Foundation of Our Faith

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

—1 Corinthians 3:10-11

Since our church is in the market for a building, I believe God put these verses on my heart as an encouragement to remind us of what our building will be built on—the true foundation of our faith, Jesus Christ.

In this portion of scripture, Paul begins by pointing out the source of his devotion to building the church—God’s amazing Grace.  You know anything that starts with God’s Grace has got to turn out good!  Stop trying to do works in the flesh and freely receive the Grace God has made available to us.  That’s where it all begins.  We can’t live a godly life on our own.  Once we receive God’s Grace, then we’ll be equipped and empowered to do great exploits for the Lord.

Additionally, operating under God’s Grace draws others to help us in our mission to build the church.  However, Paul does warn us that whoever is building the church has to “be very careful.” 

What does that mean exactly?  According to Strong’s concordance, that word in the Greek can also mean: to turn the eyes to anything: to look at, look upon, or gaze at.  The next question that arises: what are we supposed to be looking at? 

The very next verse gives us the answer: For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. 

It’s so vitally important to keep our eyes on Jesus.  Then, whatever we build on top will not topple easily because it was built on our true cornerstone, the Rock of Jesus Christ.

But you might be wondering:  In a world filled with distractions and issues, how do we keep our eyes on Jesus?  Even if we’re looking at Jesus, can we really see Who He is? 

No, not really.  Not without some major help from a wonderful Helper.

Matthew 16:15-19 states:

15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” 

In the above verses, we learn that the church is built on revelation knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Also, Jesus points out that we can’t get a revelation from flesh and blood; we need God’s help to reveal the true identity and Person of Jesus.  Furthermore, He gives us the keys (or authority) to open heaven and lock up hell on earth!

Let’s give a huge shout out to the Holy Spirit!  There’s really no way to function in God’s will or to participate in His work without the help of the Holy Spirit.  God operates in a divine order: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The only way to the Father is through Jesus (John 14:6), and the only way to see Jesus and the things of God is by revelation from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10).

Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forward, but at the end of the day, They all point back to Jesus!  One of the Holy Spirit’s main (and favorite) functions is to empower us to make a place for Jesus to dwell in our hearts (Eph 3:16-17).  Likewise, it’s the Father’s heart to give all the authority and glory to Jesus (Eph 1:10 & John 17:24).

The more we adore Jesus, learn about His attributes through His Word, and get to know Him as a Person, the stronger our foundation will be and the stronger our faith will be.  Our building can rise higher and higher into the sky with boldness!   We can rest assured that there are no fault lines in our Rock of Ages, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  All praises to our King!