24-0825p Transcript

Preacher: Scott Reynolds

(1:12) Good evening.
As we begin to address building a temple of God, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit, let’s begin thinking about what it means for the saints to be a royal priesthood. (1:28) We’re all family here. This is the tight group.

I, of course, known we were a royal priesthood, and Jesus Christ is our high priest, but what does that really mean? (1:45) And there’s more to it, and us being a temple, you know why you don’t have to go to Jerusalem anymore to reach out to God, because he’s inside you if you’re a Christian. (2:00) He’s right where you are, and so now I can worship him wherever I am with an assembly of believers, because that’s where he is. He’s in us.

(2:16) But that also means that we’re priests, and as priests, we have direct access to God. A priest is an intercessor between man and God, and we have a high priest that does that for us. (2:35) Actually, our intercessor is our high priest, Jesus, and it makes so much more sense now to me that Jesus is our high priest.

(2:46) You know, when we did our Roman study and came across that concept, that Jesus is our ambassador, and you could also say apostle. (2:56) Jesus is an apostle and our high priest of our confession, and that got us into the whole building construction metaphor that has been so prevalent in this study. (3:18) It’s just incredible, and as we peel away the onion and get closer to the core, we’re learning so much more information, but let’s continue.

(3:33) We are a royal priesthood. What does it mean that we are? (3:37) And the lesson is entitled, this is part two of Take Care of How You Build. (3:42) We have our basis scripture, and everybody’s pretty familiar with those, but real quickly, Jesus himself gave some to be the leadership of the saints that are mentioned there, apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of service.

(4:00) So we have, the saints have a work that God wants us to do, a work of service for us to do, for building up the body of Christ until we all attain the unity of the faith. (4:14) And with the Corinthians, the unity of the faith was to keep from splitting, to keep from division that they had in the knowledge of the Son of God to become mature. (4:29) Because as we found out in the building construction metaphor, Jesus is the construction.

(4:41) He’s the bedrock that the foundation lays on. He’s the cornerstone of the foundation. He’s the other parts of the foundation that the apostles and prophets preach.

(4:57) As I said before, Jesus is the only person who can actually say, it’s all about me. And it is. (5:05) Until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of God to become mature, that’s what’s going to cause us to mature to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

(5:16) In Ephesians 2, 19-22, we’re no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, or the house of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. (5:32) And that’s their teaching about Jesus, because Paul then says, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure, in whom there is Jesus. (5:43) And Jesus, the whole structure being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

(5:51) So we are growing. If we are maturing, we are growing into a holy temple. (5:58) And in Him, you are also being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

(6:08) And very quickly there, I just summarized the scriptures that we had for that the saints are a holy temple. (6:18) 1 Corinthians 3, 16, you are a temple, your body is one, and 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20. (6:28) And that we should be building a temple, not just trying to make ourselves better.

(6:36) You know, in the chat GPT and the commentaries on this passage that talk about building on the foundation, it’s for bettering ourselves. (6:52) And that’s not really the point. The point really isn’t to better ourselves.

(6:58) The point is that we are a dwelling place for God, and He wants us to be a pure and undefiled place to live in. (7:13) And He’s given us the Holy Spirit. (7:15) So our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you.

(7:21) And Jesus was the first example that I could find that had anything to do with His body being a temple. (7:30) And since He would be a dwelling, you know, our bodies are a house, as we talked about earlier. (7:39) It’s a dwelling place.

(7:41) And the lesson I was working on that I scrapped for what we’re doing today was going to talk about how it can be used as a dwelling. (7:51) A body is nothing more than a tent, a dwelling place. (7:55) And not just us can live in this, but Jesus and the first century demons could live in our house also.

(8:07) In our tent, this earthly tent of flesh that we live in, and that kind of stuff. (8:14) But I didn’t like where that lesson was going, so I pitched it. (8:20) Anyway, but Jesus talks about His body being the temple, and the temple is a house for God where He dwells.

