Shalom, my dear brothers and sisters. Praise God for the opportunity that we can continue to study together the Word of God as we are continuing with the study of the book of 1 Corinthians. We have arrived to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and we are now, beloved brothers and sisters, dealing with the second half of 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Please open your Bibles and I would like you to turn to verse 9. We will read it all the way to verse 23. And the theme of this portion is the subject of the truth that the church, the assembly, the ecclesia, is building a temple. And the goal is to build a temple with proper material, with a quality that will honor God.

Because as we have already learned in the first few verses that the church, the assembly of believers, is the family of God. And the church, the church, the assembly of believers, Jew and Gentiles, are the field where God is ministering to. And this we call it God's husbandry, God's field. In Hebrew it is called Sadeh, the field where God will be working. But beloved brothers and sisters, from verse 9b to the end of the chapter, verse 23, the church, the assembly, the people of God, really are the temple, the building, the house of God, where God is dwelling in the midst of His own. And He wants us to build for His glory and for His honor.

And so we read in verse 9, 1 Corinthians 3, verse 9b, Ye are God's building, according to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master builder. I have laid the foundation and another builders thereon, but let every man take heed how he builders thereupon. Verse 11, Paul continues, For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, Jesus the Messiah. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, rubble, every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire. And the fire shall try every man's work what sort it is.

If any man's work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Knowing not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy. Which temple ye are? Let no man deceive you. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.

For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. And again, the Lord knoweth the thought of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours. And ye are Christ's Messiah. And the Messiah, Christ, is God's. And I will stop here, beloved brothers and sisters, with this passage. 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, verse 9b to verse 23. So as we have mentioned earlier, beloved brothers and sisters, the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians as a corrective ministry.

The Corinthians were called by Shaul Paul, saints. According to chapter 1 and verse 2, the Apostle Paul said, "Ye are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus the Messiah, our Lord, both theirs and ours." So they were saints. They were believers. They were set apart for God positionally. But, beloved brothers and sisters, practically, the Corinthians were not set aside for God in a practical way. That's why, beloved brothers and sisters, all the book of Corinthians deals specifically with corrective ministry that Apostle Shaul Paul presented before the Corinthians. It was rather a sad condition that existed in the history of this local assembly at Corinth.

They had issues which we are dealing with now in chapter 1, 2, 3, and 4 in relationship to divisions among themselves. They had problems with immorality in chapter 5 and 6. In chapter 7, there were problems with marriage. In chapter 8, 9, and 10, problems with the liberties of the believers. In chapter 11, there were problems with the Lord's table. In chapter 12, 13, and 14, there were problems with the spiritual gifts. In chapter 15, there were problems with the truth of the resurrection. In chapter 16, there were problems regarding the giving, the supporting, money, the issue that they had a problem there as well. So, as we have already covered up to now, the Apostle Shaul Paul is dealing with these issues, one issue at a time.

And when we have arrived to now, 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verses 9b to the end of the chapter, Shaul Paul continued to remind the Corinthians that they were carnal. Some said, I am of Paul. Chapter 3, verse 4. Some said, I am of Apollos. Chapter 3, verse 4b, he said, are ye not carnal? Verse 5, he said, who then is Paul? Who then is Apollos? But they are ministers. They are servants. They are people who are called to minister to you, dear brothers and sisters of the Corinthians. And that's the problem. They are ministers. In Hebrew, it says, Meshartim. Meshartim. They were people that were raised by God to serve the Corinthians, beloved brothers and sisters.

In the Greek, the word is diakonos, diakonos. And diakonos means simply a servant, a minister, a person that is called to serve God's people in whatever service it will be. In the case of Paul and Apollos, they were more than just ordinary diakonos. Paul was an apostle and they were the ones that were literally teaching, ministering of God as the servants of God to the Corinthian assembly. So, in the first nine verses of 1 Corinthians 3, Shaul Paul mentioned to the Corinthians that they are the family of God. And as a family, there needed to be maturity among the people of God. And then in verses 5 to 9a, Shaul Paul said that the assembly, the church, is a call to be, as it says here, a field, a sadeh in Hebrew, a place where God's people are serving among each other.

There's supposed to be a growth and there will be more people coming in and there will be a growth among the people of God. It's like the field. And you remember what we read in verse 9, for we are laborers together with God. And then Paul said, ye are God's husbandry, God's field, God's sadeh in Hebrew, sadeh, the field where God is working in this field, using his people, his servants to work in that field. That there will be a lot of quantity of growth and the goal is to bring more people in and not to have divisions and friction that people leave and go astray and no longer enjoy the local testimony in any local church, local assembly of the people of God.

