. Who can convert the most, preach the most, even suffer the most, separates some Christians from the others.
But Paul here reminds us that this natural way of thinking has no place in the Kingdom of God. We all have our roles as we are called by God, but there is no hierarchy of worth, because God Himself is who animates the actual good outcomes. If you’re planting rocks instead of seeds, nothing’s going to grow, no matter how good of a gardener you are.
Paul then goes on to discuss what sounds like a building metaphor, but the reference to gold and precious stones indicates that we are continuing the garden metaphor, referring all the way back to the Garden of Eden, and the gold and precious stones associated with the garden and the land of Havilah. The story of the Bible is the story of the restoration of the garden, not only the relationship of man with God, but of man’s place in the world and purpose of man’s work.
We see this displayed in the Old Testament with the creation of the Temple, structured to match the Garden of Eden, facing eastward, decorated with images of plants, and designed to be the meeting place of God with man. This temple was built upon a carefully constructed foundation of cut stones, overlayed with gold and silver. This brings us back to Paul’s metaphor, which he then extends from the garden to the temple to the judgement seat of Christ.
All leaders of God’s people will face this. Some will be rewarded—those who have built upon the fireproof foundation of Christ. Others, not so much. Some who have been praised on earth will only get to heaven by the skin of their teeth. Some won’t make it at all. Paul makes the temple metaphor explicit here. Those who destroy the temple—those who cause harm, destruction or division within the church, pastors who are not even Christians, will “be destroyed.”
The point here is not to set up our own seats of judgment, but rather that church leaders do not actually get the credit for their accomplishments, so divisions around which is superior is foolish. The message to the church as a whole is simply, don’t boast in human leaders.
For leaders in the church—whether pastors or elders or deacons or mentors or whatever—we must remember that why we serve and who we serve is more important than what we accomplish.
If, then, any truly good human accomplishment is worthless outside of Christ, what does that mean for us? If we are the kind of people who enjoy doing good, we must understand that if that enjoyment is our only motivation, those deeds are worthless. When our deeds, though, flow out from our faith relationship with Christ. “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
The positive side of this is that Christ can take our works, which may seem like straw or wood, and turn them into precious stones and precious metals. Whether raising children, running a business, going to school, working a menial job—when you live your life with Jesus at the center, all our deeds are worthy of reward. This is the power of the grace of Christ, turning even the mundane into the sacred.
The question then becomes one of motivation. Why do good? Why fight sin? Why discipline ourselves. The Heidelberg Catechism suggests this: “so that with our whole life we may show ourselves grateful to God for his goodness and that he may be glorified through us.”
Elsewhere, Paul writes “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
Our entire lives, in the sacred and the secular, in the glorious and the mundane, should be a continual act of gratitude to Christ. And if that is our source, then He is faithful to turn it all into the gold and jewels of paradise.
— Sermon Notes, Brent Rood, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA
1 Corinthians 3:6-23
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