Article from the East Main Messenger, dated 5/4/2025.
Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw – each one’s work will become 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.
1 Corinthians 3:12-13
Elaborating on the analogy of the church at Corinth being “God’s building” (1 Cor. 3:9), Paul had stated that he had “laid a foundation” in a way comparable to “a skilled master builder” (1 Cor. 3:10a). It was Paul who had started the church in that location.. He had done so by preaching not his own opinions or teachings, but rather the good news about Christ offering salvation to all (1 Cor. 3:11; cf. 1 Cor. 2:2). Yet now others were teaching the Corinthians, as Paul alludes to when he writes that he had “laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it” (1 Cor. 3:10b). He then said, “Let each one take care how he builds upon it” (1 Cor. 3:10c), urging all who would hold any position of authority and influence within the church to be careful how they used it. They must not try to change the foundation from Jesus and his teachings to their own doctrines (cf. 1 Cor. 3:11; 2 Tim. 4:3-4).
This brings us to verses 12-13, quoted above. The best way to understand Paul’s analogy of building on the foundation of Christ “with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, (and) straw” (1 Cor. 3:12) is to compare it with the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3-8, 18-23). This parable is about bringing the gospel to others, which ties in with Paul’s illustration about building upon the foundation which is Jesus. The parable shows six reactions given by those with whom we share the gospel, just as there are six materials mentioned by Paul in verse 12 which are used to build upon the foundation of Christ.
For example, when one shares the gospel with someone else, it is possible that they will reject it outright (Matt. 13:4, 19; cf. Lk. 8:5, 12). This is comparable to building on the foundation with “straw” (1 Cor. 3:12), the material most easily destroyed by “fire” (1 Cor. 3:13).
There are also those who initially receive the gospel but later fall away due to hardship and persecution (Matt. 13:5-6, 20-21; cf. Lk. 8:6, 13). This is comparable to building in the foundation with “hay” (1 Cor. 3:12), a material which might last slightly longer than straw but will still succumb to “fire” (1 Cor. 3:13).
Some receive the gospel but show little evidence of evangelistic effort and spiritual growth, having been distracted by “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches” (Matt. 13:7, 22; cf. Lk. 8:7, 14). They can be compared to “wood” (1 Cor. 3:12), a substance which takes longer for “fire” to burn than hay or straw but which will still be ultimately destroyed by the flames.
Then the parable speaks of “good soil” which “produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matt. 13:8; cf. Lk. 8:8). This represents those with whom one shares the gospel who not only receive it, but continually show evidence of spiritual growth and evangelistic effort. Jesus says of them, “He indeed bear fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matt. 13:23; cf. Lk. 8:15). This kind of Christian can be compared to the “gold, silver, (and) precious stones” used to build upon the foundation which is Christ (1 Cor. 3:12). The disciple whose growth and evangelism “yields…a hundredfold” is comparable to adding “gold” to God’s building which is the church, while the saints whose relationships with Christ “yields…sixty(fold)…(and) thirty(fold)” are comparable to adding “silver” and “precious stones” to God’s building which is the church.
Paul then states that which kind of building material each of us are – the kind of “work” we do for the Lord – “will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it” (1 Cor. 3:13a). On Judgment Day, the work we have done for the Lord and our level of devotion to him will be revealed (2 Cor. 5:10; Eccl. 12:14). Additionally, trials and hardships in this life (“fire”) can disclose our true allegiance to Jesus and “what sort of work each one has done” (1 Cor. 3:13b; cf. 1 Tim. 5:24-25).
We’ll discuss this in greater detail next week, Lord willing.
–Jon
To read Jon’s series on 1 Corinthians from the beginning and many other articles, visit https://predenominationalchristianity.com.