Lessons #87 and 88
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Building in Corinth (1 Cor 3:10-15)
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, 13 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. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
Let me refresh your mind that the overall message of this passage is that If you want your activities as a Christian to be rewarded in the future by God then they must be Christ-centered. This message requires considering four major assertions of responsibilities of the believer as given in this passage. The first is that you must be sure you have responded to the gospel message, that is, that you are a member of the church of God in Christ. The second is that you must be involved in activities based on your understanding of the gospel. The third is that you should exercise caution in your daily activities, especially those that are directly related to church of Christ. The fourth is that you should understand there are two major reasons for caution to be careful regarding your activities as they relate to the advancement of the church of Christ or His cause. We have considered the first reason of this fourth major assertion of responsibility. It is that no one can found another church that deserves the name “church of Christ” in the same location that a community of believers exists by preaching a different Christ, Apostle Paul preached. Thus, we proceed to consider the second.
A second reason the apostle cautioned regarding believer’s activities as they relate to the advancement of the church of Christ is that every of your activity will be evaluated for reward or loss. This truth the apostle conveyed figuratively using building analogy in which a building may or may not withstand being subjected to fire depending on the building materials used. In developing this second reason, there are four truthful principles the apostle conveyed. A first truthful principle is that any activity that will be rewarded in the eternal state must be based on the word of God correctly taught and applied. This first principle is presented in terms of building materials that can be classified according to their combustible property. This classification will become clearer when we consider the building materials the apostle described in 1 Corinthians 3:12.
Anyway, verse 12 although introduced the second reason for being careful regarding a believer’s activity as it relates to the advancement of the church of Christ, is indeed a resumption of the concept of building that the apostle stated in verse 10. The first reason given in verse 11 is in a sense parenthetical so that in verse 12 the apostle resumes his concern about the building activities of believers. We say this because the apostle used a Greek conjunction (de) that is often translated “but” in our English versions. The translators of the NIV and majority of our English versions did not translate it in verse 12 which is a permissible way of handling the Greek conjunction in some contexts. However, it should probably be translated “now” as in the ESV and in the NASB to indicate that the apostle was resuming the fact of building activity he mentioned in verse 10 before he digressed in verse 11 to indicate that no one could lay another foundation other than Jesus. Of course, we have indicated that the declaration in verse 11 means that no one can found another church that deserves the name “church of Christ” in the same location that a community of believers exists by preaching a different Christ, Apostle Paul preached. After that assertion which is indeed the first reason for the warning he issued in verse 10, the apostle returned to verse 12 with an introduction of the second reason for his warning.
The apostle having indicated he was resuming his teaching on building activities, introduced the reality of building activity that would eventually be evaluated as in the clause of 1 Corinthians 3:12 If any man builds on this foundation.
The word “if” is translated from a Greek word (ei) that is used in different ways. The Greek word is used as a marker of condition that exists in fact or hypothetical so that it is translated “if” as Apostle Paul used it in describing the spiritually minded believer in Romans 8:9:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ
The conditional clause if the Spirit of God lives in you should be understood as stating what is factual. This is because no one is a believer in Christ without the Holy Spirit resident in that person, so the apostle is not stating something hypothetical but what is real or what has happened to believers in Rome in that the Holy Spirit lives in them. To read the clause as hypothetical will imply that the Romans that received the epistle to them were not believers but that is not in keeping with the thought of the apostle who wrote to believers in Rome. The Greek word that begins 1 Corinthians 3:12 may also be translated “that” as a marker of content of an indirect question, as it is used in 2 Corinthians 11:15:
It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
The clause if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness may alternatively be translated that his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Another usage of the Greek word in question is as a marker in causal clauses, when an actual case is taken as a supposition, where we also can use “if” instead of “since”, as in Romans 15:27:
They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.
Gentile Christians have indeed shared in the spiritual blessings of the Jews so that the clause if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings may be translated since the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings. Another usage of the Greek word is as a marker of direct questions. Under this usage, the context normally would have the word “asked” or “said” and may not be translated in the English. For example, the word “asked” is used to reflect the question of Apostle Paul to the disciples, he met in Ephesus, regarding their relationship to the Holy Spirit in Acts 19:2:
and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
As we stated, the sense of question is also reflected when the word “said” is used, as we find in Paul’s question to the centurion in Acts 22:25:
As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”
The Greek word may mean “whether” often when used in indirect question or to state content of an assertion as it is used in the test of the true Spirit of God in 1 John 4:1:
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
The verbal phrase to see whether is literally to see if. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:12, the apostle used it not in the sense of “if” as if he was assuming that something will happen but with the meaning “whether” to indicate that the evaluation he stated would take place regardless of the building material used in his figurative representation of a believer’s activity. By the way, the translators of the ISV recognized this meaning in that they began 1 Corinthians 3:12 with the word “whether” instead of “if” used in majority of our English versions. In effect, you can be sure that all your activities as they relate to the church will be evaluated by the Lord of the church in the eternal state.
