Message 28 - By Jerry D. Green
No Other Foundation
Introduction
Just tell them
“about Jesus” is what I hear so many say. But just to tell, teach, or preach
“about Jesus” is something completely different than telling, teaching, and
preaching “the gospel of Christ” which we are commissioned to do (Mark 16:15).
Even though Jesus IS the “Way, the Truth, and the Life,” and even though no one
can ever come unto the Father except BY Him, it is “…the gospel of (Him, Jesus, the) Christ…,” that “…is the power of God unto (our) salvation…” (Romans 1:16). The gospel of Christ is so much more than
just hearing “about,” and/or knowing “about” Jesus. The “…gospel of Christ…” is all those things which transpired in that three day span of time,
at the end of Jesus’ life on this earth in a natural body, and includes
everything He physically suffered for us in that natural body; including His
death on the cross, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension into Heaven
to the right hand of God, and how all of these things pertain to us.
These things and how they pertain to us are the foundation of our
salvation; the true gospel of Christ. These are the things we must put
our faith in. Without these, anything and everything else we may ever tell,
teach, or preach about Jesus is futile. Hopefully this little “heads up” will
make for a better understanding of the message. JDG
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No
Other Foundation
Every building is
built upon something. What it’s built upon determines whether it will stand or
fall. The most basic building block to being saved, is to know, understand, and
believe the word of God. Jesus told His disciples, “…The Comforter, which is the Holy
Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name… shall teach you all things, and
bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26). Obviously no one living today has heard first
hand from the mouth of Jesus. But God teaches us through His written or spoken
word, by His Spirit. Therefore, if the Holy Spirit is to bring to our
remembrance the word of God, it must be something in the word of God we have
previously read or heard. Equally important however, and perhaps more
importantly than having a great knowledge of the word is the “…rightly dividing (of the word of God), the word of truth” (II
Timothy 2:15). We are NOT
“…approved
unto God…” for our much studying and/or our great
knowledge of the word of God, but, for “…rightly dividing the word of truth.” Every
cult, every false prophet, every false teacher, every false, deceiving, sheep
fleecing person (i.e., the messengers [the ministers] of Satan, II
Corinthians 11:13-15) who call themselves Christian, whether ignorantly or willingly
ignorant, use the unrightly (my word; meaning
incorrectly as opposed to rightly) divided
word of God to promote and perpetuate their particular work, message, movement,
cause, etc. (Romans 10:3; II Peter 3:5). But the words of LIFE (the true gospel
of Jesus Christ; John 6:63; Romans 1:16) which are hidden in the
pages of God’s word (hidden because of the blindness of the hearts and minds of
men; II Corinthians 4:3-4) can only be “…rightly divided…” as the Holy Ghost (“…the Spirit of Truth…”) will “…teach…” and “…guide…” us “…into all truth…” (John 14:26; John 16:13-15).
Now the true
gospel, which we as Christians are commissioned to preach (which is Jesus and
the complete finished work which He accomplished for us upon the cross of
Calvary) is something that is not easy to explain to someone who is “…dull of hearing.” “But (can only be known as) God… (reveals it) …unto us by his
Spirit” (Hebrews 5:11; I Corinthians
2:9-14). Paul refers to the gospel (the new covenant, which is the grace of
God to “…whosoever will…” receive it) as
a “…better thing…” (Hebrews 11:40). And Peter says, referring to the gospel as
our salvation, “Of which salvation the (Old Testament) prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who
prophesied of the GRACE that should come unto you: Searching what, or what
manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it
testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should
follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they
did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by… (those who)
…have PREACHED THE GOSPEL unto you… (by) …the Holy Ghost sent
down from heaven” (I
Peter 1:9-12). The gospel of Jesus is so complete, so wonderful, and so
glorious, it is impossible for the carnal mind to comprehend the glory of it.
It is so great, so rich, so vast, that Paul finds himself at a loss of words to
express it. But, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is
this GRACE given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ
(Ephesians 3:8).
The unsearchable riches which he speaks of has absolutely nothing to do with
material things. Rather, He tells of an
vision which he had that was so real, he didn’t know if he was in the body or
out of the body. “How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard
unspeakable (that which is inexpressible with) words, which it is not lawful for a
man to utter” (II Corinthians 12:4). There was a
day when I thought Paul had seen or heard something he was not allowed to tell,
but that was not the case at all. God had revealed the glorious gospel of Jesus
Christ to Him, which was against (forbidden by, and contrary to) the law of
Moses. Yet, for the remainder of his days he proceeded, through incredible
trials and persecutions, to teach and preach Jesus Christ and that unspeakable
gospel which he had seen and heard, with all his might.
