THE FOUNDATION OF JESUS CHRIST

1 Corinthians 3:10-11 According to the grace of God, which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Beginning with verse 4, of this chapter, Paul writes that, both He and Apollos, were fellow laborers for God as they delivered the gospel of Christ throughout Greece, Rome, and Asia Minor. He describes himself and Apollos, as builders of the church of Christ, and then told the Christians of Corinth that ye are God's building. In explaining their ministry for Christ, and the founding of the church in Corinth, Paul is adamant that the church was not to be referred to as Paul's church, or the church of Apollos. All ministers of God are merely His servants, and should never desire, or take credit for, a congregation of God's people by allowing it to be known by their name, or by any name other than the foundation on which it is laid, Jesus Christ. The design of the church belongs to God; Paul was merely following the specifications as laid out by God. Paul said that it was God's plan that was given unto me. God, then, is the wise master builder. When one accepts Jesus as their Savior, and is baptized into the body of Christ, it is God that adds them to the church, ...such as should be saved (See Acts 2:41-47).

The structure of the church, which God designed, and which Paul, Apollos, and other servants of God built is extremely important. It must be framed upon, and around, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Notice the importance Paul places on this fact in his letter to the church of Christ in Ephesus. He wrote, that the church was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit (Eph. 2:20-22). Here the foundation was not the individual apostles and prophets themselves, but rather the foundation laid by them. The prophets foretold of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ - where He was to be born, from what tribe He was to descend, what the conditions the world would be in when He came, and that, through Him, salvation would be offered to all people of the world, both Jew and Gentile. The apostles of Christ preached, throughout the world, the message given to them by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, saying that Jesus was the Savior sent from God. Within their message, they explained the necessary steps of obedience that led to being baptized into the body of Christ, His Church, for the remission of their sins.

It is in Christ, and only in Christ, that people of the world can have the hope of eternal salvation. How important it is to understand that the church, to which God added the saved on the Day of Pentecost, has Jesus Christ, Himself, as its chief corner stone. No building can be structurally sound unless all measurements are made from a common reference point, such as a corner stone. The same is true for the church of Christ. The chief corner stone must be Jesus. If the measurements of any religious institution refer back to any doctrine, other than that of Jesus Christ, it cannot be His New Testament church.

Likewise, as the lesson text states, the church designed by God, as its wise master builder; the church that was built to God's specifications by the apostles of Christ, and other inspired preachers of God's holy word; the church to which God adds those obedient souls that desire to be saved, is the church of Christ. He is its chief corner stone, and He is the solid foundation on which it is built. Indeed, as Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

The church of Christ, in order to be founded upon Him, must contain His doctrine - that which was delivered by His apostles, as inspired by the Holy Spirit. There can be no other true foundation for the church. Every member of His body, which makes up His church, must be able to trace the truths, by which they became a Christian, and by which they conduct their lives on earth, back to the doctrine contained in the gospel message of our Savior, which is the foundation on which the church of Christ was built.

There is no other than Christ, in whom God offers eternal salvation. The truth of His holy word can be found only in Jesus teaching, and those He authorized to continue teaching His doctrine. On no other foundation than Jesus Christ; on no doctrine other than the one He died to establish, can a church be built that will be recognized by God, its wise master builder. Without Jesus Christ as its foundation, all religious bodies will crumble and fall. Jesus Christ is, indeed, the foundation of God's church.