1 Corinthians 3:12-15 - Building with silver and gold

3:12,13

The foundation has been laid by God, there is no other. Now we can build upon that foundation with “gold, silver or costly stones”, ie valuable things, or with “wood, hay or straw”, ie worthless things, things that will quickly perish. It will be tested with fire. Jesus said that He came to baptise with fire and the Holy Spirit. So we can preach a cheap prosperity gospel, or a humanistic gospel. Or we can preach the true gospel, the full meat of the word. Events will happen, whether to us as individuals, or to us as churches. These things will test the value of the work we have done. What sort of preacher or teacher do you want to be? One who puts froth into someone’s life, froth that is blown away so easily, or one who builds true faith and perseverance into people. So that when the wind blows, when the storms come, the people still stand.

3:14,15

We will receive a reward if our work proves to have been of quality. Note that yet again we see the concept of a reward. However, if we are shown to have been building with cheap, shoddy goods, then we will suffer loss, though we will not lose our salvation. So the focus in our efforts to be good master builders is not our salvation, but seeking to please the king, and seeking to build up His people. What we do with our lives matters.