Pastor Koay Kheng Hin
1 Corinthians 3:10-12 (NIV)
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,
1 Corinthians 3:13 (NIV)
his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.
I’m focusing on verses 10 to 12. Why did the apostle Paul write these verses? We want to learn to apply it to our Christian life. Paul talks about laying a foundation and then he said someone else is building on it. What does Paul means when he said laying the foundation?
You’ll have to jump to verse 11 where he said he’s laying the foundation which is Jesus Christ.
Paul stayed in Corinth quite a while and when he said this he’s saying when he went to Corinth there were no Christians so he went and pioneered the church there. That’s what he meant when he said he laid the foundation. Then he said someone else laid the foundation. Apollos was one of them as well as other teachers. It was a place where the Corinthians had a lot of teaching in the faith.
But the problem was they started looking into men instead of Jesus Christ. That’s why he said what is Apollos or what is Paul. That they are only servants assigned their tasks.
In verse 7 he stresses this.
1 Corinthians 3:7 (NIV)
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
He said we are mere servants and that we are not anything at all. That we are messengers of the Lord almighty. The only person that establishes our faith is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why did he stresses this so much? Paul’s first missionary trip, while he was preaching was a man crippled from birth. While Paul was preaching he was looking intensely on Paul. The Bible record that this man stood up and walked and it was a miracle. And the Greeks there said the gods has come down and they called Paul a god.
See the reaction of the apostle Paul.
Acts 14:14-15 (NIV)
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting:15 “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
That is the maturity of the apostle Paul. He was being honoured like a God. But he was horrified. It was an expression of horror. That the glory that is to be given to Jesus Christ is ascribed to the apostle Paul.
So with this experience he now saw the Corinthians was slowly looking to men instead of Christ and he wrote this. Know the foundation of your faith is Jesus Christ.
You must think these people are not so educated and we may think we are more educated. Are you sure?
Many years ago in 1998, I was still leading the Bayan Baru cell group. After church we went for makan. That year the news was around that there were some problems with big pastors In AG in KL. So this brother asked me something. Have you heard…he asked.
The next question he ask was that he was a big man and that his faith was shaken. The man had written a few books so he used to read the books of this person. He lent me two of his books.
I asked him why shaken? He said big pastor so if pastor can also be like that then how? Is Christianity real? Something along that line. I told him our faith is in our Lord and not on man. God is infallible but man is fallible. I know from his expression he doesn’t buy what I said.
I then said as far as you are concerned I don’t know how you take this. But as far as I am concerned, I know none of you in TOP or any pastor. I met Jesus. And Jesus is the person who died for my sins. Jesus is the person whose blood cleanse me of my sins. A thousand or ten thousand may fall at the side but all pastors are mere man. But if one day Jesus sin then my faith is shaken. When I got baptised, the world behind me and the cross before me.
Who is on the cross? My Jesus. Not a pastor or teacher or leader. There’s no reason for you to be shaken in your faith. I said you’re shaken because you’re probably not standing on the foundation that is Jesus Christ.
You may be thinking I won’t be like that. Are you sure? I’ve known a lot of Christians who read a lot of books. There’s a leader in a global network for Christians who fell and many people’s faith is shaken. But you did not meet a mere man but Jesus Christ.
Have you met a Christian who sometimes is a leader or a leader before and they are not going to church anymore? When you ask them they’ll say church “beh pakai” – cannot use. Church leaders are hypocrites and he don’t go to church anymore. Isn’t his faith is founded in man?
We just ground out faith on Jesus Christ. Never on mere man. I am a mere man speaking to you as a pastor.
Have you unconsciously seen some speakers who come who called themselves apostles or they have a healing ministry and sometimes we glorify the man more than God?
Man and women of God will mainly be like you and me pursuing God. But there may be one or two of them that swayed and very often it’s because they took the glory. If you look at the Internet you’ll see some of these who took the glory. But it was horror to apostle Paul and Apollos.
Very very important that if you are grounded and your faith is founded on Jesus Christ you will always stand on a rock that will stand forever. We are easily swayed and look to men.
Some years ago, there was a comment that someone said. He said, whether he listen to Jesus or not I don’t know, but he will listen to you. That is not alright. We are to lead people to the Lord and not to us. People young in the faith often look to you. We are to make disciples of Christ and not make our disciples.