But now in the second half of 1 Corinthians 3 from verse 9b to the end of the chapter, Shaul Paul presents the church as the temple, as the building that God is dwelling in the midst of his own people. And here God desires quality, godliness, that must be godliness among the people of God because it is the church, the assembly, the ecclesia is God's house. It's where gods dwell. You remember we read already in Matthew 18.20, Yeshua said, where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them. Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah said to the disciples even before the church was born in preparation to understand when two or three individuals in a local congregation assembly are dwelling together in harmony, submissive to the word of God.

He said, I will be in the midst of you, God will be in the midst of you because the people of God, the church, the assembly is the temple, the building where God dwells in the midst of you. His own and the goal, the goal, the aim is to bring quality of godliness in the midst of God's people. And that's why God's people are to be careful how they build the temple, how they build. And the way we live is an evidence of what kind of material we are using to build the temple of God. And the material has to do with the manner whereby God's people behave with one another as they live for God and he is in the midst of his own.

So now notice that in verse 9, the second half of verse 9, Shaul Paul said, Ye are God's building. Notice that word, ye are God's building. And that word, ye are God's building in that verse 9b, that word for building is oikodomo. Oikodome. Oikodomo or kodome simply has to do with that word in the Hebrew, which is binyan. It's simply like a place, like a building where God would dwell. Now again, notice, he doesn't say you are in a certain building. No, he says you are God's building. Notice, ye are, plural, God's building. So, beloved brothers and sisters, the Corinthians and every local assembly, in fact, the whole assembly, the whole church is God's temple, God's building.

Remember, the church is a composition of living stones. Sinners who have been forgiven, Jewish and Gentile believers united into that one body, and the people, the believers are the building. He doesn't say that a certain structure is the building, but no, ye, you, believers, together, collectively, are God's building. Let me remind you that sometimes the believers individually are presented as the temple of God because their body becomes the temple of God. We read it a little bit later on in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19 where Shaul Paul said, So, in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19 and 20, See, there we are presented, the believers individually, the believers' bodies presented as the temple, as the house of God.

But in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, there the apostle, just like in our chapter, 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 9b, Ye are God's building. In 2 Corinthians chapter 6, in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, he is speaking about the believers collectively. It says in verse 16 of 2 Corinthians 6, What agreement has the temple of God with idols? And then he continues, For ye are the temple of the living God. Ye, not as plural, Not only your body individually, but also collectively. So, beloved brothers and sisters, Now, that the apostle is continuing to remind and to minister to the Corinthians, who had a great need to understand the fact that they could not behave and cause divisions in the local assembly, He is encouraging them to understand that God is dwelling in the midst of his own people.

Not only in their, each of their own body individually, As the Holy Spirit of God came to reside there when we have accepted the Lord Jesus the Messiah, But also collectively. And that's why their behavior towards one another is so important, Because God is dwelling in the midst of his own, And if there is friction, And there are divisions, The Spirit of God is grieved, And God cannot operate, Cannot have joy in the midst of his own people. We quench the Spirit, We grieve the Spirit, When there is divisions among the people of God. So, notice, There are four things that Shaul Paul, Pointing to the Corinthians, As they are building, As they are together, The household of God, As they are together, God's building, God's temple, God's house, Paul is pointing into four important lessons, That all of us need to learn, As the Corinthians as well.

Number one, We must build, On the right foundation, If we are going to recognize, And to do the right thing, Because we together are the building, God's building, And God's temple. Number two, We must build with the right materials, If we are going to understand where we are, And if we are going to honor God in our life, Number three, We must build according to the right plan, And number four, We must build with the right motive. Beloved brothers and sisters, These are lessons that are so important, That Shaul Paul is ministering to the believers at Corinth. So, notice, From verse 10, 1 Corinthians 3 verse 10, All the way to verse 23, Four important lessons, Are presented before Shaul Paul, By Shaul Paul, Before the Corinthian assembly at Corinth.

So, the first point, The Apostle Paul is making here, The requirement is that we must, The Corinthians must build on the right foundation. If we are God's building, We must build upon the right foundation. And the foundation is none else, But Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach. And so, in verses 10 and 11, Paul says, According to the grace of God, Which is given unto me, As a wise master builder, Notice he used the word builder, I have laid a foundation, And another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed How he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay, Then that is laid, Which is Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah.

He is that foundation. Now, that tells us volume, Beloved brothers and sisters. Why volume? Simply because, The Apostle, Come to the Corinthian, Writing to the Corinthian, After he has established already, The local assembly. And after he heard, What was going on, In the previous chapters, That they were so divided. And they were, He said that they are carnal. And that they are really envying, And divide among one another, And strive with one another, Claiming to be, I belong to him, I belong to him, I belong to him, Paul, Apollo, Siphal. And he said to them, Listen, You belong to the Lord, You are God's building, You are God's temple, And therefore, You must, Build this house, This temple, This spiritual house, With the right foundation.