Paul himself, in
what he perceived to be obedience to the law of Moses, and just as Jesus had
prophesied (John 16:2-3), persecuted and killed Christians. But now,
having received the salvation which is by faith in the revelation of Jesus
Christ (Galatians 1:11-12), he prays for utterance (words) to convey to
others the gloriousness of that gospel which was revealed both to and in him (Galatians
1:15-16). Despite his sufferings
from all the adversaries (the thorn[s] in his flesh as he referred to the
messenger[s] of Satan who were ever present to buffet [beat] him, to bring all
kinds of false teachings into the church, and to hinder in every possible way)
he boldly declared the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to all who would hear.
He counted it all joy to be counted worthy to suffer every kind of persecution
for the sake of Jesus Christ, and the glorious gospel of Him; saying that all
those things we suffer for the sake of Jesus and His gospel are not worthy to
be compared to the glory of that which shall be revealed IN US “…by the effectual working of His
power” (His gospel) working IN and through US (Romans
1:16; 8:18; Ephesians 1:19-20; I Peter 5:1; Ephesians
3:6-8; Galatians 1:6-7). I would remind the reader that there was no
Greek word for shall used in the New Testament. Shall is always a word which was added to
some other word by the translators. This
can give a futuristic spin to the word or thought to which it is added. But this glory which Paul is speaking of is
something which, by faith in the true gospel of Jesus Christ, is presently
available, accessible, and attainable to God’s children on this side of
heaven’s gates, so don’t set your goals too low. Just hear and believe
the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
So what does all
this have to do with foundation? Well, there must be a basis (a foundation) for
any and everything which we believe and do. Jesus likened those who heard His words and
did them to “…a man… (who)
…built an house, and
digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock (Strong’s #4073;
“a [mass of] rock”): and
when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not
shake it: for it was FOUNDED upon a (Strong’s #4073; massive) rock” (Luke
6:48). Notice that the foundation
was the first thing the man built, as a part of the house, and that the massive
rock was what the foundation was laid upon. The Apostle Paul was a
trustworthy foundation builder, for the foundation he built was “…not after man. For (he says,) I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it (by man), but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12). The Apostle Paul received greater
revelation of the gospel than some of the eyewitness Apostles. Even Peter attest to the depths of Paul’s
revelation knowledge, saying,
“
…even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him
hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these
things; in which are some things HARD TO BE UNDERSTOOD, which they … (who) …are unlearned and
unstable wrest
(twist; pervert), as they do also the
other (Old Testament) scriptures, unto
their own destruction Ye therefore,
beloved, seeing
(that) ye know these things
before, BEWARE, lest ye also, BEING LED AWAY WITH THE ERROR OF THE WICKED, FALL
FROM YOUR OWN STEDFASTNESS” (in the pure,
true, and powerful, yet simple gospel of Jesus Christ; II Peter 3:15-17).
One day Jesus
asked His disciples, “…Whom
do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some
say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias (Elijah); and others, Jeremias (Jeremiah), or one of the
prophets. He saith unto them, BUT WHOM SAY YE THAT I AM? And Simon Peter
answered and said, THOU ART THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD. And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for FLESH
AND BLOOD hath NOT REVEALED it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And
I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter (Strong’s #4074;
“a (piece of) rock”), And
upon THIS ROCK (the affirmation [the fact] that He, Jesus,
was indeed the Christ [the Messiah], the Son of the living God; Strong’s #4073; “a [massive]
rock”) I will
build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:13-18).
Now I ask, who do
you say that Jesus is? This is the
first question we should ask ourselves in establishing foundation for
what we believe. Who is this Jesus? If we do not believe that this “Jesus of Nazareth”
was and is “…the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of the living God,” then any and everything else we may believe
or do is totally meaningless. Jesus was
Himself the rock which He was speaking of, and yes, because of his bold
proclamation, Jesus called Simon Barjona by a new
name, “Peter” (Strong’s
#4074; “a [piece of] rock”). “ And upon this rock (Strong’s #4073; the massive
rock) I will build my church.” Peter was not the rock the church of Jesus Christ was, and is, built upon,
and Peter was not the first Pope. If
that is what you believe, you are “…like a man… (who) …WITHOUT A FOUNDATION built an house upon the EARTH; against
which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of
that house was great”
(Luke 6:49). You are
totally without FOUNDATION.
Now the
commission to the church is to,
“…Go ye into all the
world, and preach THE GOSPEL (the
true gospel of Christ) to every creature” (Mark 16:15). And, the apostle Paul says, “…I’m not ashamed of
the (true) gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God
unto salvation to every one that… (believes
it) … ; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). What then is this gospel (this good news) which we are to believe? Someone will say, it’s unmerited favor, and so
it is. Someone else will say, it’s good news, and so it is. But what is the
favor? What is the good news? Just to say it’s good news or unmerited favor
is not enough. I want to know what this good news is, what this unmerited favor
is. Sinners want to know. Lost souls want to know. And what is the big
good news message in the church today? God wants us to be rich in this worlds goods.
