1 Cor 3:11 For another foundation no one is able to lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (12) But if anyone builds upon the foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, stubble, (13) The work of each will become manifest; for the day will declare it, because it is revealed by fire, and the fire itself will prove each one's work, of what sort it is
First Corinthians 3:12 tells us that the working material of some people is gold, silver, and precious stones, while the working material of other people is wood, grass, and stubble. The day will come and reveal everything by fire; the fire will prove of what sort is each one's work. We know that wood, grass, and stubble do not remain once they are burned. But gold, silver, and precious stones are things that cannot be burned away. Gold signifies something of God; it is the work of God. Silver signifies redemption; it is the work of the Lord on the cross. The precious stones signify the work of the Holy Spirit, which is the Holy Spirit's constitution of the life of God in man through revelation, blending God and man into one. This is our subjective experience today. The precious stones are compounds. In order to be compounded together, there is the need of intense heat. After this, there is still need of a carving work by the hand of the craftsmen before we can have some shining precious stones. This is how God constitutes Himself in the believers. On the one hand, God uses the environment to burn the believers. On the other hand, they must pass through God's carving hand, which removes what He does not approve of and retains what He does approve of through the revelation of the Spirit. Only then will they shine and glorify God. Those who have become precious stones, who are both human and divine, are the masterpieces of God in Christ. These are the ones in whom God can trust. First Corinthians 7:25-40 is clearly Paul's own words because he said clearly that he did not have the Lord's command. Yet at the end he said that he had the Spirit of God. Although the words of these ones issue from themselves, God honors their words. He is not afraid of joining Himself to them. They have lost themselves in God as a drop of water has lost itself in the ocean; the water and the ocean have become inseparable. These are precious stones; they are the consummation of the work of the Holy Spirit and the glory of God.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 38, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, pp. 267-268. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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