Meaning, That it must be built, In submissiveness, To the person of our Lord, Jesus the Messiah, Who is the foundation. And so in verse 10, Paul said, According to the grace of God, It is only by the grace of God, And which is given unto me, He gave me the responsibility, To share with you the gospel, To present before you, The truth of the word of God, And I, Paul said of himself in verse 10, As a master builder, I have laid a foundation, What does he mean?

He says, I have laid before you, I have presented before you, The one who is the foundation, The person, Of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, He is the foundation, Beloved brothers and sisters, It is very important, To understand, That the Lord Jesus the Messiah, He is the chief, Corner stone, And Shaul Paul, Came to Corinth, Present the gospel, Led people to the Lord Jesus the Messiah, And he is saying to them, I have laid a foundation, And others now, To build upon, That foundation, You notice, That he is speaking to the Corinthians, In their locality, But in reality, This applies to the world, Wide, Assembly of God, The foundation is in the bottom, Is the

person of the Lord, And the apostles, That built upon the, The Lord Jesus the Messiah, The chief corner stone, He is the foundation, He is the chief corner stone, And the foundation, Is immediately laid upon him, That solid foundation, In Ephesians chapter 2, And verse 19, We read, Now therefore ye are no more strangers, And foreigners, But fellow citizens, With the saints, And notice once again, Of the household of God, This is the temple, You are the household of God, That spiritual building, The spiritual house, And then he continues, In verse 20, And you are built together, Or built upon the foundation, Of the apostles, And the prophets, Jesus the Messiah, Himself being the chief

corner stone, In whom all the buildings, Fitly framed together, Groweth unto a holy temple, In the Lord, Notice that, Verses 19, 20, And 21, Of Ephesians chapter 2, And so, And so, Beloved brothers and sisters, If there will be any, Growth to this temple, To this house, To this building, The house of God, Which ye are, Meaning the Corinthians, And you and I, And every believer, Well, We must build, Whatever we do, Whatever we build, We must build, When the heart, And the motives, And the practices, Are built, On that foundation, In other words, On the person of our Lord, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, Again, According as to the grace of God, Which is

given unto me, As a wise master builder, Paul says, I have laid a foundation, And in other builders, Their own, But let, Listen to this, Let every man, Take heed, How he built there upon, Notice, While together, The Corinthians, Collectively, Are part of the local, House of God, Local temple of God, And all believers, Are collectively, Called the house of God, The temple of God, The spiritual temple of God, But every one of us, Every one of the Corinthians, Have to be, As it says here, Taking heed as to, How we are building, That's a question to all of us, Beloved brothers and sisters, How do you and I build?

Are we building, Upon the right foundation? Are we building, The spiritual house of God, The spiritual house of God, Presenting, The person of the Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, Who is the foundation? Are we building, With proper presentation, Of the person of the Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, You remember, When, Shimon Petos, Answer, To the Lord Jesus, The Messiah, When he was asked, Who do men say, Who do men say, That I, The son of man, Am, You remember, In Matthew chapter 16, At, Kesariah in Philippi, In the land of Israel there, It was Simon, Shimon, Petos, Who gave, A proper answer, He said to Yeshua, Simon Peter, Answered and said, Thou art the Messiah, The son of the living God, Atahu ha-Mashiach, Ben Elohim Chaim, Thou art the Christ, The son of the living God, And you notice, What Yeshua said to him, The Lord Jesus, The Messiah said, He answered, And he said, Blessed art thou Simon, Barionah, For flesh and blood is not revealed unto thee, But my Father which is in heaven, And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, Petos, And upon this rock, I will build my assembly, My ecclesia, My church, My kehila, And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

What was that rock, That Yeshua was speaking about? The rock was the testimony, That Shimon, Peter gave, When he said, Concerning the Lord Jesus, The Messiah, That the Lord Jesus, That Yeshua, Thou art the Messiah, The son of the living God, And everything is built upon, The person of the Lord Jesus, The Messiah, Who is, The Mashiach, The anointed one, But he is the eternal son of God. And therefore, Beloved brothers and sisters, We must build, As the Corinthians were challenged, We must build on the right foundation, And the right foundation is none else, But the person of the Lord, Yeshua, Jesus, The Messiah. This is verses 10 and 11, Of 1 Corinthians chapter 3.

