1 Corinthians 3:10, commentary and pictures

By the grace of God given to him, Paul as a wise masterbuilder laid the foundation by first preaching the gospel and gathering the church, and another builds on it in his own lot and place. The foundation so laid is Jesus Christ, Christ crucified as the atonement for sin, beside whom no other foundation can be laid. Every man must take heed how he builds thereupon, because the work belongs to God and its quality will be judged when the day declares it and tries it by fire. Right building is with gold, silver and precious stones of solid abiding truth, humble faith, steadfast principle and righteous character that fire cannot consume, not with wood, hay and stubble of error, human philosophy and self-centered profession that will be burned. So building on the foundation is forming character and doing spiritual work for eternity in co-partnership with God, as laborers together with Him in His building which is holy.

Paul's Grace-Given Foundation Work

According to the grace of God given to him, Paul acted as a wise masterbuilder who laid the foundation, while another builds on it, and every man must take heed how he builds thereupon. The foundation so laid is Jesus Christ, and the building is God's husbandry and God's building, the temple of God where the Spirit dwells. The work belongs to God and will be judged according to its quality, and the following verses explain that every man's work built on the foundation will be made manifest, declared and tried by fire to show of what sort it is, with reward if it abides and loss if it is burned. This is definite, sound instruction from the Lord that should be studied often, and none need err if its teachings are followed. The building work is done by ministers who are laborers together with God, with Paul planting and Apollos watering while God gives the increase, each receiving reward according to his own labor.

Laying the foundation was Paul first preaching the gospel at Corinth and gathering the church, the work the Lord assigned him. The foundation is Jesus Christ, Christ crucified as the atonement for sin, the great central truth of the gospel round which all truths cluster and from which every truth rightly understood derives its value and importance. Another building thereon means other workers directed by the Lord to stand in their lot and place, as Apollos followed Paul to water the seed sown by giving further instruction and helping it develop. Those who plant and those who water are one, laborers together with God as His helping hands and instruments under the unseen Master Worker, not the cause of growth, for God alone gives the increase and success to their efforts, so neither planter nor waterer is anything. Therefore teachers of the Word must point souls to Christ as the only means of salvation and convert people to the pure truth of God's Word rather than attaching men to themselves, and a minister who does not dwell on the same things as his brother ministers but emphasizes some other phase of truth or presents the Word in a different way is not to be condemned.

Stirring preaching that convicts the worldly class and strikes terror to hearts dead in trespasses and sins is only the first part, and those convicted need other help to be taught to study the Word and to be led step by step under the law of development from point to point until they stand firmly on the true foundation. Old, experienced teachers are especially fitted to carry the work forward from point to point, but they cannot do it alone and must have helpers, each leaving to others the parts outside his own line, with the Lord as the great Teacher and the Lord Jesus having supervision of the whole work. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to control, harmony comes among the different workers and the building becomes complete, harmonious and symmetrical in all its parts, and all glory belongs to God, since successful work comes only by the wisdom He imparts and it is foolish for His instrumentalities to take glory to themselves. Calling himself a wise masterbuilder does not exalt Paul, for the grace and wisdom were given by God, and divine power uniting with his human effort enabled him to present the truth in a manner pleasing to God.

He was a laborer together with God and co-laborer with Christ, a humble instrument bringing spiritual knowledge from the word of God and the works of Christ to all whose hearts are open to evidence, and united with Christ the greatest Teacher communicating lessons of divine wisdom that meet the necessities of all classes and conditions of men and apply to all times, all places, and all people. He wisely forbore naming the false teachers seeking to destroy his work among the divided Corinthians, refusing to irritate them for fear of turning some entirely from the truth, while charging every man to take heed how he builds thereon. The apostles and Christ's disciples as architects laid the sure foundation of the church, which is Christ, pictured as a temple built from people brought from the Jewish and Gentile world, while later ministers hand down the gospel from generation to generation and build stone by stone. The work of building the church faced opposition from those adhering to a false foundation, yet faithful workers carried the growing structure forward through persecution and death.

No worker's contribution is meant to become a fixed human mold that limits later progress, for God brings further workmen, light, and power so the building can continue upward and forward, and the workers may be buried but God's work goes on. Establishing the church as laying its foundation in different fields and building upon it includes establishing educational centers as part of this work. Luther was called by divine purpose to help build God's temple through the centuries on the foundation Christ, though his father had intended him for another profession. Hardship, poverty, and discipline prepared him for that mission, for God makes people builders in His temple by preparing them for their work.

