"I will build"

We've been in Matthew 16:13-19 in our Tuesday night study, a hugely important passage in Matthew. It's the first time the word church (Greek is ekklesia = "called-out ones") is used in the New Testament; the only other place in the gospels it is used is in Matthew 18.

One of the things we've been discussing is Jesus saying "on this rock I will build my church."

Just thinking out loud... here, in today's epistle reading, Paul writes to the Corinthians about building, and that they are God's building.

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

So what I'm thinking about is whether this passage should be put tightly with Matthew 16, and say that Jesus is building his church through the building work of Paul and the other apostles or that it is a slightly different picture or perspective Paul is presenting...

Paul writes that he laid a foundation and someone else is building upon it... and also says, there is no other foundation than that which is laid, Jesus Christ. Perhaps this means that for each city where the church is established a new foundation of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is laid, as opposed to saying that the foundation is already there (in the death and resurrection and reign of Jesus the Messiah).

Ultimately, for today, we ought to ask ourselves: am I being built by Jesus and/or building with Jesus faithfully, today? on a good foundation, with lasting materials, indwelt by worship & the Word & acceptable sacrifices...

Hopefully, I'll have more installments along this line. There's more in Matthew 16, and 1 Cor. 3, we need to consider (and 2 Samuel 7... - check it out).