I am God’s building….

For we (the apostles) are his fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw. Each man’s work will be made manifest, for the day will disclose it because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work  that anyone has built on the foundation survives he will receive a reward. if anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. Matt 7:24-27

Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.  Psalm 127:1

Paul calls every believer God’s building. I view my life sometimes as building my mansion, making my crown, and things like that. He promises that we will be rewarded for every kind word, deed, or act of mercy that is done in his name (Matt 10:42). He views them as gold in heaven. I’m starting to think of this and I feel like if I can get a grasp of this I can get a mindset driven by eternity. To know that I can have regret on the day I stand before the King, to know that I will see those moments of my life wasted burned away in front of me and in essence have a halfway built house.

To know that I am the temple of God and I have a mansion in heaven is to view these passages as both present and eschcatological. Now I am the Temple of God and I am a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit according to 1 Corinthians 6:19. I also believe that the church at large will be here during the tribulation. I am throughly convinced that there is no pre tribulation rapture, but that’s another subject for a later date. But, back to the subject at hand. We build our house for a reason, protection from the elements and a house that cannot stand in a storm is not a well built house. He uses the foundation as the focal point at the end of his glorious sermon on the mount. The Sermon on the Mount is the basics of the kingdom. This is the foundation of everything we do as Christians. Jesus promises us a reward for every good deed for what we do in his name. This is by no means works based because without his grace we can do nothing anyway. I look at everytime I do something in line with the Sermon (on the mount) as me attaining gold in heaven, or getting another jewel in my crown. There is nothing good in me so I make good use of the grace of the Most High and accept his word as truth and act accordingly.

Now to view this in an escatological view, I will have to point to the winds. The winds can mean the winds that a Christian faces everyday (ex. persecution, financial woes, death). Or it can mean the escatologial winds that will befall upon the church by Satan’s rage in the end times. Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:10 that many will fall away before the end because God did not meet their expectations and they will be offended. He says that many false prophets will arise and lead many astray and without solid teaching of the word of God founded on wholehearted love for God, many will find their houses in ruins before the end. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 tells us that many will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to decietful spirits and doctrines of demons, and through the INSINCERITY of LIARS whose consciences have been seared. These guys would have been in the faith and devoted before they depart and they will have their own mindset on who God is and what he is to them and it’s going to be totally different from what Jesus said. People will come preaching another Jesus as Paul forewarned us in 2 Corinthians 11:1-4. People will be enticed by this and buy into this easier and false doctrine and by doing so turn their backs on the real Jesus.

 Now there are going to be some who stand and they won’t have anything but the foundation of having Jesus as their savior and as a result, they won’t be going to hell but they will suffer loss. He himself will be saved but only as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:15c). Those will face regret. Those are the ones who will be outside the city looking in. I don’t want to be one of those guys. I want to rule and reign with the Master. I want to be found faithful. Faith with works to back it up.

 I want to live a life that’s worthy of his calling. Removing things that hinder me from loving him because I don’t want regret upon the day I stand before him. May I be found a pure and spotless bride that’s ready for the KING!

~ by timbrownlee on October 6, 2007.