Christ the Only Foundation

The foundation laid is Jesus Christ, and no other foundation can be laid. He is Christ crucified as the atonement for sin, the great central truth of the gospel round which all truths cluster and from which every truth rightly understood derives its value and importance. By the grace of God given to him Paul labored as a wise masterbuilder and laid that foundation by first preaching the gospel at Corinth and gathering the church as the work assigned him, while another builds thereon as other workers directed by the Lord stand in their lot and place. As Apollos followed Paul to water the seed sown by giving further instruction and helping it develop, those who plant and those who water are one, laborers together with God as His helping hands and instruments under the unseen Master Worker, not the cause of growth, for God alone gives the increase and success to their efforts. Therefore teachers must point souls to Christ as the only means of salvation and bring people to the foundation into a firm structure, converting them to the pure truth of God's Word rather than attaching men to themselves, since their doctrines, example, and influence affect those around them. God and man must work together in this building, with divine power working in human agencies to will and to do His good pleasure, both in tilling and preparing soil for planting and harvest and in breaking up hardened hearts so the gospel seed can find favorable soil and produce a harvest to His glory.

No man is appointed to be a foundation for other human beings to build upon. No one can build on another person's foundation or invent a personal fallacy and exalt it above the profession of the whole church, but each must have a foundation of his own, a distinctness of character that binds him to the God of Israel. Every human being must erect his own character building upon Christ in co-partnership with the divine Builder, uniting with Christ in cooperation and taking sufficient carefulness about the material brought to the foundation stone.

Christ is the foundation of the church pictured as a temple built from people brought from the Jewish and Gentile world. Those brought from among the Gentiles are like valuable stones laid on it, and through contact with Christ the living stone they become living stones in God's spiritual temple. Those who continue the church's work must build faithfully on Christ in gathering and teaching believers.

The truths God has established and sealed are foundation stones that must stand fast and not be undermined, with their order undisturbed. Every builder must take care not to introduce error, objectionable teachings, worldly principles and methods, unsupported theories, or worthless perishable material, since unbelief can unsettle the system of truth and destroy it. Heavenly principles are lasting building materials represented by gold, silver, and precious stones, while worldly principles are perishable materials represented by wood, hay, and stubble, and introducing what is objectionable can mar the church and replace what endures. No one should press unsupported theories or build flawed teaching on the foundation laid by others, for wood, hay, and stubble will be consumed in the fires of the last day.

The foundation laid by Christ is complete unity of sentiment and spirit in the church, with no divisions, all speaking the same thing and perfectly joined in the same mind and same judgment, with one mind and one mouth glorifying God. The denominational sects built on human creeds are not on that foundation. God has laid a great foundation of truth at infinite cost, and His people must act in harmony upon it, when heavenly angels will work with power through consecrated human agencies. This applies to the work in Washington in the day of opportunity, where men must hold the fort as Sunday legislation and petitions for religious instruction in the public schools advance, and where those who helped lay the foundation of truth, including Elder A. T. Jones and Elder E. J. Waggoner, are to put forth most earnest efforts in presenting the principles by which the people are to stand. The hay and wood represent worthless material, while gold, silver, and precious stones represent the best works and qualities formed in character, enduring materials that are not consumed but improve both the worker and those connected with him, including everything that contributes to future happiness.

Take Heed Tested Fire

Every builder must take heed how he builds on the foundation, because the work belongs to God and will be judged according to its quality. The structure cannot be careless or haphazard but must be thorough, solid, deliberate and grounded in truth rather than human sophistries, so that it will endure trial. Building on the foundation means forming character and doing spiritual work, requiring care in spirit, words and acts, with every faculty consecrated to God and trained for use, and with teaching given faithfully and patiently so that every stroke bears God's mark. One defect left unovercome, like a flaw in a chain, can spoil the whole character and gain the mastery, and character-building demands daily cooperation with God beyond this life.

Building rightly is with gold, silver and precious stones, not with wood, hay and stubble. Taking heed means refusing the rubbish of self-confidence and private suppositions, refusing to judge brethren for falling short of one's own standard, glorying in no man, thinking of men above what is written, or being puffed up for one minister against another. It means remembering that believers are the temple of God where His Spirit dwells, that the temple is holy and defiling it brings destruction, letting no man deceive himself, becoming a fool in worldly terms to be wise since worldly wisdom is foolishness with God, humbling the heart, and as ministers and stewards of the mysteries of God being found faithful while leaving judgment until the Lord brings hidden counsels to light.

Every man's work built on the foundation will be made manifest when the day declares it, revealed and tried by fire showing of what sort it is. In the day of judgment every man's work will be seen just as it is and God will place His estimate upon each one, giving reward if the work abides and loss if the work is burned, though the builder himself may be saved yet so as by fire. The work of Christian teachers lasts when they present the truth faithfully and lead people to holiness of heart and life, while teaching that neglects or distorts the truth produces converts whose lives will not endure the test.

Durable material is solid abiding truth that stands the fire of the last days and the judgment, the same work Christ did when He was in the world, and fruit that remains which fire cannot consume. It is sound Christ-taught doctrine and humble faith, steadfast principle, surrender of selfishness and reception of the Holy Spirit, minds drawn away from self and centered upon Jesus in organized effort where every soul has work without waiting to be forced into it. It is pure noble deeds and upright words and actions God approves, in contrast to careless conduct and unchristlike words, formed as Bible truth planted in the heart controls the life and fashions character for eternal life, with God made the strength, Scripture studied until the Spirit impresses divine things on the soul, cooperation with Christ in His lines, and golden threads of influence fastening soul to soul to draw them to Christ. Such imperishable gold, silver and precious stones improve both worker and those connected with him, include everything contributing to future happiness, and help determine place in God's temple, so that greater consecration here means greater advancement in the future life.

Perishable material is self-centered work that only professes faith and amounts to nothing, leaving the life-work lost for time and for eternity with no reward for mere profession and the portion with unbelievers and hypocrites. It is manufactured tests, claims without truth, heresies, sophistries and vain misinterpretations of Scripture that unsettle souls and sweep away the foundation laid in experience since 1844, as well as speculative theories mixed with human philosophy that cannot sanctify, and false spiritualistic and corrupt teachings and fables that lead astray. The truth of God's Word must remain unmixed with falsehood and obeyed rather than turned from to fables, with only truth substantiated syllable by syllable from the Word entertained in the heart and presented, and fire will consume all that rubbish in the day of trial and final reckoning.

A teacher whose work is lost through unfaithful or distorted teaching loses the good results faithful teaching could have brought, and may himself be saved through repentance and faith yet suffers great loss. That loss is solemn because souls that might have been saved through faithful presentation of truth may be lost, and a mind led astray by false pretentious example may copy him, never repent, never be cured. The same builder image is seen in Jeremiah's work among Judah, where he urged thorough repentance and wise building for eternity on a sound foundation. There former worthless building is apostasy and unbelief, while enduring materials are faith, obedience and good works acceptable to God.

Church as God's Building

The building is God's husbandry and God's building, His farm to be worked and His temple where the Spirit dwells. The temple is holy, and if any defiles it God will destroy him. Believers themselves are that farm and building, prepared to bear fruit to His glory, and every man's work built on the foundation of Jesus Christ will be made manifest, declared and tried by fire to show of what sort it is, with reward if it abides and loss if it is burned though the builder himself may be saved so as by fire. Taking heed how to build therefore means building with gold, silver and precious stones and not with wood, hay and stubble, which is rubbish of self-confidence and private suppositions.

Ministers and believers are laborers together with God and with Christ, His helping hands and humble instruments under the unseen Master Worker. Divine power unites with human effort and works in human agencies to will and to do His good pleasure, in tilling and preparing soil for planting and harvest and in breaking up hardened hearts so the gospel seed can find favorable soil. Paul planted and Apollos watered by giving further instruction to develop the seed, but neither is the cause of growth, for God alone gives the increase and success, and each receives reward according to his own labor. Gaining eternal life therefore requires earnest cooperation, working out salvation with fear and trembling, submitting to Christ in everything and bringing the will into harmony with His will, while standing against Satan who began to work as soon as the plan of salvation was devised, for God cannot work through those who make no effort.

The Lord's work needs workers with different talents and tasks, each doing his part faithfully and thoroughly in united order under Christ the great living Head, to whom all are dependent as members of His body. Building rightly means counseling together and having seasons of prayer together, making no move independently or in opposition to one another, each leaving to others the parts outside his own line. Stirring preaching that convicts is only the first part, and those convicted need further help to study the Word step by step under the law of development until they stand firmly on the true foundation, with old experienced teachers and helpers cooperating so the whole building becomes complete, harmonious and symmetrical. The work must be done after God's order with God's mold upon it and an eye single to His glory, not from one's own standpoint or finite judgment, and if one refuses to cooperate another willing and obedient worker will be chosen to do work wrought in righteousness as enduring as eternity, for successful work comes only by wisdom He imparts and all glory belongs to God and to Jesus, not to the workers.

Building the church as stone upon stone on the sure foundation of Christ faces a false foundation, false doctrine, persecution and opposition. Such obstacles can discourage builders and turn them away or lead them to abandon the foundation. Yet faithful workers carry the growing structure forward through persecution and death despite opposition.

Practical building includes a house of worship that in its construction comfortably accommodates those who assemble and does honor to God, built with heart, cheerfulness and willingness under His especial supervision with His presence signalized in its dedication, by Sabbathkeepers who claim the Christian name and must now be all that name represents with experimental knowledge of being children of God. It includes laying the foundation of enterprises such as a health institution in solid timber, refusing defective timbers and defective characters not under the special control of the Spirit who work at cross purposes and create variance and dissension, so that the work will stand the great conflagration when every work is tried of what sort it is. It includes establishing educational centers as laying the foundation in different fields and building upon it. It includes wise masterbuilding in handling thousands of entrusted dollars, apportioning money just where faithful stewards should to produce symmetry in God's workmanship, broadening and deepening and adding new territories to His kingdom, with no guesswork, no selfish concentration of large means in one place, and no binding it away from suffering foreign missions in hunger, weariness, famine and distress, since every result is faithfully chronicled with every thread drawn into the fabric and every board and planner held accountable.

Establishing God's cause in new fields is God building with tested material. The Lord hews and squares the material through proving trials like strokes of the chisel and blows of the hammer. Those who will not bear the proving, who answer every stroke with anger and resistance, are laid aside, and other material is brought in to be tested in the same manner. The breaking away of fragments, though regretted and mourned and feared as ruin, delays the work only for a time and in fact renders the building stronger by removal of elements of weakness, so the work goes steadily forward with His guiding grand purpose running through from first to last.

Unity Against Party Spirit

The chapter confronts envy, strife and division as proof of carnality and childhood in Christ rather than the mind and Spirit of Christ. Declaring loyalty with I am of Paul and I am of Apollos, withdrawing from some for reasons existing only in the imagination and binding up with favorites, is walking as men and living as babes in Christ. Such babes live on a low level on milk, the plainest simple truths, and not on meat, the solid nourishing spiritual food for those advanced in knowledge of divine things who dwell on truth requiring thought and deep research.

Those who receive the truth must not stand as independent atoms nor attach themselves in separate parties and bundles to the one man under whose labors they received light. Such partisan clinging and taking sides with one's own minister while refusing harmony with brethren is dangerous ground showing they are not sanctified through the truth. Those tied up in that spirit need reconversion, or their claimed conversion becomes a stumbling block to sinners, and all who receive the truth in love of its principles must make straight paths for their feet lest the lame be turned out of the way. Drawing apart from brethren over misconceived opinions is forbidden, and believers are to work together as one, strengthened in love and harmonious action to glorify God as channels prepared and aided by one Agency from one great Source of love and unity.

Building in self-confidence from one's own notions, plans, desires and desirings without regard or reference to brethren lays on the foundation only a mass of personal suppositions which is rubbish. Workers must not make the work their own nor damage it through human ideas, but their labor must follow God's principles and keep Christ as its foundation already laid. Paul and Apollos are only ministers by whom people believed as the Lord gave to every man, one planting and another watering but God giving the increase so that neither planter nor waterer is anything. He who plants and he who waters are one though their work may differ, with the same object, each receiving reward according to his own labor, so a minister who emphasizes another phase of truth or presents the Word in a different way is not to be condemned, and cherishing discord, envy and jealousy hinders the manifestation of God's Spirit.

Taking heed means building with gold, silver and precious stones and not with wood, hay and stubble, remembering believers are God's temple where His Spirit dwells, holy and not to be defiled, with every man's work made manifest when the day declares it by fire trying of what sort it is unto reward. In practice it requires unity, meekness, humility, kindness, love, courtesy and being all of one mind, loving as brethren, pitiful and courteous, humbling the heart before God. It means not judging brethren for falling short of one's standard of perfection in words, spirit and actions, glorying in no man, thinking of men not above what is written, and not being puffed up for one minister against another, while as ministers and stewards of God's mysteries being found faithful and leaving judgment until the Lord comes to bring hidden counsels to light. It also means valuing sound counsel, receiving advice, counseling and praying together, making no independent or opposing move, and carrying out God's work with mutual submission, unity, consistency and sound judgment by word and Spirit, each using God-given ability to the utmost while keeping individuality in manner and bearing under Christ the living Head where if one suffers all suffer.