But you notice, That Shaul Paul continues, And he says, Not only that we must build, On the right foundation, But we also must build, With the right material, Not carnal, Sinful, Fleshly material, But, Godly, Material, In other words, You will notice, Not to build in the power, Of the flesh, But to build in the power, And the guidance, Of the Holy Spirit of God. That's the point, That's the point, That we learn here.

And so, Verses 12 to 17, Shaul Paul, Charged the Corinthians, That they must build, That temple, That spiritual house of God, With, The right material, The right material, Not in the flesh, Not in this sinful old nature, That we have, But under the guidance, Of Ruach HaKodesh, Ruach HaElohim, The Holy Spirit of God, So he's saying, In verse 12, He said, But if any man build, Upon this foundation, Gold, Silver, Precious stone, And then he doesn't stop, He continue, Wood, Hay, And stubble, Every man's work, Shall be made manifest, For the day, Shall declare it, Because it shall be revealed, By fire, And the fire, Shall try every man's work, Of what sort it is,

If any man's work, Abide, Which he has built, Thereupon he shall receive, Every word, If any man's work, Shall be burned, He shall suffer laws, But he himself, Shall be saved, Yet so as by fire, So you notice, And that's what we read, In verses 12, 13, 14, And 15, And he will continue, Later on, And he will, Show the importance, Of knowing, That they, Collectively, Are the temple, Of God, That's why it says, In verse 16, And 17, Know ye not, That ye are, The temple of God, And that the spirit of God, Dwelleth in you, Collectively, If any man, If any man defile, The temple of God, Him will God destroy, For the

temple of God, Is holy, Which temple, Know that, Ye are, Collectively, Not only, Not only, Your body, Is the temple of the Holy Spirit, But you, Collectively, Brothers and sisters, In any locality, But the universal church, The universal assembly, Is the temple, Where God, Is dwelling, In the midst, Of his, People, Living stones, Not stones, Of a regular building, Not cement, Not wood, Not metal, Not glass, No, But people, Are the household, Of God, So you notice, The apostle Paul says, In verse 12, Building with, The better choice, Of material, Meaning, If any man build, Upon this foundation, In other words, If you build upon, The person of the Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, You have

six kind, Of material, That I mention here, In verse 12, Gold, Silver, Precious stones, That's one group, Of material, That has value, Gold, Has a lot of value, Silver, A little bit less value, Precious stone, Has value, They will stand, The test of fire, Because, They are, Precious material, But then on the other hand, We have another kind, Of material, Such as wood, Hay, And stubble, That's very interesting, Because the wood, And the hay, And the stubble, Will remind us, Beloved brothers and sisters, Of material, That really is not, Some material, That will be able to, Last for too long, Notice that, When you have gold, When you have silver, Or, Precious stone, You will

put them under, The test under fire, They will last, Because they are valuable, Maybe you will take, Out of the gold, Some of the dross, But the gold will remain, It will melt, But it will remain, Same thing with the silver, And the precious stone, But notice, With the other three, Types of material, These are materials, That are really not, So much material, That will last, Because, To have simply, A wood, And, And then hay, And then, Stubble, You might have a lot, Of wood and hay, You can make mountains, Of that, And then, If you just put it, Under fire, It will not take, Too long, But the wood will burn, The hay will

burn, And the stubble will burn, And there will remain, Nothing for God, So we learn here, The importance of, Valuable material, And in the spiritual life, We will say, We learn here, About valuable, That which is, Spiritually valuable, For God, You know, Sometimes, Sometimes, We do something, And we claim, We do it for God, And we really do it, For the flesh, We do it, In the power of the flesh, Things that seems, To be so great, We accomplish so much, And everyone, Look at that, And they see, And they say, Wow, Look what he, Look what she is doing, How great things, They are doing, And yet, In the sight of God, It has

no value, When the test will come, This great, Outward appearance, Of activity, It will come to naught, The wood, The hay, The stubble, Will burn in a moment, Even though, When you place them, One beside the other, It looks, It gave an appearance, Of a huge amount, Of activity, And doings, In the lives, Of those, Who claim, To build for God, But on the other hand, You have those, That build for God, In humility, With godliness, Under the guidance, Of the Holy Spirit of God, And they are building, On their foundation, On the knowledge, Of the person, And the work, Of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, They build some things, That have value, Gold,

Silver, Costly, Precious stones, That which is, Valuable, And eternal, And that is so important, That Paul, Shaul is saying, Listen, Building with the better choice, Of material, Is very important, Why?

And here, Beloved brothers and sisters, Shaul, Paul gives us, The answer, As to this, Why?

