1 Corinthians 3:11“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.”
One commentary on this critical Bible verse above reinforces that the only sure and lasting foundation for either a Christian institution or an individual Christian life is the Lord Jesus Christ. No other foundation will endure in that coming day when “the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is”. Life in the jungle of this “fallen” world is no bowl full of cherries for sure.
They state that it is vital, therefore, to build on the foundation that Christ Himself has laid. This is laid in three courses, each of which is essential for its permanence. First of all, we must acknowledge that “You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.” (Hebrews 1:10). He is the Creator of all things, and therefore Lord over all. John 1:3-4 agrees, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
Second, we must acknowledge that we have been “redeemed with the precious blood of Christ who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world”, for 1 Peter 1:17-20 says, “If you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct
received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”His foreordained work of redemption thus was foundational even to the foundation of the world!
Revelation 1:4-6 confirms, “Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Salvation is ours in Christ!
Luke 6:47-48 “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.”
Then there is the Word of God, which is foundational to everything beyond creation and redemption. “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.” (Luke 6:47-48). Hebrews 4:12 says, “The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The Lord Jesus Christ is the true foundation, for He has Himself laid every sure foundation. He created all things, His shed blood is the price to redeem all things, and His written Word, by His Holy Spirit, reveals all things needed to build a beautiful, fruitful Christian life or ministry. No other foundation will last, and “if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).
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