(8:34) Colossians 2.9, the entire Godhead, which includes Jesus, is in His body. (8:45) And in 1 Corinthians 3.17, if a man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. (8:52) And I’m thinking that’s not just talking about people that might harm us being the temple, but that’s us ourselves harming our bodies.

(9:09) That we are destroying the temple of God. (9:15) For the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. (9:19) And God will destroy him, it says there.

(9:22) So what’s involved in building on top of the foundation? (9:25) That’s Jesus Christ, a holy temple, a dwelling place, and that’s where we started looking at 1 Corinthians 3.10-17. (9:34) I’ll read the chapter, that part. (9:37) 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. (9:46) But each man must be careful how he builds on it, for no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

(9:57) Now, if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, (10:06) Precious stones, wood, eggs, straw, each man’s work will become evident. (10:14) 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. (10:30) If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.

(10:39) Gene, is there some noise? (10:42) He will receive a reward. (10:49) If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (11:05) Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (11:10) 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.

(11:20) We talked about Paul being a master builder, that someone else builds on top of that foundation. (11:28) Each man must be careful how he builds on it. (11:32) And we looked there at the warning that Moses got in Exodus 25-40, that’s recounted in Hebrews 8, 4 and 5. (11:41) And the warning that Moses got when he made a copy and shadow of the heavenly things.

(11:49) God said to him, see, he says, that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain. (12:02) And the writer of Hebrews tells us that the Mosaic tabernacle is a copy and shadow of heavenly things. (12:08) And Moses was warned to be careful, even though he was only making a copy.

(12:14) And that said, the warning here is, take care how you build, because building a holy temple, a dwelling place for God, is a serious matter. (12:25) No man can lay a foundation other than Jesus, we talked about that. (12:29) Now if a man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, (12:36) and we talked about the materials and how everything but hay is representative in building in the New Testament, in the Bible rather.

(12:56) I don’t know, when you first read this, I was perplexed at the material list Paul mentioned. (13:12) And looking for, why did he choose these six things? (13:18) Because they’re not common building material items. (13:24) Gold, silver, precious stones, but they’re not the functional part of a building.

(13:34) And after all, he is building a structure on top of that. (13:39) These materials are for building on top of the foundation, which is on bedrock. (13:47) And when I got to, the straw makes sense, you can make bricks out of that.

(13:53) Wood is used, all the items except hay, and it just didn’t fit. (13:59) And we’re going to see, by the way, why, shortly. (14:04) So, certainly understanding, this is my opinion, coming up here.

(14:09) Certainly understanding how God made the tabernacle, or had the tabernacle made, (14:15) and for what purposes and functions he made it, will help us construct our temple in ourselves for him. (14:24) One would think the discussion of the tabernacle in Hebrews would be useful for our understanding. (14:32) Understanding our role in the temple is necessary because Peter tells us we are a royal priesthood, (14:39) and that means we are priests if we’re part of that priesthood.

(14:43) We should endeavor to learn what the role and responsibilities of God’s priests are. (14:48) I didn’t, before this lesson, and even now, the actual roles of the priest was, (15:02) what do you want to say, interesting, but, you know, how does it apply to me? (15:07) Well, it does apply to us because we’re priests. (15:13) And keep in mind that the mosaic priesthood is, I have the gospel advocate commentaries, and they’re old.

(15:28) The writers who write, one of them’s from the 19th century, (15:34) well, J.W., I mean, David Lipscomb, those are long gone guys. (15:43) So the writings are old, and they’ll be talking about something and how that’s typical. (15:51) And you know what that means? He’s calling it a type when he uses the word typical.

(15:59) Baptism is typical. (16:01) You know, so knowing about types and anti-types helped understanding their commentaries. (16:12) But we can learn from, even though the mosaic priesthood is defunct, it doesn’t work now, (16:23) we can learn what God had his priests do, what were their functions.

(16:31) After all, Jesus is a high priest in the order of a priest that preceded the mosaic priesthood. (16:48) Melchizedek lived long before. (16:52) Israel even showed up.

