“Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”

So how do we understand building with gold, silver, and precious stones? We can sense intuitively the difference from building with wood, hay, and stubble. Metals stand up better to the fire and heat, to be sure. But what is the analogy in real terms? Wood, hay, and stubble, for the Corinthians, speak of all the things Paul addresses in his letter to this specific church. They put a great amount of stock in their individual heroes. Don’t we see that today? A church that has one pastor doing all the teaching, one magnetic or charismatic personality, a great orator, or a passionate evangelist – this is wood, hay, and stubble. To have the apostle Paul, without an Apollos or Cephas, makes for a weak structure. To have a great teacher (Apollos) without an evangelist (Paul) likewise does not a strong church make.

Yes, rallying around one teacher or having one great evangelist will bring church growth, but this will be short-term, weak, or ultimately ineffective in building a strong local body of Christ. That is why Paul elsewhere extols the plurality of church leadership. He never addressed any of his letters to a single pastor of a church. His letters to Timothy and Titus were instructions to his delegates to convey to the churches, not to individual pastors. Neither Paul, Apollos, nor Cephas (Peter) sought to be the primary focal point of ministry. That arrogant desire was evidenced in “Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them” (3 John 9).

Other examples of wood, hay, and stubble can be found in the quest for freedom from the law in a way that leads to lawlessness. The Corinthians adopted a very loose sexual morality that even the world looked down upon. Greed and accusations supported by lawsuits were not likely to build a church that could withstand the attacks of Satan, who is the “accuser of our brethren” (Rev. 12:10). The work of exalting one’s own spiritual giftedness over that of others did not promote harmony. It didn’t back then and it doesn’t now.

On the contrary, the humblest lives when lived for God’s glory become the greatest building material for making a strong, lasting, beautiful church, one that can be described as being made of gold, silver, and precious stones.

Lord, I want my service for You to be a fireproof adornment, not a fire hazard.