Be that as it may, the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul conveys the fact that activities of believers in the church that are intended to advance the church of Christ that will be evaluated, will be of different natures that he used the metaphor of building materials in clause of 1 Corinthians 3:12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw. By the way, the word “man” does not appear in the Greek since the condition clause If any man builds on this foundation is literally if any builds on the foundation, indicating that the apostle refers to any believer who builds on the foundation. Again, building on the foundation refers to any activity grounded in the church of Christ or that is intended to advance the cause of Christ. That aside, the apostle began with building materials that, as we have indicated previously, could be classified according to their combustible nature or property. Indeed, he mentioned materials that are not combustible and followed by those that are. To understand what the apostle intended to convey in his use of the building materials in his metaphor, we will consider the materials he mentioned, beginning with the three noncombustible materials.
A first noncombustible material the apostle mentioned is “gold.” Gold is a precious metal that appears several times in our Scripture. Examination of the various usages of gold in the Scripture reveals that it is considered a metal that is quite valuable and so is recognized as a standard for value. Furthermore, it is often used to denote permanence and durability. Its value is such that in the Scripture it is used as a measure of wealth and power. Thus, it is used to convey that Abraham was a rich man in Genesis 13:2:
Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
In the same way, it is used to convey the authority that Joseph received from Pharaoh that indicates he was powerful in Egypt because of Pharaoh’s signet ring on his finger and the gold chain that was put around his neck, as stated in Genesis 41:42:
Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.
It is probably to convey both wealth and power that royal crowns were made of gold as in the description of the crown of king of Rabbah that David’s army defeated, as mentioned in 1 Chronicles 20:2:
David took the crown from the head of their king—its weight was found to be a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city.
It is probably in recognition of the power and authority of the Lord Jesus that the Magi included gold in their gift to the baby Jesus, according to Matthew 2:11:
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
The value of gold is such that it is used to describe God in the advice of Eliphaz, the Temanite, to Job regarding his need to repent, as recorded in Job 22:25:
then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you
Notice that the phrase the Almighty is a reference to God. It is probably because of the value of gold that pagans constructed their gods from gold. Subsequently, God warned Israel against such a practice in Exodus 20:23:
Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
The value of gold in the Scripture is evident in several ways. Its value is evident in its use in construction of the special articles for the Tabernacle, as for example, the instruction recorded in Exodus 30:1–4:
1“Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. 2 It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high—its horns of one piece with it. 3 Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. 4 Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding—two on opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it.
The value of gold is evident in that when there is need to show superiority of something, the human authors of the Scripture would compare the thing to gold as the standard. Thus, wisdom is compared to it in Job 28:15:
It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed in silver.
Similarly, God’s laws are shown to be superior to anything on this planet by comparing it to gold that is so valued among people, as in Psalm 19:10:
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
The value of gold is such that it is considered relatively indestructible and so conveys permanency. Consequently, it is taken as a source of security, as many today who are rich view their money as source of their security. But Job used it to indicate that he does not trust gold for his security, as recorded in Job 31:24:
“If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’
It is because of relative indestructibility of gold and its worth that heaven is described as “city of pure gold” in Revelation 21:18:
The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.
Although gold is presented as virtually indestructible, but it is not completely free from being tarnished so that it is described as that which may tarnish or ruin in James 5:3:
Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
Furthermore, its permanency is confined to this planet as implied in 1 Peter 1:18:
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
Be that as it may, we have noted that gold is of great value that it conveys wealth, power, superiority, indestructibility, durability or permanency as far as this planet is concerned. These qualities of gold are important in understanding why the apostle mentioned gold as the first building material on the foundation that has been laid.
A second noncombustible material the apostle mentioned is “silver.” Silver is a precious metal only surpassed by gold. In the Scripture silver, like gold, was used to symbolize wealth. Thus, Abraham’s wealth is described using silver in the passage we cited previously, that is, Genesis 13:2:
Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
Silver was used as a form of currency. Hence, the price Joseph’s brothers collected from selling him into slavery is given in terms of silver in Genesis 37:28:
So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
David paid for the property he bought from Araunah using silver, as in 2 Samuel 24:24:
But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.
It is because silver is used for currency that Apostle Peter used it in the description of not having money to give the crippled man in Acts 3:6:
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Silver was usually acquired through trade as indicated by Solomon’s acquisition of it through trade in 1 Kings 10:22:
The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
It is not only that silver was used as a form of currency but because of its value, it is used for making jewelry, as indicated in Ezekiel 16:17:
You also took the fine jewelry I gave you, the jewelry made of my gold and silver, and you made for yourself male idols and engaged in prostitution with them.