According to verse, 13, Because every man's work, Shall be made manifest, See, Everything that you, And I are doing, In our lives, If we don't do it, For Yeshua, For Jesus, For Christ, And if we only do it, In the power of the flesh, And not with the right, Attitude and motive, And building the, With the right material, It will not be pleasing God, Because one day, Every man's work, Shall be made manifest, You see, There is a judgment, That is yet to come, Upon God's people, And we must, And we must understand, That there is, What is known to be, The judgment seat, Of Christ, Of the Messiah, And that judgment seat, Of the

Messiah, Will be only for believers, The Corinthians, Were believers, And as we read here, Every man's work, Shall be made manifest, That means, Every believer's work, Will one day, Be made manifest, At the judgment seat, Of Christ, Second Corinthians, Five and verse ten, Said, For we must all, Appear before, The judgment seat, Of the Messiah, Of the Messiah, Paul said, For we must all, We, Meaning Paul, And you and I, And all believers, The judgment seat, Of the Messiah, Is only for believers, And the purpose, Behind that, Is to evaluate, What kind of life, We lived on earth, With what material, We build here, The house of God, If we build the temple, The spiritual

temple of God, With that material, That is honoring to the Lord, The right choices, That we made in our life, Now there will be, Other judgment, As we read, In Revelation 20, And verse 11 to 15, The judgment, Of the great white throne, Judgment, There will be only, Unbelievers, And they will be judged, And will be cast, To the lake of fire, But the judgment seat, Of Christ, Second Corinthians, Five and verse ten, Is only for believers, And it is not, With respect to our salvation, No, Because our salvation, Was already paid for, By Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, When we believed on him, And accepted him, We are forgiven for time, And for eternity, But

the Lord, Will evaluate, What kind of life, As believers, We lived on earth, As the Corinthians life was, As yours and mine, And he will reward us, At the judgment seat, Of the Messiah, After he will remove, That which was contrary, To his will, Then he will remove it, And he will reward us, For that which we have done, For him, That's why, In verse 12, Paul is saying, Now if any man, Build upon this foundation, Either gold, Silver, Or precious stones, Good material, Or wood, Hay, And stubble, Which is temporary material, With no value, Cheap material, With no quality, He says, Every man's work, Shall be made manifest, Verse 13, Listen to this, For

the day, Verse 13b, The day shall declare it, Because it shall be revealed by fire, And the fire shall try every man's work, Of what sort it is.

And so, beloved brothers and sisters, It is necessary for each and every one of us To ask ourselves the question, Oh God, Help me, Search my heart, Help me to desire, To build, This spiritual house, This spiritual temple, With material, That is suitable, That is honoring to thee, And the material meaning, That I will be guided, Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God, Doing works that are pleasing to thee, Honoring God here in our lives. Why? Because if we build, With material, That is only showy, And external material, Not really sincere, Every man's work shall be made manifest, For the day shall declare it, Because the apostles tell us, Because it shall be revealed by fire, And the fire shall try, Every man's work, Of what sort it is.

And notice when it comes to verses 14 and 15, We read, If any man's work abide, Which he hath built, Thereupon, He shall receive a reward. Notice that? Any man, Any woman, Any brother, Any sister, Any redeemed person, Anything that you and I would do, If we build thereupon, If we build thereupon, We live for God, Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God, A godly life on earth, And serving the Lord in sincerity and truth, Building this house of God, In a right way, Under the leadership of the Spirit of God, On the basis of the foundation of the person of the Lord Jesus, The Messiah, If we have built thereupon, If it will abide, If it will remain, If the Lord will be honored by that, Notice what we read, He shall receive a reward.

God is going to reward us, And these rewards will be used for the Messianic kingdom, When we will come and reign with the Messiah, Who will restore his earthly people Israel here on earth, Who will restore the world and establish a Messianic kingdom, We who are part of the heavenly company, The assembly, The church, Will be rewarded, So we will use the reward during the Messianic kingdom, For the honor of God, And for our own blessing, But notice what we do read, On the other hand, In verse 15, If any man's work shall be burned, That means, That anything that we have done, According to the flesh, And not for the Messiah, Not for Christ,

Will have to be burned, Such as, According to verse 12, Wood, hay, and stubble, Maybe it sounds great, Maybe it has a great appearance to men, But God knows the hearts, Beloved friends, And whatever we do, We must do all things to the glory of God, To the honor and the glory of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, Whatever we do, To remind you, Later on, In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul will say to them, Whatsoever, Therefore ye, Eat or drink, Or whatever you do, Do all, All this to the glory of God, In Colossians, He will tell it to the Colossian believers as well, Whatever you do, Do for the glory of God, Not for