The third chapter with its reproof is definite sound instruction given to ministers of the gospel and to all churches wherever located. It is to be read in every church and received for the soul's sake, read, studied, prayed over and practiced, calling ministers and members to seek truth, search the Scriptures and humble their hearts before God lest their names be missing from the book of life. Faith and practice must be energized by the Holy Spirit rather than governed by human authority, compelled by dictates of the finite mind, or built on dependence on human wisdom and leaning on man whose breath is in his nostrils, which places a veil between God and man so that He who is invisible is no longer seen.

Building Personal Character Eternity

Building on the foundation is forming character and doing spiritual work for eternity, with God and man working together in co-partnership with the divine Builder. To a great extent each person is the architect of his own character, using the intellectual and moral powers God has given, with the structure approaching completion every day. No man is appointed to be a foundation for others, for the foundation laid is Jesus Christ and no other can be laid, and every human being must erect his own character building upon Christ and cannot build alone. This calls for full consecration of body, soul and spirit to Jesus to be changed into His likeness instead of following worldly principles, with carefulness about spirit, words and acts and about the material brought to the foundation stone. Teaching that builds rightly is given faithfully and patiently, grounded in truth rather than human sophistries, with every stroke of work bearing God's mark and with gold, silver and precious stones rather than wood, hay and stubble, because every man's work shall be made manifest when the day declares it, revealed by fire that tries of what sort it is.

Human character is God's building, wrought point by point as God works each day, stroke upon stroke and stone upon stone, to perfect the structure into a symmetrical holy temple for Him with no flaw because it is the Lord's. Man is to cooperate with God by becoming just what God designs him to be, building life with pure, noble deeds until character is a fair temple honored by God and man, with each faculty consecrated to God and trained and used in building. Each trait and action is like a stone in God's building, and every stone must be perfectly laid to endure pressure, since one stone laid wrong affects the whole building. One defect, like a flaw in a chain, can spoil character and gain mastery if not overcome, and a single cherished selfish trait acts like a leak that sinks a ship, defiling the whole man and producing words that leave an evil impression never effaced, so that even a great grand structure for time and eternity grows unsymmetrical and misshapen if selfishness takes root. Taking heed means building so character will stand the test of storm and tempest by placing the stone on the sure foundation, the eternal Rock of obedience to God's Word through upright deeds and pure words, ready for the day of test and trial and final inspection when all will be seen just as they are. Building a character for eternity therefore requires care in choosing its materials, including good associates and sound character, for deficiencies make the building doomed to ruin while faithful construction enables it to withstand temptation.

Character is formed day by day, as each small choice and act adds a good or bad brick to the structure, and little neglects or departures from principle can make it crooked. Building well means acting with exactness and correctness in ordinary words, tones, gestures, looks, kindness, love and courtesy, rather than neglecting daily opportunities while waiting to do something great. Faithfulness in small things prepares a person for greater and severe tests, while neglect of small tests leaves one unprepared, and character formation continues throughout life. A life's work must be built on a sound foundation before it is built upward, and discipline and experience in ordinary duties help prepare to meet life's hardships, while academic education alone does not provide that practical preparation.

Everyone who professes Christ is building on the foundation, and those not under God's control, though professing to be Christians, contribute nothing to the efficiency of the gospel, bear no fruit to the glory of God, and are written in heaven's record books as not producers but consumers, so the Lord cannot cooperate with them. In the building they are stones that only take up room and emit no light, because they do not receive light from the chief Cornerstone and therefore cannot shine as living stones. There is no neutral place in this work: Christians are either under Christ's rule, heeding His instruction and doing the work His followers are supposed to do, or under the control of the enemy, either doing positive good or incalculable harm, with an influence that is either a savor of life unto life or of death unto death.

People as God's building and temple belong to God and must care for their bodies by obeying the laws of health, since the body is not to be neglected or overworked or damaged through careless action. Taking poisonous drugs into the body can destroy God's building, and people are accountable for how they treat human life. Spending the Lord's money on tobacco and other sinful self-indulgence misuses what God has entrusted and damages fitness to serve, so conduct including use of money must build in keeping with Christ. Intelligent care is required, for sleep gives the body time to repair and restore its organs.

