God’s Building - people
In 1 Corinthians 3:9, Paul calls the church “God’s building.” He is not referring to a physical building of bricks and mortar. Rather, he is talking about the church as the assembly and community of the saints. Peter describes his readers as those who “like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). What does this building language tell us about the nature of the church and our responsibility to it? Paul also describes the church as “God’s field” (1 Cor. 3:9). The agricultural metaphor points to the church as the place of growth for God’s people, while Paul at the same time chastises the Corinthians for their lack of growth (vv. 1–2). The building language in verses 9–15 warns the Corinthians to “take care” how they build (v. 10). Buildings are built, as they say, from the bottom up. They begin with a solid foundation. That is how Paul begins to talk about God’s building. As a child, I loved running around and playing in my dad’s houses in different stages of...