(17:01) So having some idea about that, and that’s what I’m saying, we should endeavor to learn that Jesus is our high priest in the order of Melchizedek, (17:11) and all of a sudden that piece of information’s not just trivial anymore, it actually means something. (17:17) And applies to us today, because we’re priests, and he’s our high priest. (17:24) So each one’s work, this is new information.

(17:32) Each one’s work will become evident, 1 Corinthians 3. (17:39) Each man’s work will become evident, for the day will show it. (17:43) And notice that it’s our work in building on top of the foundation of Jesus that will come to light or become visible, become evident. (17:55) The ESV, the New American Standard says evident, ESV says manifest.

(18:01) And to be manifest is to be able to see something. (18:08) For the day will show it does not refer to the great and final day of judgment, but I believe, this is my opinion here also, (18:19) but neither does the commentator, but anyway, but refers to our works being exposed to be seen by others. (18:27) For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light, Luke 18, verse 17.

(18:38) And everything exposed by light or day, the light of day, everything exposed by the light becomes visible, (18:48) and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. (18:53) That’s from Ephesians 5, 13, from the NIV. (18:58) The second part of verse 13, because it is to be revealed, the writer continues, Paul continues, with fire.

(19:06) And the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. (19:14) So, what’s the fire? (19:16) The fire does the testing, specifically to show the quality of each man’s, that’s the purpose of the fire. (19:25) How, what’s the quality? (19:28) That’s specifically given, you know, to test the quality of each man’s work.

(19:33) In Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish house builders, the testing was done by rain, floods, and wind, (19:41) and the testing and the trials, the testing is the trials of everyday life, and the storms of life, storms of life, if you will. (19:52) So, why fire for testing here? (19:54) I believe Paul’s using the testing of fire in keeping with his metaphorical building materials. (20:01) Gold, silver, and precious stones are refined and purified and made stronger by fire.

(20:09) Wood, hay, and straw are consumed and burned up by fire. (20:14) And notice while Jesus' parable stressed the importance of building on a solid foundation, (20:21) that was the point of Jesus' parable, was build your house upon the rock. (20:28) On a solid foundation, the materials we use and what we build determines whether or not we can withstand the heat.

(20:40) I like 19th century restoration author Robert Milligan’s assessment regarding trials by fire’s effect on the heart. (20:50) He says, what melts wax hardens clay. (20:55) So the material we use in building on top of the foundation, that is Jesus Christ, makes a difference.

(21:02) And the point there about melting wax and hardening clay is what does that? (21:07) The heat. (21:09) You apply heat to wax and it melts. (21:12) You apply heat to a different material, the clay, and it hardens.

(21:17) And so the heart of clay and the heart of wax, when the test comes, one melts and the other hardens. (21:29) So when God hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that’s where Milligan brought up that saying. (21:38) He goes, just remember.

(21:40) And how could God do that? (21:42) Did he make Pharaoh do that? (21:46) And Robert Milligan’s response was, well, what melts wax hardens clay. (21:51) So God applied the heat and Pharaoh acted the way his demeanor caused him to act. (22:00) That said, so perhaps the foundation is our salvation.

(22:06) And the building materials we use in building our house on top of that foundation is what we do with such a great salvation. (22:19) And I think that distinction will help us in the next two verses. (22:23) Reward and loss.

(22:25) Verse 14. (22:27) If any man’s work which he has built on it remains after being tested, he will receive a reward. (22:35) So after testing, after the fire, if anyone’s work he has built remains, he receives two things, actually.

(22:46) He receives a reward. (22:48) That’s one thing. (22:50) But he also has all the work he has built because it survived the fire.

(22:57) It remains. (22:58) So he still has all that he worked, and he has a reward also. (23:06) So what is the reward? (23:08) And I asked my research assistant, ChatGPT, and here’s its reply.

(23:17) The New Testament. (23:20) You’re going to be familiar with some of this, but I hadn’t even thought of a reward system in the New Testament. (23:30) It appears that there actually is.