Building rightly means finding no satisfaction in attractive dress without delight in the white robes of Christ's righteousness, using God-given power well by trimming the inner lamp so its light shines to others, cherishing and uttering no unbelief, and using the talent of speech in a way that honors God. Speech is sound and offers sweet fragrance to God only when the root is holy, and continuing to build wrongly means never seeing God's face. Taking heed means guarding every phase of character and being careful in words, practicing known truth with daily converting power. It requires letting the Holy Spirit subdue hereditary traits striving for supremacy so self dies, and replacing sharpness, hardness, criticism, exacting ways, harshness, overbearing manners, rashness and impetuosity with courtesy, kindness, patient graceful speech, meekness, gentleness, forbearance and love for brethren that represents Christ.

Building for time is building for eternity, for a foundation has already been laid and every person now builds on it. This tests readiness for the Lord's coming near the end of history, showing that many who think they are prepared are not, and calls every person to confess Christ, to separate from all hindrances, to know the will of God and walk in that pathway, and so to come out of darkness into His marvelous light, becoming free and all light in the Lord. Making eternal interests secure while meeting earthly needs is like building on rock, preparing a person to remain safe when sickness or adversity comes. Tending the spiritual edifice matters more than adorning one's house or acquiring wealth, and a person must take care how that edifice is built. God gives the mind and its powers, and people must cultivate them to form characters for usefulness here and for a higher life hereafter, for the mind may serve God or Satan and the character formed takes the likeness of one or the other.

Parents as co-workers with God are accountable for character-building that includes properly training and educating children, practicing and teaching self-denial, improving talents of high order, and exerting a right influence in the family, instead of living superficial, selfish, worldly lives that become stumbling blocks. In the day when every case is revealed just as it is and all that is worthless is burned up, faithful building will receive a reward and unfaithful building will suffer loss.

Only character built through Christ and shaped by the Spirit is fit for God's building, with sound materials and dependence on Jesus and His grace because without Him nothing can be done. The foundation must be solid rock, Christ, and the gospel work must be built on it for eternity despite trials, persecution, opposition and reproach. Cherishing evil tendencies and fleshly desires cannot produce such a character, while resisting them and learning Christ's way forms one that God can approve. Preaching alone cannot form it, and the character of the building is solemn because a life formed in this world determines eternal destiny and decides who will be an overcomer and wear the crown of life.

Building wisely for eternity means attending to one's spiritual life and leaving aside plans and work that are unessential for eternal life. Self-knowledge and humility allow the Lord to train the mind and shape the character, helping workers build wisely.

Faithful Teaching and Ministry

Taking heed governs the doctrines taught, the example set, and the influence exerted upon associates, for Paul by God's grace laid the foundation of the church's faith and others afterward continued the building by bearing the message and gathering in converted souls. Those engaging to win souls to Christ are laborers together with God, and remembering this prevents many decided failures. Their task is to bring people to the foundation and build them into a firm structure that will abide the fires of the last great day, which cannot be done nor hearts broken except by divine power.

Building for time is building for eternity, since a foundation has already been laid and every person now builds upon it and must take heed how he builds. The building is God's people and the presentation of God's Word and truth to them, requiring the builder to entertain faith and truth and righteousness in the heart and to present only truth substantiated syllable by syllable from the Word that will stand the fire of the last days and the judgment. God's Word must remain unmixed with falsehood and be obeyed rather than turning to fables, for false spiritualistic theories and corrupt teachings are wood, hay and stubble that lead astray and will be consumed in the day of trial and final reckoning. Right building requires a faithful ministry that each day takes the right side, puts on the whole armor of God to meet in human flesh the powers of darkness working in human flesh, and so connects with Jesus Christ and heavenly angels that angels surround the worker and he does the work of heavenly angels. If the builder himself is to be saved he must repent heartily before God and cleanse the temple and the foundation from all that is false and leads away from God and truth, because sin is an expensive business that trifles with the soul's salvation when souls may be plunged into eternity without warning. Hay, wood and stubble are manufactured tests, claims without truth, heresies, sophistries and vain misinterpretations of Scripture that unsettle souls and sweep away the experience since 1844, while gold, silver and precious stones are solid abiding truth. One who has built with rubbish may repent and be saved as by fire yet suffer great loss, because others charmed by his false pretentious example may copy him and never repent, and a mind he has led astray cannot be cured.

