As we saw yesterday, Paul insisted that “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11). He had learned the meaning of this in Jesus words, “I will build My church” (Matthew 16:18). Peter agrees with Paul in his preaching before the council in Jerusalem; “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). Jesus came to build the church composed of “saved” persons. Peter told those in Cornelius’ house that “all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name” (10:43; see also Luke 24:47; John 20:31). It is the person of Jesus Christ and His atoning work alone that salvation and the church are built. This is why Paul is very pointed in his statement that “no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ”. Building on any other foundation will be tested by the fire of God’s judgment and will be “burned up” (3:14). This is why Paul warns, “Let each one take care how he builds upon it” (Christ the foundation) – (3:10). FOOTNOTE: Since Paul proclaimed Jesus Christ as the foundation of the church in 1 Corinthians 3:11, we must correctly understand that Jesus was referring to Himself as the “rock” on which He would build the church, not Peter (Matthew 16:18). In this same venue, Jesus is referred to as the “cornerstone” of the building, the church (Acts 4:11; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6-7).
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In 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Paul asserts that “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation…which is Jesus Christ.” This powerful grace which Paul received from God was used to establish thriving and growing churches in main centers of population. These churches were responsible for establishing other churches in their surrounding areas and beyond. Though he overcame many hindrances, Paul kept using the strategy of establishing indigenous and self-sustaining churches that were capable of multiplying by themselves. In Lesson 8 of God’s Plan for His Church, we examine Paul’s missionary strategy that made his work so successful. I will give you the first three principles here: Ephesians 3:8 – He preached the “unsearchable riches of Christ”. Ephesians 3:9 – His second point in preaching was “to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery (secret) hidden for ages in God.” Ephesians 3:10 – Through the preaching of these two massive revelations, the church would make known the “manifold (many-sided) wisdom of God…to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” “This was according to the eternal purpose (of God) that He realized in Christ Jesus our Lord” (3:11). Let this sink into our hearts. Before time and creation began, God was planning to unveil His greatest purpose – that through Christ persons would be saved and form the church to display the wisdom of God for His eternal glory. The expansive vision Paul had motivated and energized him to make Christ known to those who had not heard. What about you and me? Robert Moffat was a great encouragement and motivator to missionary David Livingstone as he went to Africa. In a letter sent to David he said, “Do not sit down in lazy contentment. Do not choose an old station. Push on to vast unoccupied district of the north. In that direction on a clear morning, I have seen the smoke of a thousand villages. There, no missionary has ever been. There, sir, is your field! God is calling today for pioneers. Why then, build on another’s foundation? Go to those who have never heard. Blaze new trails. Be a pioneer.” An African chief enquired of David Livingstone, “Since it is true that all who die unforgiven are lost forever, why did your nation not come to tell us of it before now? My ancestors are all gone, and none of them knew anything of what you tell me.” “Trail blazers are still needed. Pioneers must answer the call!” Smith, Oswald J., The Challenge of Missions, pages 128-129. According to his words to Timothy, Paul clearly knew that his head would come off in Rome (2 Timothy 4:6). Knowing this in no degree weakened his passion to use every moment left in his life for the proclamation of the gospel and the strengthening of the church. Would it make a difference in your life if you knew that God has planned before the foundations of the world that His glory and Christ be greatly increased through your continual witness? Would you stop proclaiming Christ because of hardship, old age, lack of money, or anything else? Notice how Paul ends his career: Acts 28:1-10. The island of Malta becomes a place where God’s power is present to heal and superstitions melt as God’s servant is unharmed by a viper. Acts 28:11-16. On the way to Rome, brothers in Christ are found and others came to see Paul in Rome. This is an encouragement to Paul as well as the freedom given him by the soldiers. Acts 28:17-22. Paul recounts the reason why he was brought from Jerusalem to Rome in chains. Acts 28:23-31. In his own lodging, Paul expounded the _________ ___ _____ and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all __________ and without hindrance. How do you want the last chapter of your life to read? Will it have an eternal perspective? Will it leave an impact and mark on the church as Paul did? There was no doubt in Paul’s mind and heart that preaching the gospel, the unsearchable riches of Christ, would accomplish God’s purpose for the nations (ethnos or people groups). With great confidence in his calling and the power of God working through him, Paul says, “we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations” (Romans 1:5). Like book ends to the greatest theme on earth, the gospel, Paul repeats this purpose in Romans 16:26. He was absolutely assured that there would be someone from “every tribe and language and people and nation” who would obey the gospel by faith (see Revelation 5:9). It is not for us to figure out who those individuals are. Our business is to “GO” with the message and God will lead us to the hearts where He has already been at work. WILL YOU GO? His grace will provide what you need. He just wants your willing heart! Thinking beyond my immediate