(23:35) And Paul’s mentioning it. (23:38) You’ll receive a reward. (23:40) So the New Testament mentions several types of rewards or crowns that believers might receive.

(23:48) Heavenly crowns are symbolic rewards given to believers for their faithfulness, perseverance, and service to God. (23:57) These crowns represent various aspects of the Christian life and are a form of honor and recognition bestowed by God. (24:06) There are five specific crowns mentioned in the Bible.

(24:13) Number one, the crown of righteousness. (24:16) In 2 Timothy 4, 8, this crown is given to those who have longed for and eagerly anticipate the return of Jesus Christ. (24:25) It is awarded to believers who live righteously in obedience to God and who remain faithful until the end.

(24:32) And Paul writing to Timothy expresses confidence that this crown awaits him because he has fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. (24:43) And the key attribute is eager anticipation of Christ’s return and living a life of righteousness. (24:52) The crown of life is the next one.

(24:56) James 1.12 and Revelation 2.10 often refer to as the martyr’s crown. (25:05) The crown of life is given to those who endure trials, suffer persecution, and remain steadfast under testing even to the point of death. (25:15) It signifies victory over the trials of life and faithfulness in the face of severe challenges.

(25:25) The key attribute is endurance under trials and faithfulness until death. (25:31) The crown of glory, number three, 1 Peter 5.4. (25:37) This crown is specifically mentioned in the context of church leaders such as pastors, elders, and those who shepherd God’s people. (25:46) It is awarded to those who faithfully care for and lead the flock, serving not out of obligation or for personal gain, but willingly and eagerly as examples to the flock.

(26:05) The key attribute is faithful and selfless leadership and caring for God’s people. (26:11) The incorruptible or imperishable crown, 1 Corinthians 9, verses 24-27, also known as the martyr’s crown. (26:23) This crown is given to those who exercise self-discipline and strive for spiritual mastery, much like an athlete training for a race.

(26:32) It symbolizes victory in the Christian’s life through self-control, discipline, and perseverance. (26:38) The key attribute is self-discipline, perseverance, and victory over the desires of the flesh. (26:45) And number five, the crown of rejoicing, 1 Thessalonians 2.19 and Philippians 4.1. (26:53) This is often referred to as the soul winner’s crown and is given to those who faithfully share the gospel and lead others to Christ.

(27:02) It represents the joy and fulfillment of seeing others come to faith through one’s efforts and ministry. (27:11) The key attribute, evangelism and leading others to Christ. (27:18) So the AI says the significance of the heavenly crowns.

(27:23) They are symbolic rewards and the crowns represent eternal rewards that acknowledge and honor the faithfulness and service of believers. (27:33) They symbolize the various aspects of a Christian life lived in dedication to God, not for self-glory. (27:41) The crowns are not for the purpose of self-glory or personal pride.

(27:46) According to Revelation 4, 10-11, believers are seen casting their crowns before the throne of God, which symbolizes the recognition that all glory and honor belong to Him. (28:01) Encouragement for believers, the promise of these crowns serves as an encouragement for believers to remain faithful, (28:09) endure trials, live righteously and fulfill the God-given calling. (28:15) So its conclusion, heavenly crowns are rewards promised to believers who live faithfully according to God’s will.

(28:22) They represent different aspects of the Christian life, such as righteousness, perseverance, leadership, self-discipline and evangelism. (28:32) These crowns are a source of encouragement and motivation for believers to pursue a life that is pleading to God, (28:40) knowing that their efforts and faithfulness will be eternally rewarded. (28:48) So, verse 15, if any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so is through fire.

(29:00) And I don’t know if you’ve thought about this verse much, but there is a dichotomy here, a contrast between loss and saved, opposing ideas. (29:12) This man’s work in building on the foundation is burned up. His work failed, couldn’t take the heat.