the glory of yourself, Not for you to be, Receiving the glory, Then it is not for God, And therefore, If any man's work shall be burned, If it is done in accordance with the flesh, According to the self-will, And not for the glory of God, It will be burned, And notice that verse 15b, He shall suffer loss, The he here, Or the she, Is believers, That lived life, Or have done certain works in their life, That were not honoring to the Lord, And whatever we did, That is not honoring to the Lord, It will be burnt, It will not be useful for the Lord, The only thing that has value before God, Is whatever we

done for Christ, For the Mashiach, So he or she will suffer loss, Notice verse 15b, But he, And I will end, But himself or herself, Shall be saved, Yet so as by fire, That means, That the works will burn, The works that were done for, The flesh, For the world, For Satan, That will be burned, But the believer, Himself, The brother or the sister, Who are already forgiven, They, As we read here, He, Himself, Shall be saved, Or delivered, Yet so as by fire, And that is so important to understand, And this gives us also, Beloved brothers and sisters, Comfort to understand, That our salvation, That our salvation, Is not dependent, Upon the performance, In

our life, In other words, There may be people, Who might do many good things, There will be kind people, There will be loving people, There will be helpful people, There will be, Serving others, There will be givers, There will be, Doing many good things, And that is beautiful, But it doesn't, Redeem, A person, What shall wash away, Our sins, Nothing but the blood, Of our Lord, Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, The wages of sin, Is death, But the gift of God, Is eternal life, Through, Jesus Christ, Our Lord, In other words, Only faith, In the person, And the work, Of our Lord, Jesus the Messiah, Provides salvation, But now, That we are saved, Our works, Are

important, Not for salvation, But because, Of our salvation, I hope we understand, These beloved friends, And dear brothers, And sisters, This is so important, To grasp, Because it will help us, In understanding, That our salvation, Is secure, And has nothing, To do with works, But it has, Everything to do, With the, Finished work, Of the Lord, Jesus the Messiah, Let me read you, A verse from, Titus chapter 3, It says in verse 4, But after, That the kindness, And love of God, Our Savior, Toward men, Appeared, Not by works, Of righteousness, Which we have done, But according, To his mercy, He saved us, By the washing, Of, Regeneration, And renewing, Of the Holy Spirit, Which

he, Shed on us, Abundantly, Through Jesus Christ, Our Savior, Through Yeshua, HaMashiach, Our Moshe, Our Savior, And then notice, In the next, Following verses, In verse 8, The apostle, Shaul Paul, Continued to tell, Titus, This is a faithful saying, And these things, I will, That thou will affirm, Constantly, That they, Which have believed, In God, Might be careful, To maintain, Good works, These things, Are good, And profitable, Unto men, Notice, Our salvation, Is not by works, But now, That we have been, Redeemed, Forgiven, And saved, Our works, Is because, Of the salvation, That we already have, And therefore, When the, People of God, Each one of us, Individually, Will stand, Before the judgment, Seat of

Christ, For we must, All appear, Before the judgment, Seat of the Messiah, That every man, Notice this, In 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 5, And there, The apostle Paul, Emphasizes, 2nd Corinthians 5, Verse 10, For we must, All appear, Before the judgment, Seat of Christ, That everyone, May receive, The things, Done in his body, According to, That he has done, Whether it be, Good, Or, Bad, So, The believers, Will appear, At the judgment, Seat of the Messiah, Which will happen, In heaven, After the rapture, But, It's not, There, The judgment, In relationship, To our salvation, Not at all, But it is, In relationship, To the rewards, That the believers, Will receive, When they, Have served God, And

they, Build here, The spiritual house of God, With material, Which is valuable, Such as, Gold, Silver, And precious stone, And these materials, These materials, Simply apply, To the attitude, In our life, To the behavior, In our life, To the motives, In our life, It has to do, With the, Spiritual value, Rather than, Material value, And that is, That is very, Important to understand, Do we, Build with, Spiritual, Valuable, Material, Or with, Carnal, Unvaluable, Material, That will, Ultimately, Be burned, And will not, Stand the test, When we will, Stand one day, Before the Lord, So, Shaul Paul, Continue now, In verses 16 and 17, As he emphasizes, The necessity, To build, With the right material, In

verses 16 and 17, Paul, Reminding the Corinthians, That God's people, Are God's temple, Collectively, Know ye not that ye, And I would like to emphasize, This beloved brothers and sisters, It's not now your body, That he will mention, In 1st Corinthians 6, But, Of course, Our body, Is the temple of God, Is to live, We are to live godly, In our life, In our bodies, But, When our bodies, Are recognized, That it is the temple of God, Now our behavior, With one another, Will take an effect, And that's why he's saying, In verse 16, Know ye not that ye, Are the temple of God, And that the spirit of God, Dwells in you, You know,

That the Holy Spirit of God, Is not only dwelling, In the body of every believer, But the Holy Spirit of God, Is dwelling, In the local assembly, Among the believers, Together, Collectively, That's why, There is the danger, To quench, The spirit of God, 1st Thessalonians, Tell us, Quench not the spirit, Why?

