No man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:5-23 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. ⁷ So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. ⁸ Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. ⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

¹⁰ According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. ¹⁴ If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷ If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

¹⁸ Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; ²⁰ and again, “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.” ²¹ So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, ²³ and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷ If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. How is it that we might destroy the temple of God? In Matthew 15 Jesus speaks about what defiles a man. Matthew 15:10-20 says:

¹⁰ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. ¹¹ It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”…   ¹⁵ Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶  Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? ¹⁸ But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. ²⁰ These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

Certainly it is not that we want to indulge in excess and we shouldn’t partake of illegal or sinful things. But avoiding things like alcohol and tobacco does not make us holy if our heart is impure. What we say and how we act toward others does more to reveal our heart than abstaining from foods or drinks. “The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”  God judges hearts. Again it is not that what we do and what we partake of is unimportant, but rather it is our heart to please God which should cause us to live righteously, not a desire to look righteous before men.

Paul began this portion of his letter writing of the importance of Christ as the foundation to everything we do and everything we teach or are taught.  He says:      ¹¹ For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.

Jesus Himself spoke of building on a foundation in Matthew 16:13-19.    ¹³ Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

Peter was not the rock upon which Jesus said He would build His church, but rather it is upon the rock of the revelation that Jesus is the Christ that Jesus says He will build His church. Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, Lord and King. That is the foundation Jesus built upon so it should also be the foundation we build upon. Look at what Jesus says the church built on that foundation will do.  “ The gates of Hades will not overpower it.” The gates of Hades or Hell are the very entry points that spiritual evil and darkness enter into this physical realm. Jesus says those gates, those entry points, will not stand against the church built upon the revelation that Jesus is the Christ.          He says:   “ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”   We should, as His church, march against the gates of Hell in our culture and our society today. We should exercise the spiritual authority Jesus says we have. We should bind up the powers of evil and darkness and we should loose love, healing, hope, the victorious and abundant life that Jesus came to bring. Jesus says He has given us the keys to the kingdom of heaven, using those keys we unlock and bring to earth all the realities of heaven.

That’s what it means when we pray as Jesus taught: Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10) Building upon the foundation that Jesus is the Christ builds this physical realm into the likeness of heaven.

There are many good teachers that we can follow in order to grow in our Christian walk. We should follow no one who builds on any other foundation than Jesus Christ. Jesus the Christ is more than Jesus the man. Before we ask the question; What would Jesus do? We must respond to what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus is first and foremost The Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Only as we accept what He did can we begin to do what He did.  There is no other foundation and there is no other way.

Thank You Jesus, the Christ. My Lord and Savior. Empower me, by Your Spirit, to be part of Your victorious conquering church, that I might see the realities of heaven manifested here on earth. Heavenly Father may your kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.     Amen.