(29:20) This doesn’t appear to be addressing the person’s salvation status, however, since he himself will be saved, it says. (29:30) The purpose of the fire is to test the quality of each man’s work. (29:36) The implication of work that is burned up is that it was poor quality work, and the work is a loss, it doesn’t remain.

(29:47) So whatever work the man did, it doesn’t exist anymore. (29:51) We are specifically told here, though, that the man himself will be saved with an important consequence, yet so is through fire. (30:03) So does that mean possible injury, or one can escape a fire and survive with horrible, painful bodily injury, but they’re still alive? (30:14) This should remind us again of the care we need to take when building our house on the foundation.

(30:21) Also, if we’ve made it as a Christian through being grounded on the rock, our salvation should be secure. (30:33) That was Jesus' promise in the parable of the wise and foolish house builder. (30:38) It’s got me thinking, if attributes listed in the Bible, like wisdom, understanding, and righteousness, are referenced in metaphorical terms, (30:50) and do the building material terms mentioned in this passage match up with positive and negative attributes found in the Bible? (31:01) This, in turn, started a conversation with Chat GBT, and indeed they do match up well.

(31:07) The gold, silver, and precious stones with positive attributes, and the hay, the hay actually fits here, by the way. (31:17) It matches up with a negative attribute. (31:21) And the hay, straw, and wood with negative attributes.

(31:26) I would like to present some of that conversation after the lesson and before concluding tonight. (31:32) Or I can do it afterwards if you would rather. (31:36) The point, though, is that identifying the positive attributes and utilizing them will enable us to withstand the testing by fire, (31:44) and the identifying of our negative attributes can help us from being burned by eliminating them from our character.

(31:54) So you are the temple, verses 16 and 17. (31:59) Do you not know that you are a temple of God? (32:02) It’s in this context that Paul brings this up, of our works being tested on what we build on the foundation. (32:13) Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (32:20) If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him.

(32:25) For the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are. (32:28) And finally, this is the reinforcement that we indeed should be working on building ourselves, that is our souls, and our bodies, (32:42) because our essence is our soul, and our bodies because we’re told our body is a temple, (32:50) into a temple of God and a place where he can dwell. (32:58) In the passage from Acts 7, 48-50, where Stephen is addressing the Sanhedrin before he is stoned to death, (33:11) where he mentions God and temples not made with hands, (33:15) and then he quotes from Isaiah 66, verses 1 and 2a, only part of verse 2, (33:23) which John Nusek read for us, in the quote, God asks a question that pertains to our lesson.

(33:31) However, the passage in Isaiah doesn’t stop there, where Stephen did, and I’d like to read it from Isaiah through the rest of verse 2. (33:44) So Isaiah 66, verses 1 and 2. (33:49) Thus says the Lord, Heaven is my throne, and Earth is my footstool. (33:55) Where is the house that you will build me? (33:59) And where is the place of my rest? (34:02) So a place to dwell for God is also a place where he rests. (34:06) For those things my hand has made, and all those things exist, implied by his hand.

(34:16) Says the Lord, but on this one will I look, on him who is poor and of contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word. (34:32) God’s not interested in earthly ornate buildings that man has made. (34:36) In this passage in Isaiah, he tells us he’s interested in the one, in the person, who is poor and of contrite spirit, and who trembles at his word.

(34:50) God is interested in our attributes. (34:54) You know what an attribute is? It’s a quality. (34:59) A quality that our character has.

(35:04) An attribute is a quality or a feature regarded or considered a characteristic of someone. (35:13) Do you remember what the purpose of the testing of fire was? (35:17) In the New American Standard it reads, (35:20) The fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. (35:28) The work being what actions we are doing to make ourselves into a temple of God.

(35:36) What qualities are we developing? (35:39) What qualities are we utilizing, exercising in the building of our temple for God? (35:48) What house would you build for him? (35:56) That’s my lesson. (35:59) If anyone’s interested, I’ll show them this.

(36:04) Right now, I’ll extend the invitation for anyone who’s subject to it. (36:13) Please come while we stand and sing.