The foundation of TOP is on Jesus Christ and not on man. After I preach this message I can go back and have a sound sleep. You look to God and not to me.
The second part is that someone else is building on it. Jesus Christ is the foundation but we need to mature the church which is all of you. We work at maturing you all, all of us is in the building game. We build up each other.
We can build with gold, silver, costly stones, or wood, hay and straw. In Corinth, there’ll be buildings with marbles and areas where they use wood in the slums.
I grew up in an atap house with wooden walls. It can be very airy but what I fear most is when we had to rent out room and we had to do an extension using zinc and it was like an oven at 3 in the afternoon.
What is gold, silver and costly stones? It’s right doctrine. Teaching the people the right beliefs, the truth of the word of God. Right doctrine and right living.
It is easier to teach than to live. Sometimes we teach our friends. And as a Care Group leader we tell our member cannot buy empat ekor. Then he look at us and said he will not buy anymore. But a month later, you yourself walked out of the empat ekor shop and to his horror he saw you. Right teaching wrong living.
Right teaching lays the foundation for right living but not necessarily results in right living.
For example me as a pastor is easy for me to turn to the Corinthians chapter 8 and 9 about giving generously. But after that we go Karpal Singh and when the kopi-o comes, nobody wants to pay. Who is slowest in the draw.
You may think of it and laugh but it is real. My challenge as a pastor is not the teaching part. Truth will change the content of your mind. My challenge is to get people to live the content. The conviction to live it out. Here is where you have very mature Christians who know all the trick of the trade.
The content I know. Now waiting for God to convict my heart to follow. Don’t blame God.
I want to give you a take on how to bring content to conviction and it is impartation.
Ephesians 4:15-16 (NIV)
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Truth and love is what will build us up. Truth is in the word of God but love is in the heart. Love is what you teach can be imparted.
You can teach and speak the truth without love. I give you an example.
You work outside and you come home very tired. The wife also not shaking legs, she has to cook and wash and is as tired as you. But we men think our job is more than a wife’s. The man comes home, then he went in after his boss just scolded him. Then you ask the wife what you do, the house so dirty. The wife said you so clever you go clean lo. It’s truth, the floor is dirty. But the problem is in the tone.
To let your words take effect, half is the word the other half is the tone.
So now after you learn this you go home and say darling, the floor a bit dirty hor. Her reaction will be different.
The other scenario is you come home to a clean house and you stepped in with your shoes dirty. And your wife will shout at you and said hello I just cleaned the house. And you replied and said that’s how I do it you go clean again lo.
Now the situation with the empat ekor, the young believer will confront the CG Leader and call him a hypocrite. But the CG Leader may react and said I’m your leader, what I say you do. But if the young believer handled it differently and said that day I saw you at the empat ekor shop and told him when you taught me it changed my life as I was struggling with this. I’m sure the CG Leader will go home and think about living a double life.
The truth if spoken in love can transform lives. In a Christian meeting, the main difference is not the spoken word but the tone, whether it’s spoken in love or not in love.
I went to Convent Greenlane in 2001. After 2 to 3 years there are about 60 teachers and only 3 men. She said Mr Koay you have been a blessing to the school. She said since you came the staff room atmosphere is much better. Then I realised when I went to Convent Greenlane I though ladies are soft spoken. I asked what happened? She said before you came, we are all very stressed. Usually I am more self controlled. She said when I am in the staff room and when I dealt with them there’s a gentleness and they “paiseh” shy to be loud.
Before I close, we have speaking the truth without love. Many of us make that mistake. And we wonder why our children react the way they do. It’s the tone and we don’t realise this. We say don’t do this. Don’t go to the other extreme. To love in error.
3 John 1:1 (NIV)
The elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
Sometimes we speak the truth without love. To speak the truth with love. The other extreme is to love in error.
For example you love your son but he is a drug addict. Your son looks to you and say he don’t want to go to rehab. And you tell your son I will take care of you. You don’t have to go to rehab. You need drug you come to me. You call this love? It is love in error. Do people do that? Yes, people do that.
This is real.
We want to capture everything together. The key points are:
- Do not build the foundation of your faith in man but in Jesus Christ.
- With that foundation be build up in the Lord only through the truth of God revealed in the word of God.
- Right teaching and doctrine must be imparted in the spirit of love.
- Don’t speak the truth without love or to love in error.
1 Corinthians 3:11 (NIV)
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
LOGOS 