Because, When we don't, Conduct ourselves, With the right attitude, Towards one another, Other believers, We are liable, To quench, To take the liberty, Away from the spirit of God, To work among, The local assembly, The believers, In the local assembly, That's why, Paul said, Quench, Not the spirit, This is in relationship, To the, A local assembly, In relationship, To the whole house of God, Collectively, But we also read, Grieve not the spirit of God, In the book of Ephesians, Because the spirit of God, Can be grieved, Individually, In our lives, And that's why, We are always in danger, To grieve, The holy spirit of God, And we are called, Not to grieve, The holy spirit

of God, Beloved brothers and sisters, Because the spirit of God, Is a person, And when the person, Is being grieved, We don't give him, The liberty, That he needs, That he desires, To have, In the individual life, Of each and every, One of us, As well, So it is important, To see, To distinguish, Between the collective, And the individuals, Beloved brothers and sisters, We do read, In Ephesians chapter 1, In verse 13, In whom ye also trusted, After that, Ye heard, Of the word, Of the truth, Of the gospel, Of your salvation, In whom, Also after that, Ye have believed, Ye were sealed, With the holy spirit, Of promise, And then in chapter 4, Of

Ephesians, In verse 30, We read, Grieve not, The holy spirit of God, Whereby ye are sealed, Unto the day of redemption, So, Ephesians 1.13, Ephesians 4.30 is in relationship to the body of every one of us, to the temple.

The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. But in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, here, beloved brothers and sisters, it is collective. The Spirit of God, according to verse 16, Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man, verse 17, defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye, collectively, are. You, Corinthians, and you, beloved friends, in your local church, local assembly, local congregation, collectively, we are the temple of God. And one must be very careful and cautious to build the spiritual house of God with the right spiritual material, that honor the Lord, because every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire.

And the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. Now, as we are moving along to verses 18, 19, and 20, here's the third point that Shaul Paul is emphasizing to the Corinthians, that we, who are the house of God, the temple of God, where the Messiah is dwelling in the midst of his own, where the Spirit of God is in the house of God, among the believers collectively, we must also build according to the plan of God. Don't make your own plan. Don't have your own agenda, Paul is saying to the Corinthians, and to you and I as well. But listen to the plan and the program of God.

And so you notice in verse 18, 19, and 20, Paul charged the Corinthians to build according to the right plan. In verse 18, Paul said, Do not be deceived. Don't be deceived. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become full that he may be wise. In other words, don't deceive yourself, he's saying to the Corinthians. In verse 19, he's reminding the Corinthians that the world's wisdom is foolishness. Don't you try to build God's house like the world, in the power of the flesh, trying to be occupied and to conform, to be conformed to this world. Verse 19, Paul says, For the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God.

For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. Beloved brothers and sisters, the building that we as believers are called to build, the temple, the spiritual house of God, is to be built not according to the wisdom of the world. You remember what John said in 1 John 2, You remember what Paul said into the Romans, in Romans chapter 12, he said to every believer, He said to them, Don't be conformed to this world. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable servant. And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

for you individually, but when it becomes for us individually, it will be used by the Lord in the collective aspect. In other words, when God's people live in godly life individually, when they gather together around the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, it is evident among the collective local assembly. And that was the problem at Corinth. They have allowed all the human wisdom, all the philosophy from where they came from in Corinth, paganism, godlessness, idolatry, pride and arrogance, they brought it into the local church, the local assembly. And that's why there was envying and strife and divisions. He said to them, Are ye not carnal? in verse 3 of chapter 3?

That's why he is saying, Paul, listen, do not deceive yourself. You must build this spiritual house according to the plan of God, not according to the plan of the world. Because the world can so easily come in and when the local assembly behave in a bad way, they behave like the world, you know, brothers and sisters, sadly. That's why there are so many divisions in the professing church today, in the days of the Laodicean days. That's why the church is so divided. Why? Because there is envy, there is strife, there is division, there is carnality, there is lack of building upon the foundation of the person and the work of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, there is a false doctrine creeping in, there is godlessness creeping in to the assembly and to the church and it's so easy for us.

There is sin that so easily beset us and lo and behold, slowly but surely, the professing church, the assembly, the church, the congregation become like the world. That's why Paul is challenging the Corinthians not to be deceived, verse 18. To recognize that the world wisdom is foolishness with God, verse 19. And the Lord do not think as men think. God has his own plan. Notice that, I'm reading verse 20. And again, the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are vain. You see, when we are wise in our own imagination, and we are bringing into the collective assembly, the collective church, congregation, the thoughts of the world, worldliness, what happened?