safety or circumstances, or the objective of my ministry (as getting to Rome for Paul), is vital. Why? God is always orchestrating events which are not clear to me at the moment, but they are part of His greater plan to spread the gospel in places and among people that I did not intend to reach. Knowing this informs my attitudes toward what God is doing at the moment so that I am more concerned about God’s glory and His message than I am about myself. Keep this in mind as you look at the last two chapters of Acts. Paul remains sensitive to the safety of those around him and uses hazardous conditions to take charge and link the souls of those with him to “an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship” (Acts 27:23). There is no other religion that claims “ownership” by their god. This ownership becomes the authority that enabled Paul to bring “all…safely to land” (27:44). In addition, Paul worshipped the God who owned him while others were filled with fear; pushing them toward anarchy. Acts 27:1-12. Though a prisoner, Paul is given favor by the centurion. Paul’s warning of impending danger is ignored by the pilot and owner of the ship and the centurion. Acts 27:13-38. In spite of the rebuff from the pilot and centurion, Paul persists in giving wisdom that will save the lives of all on board. He makes several significant statements to those on board:
God wants our relationship with Him to be such that He can use us in humanly dire circumstances. We must have unshakeable confidence in God’s ownership and willingly obey His instructions. This demonstrates the power and purpose of God which does not and will not fail. WHAT IS YOUR CONFIDENCE QUOTIENT? In Paul’s first letter (Galatians 1:15) and in his sixth letter (Romans 1:1), he speaks of being set apart for a specific purpose. In Romans 1:1-2 he is “set apart for the gospel of God, which He (God) promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son.” Paul is seeing his calling as a divine act that separated him from a former life of persecution to a new life that would be dedicated entirely to proclaiming the “gospel of God…concerning His Son” that was foretold by the prophets. Paul takes this idea further into the past in Ephesians 3:7-13 by saying that “of this gospel I was made a minister…according to the eternal purpose that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Before creation, the gospel was purposed in the mind and heart of God! It is no wonder that Paul goes on to say “in Christ Jesus our Lord in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.” (3:12). According to Matthew 28:19-20, we also are set apart for this “eternal purpose”, that the gospel should be proclaimed with “boldness” and with “confidence”. Is it any little wonder that Paul went through so many trials and never lost the vision of his calling? What about you and me. Is your calling because of your education or denomination, or is it rooted in God’s “eternal purpose”? If I was called upon to stand before a king, president or dictator to defend my faith, probably I would stumble over my words, my knees would knock till they were black and blue, and the end result would be very embarrassing. Not for Paul! He was so confident in what God had accomplished in his life that it did not need any rehearsing or practice; it was lived out daily in his walk with the Lord. That is the way I want to live!
As you study these verses in Acts 26, think carefully about how God has worked through His grace in saving your life. The more you and I consider God’s grace in Christ toward us the more we will have a clear testimony to spontaneously tell others. Acts 26:1-11. In this opportunity before King Agrippa, Paul sums up his life as a Pharisee and persecutor of the church. The Jews accused him because he believed that God _______ the dead. Acts 26:12-32. The pivotal point of Paul’s testimony was his personal encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road. He was not ___________ to this heavenly vision which open the door to preach repentance and faith in Christ to Jew and Gentile. God planned before the ages of time that you and I should be witnesses for Him from the very transformation that has taken place in our own lives. That was Paul’s motivation to witness wherever he went and so it should be ours. We ask for strength that we might achieve;
We are made weak that we might obey. We ask for health that we may do greater things; We are given infirmity that we may do things better. We ask for power that we may win the praise of men; We are given weakness that we may feel our need of God. We ask for things that we may enjoy life; We are given life that we may enjoy all things. Anonymous Paul’s life is an interesting model for us to follow. On the one hand there was nothing in his conduct that gives any cause for a civil or legal charge that could be laid against him (25:8). He told the Corinthians, “Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved” (1 Corinthians 10:32–33). Notice Paul’s purpose in giving no offense - that persons might hear the gospel and be saved. Yet Christ and the gospel message is “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” (Romans 9:33; 1 Peter 2:8). Keeping these principles distinct in our minds is very important for the effective work of ministry.
As you look at Acts 25, consider how we live before others. Does it make way for the gospel to be heard by others or are we hindering the message by our conduct and the way we speak. Acts 25:1-12. The plot of the Jews to bring Paul back to Jerusalem so he could be killed was avoided by Paul’s appeal to Caesar for a hearing. This will also accomplish the Lord’s promise that Paul “must testify also in Rome” (Acts 23:11). Acts 25:13-27. Festus is perplexed because Paul speaks of the resurrection. He gives Paul an audience with King Agrippa and says “I found that he had done nothing deserving of _______”. Do our lives make way for the gospel to be proclaimed where God puts us or sends us, or are there issues that hinder the testimony of Christ? |
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