A Firm Foundation

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:1-17

…like a wise master builder I laid a firm foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. (1 Cor. 3:10)

The Church’s One Foundation

The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord                                                                  She is His new creation By water and the Word                                                                         From heav’n He came and sought her to be His holy bride;                                                       With His own blood he bought her, and for her life He died.

     The Apostles were diligent to establish a firm foundation for the New Testament church. They knew the chief cornerstone had to be the Lord Jesus Christ or else the foundation would collapse. Peter, quoting from Isaiah 28:16 said, “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed.”

     This reminds me of a past building project. At age fifty-one, along with my wife who was forty-eight, we built our first house. We dug footings deep into the Missouri subsoil. After the concrete walls were poured, we added six inches of rock before pouring the basement floor. In Missouri, a firm foundation helps to prevent slippage and sliding when the heavy rains turn the clay into liquid mud.

     The same principle needs to be applied to the Christian life. Unless our lives are securely grounded in the word of God, the temptations of life, the attacks of the evil one, the struggles of daily living, and the pressures of our worldly culture will erode the foundation and cause us to fall. That’s why it is important to “Let Jesus Start Your Day” (Found on Amazon.com),

     The disciples saw the need for this when they said in Acts 6:2-3, “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.”

     What better advice could a follower of Jesus Christ adhere to? We have the “sword of the Spirit,” Paul says, “which is the word of God.” As the songwriter wrote so long ago, “The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ the Lord.”

     Do you have a solid foundation? Have you made Jesus Christ your chief cornerstone? Make Jesus the object of your devotion today and every day.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me establish your word as the foundation stone of my life.