Sound Christ-taught doctrine and humble faith are durable materials, while speculative theories and teachings mixed with human philosophy cannot sanctify, and at the day of God fire will test each work so that worthless material is consumed but true faith and steadfast principle endure. Building with gold, silver and precious stones represents Christian character and words and actions God approves, while wood, hay and stubble represent careless conduct and unchristlike words and actions. Faithful building refuses to be guided by those who have long known present truth but have not yielded to its claims, refuses to conform to the world to gain influence with worldlings, separates from God's enemies, and stands firm for truth in all places, in order to possess characters that make men laborers together with God and worthy of His commendation. Believers have the high calling to be laborers together with God by uniting as His helping hand with angels ministering to heirs of salvation, knowing by faith that angels are present though their forms are unseen. To fit them for this building work God will strengthen mental faculties as He did Daniel's mind, and as they teach those in darkness the truths that enlightened them He will teach them those truths still better Himself and give apt words communicated through the angel standing by their side. They must pray for faith that works by love and purifies the soul and seek living power from above, and thus building rightly they lay gold, silver and precious stones which fire cannot consume.

A gospel minister must be a wise masterbuilder by following preaching with personal visiting of those impressed with truth, pressing it home upon understanding and conscience, since preaching alone is not enough and failure in this personal work brings weakness to the people and hinders God's work. Wise building is zealous, interested, self-sacrificing labor together with God for souls perishing for want of well-directed personal effort. He who does his best in missionary work by practical effort prepares a solid foundation on which to build, and working for the sick, afflicted and suffering while combining medical missionary work with preaching the Word to win souls and establish believers gains by experience the tact, skill and knowledge necessary for the work. As he labors with Christ his faith is built upon knowledge, feeling the Saviour close by his side teaching him how to wear His yoke and carry His burden restfully, trustingly and cheerfully, and by that experience he brings gold, silver and precious stones to the foundation. Those called to advance Christ's work are to study His example in laying the foundation, consecrating themselves to God and following His humble way of saving souls instead of comparing it with methods of worldly wise men. Paul's spiritual excellence and missionary work came through grace received from Christ, and that same grace can equip devoted workers today.

Each has a work given by God and must be free to seek God's direction through the Spirit rather than being controlled or assigned duties by fallible people, for human mistakes do not justify placing all God's workers under others' authority. God's work is a building and its workers are builders accountable for how they build, so wise builders serve faithfully and vigilantly to keep the work sound rather than allowing sin or neglect to mar it. The quality and beauty of the building depend on the united faithfulness of its workers, and God observes and measures each worker's influence, with final results and reward revealed in eternity. Gospel workers must examine what kind of work they do, how they lay the foundation and what material they put into the building, to see whether it must all be taken down and another structure built up. A worker is a power in the field only when God works with him through the Divine Spirit, and without that Spirit he should not dare to touch the work, for low-minded workers hinder rather than advance it, so the work requires caution, thorough training and reaching a higher class. Those entering without genuine calling may merely take up labor already begun by others and build on another person's foundation.

The first, second and third chapters are to be read with much prayer where there is complaint about lack of business ability, teaching that not many wise after the flesh, mighty or noble are called. Men cultivated in sharp worldly business traits count the preaching of the cross foolishness, but God chose the foolish and weak and despised things of the world to confound the wise and mighty and bring to nothing things that are, so that no flesh should glory in His presence, and Christ Jesus is made unto believers wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. God's building is His workmanship in human character, the most splendid work, while the most splendid building human art can produce is liable to come to nothing, so every man must have a true living experience and take heed how he builds upon the foundation laid. What is required is possible to do, and the whole chapter is to be read and most earnestly taken into life practice, and doing so answers Christ's prayer in John 17, bringing His righteousness going before and the glory of God as rearward. The foundation is the first and chief education of life, on which must be built what is of lasting value like gold, silver and precious stones rather than worthless hay, wood and stubble, and the church's work depends on reaching to God in faith. The call to be God's building and to take care how to build upon the foundation reaches all conduct including use of money, for spending the Lord's money on tobacco and other sinful self-indulgence misuses what God entrusted and damages fitness to serve. In the same setting the warning is against conduct and teachings that corrupt the church, including spiritualistic ideas and improper affections.