Introduction.

• Our senior pastor spoke to us for this new year, and for a season, about “the change toward discipleship.”
• The interesting thing is that, to enter into the change toward discipleship, we must know what is a disciple? And what is discipleship?
• To become a disciple requires COMMITMENT. Because a disciple is someone who commits to LIVE like Jesus and FOR Jesus.
• And to enter into discipleship, a COMMITMENT to the process of discipleship is also required. Because discipleship is the lifelong process of learning to LIVE like Jesus and FOR Jesus.
• Now, having said this, to be a disciple of Jesus we must build our lives on the foundation of who Christ is and experience a transformation through His word of grace by the Holy Spirit.
• Now, in terms of building something, I am not a builder, much less an architect or engineer, but I do know that the most important thing to build something is the foundation. The foundation sets the limits of the size and weight of the building.

Building Life On The Foundation Jesus Christ, The Result Will Be A Change Towards Discipleship (I Corinthians 3:9-11)

• There are two things that Paul says here to the Church at Sinai in V:9:

1. That the apostles are collaborators {builders} of God.

2. He uses two metaphors of the church: one is of agriculture and the other is of construction.

• Paul reveals to us several important things in verses 10 and 11: on the foundation, on building.

Who lays the foundation?

• That Jesus by the grace of God is the one who lays the foundation as a skilled architect.

What does the Christian build on the foundation?

• What we build is his life first on the foundation to enter into discipleship to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

What does the Christian build on the foundation?

• What we build on the foundation are our works {See verses 12-15}.

What is the most important thing that the Christian must know about the foundation?:

• That no one can lay any other foundation than Jesus Christ.

How can we put Jesus Christ as the foundation in our lives?

• Jesus uses a conversation with his disciples, and he asks him: What do men say about Him? And then he changes the question, What do you think of me?
• Then, Peter answered it correctly saying: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:13-18).
• In V:18, Jesus makes a statement that has been confused by many, I tell you that you are Peter {Petros}, and then he says: And on this rock {Petra} I will build my church.
• There are people who believe that Peter is the foundation of the church. The truth is that if this is the case, this foundation is very weak and shaky.

What rock {Petra} was Jesus referring to?

• Not Peter, nor the rock as a large stone, nor a boulder that is part of the bedrock.

So, what does the Lord Jesus depend on to build His church?

• On the rock that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
• Peter, upon having this revelation, went through four subsequent stages to be a disciple of Christ:

1. Peter had a direct encounter with Christ.

2. In the encounter there was a revelation given by God to Peter, through the Holy Spirit (V:17).

3. Peter after receiving the revelation experienced an internal recognition and had to say yes to believe and receive it, because there has to be a response on our part to the revelation.

4. And, finally, there must be a public confession of our faith in Jesus.

• In confession, the Bible does NOT give three options but two, either confess it or deny it (Matthew 10:32-33).
• If being a Christian and a disciple is to believe and confess that CHRIST came in the flesh, and this phrase encompasses the deity as well as the humanity of Christ (I John 1:7)

So, I ask: Have I or you come to this world?

• NO, we began our existence here. Jesus Christ is the only person who has come to the world, because He existed in the beginning with God {Preexistence} (John 1:1-2).

How do you build on the foundation?

• Let’s go to a parable that Jesus used to teach us how to build a house founded on the correct foundation (Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49).
• Both houses were faced with the same test, the difference was the foundation on which they were built; on the rock that is in Christ and His word of grace or on the sand that is without Christ.
• What Luke does is that he brings something different to Matthew, and he is the one who built the house, he adds an element of effort “he dug and went deep”, and he had to remove many things:
  • 1. Traditions. 2. Prejudices {personal, racial, social, preconceived ideas, denominational, etc.}, 3. Rebellion {every descendant of Adam is born with the seed of rebellion}.

Conclusion

What is our attitude to the word of God?

• Because to be in the foundation and to be disciples of Christ, the word of grace is necessary (Acts 20:32; John 10:35).
• In the passage of John 10:35, we see three things that the apostle John wants to communicate to us:
• That the men to whom the word of God came were called gods {elohim – judges} (Psalm 82:6).
  In the Hebrew Lexicon in English of the Old Testament {Oxford University Press}, we find that the word “elohim” {gods} has three different meanings:
  • 1. It can designate the only Living and True God.
  • 2. It can designate false gods {idols}.
  • 3. He can appoint human governors and judges who have a God-like role in judging the people (Psalm 82:1-7; Exodus 21:5-6; 22:7-8).