Like gold, sliver is valuable so that it is used figuratively for all that is precious. Thus, to show the superiority of wisdom over anything in this life, it is compared to silver or gold in Proverbs 3:14:
for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.
It is also used figuratively for purification of people’s heart through suffering or hardship in Isaiah 48:10:
See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
In any event, silver was certainly a precious metal in the ancient world that was used for decoration and for jewelry. It is also not destructible in the ordinary use.
A third noncombustible material Apostle Paul mentioned in 1 Corinthians 3:12 is “stone.” The word “stone” is translated from a Greek word (lithos) that refers to stone in a general sense, as that which the Jews reached for to stone Jesus for indicating He was in existence before Abraham, as stated in John 8:59:
At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
The stone could be of a special kind. Hence, the Greek word describes stones used in building, as indicated in Luke 21:5:
Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said,
The word may refer to large stones for sealing a grave, as in John 20:1:
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
The word could refer to stone tablets of the Mosaic law in 2 Corinthians 3:7:
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was,
The word may refer to precious stones or jewels, as in Revelation 18:16:
and cry out: “‘Woe! Woe, O great city, dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet, and glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls!
The word is used figuratively for Christ, according to 1 Peter 2:4:
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—
Likewise, it is used for believers in 1 Peter 2:5:
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:12, the word means “a gem,” that is, “a precious stone that can be cut and polished for jewelry or for other purposes such as building in which case it could refer to such thing as marble or granite.” This interpretation is supported by the adjective the apostle used in the phrase costly stones.
The word “costly” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (timios) that may mean “precious” in two senses. It may mean precious in the sense of great worth or value as it is used to describe God’s promises in 2 Peter 1:4:
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Or, it may mean precious in the sense of being costly as it is used to describe costly jewelry in Revelation 21:11:
It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
The phrase precious jewel refers to costly jewel hence some English versions reflect this in their translation. For example, the NCV used the phrase “very expensive jewel” and the REB or CEB used “a priceless jewel.” The word may mean “respected” in the sense of “held in honor” as it is used to describe what should be the attitude of believers regarding marriage in Hebrews 13:4:
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
Or, the meaning “respected” could pertain to high status that merits esteem, so it means “held in honor or high regard” as it is used to describe Gamaliel as a respected scholar among the Jews in Acts 5:34:
But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:12, the word means “precious” in the sense of high worth or costly. We have considered the noncombustible materials the apostle used in our passage of study, so we move to consider the combustible materials he mentioned.
A first combustible material Apostle Paul mentioned is “wood.” The word “wood” is translated from a Greek word (xylon) that may mean “tree” as it is used in Jesus’ statement in Luke 23:31:
For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
The word may refer to an object made of wood hence, may mean “club” as that used by those who came to arrest Jesus, as reported in Luke 22:52:
Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs?
The word may mean “cross” as that is the sense of the word in the charge of Apostle Peter against the Jewish ruling authorities in Acts 5:30:
The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.
The word “tree” used in this verse of Acts 5 refers to the “cross” since the verbal phrase hanging him on a tree is in the first century an idiom for crucifixion. Thus, some English versions such as the NCV used the word “cross” instead of “tree” in Acts 5:30. The Greek word may mean “stocks,” that is, a device used to restrain prisoners by placing their legs through heavy blocks of wood and then secured so they could not move, as it is used in securing of Paul and Silas in Philippian jail, according to Acts 16:24:
Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
The Greek word may mean “wood” as a plant substance in unmanufactured form, as it is used in Revelation 18:12:
cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble;
It is in the sense of “wood” as a material for construction that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:12.
A second combustible material Apostle Paul mentioned, according to the NIV, is “hay.” The word “hay” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (chortos) that may mean “grass” as it is used in the instruction of Jesus regarding where people should sit as He fed them in Matthew 14:19:
And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
The word may mean “sprout, blade”, that is, stalks of grain in their early, grass-like stages as that is the sense of the word in Mark 4:28:
All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
The phrase first the stalk is literally first the blade/grass. However, in our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:12, it has the sense of “hay,” that is, cured, mowed grass that in this context is to be used as a construction material.
A third combustible material Apostle Paul mentioned in 1 Corinthians 3:12 is “straw.” The word “straw” is translated from a Greek word (kalamē) that appears only here in the Greek NT; it means “stalk, straw” that refers to “the post-harvest, dried stalks of a grain plant used for making some artifacts and animal fodder.” Straw was used in making bricks in Egypt, as implied in Exodus 5:7:
“You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw.
Thus, straw is a building material. Figuratively, straw denotes anything lacking in strength, substance, and significance. Hence, God compared human implements and weapons to straw when attempting to kill a Leviathan in Job 41:26–29:
26The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin. 27Iron he treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood. 28Arrows do not make him flee; slingstones are like chaff to him. 29A club seems to him but a piece of straw; he laughs at the rattling of the lance.
The fact that straw is of little significance is implied in Isaiah 33:11:
You conceive chaff, you give birth to straw; your breath is a fire that consumes you.
We have considered the building materials used by the apostle in stating the kind of activities that believers would be involved in the church. In the metaphor the apostle used, it does not seem that he was particularly concerned with how expensive the building material is despite the phrase costly stones of 1 Corinthians 3:12. We say this because wood of certain quality could be expensive. Take for example, in the ancient times, the cedar wood or wood from Lebanon was expensive hence the carriage of Solomon as the richest man of his time was made of such wood, according to Song of Solomon 3:9:
King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon.
Thus, we contend that it is not the cost of the building material that the apostle was concerned. Instead, his concern was on durability and permanence of the building materials.
Durability and permanence of the building material form the heart of the apostle’s reference to different building materials. As we noted, the building materials the apostle used in his building metaphor may be classified into combustible and noncombustible. What makes a building material combustible or noncombustible? Is it not the nature? This being the case, the building material metaphor of the apostle is concerned with the nature of the building material. Hence, it is the nature of materials involved in building activities of believers in the church that is at the core of the building materials metaphor of the apostle.
What then is the concern of the apostle that he intended the Corinthians, and so all believers, to be mindful as they embark on various activities that advance the church of Christ? His concern is with the quality of the teaching of the word of God that a believer receives. Our activities in the spiritual life are affected by the word of God we hear taught and believe. You see, the problem of misconduct of believers can be traced in part to lack of teaching of truth and its acceptance. Some believers ignorant of the teaching of the Scripture on certain issues act in a manner contrary to the word of God but when such individuals learn the truth from the Scripture, their conduct changes. Anyway, it is the word of God that a believer receives that can build up the person spiritually, as implied in the apostle’s statement to the leaders of the church in Ephesus described in Acts 20:32:
“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
The building up of believers depends on the truth of God’s word that is anchored on the gospel message of Christ. The apostle had indicated that the founding of the church in Corinth was based on the preaching of the gospel about Jesus Christ. Consequently, any building activities of the believer must be related to the teaching of truth of God’s word as the apostle had delivered and as we have recorded in our scripture. We are saying that the building block we should have is the teaching of the word of God. It is for this reason that there is emphasis in the Scripture regarding the teaching of God’s word. Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy to teach the word of God as a good minister should in 1 Timothy 4:6:
If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
It is because the teaching of the word of God is paramount in the activities of believers that the church in Laodicea was encouraged to get the teaching of the word of God, using the metaphor of “gold,” in Revelation 3:18:
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
The verbal phrase gold refined in the fire refers to truth contained in the word of God. For, there is nothing more valuable and tested as the word of God, as stated in Psalm 19:9-10:
9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. 10They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.
The point is that the building material that is durable in the spiritual life is the enduring word of God as the Holy Spirit described it through Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1:23:
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Therefore, it is the believer’s responsibility to obtain a quality teaching of the word of God. A person who desires it will receive it. The problem today is that many believers do not really want truth taught to them and so they gravitate to those who teach what they want to hear as the Holy Spirit predicted through Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:3:
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Nonetheless, we should be aware of any teaching that is not centered on Christ as such would resemble the combustible material that Apostle Paul used in his building material metaphor.
It is important believers recognize that not every teaching of the word of God is of the quality that will lead to the right kind of activities in the spiritual life. This is because there are many false teachings. The concept of false teaching is one that is given throughout the Scripture. Prophet Jeremiah compares false teaching to a straw in Jeremiah 23:28:
Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the LORD.
Here “straw” refers to a false prophet that prophesies lies while “grain” refers to the true prophet that delivers God’s word. Apostle Paul recognized that there are those who would distort God’s word. Therefore, in his farewell address to the church leaders of Ephesus, he warned them against those who would distort truth in Acts 20:30:
Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
In his second epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle implied that there are those who distort the word of God contrary to himself and those in his team as stated in 2 Corinthians 4:2:
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
The human author of Hebrews warned about being carried away by teachings that are not in keeping with gospel message as implied in Hebrews 13:9:
Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them.
In any event, a first truthful principle the apostle intended to convey to us in 1 Corinthians 3:12 is that any activity that will be rewarded in the eternal future must be based on the word of God, correctly taught and applied. In other words, to ensure your activities in the advancement of the church of Christ or the cause of Christ are of eternal value they must be governed by the word of God correctly taught and applied. Therefore, you should strive to expose yourself to sound teaching of the word of God and its application if you expect eternal reward.