This is about as far away from the true gospel of Jesus Christ as a
person can get. Nowhere in the rightly divided scriptures is there basis for
such a message. Paul also says, “We… (who minister) …are laborers (workers)
together with God: (and) ye (the product of our labor; our work) are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given
unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I (Paul) have laid the (pure, true, gospel) FOUNDATION, and another buildeth thereon. But let every
man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For (no)
other (infallible) FOUNDATION can… (any) …man (ever) lay than that (which) is laid, which is (the true gospel of the massive rock) JESUS CHRIST” (I Corinthians 3:9-11). This is that same JESUS of
whom Peter had so boldly declared to be the Christ, the Son of the living
God. Paul had dug deep and laid the foundation for his building upon the
massive rock, Jesus Christ, and His sufferings unto death on that cruel cross
of Calvary.
The vast majority
of Paul’s writings were either in attempting to communicate the wonderful,
powerful, soul saving gospel to the churches he had established or in defending
IT against the “…grievous wolves…” who, as
the messengers of Satan, were ever present, seeking to destroy its power by
diluting and polluting it (Philippians 1:17; Galatians 1:6-8; Acts
20:29-30). But there is something I must
point out. When Paul says, “I have laid the foundation, and
another buildeth thereon,” he is not saying he has laid the foundation for all churches for
all time. He is simply saying this of
those churches which he had founded. That powerful foundational gospel which
he had RECEIVED BY REVELATION of Jesus Christ, and which he taught and
preached, must still be taught, preached, and defended in every church and
every work, only now the job falls to you and I. Are you willing to preach,
teach, and defend the true gospel of Jesus Christ (Philippians
1:14-17; Galatians 1:6-8)? If
so, just be sure that what you’re preaching, teaching, and defending is
the TRUE gospel.
To the church at
Rome Paul writes, “Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where
Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s FOUNDATION” (Romans 15:20). Paul chose not to go to churches where other
men had already laid a faulty foundation because faulty foundations
are almost impossible to mend. It’s hard
enough to preach and defend the gospel where a true foundation is laid,
much less one that had faulty beginnings (Philippians 1:14-17). One of the first reformers, Martin Luther, sought
to reform the Roman Church but never succeeded. Later, other men of God obeyed the exhortation
to “…Come out of her, my
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, …that ye receive not of her
plagues” and God gave mighty revivals (Revelation
18:4; II Corinthians 6:14-17).
Most all churches
today are built on someone else’s work, and in too many cases, there is no
solid foundation beneath that which they build. Every new pastor, etc., whether the former
work is right or wrong, simply continues to build on that which they inherit. Others, wanting to build anew, simply build
upon the earth. But I must warn
one and all. There is a flood coming. I
would plead with every evangelist, pastor, teacher, or anyone else who is
responsible to God for what is being taught and/or preached in your particular
church, or churches; to dig deep, “search the scriptures,” and search out the foundation
you’re building upon. Is it founded upon the ROCK (the true gospel)? If you find it to be a polluted foundation
(a polluted gospel), and you likely will, get back to a solid foundation
(a pure, true gospel) and begin your preaching and teaching programs from
there. If the foundation we build
upon is perverted, or is becoming perverted, then the whole building is marked
for certain destruction (Luke 6:47-49; I Corinthians 3:9-15; Galatians
1:6-7).
How sure our building
is depends altogether on the foundation which we build upon. If our foundation is not the pure, true
gospel of Jesus Christ, as revealed to and preached by the holy apostles, then
that which we build will not stand the test. For Paul continues, “…If any man build upon
this FOUNDATION (which he had lain) gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, (or)
stubble
(straw); Every man’s work
shall be made manifest (made
apparent): for the day shall declare it (make it plain), because it shall be revealed (disclosed)
by fire; and the fire shall try (test)
every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he
hath built …upon
(the true gospel foundation which Paul had built upon), he shall receive a
reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself
shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (I
Corinthians 3:12-15). I can say
unreservedly that there are many wood, hay, straw, and foundationless
houses being built today. But the fire, the flood, and the shaking (Hebrews
12:26-29) is coming. Can your
building stand the test? Men and women
of God, that which we have taught and preached will be tried. Consequently, let us examine the foundation
we are building upon. Is it laid on massive rock, or just built upon the earth?
Is it of our own or someone else’s fashioning (inherited)? Either way, and though it must be so, it’s not
enough that it’s built upon the rock, Jesus Christ. There must be the pure,
true, gospel foundation of what He did through His death on the cross, His
burial, His resurrection and ascension which the Apostle Paul and the
eyewitness Apostles preached. If our
building is not built upon the solid foundation of the pure, true
gospel, which is laid upon the solid, massive rock, Jesus Christ, all of our
works will be burned with fire, or destroyed by flood or shaking. There IS no “…other (‘…sure…’) foundation…” (I Corinthians 3:11; Isaiah 28:16; Romans
9:33; 10:11; I Peter 2:6).
JDG
Message 28 - No Other Foundation
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