The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, those who are wise in themselves. That's why he's saying to them in verse 18, let no man deceive himself if any man among you seems to be wise in this world. Let him become fool that he may be wise. Oh, beloved brothers and sisters, this is exactly what the apostle already wrote in the first chapter to the Corinthians. You remember what he wrote in the earlier verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 1? He said in verse 18, for the preaching of the cross to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. for it is written I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach the Messiah crucified Messiah crucified unto the Jews he is a stumbling block but unto the Greeks he is foolishness but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks the Messiah Christ Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

And so what we read beloved brothers and sisters in verse 18 19 and 20 that we must build in that spiritual house according to the right plan not to allow ourselves to be deceived by the world and its foolishness but to build the spiritual house in accordance with the plan of God God has a plan God has a plan there is a verse in Philippians chapter 2 verses 12 and 13 where we do read wherefore my beloved brethren as ye have always obeyed not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling in other words work out the salvation that you already have

with fear and trembling the fear of God the reverence towards God for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure God works in you God works in me God works in us to do his own pleasure we must seek for God's wisdom and not to depend upon man's wisdom in 1st Corinthians 3 and verse 18 19 and 20 we must build according to the plan of God and not to allow ourselves to be influenced by the wisdom of this world let no man deceive himself if any man among you seem to be wise in this world let him become fools that he may be wise and

then verse 20 and again the Lord knows the thoughts of the people who think they are wise that they are vain so beloved brothers and sisters in the last three verses of 1st Corinthians chapter 3 verses 21 22 and 23 Shaul Paul points to the fourth important way whereby the believers must build the house of God there must be a right motive in your heart and mind as we are serving the Lord here in this word so we must build with proper right motives so we read in verse 21 22 and 23 therefore let no man glory in man for all things are yours don't glory in man don't glory in Paul don't glory in

Apollos don't glory in Cephas in Shimon Petro don't glory in man don't glory in yourself don't glory in any other man only glory in the Lord when we glory in man we find ourselves that men fail us beloved brothers and sisters men we all fail one another and others failing us that's why we are never to glory in man God said to our own people Israel years ago by the prophet Jeremiah Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 23 and 24 thus says the Lord let not the wise man glory in his wisdom neither let the mighty man glory in his might let not the rich man glory in his riches but notice verse 24 God said to

Israel to his earthly people years ago but let him that glory glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness this is chesed grace judgment mishpat and righteousness tzedakah that which is right in the earth for in these things I delight saith the Lord don't glow in man don't glow in man's wisdom don't glow in man's power don't glow in man's wealth but glory in me glory in the Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah so verse 21 therefore let no man glory in men for all things are yours verse 22 whether Paul Paul is yours whether Apollos Apollos is yours whether Cephas this is Shimon Petros he

is yours in other words these are servants that God raised to serve you but don't glow in them they are yours all of them they are servants and then he continues in verse 22 or the world or the earth or life or death or things present or things to come all are yours all things are yours all all things are yours the apostle Paul said to the Corinthians and notice he continues and he closed this chapter by saying in verse 23 and ye are messiahs or christs and christ is god you belong to the lord yeshua ha mashiach and he the anointed one the mashiach christ he belongs to god because he is god the

son whom the father sent the son to be the savior of this world so god sent his beloved son the messiah yeshua to save us to pay for the sin of this world and we now who are saved we belong to him and all things belong to us paul apollo ciphas the earth life death things present things to come all belong to the corinthians all belong to the believers all belong to those that have accepted the lord yeshua the messiah this is fascinating beloved brothers and sisters we read in 2nd corinthian 2 and verse 16 to the one we are the savior of death unto death and to the other savior of life unto life

and who is sufficient for these things 2nd corinthian now 3 and verse 5 not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves but our sufficiency is of god everything we have and everything we are our sufficiency is of god and we belong to our lord yeshua the messiah therefore 1st corinthian 3 verse 9b to verse 23 shaul paul emphasized the need that we are to build this house of god the spiritual temple of god in with the goal is to have good quality of material to build this house we must build upon the right foundation we must build with the right material we must build according to the right plan of god

and we must build with the right motive our motive should be to honor god and to be a blessing for the people of god so beloved brothers and sisters may god encourage us and help us to continue on and to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our lord yeshua the messiah that we will build in such a way that it will be honoring to the lord because the church is god's temple god's building ye are the house of god well god bless you beloved brothers and sisters may the lord bless his word until the next time we say to you all shalom shalom