“According to the remarkable grace of God which was given to me [to prepare me for my task, like a skillful master builder I laid a foundation, and now another is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds on it, 11for no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthains 3:11 AMP

The Apostle Pual opens this section with an important statement. “According to the remarkable grace of God which was given to me to prepare me for my task,” At the beginning of his career he was the one who single handily set out to destroy the Christian faith. He now points to God’s miraculous intervention in his life to revel the truth of the Gospel to him. He was the perfect choice. The man Saul was a perfect keeper of the laws of God. He knew every jot and tiddle of how to be a good Pharisee. 

The problem was that he had no real understanding of what God was trying to say! Once the Holy Spirit came upon him, he saw the truth and with the same zeal of persecution he had he now becomes a defender of the faith! No longer would the law be a foundation for his self-righteous but rather the truth of Jesus as the Messiah would take its place. Jesus once told the religious leaders,

“You search and keep on searching and examining the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and yet it is those [very Scriptures] that testify about Me;” John 5:39 AMP

Paul, clearly seeing the reality of this verse builds everything in his ministry on the work of Christ! A foundation is the critical part of any building or project. There is a building in Dubai that is 163 stories tall. For the building to stand, 192 steel and concrete piles, each 5’ in diameter were driven 165 ‘ into the sand to reach a rock base. A 12’ thick concrete pad was laid atop those to help support the weight of the massive structure. It is reported that 12 million gallons of concrete was poured to support the world’s largest structure. The Petronas towers in Malaysia has a foundation depth of 394’ using 104 piles to help support the structure. Even with all this preparation there is still a concern the a strong enough earthquake could cause damage and the structures suffer a failure. The good news for us is that Jesus promised that if we build upon Him and His words, we will be able to stand at all times!

If you go through the other options for salvation you will that there is no guarantee of any hope of salvation. It is all a system of works trying to prove your righteousness to God. Paul walked that road and this is what he had to say.

“But whatever former things were gains to me [as I thought then], these things [once regarded as advancements in merit] I have come to consider as loss , absolutely worthless for the sake of Christ and the purpose which He has given my life. 8But more than that, I count everything as loss compared to the priceless privilege and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord [and of growing more deeply and thoroughly acquainted with Him–a joy unequaled]. For His sake I have lost everything, and I consider it all garbage, so that I may gain Christ, 9and may be found in Him believing and relying on Him, not having any righteousness of my own derived from [my obedience to] the Law and its rituals, but possessing that genuine righteousness which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” Colossians 3:7-9 AMP

What foundation are you building your life upon? When Jesus asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” he answered, “thou art the Christ the Son of God.” Jesus’ response was to say upon that rock, the profession of Peter, I will build my church. Islam denies ever core doctrine of Christianity and Mohammed didn’t even know what was going to happen to him at the end of his life! The Apostle John in his first epistle said,

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God [which represents all that Jesus Christ is and does], so that you will know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13 AMP

Do you know today that you have eternal life? Are you sure that you are building your life on the believing in the Name of the Son of God? Take time today to think about how deep your foundation is and where it might need strengthened! Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken