Introduction

Good morning. Today, we will be looking at the third chapter of 1 Corinthians. I am not sure I will get everything right, but if I were to name a theme for this chapter, it would be: Let each one be careful how he builds upon the foundation of God's temple.

I. The Church is God's Temple

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

The Church is God's temple, and this speaks to the view of the Church. The Church view is of utmost importance. In my understanding, the entire Bible is about the Church. The New Testament calls God's temple the Church, while the Old Testament, though not explicitly mentioning the Church, refers to the temple of God, alluding to the Church in the New Testament. So, what exactly is the Church? It is not a pile of stones or bricks, nor is it a building made of reinforced concrete. The Church is a group of people built by God into a holy temple. This concept was already revealed in the Old Testament.

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? (Isaiah 66:1)

God is deeply moved that He does not have a place to rest because His temple has not been built. Now that Jesus Christ has come, He is the foundation of the Church. What is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ is not made by human hands, but by God's hand. We are co-workers with God. If God says to do something and we refuse to listen, we are being utterly ridiculous. In your job, if your boss asks you to do something and you question why, you might as well leave by tomorrow because it is not your place to ask. Your boss arranges things as he sees fit, and you do as you are told. So, today, we must carefully consider whether God's Spirit dwells in the Church. If it does not, then it is not God's temple because it is not built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. This is very clearly revealed in the entire Bible.

All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came into being, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isaiah 66:2)

Everyone should know that Chinese Mingding Destiny trembles at God's word because the level of seriousness with which we read God's word far surpasses that of many others. Of course, there are some among us who have believed for over a decade or two but have never read the Bible in its entirety. The Church is the body of Jesus Christ and must be holy. The Church must also be very careful to discern who are disciples, who are God's people, and who are not, and whether they are gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw.

Chinese Mingding Destiny first established the view of the Church. The Church should be built according to God's revelation and God's word. This is the eternal theme throughout the entire Bible: building God's temple. Moses once built a tabernacle, a place where God dwelt, built according to the pattern God showed him on the mountain. David's son, Solomon, built a temple in Jerusalem according to the design that God drew with His finger for David. Brothers and sisters must understand that the Church is God's temple, built according to God's word, so that God's Spirit can rest, and God will dwell among us. God desires so much to dwell among us, so we must be careful in building God's temple.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. (1 Corinthians 3:10)

Paul laid the foundation, and others build upon it. It depends on how everyone builds. Building God's temple is no joke; it is building the place where God's Spirit dwells. God's power far exceeds atomic energy. If you mess with atomic energy, there will be nuclear leakage, leading to an explosion. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded. Therefore, we must be very careful in building God's temple. A pastor I had known for many years once told me that he never knew I was the one who established Chinese Mingding Destiny. When I first started building the church, I was just messing around and even invited him to do team-building activities. Everyone had a great time, but that could not build a church. He said that someone asked him if Chinese Mingding Destiny was a cult, and he replied that we were a bit extreme. Can you not be extreme if you tremble at God's word? The Church is God's temple. If you can grasp this and build the Church and God's temple well, that is an incredible blessing! You could not accumulate enough merit to have the blessing of building a church, even if ancestral graves are emitting smoke.

II. Building God's Temple

Ever since I began building the Church, I have found that building God's temple, a glorious Church, a dwelling place where God dwells, is my destiny. If I build a church where God does not dwell, what am I doing all day long, busy and exhausted? In the end, God will not co-work with me, and He might even send down a fire to burn it all down, turning me into a charred log, like the popcorn in the skit, leaving people with black faces. Building God's temple requires the right methods; otherwise, it will be very troublesome. Building God's temple is our goal, but it must be built according to God's revelation. Everyone who has been involved in building a church, some have been left with black faces, and some have been completely disoriented. To gather enough people, they drag trash into the church and use trash to build the temple. Will God not hold you accountable? Even if you are not popping popcorn, God will treat you like popcorn and pop you.

Building God's temple must be built according to God's revelation because God's temple is holy. In the early days of building the Church, I felt very distressed, wondering why it was still the same few people coming and going. Generally, pastors who build churches hope that the church is full of people. The pastor speaks passionately on the stage, sometimes interacting with the congregation, creating an exciting atmosphere and making it more interesting to speak. When I speak on the stage, there are only a few cats and dogs below. Fortunately, my emotions are okay and not affected by the number of people.

The phrase God's temple is holy has not just come to my mind today, but I read it many years ago when I was still in another church. When I started building the Church, I pondered this matter. At first, I did not get it right and built with wood, hay, and straw, and was eventually disciplined by God. I was like that popcorn popper, left with a black face, and quickly repented. I repented quickly because I read the Bible and found that the Church was not built that way, so I knelt down and prayed. At first, it was not a praying church, but later it was changed to a praying church, and then continuously changed to a pastoring church. We discovered that our entire process of building the Church was trembling at God's word. Everyone is very blessed because those who can build God's temple are blessed. Moreover, the building of God's temple uses treasures, gold, silver, and precious stones, and you are the gold, silver, and precious stones. That is the logic. As for the trash, it has all been taken away by Old Ma.

He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig's blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations. (Isaiah 66:3)

Be those who tremble at the word of the Lord God. This is our most basic attitude in building the Church.

III. What to Build With

Building God's temple is a blessing that you may not accumulate enough merit for in several lifetimes, but whether we have this attitude is very important. With this attitude, what do we use to build? Many people use carnal methods to build. Many brothers and sisters among us have personally experienced this. For example, a pastor of a certain church got cancer and could not overcome it. Why would God not solve his cancer problem? Could God not solve it? If you explore deeply, you will find that their logic for building the church is not trembling at God's word; otherwise, what they experienced would be completely different. Once you tremble at God's word, there is no problem with the attitude, and the method is simple. Building is a method. Building God's temple is building the body of Jesus Christ on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Let me give you a few more examples. A pastor said that not many people can be teachers. Does that mean only he can serve? The Bible says that God wishes that many people would be raised up to become those who love God, shepherd God's flock, and use God's word to teach God's people. God does not care about one more; at most, He will arrange another position. Later, I realized that what he meant by not having many teachers was that he could not allow many people to receive offerings; only he could receive them. This is very hateful. What he sees is not God's heart but his own heart. Doing this will definitely lead to misfortune. Many people build with their own wisdom. Paul said that if anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:18-20)

If you look at it with human logic, it would be great to receive all the offerings yourself and put the money in your own pocket. That is according to human logic, but it is not God's will. Let me give you another example. A sister listened to the sermons of our church online for a long time, back when there was no name called Chinese Mingding. At the time, she was still in a small local church. Their previous pastor, or leader, died of a strange illness. The others in the church asked the sister to take the lead, but she was smart and did not agree. Later, they chose a young man to take on this responsibility, but the young man had a stomach hemorrhage. After he quit, those people asked the sister to take the lead again, and the sister quickly left and came among us. Do you think these things happened because God was not working or was not faithful?

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw… (1 Corinthians 3:11-12)

I have not seen Abraham have a stomach hemorrhage, nor have I seen anyone die of a strange illness, a brain tumor, or any other tumor. So, what should we use to build the Church? Some people use wood, hay, and straw, while others use gold, silver, and precious stones. This does not refer to real gold, silver, and precious stones, but to us. Some people are precious stones, while others are wood, hay, and straw. Therefore, we are very concerned about one thing: the holiness of the Church. If you build with wood, hay, and straw, will God not hold you accountable? Although your attitude is right, and you do want to build the Church on the body of Jesus Christ, if you build the Church with wood, hay, and straw, you will incur God's wrath.

Because I performed many miracles, someone insisted on pulling me to minister to a big pastor in a big church, who was their church's second-in-command. He is a big pastor in a big church, and I am a small pastor in a small church, unknown and unable to minister to him. But that person insisted that I minister to him. As a result, when I called to ask, I found out that he had a brain tumor and said it was because they, as pastors, could only rest one day a week and were exhausted. The priests in the Old Testament did not rest for a single day and were constantly with the Lord. How could they get a brain tumor? I asked him why he could only rest one day a week. He said that he had to be responsible for many small groups, and the small group leaders had to be replaced every few years, so he had to retrain them. This was so tiring that he got a brain tumor. These words sound problematic. I have not rested a single day from my twenties until now, and the average members of our church spend much more time than their small group leaders, and they have not been burned out.

For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. (1 Corinthians 3:4-8)

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What we hear them say is not the word of God. Being a priest in the temple does not lead to brain tumors. Although serving in the temple might lead to the crucifixion of Jesus and deep curses, I have not seen Samuel afflicted with a brain tumor; I only saw Samuel healing those with brain tumors. Today, many are using human wisdom, building the church with wood, hay, and straw. Therefore, we must ponder whether we truly want to build the church according to God's word. It is the Spirit who gives life; the words Jesus speaks are Spirit and life. Today, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God; it is that simple. If living depends on every word from God's mouth, then building God's temple must even more so rely on every word from God's mouth. But are the words they speak the word of God?

In fact, the *Bible* reveals it very clearly. For example, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea, gathering all kinds of fish. When it is full, the fishermen pull it ashore, sit down, and collect the good fish into baskets, but throw the bad away. Yet some churches bring in all sorts of rubbish. Another co-worker once complained to me that someone he had mentored, who had learned from me, was taken away. Just as he felt happy for one day, his pastor pressured him to apologise to that member, insisting that the member had to return, and the condition the member set for returning was an apology from his pastor. Such people are fundamentally incapable of building a church; they are merely rubbish in the church. Should a pile of excrement be placed in the temple? Even if Jehovah God walks in the camp, anyone who defecates must cover it with earth, lest God step on it.

If we build God's church today by indiscriminately bringing in mountains of rubbish, will God not hold us accountable? God only allowed him to develop a brain tumor, not brain cancer. Many years ago, I felt that building God's temple was not a joke. It is not building SPACE X, a rocket built by Elon Musk, a spaceship. It is building a very precise device that allows people to soar with God. Therefore, God's word and God's revelation are very important. What exactly are you living by today?

> So then, no more boasting about human leaders! For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. (*1 Corinthians* 3:21-23)

In the church, you cannot boast about people; it is stated very clearly here. It does not matter if someone once followed Jesus or was a chief apostle. Or that one is Apollos, called pineapple in Singapore, only disciples count towards the building of a holy church. A disciple is one who forsakes parents, wife, brothers, sisters, children, lands, and houses for the sake of Jesus Christ to follow God; only such a person is considered a disciple. Let us examine whether we have become disciples. Some feel that this requirement is a bit demanding, but this is just the most basic requirement. Only after becoming a disciple can one become gold, silver, and precious stones. Few are the gold, silver, and precious stones for building God's glorious temple. I have a deep desire that everyone can become gold, silver, and precious stones, the materials for building God's glorious church, and definitely not wood, hay, or straw. It is not building a rural house, casually mixing some mud and grass to make a large adobe, not even as good as foam bricks. Wood, hay, and straw cannot be used to build God’s temple.

Therefore, those who are carnal are all wood, hay, and straw, and that is the problem. Today, I encourage everyone. How many among us are willing to give up everything for Jesus? This is the most basic requirement unless you have seen through the futility of human life, unless you have accepted that living in this world is vanity of vanities as the foundation of your life, you cannot do it. If you do not believe that living is vanity of vanities, then indulge the flesh, live according to the carnal and worldly ways, and in the end, it will still be vanity. It is not that it is vanity because I say so. This futility is a fact, and whether you believe it or not, the final outcome will be vanity of vanities. Some die in their teens, others live longer, but no matter what director, chairman, or general manager you are, the final outcome is the same.

If we, as brothers and sisters, want to become gold, silver, and precious stones in God's eyes, we must walk the path of Abraham. Because Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, these four patriarchs, opened a road. The beginning of this road is that human life is vanity of vanities, seeking destiny, seeking the meaning of living. Being willing to forsake everything for Jesus Christ is because the things of this world are meaningless. Having come into this world with great difficulty, what are you going to live for?

Since the day I believed in the Lord, I knew in my heart that I came into this world to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and strength. Do you truly have this heart? Do you abandon Jesus when you are busy with business, or do you forsake Jesus for the sake of family and children? Then Jesus will also forsake you in the future. You are not even a disciple, and even if you find many excuses and reasons, Jesus does not care much if your hope is still in this world. If you are worried about your child's college entrance exam but not worried and upset about not becoming a treasure in God's eyes, is this not a tragedy? Of course, if you want to build God's temple, God's church, and hope for God's presence, your attitude is still good, and you can still be considered to have Mingding Destiny, but what will you use to build the church? Therefore, our church selects treasures from the crowd; we will have Old Ma quickly take away those who are not treasures. Old Ma might say that the time has not yet come, and he will naturally take them away when the time comes.

## IV. God Will Use Fire to Test Each Person's Work

> Their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. (*1 Corinthians* 3:13-15)

After some pastors build their churches, they suddenly explode like popcorn one day, their faces covered in blackness. Fortunately, I am not a popcorn explosion today. I thank God that we remain standing here after the trial by fire and the baptism of fire, and God will surely reward us. What a rich reward it is to build a glorious church, and what a vast blessing to receive abundant glory is. It is fantastic. Every time we triumph, we endure the test of fire and still stand firm, and as a result, we get a reward. Old Ma once told me that it had never lost a battle until it met me. Do not think that the term Old Ma is strange; it is the thing that rules this dark world. After defeating Old Ma, it had to send money.

So, who can defeat Old Ma? It must be a group of people who are of the same mind as Jesus Christ, willing to give up everything for Jesus Christ, and constantly climbing spiritual peaks. Now, let us have a determination in our hearts that it is no longer I who live, but Jesus Christ who lives in us. There is no self at all. Some build churches with wood, hay, and straw, filled with multilevel marketing schemes, insurance sales, and people looking for boyfriends and girlfriends. Do you all feel the same way? I really dislike these things. I ask these people in a very sarcastic tone, is this what you come to church for? What do you think if someone came here and immediately introduced you to multilevel marketing? If I found out, I would tell them not to come tomorrow. Coming here is only to develop their downline, which is not appropriate here. Some parents come here to have me find a loving brother in the church for their daughter to be her boyfriend, but this is not a matchmaking service.

Some people build churches either focusing on families, or introducing dating partners, or engaging in eating and drinking activities. God will test each person's work with fire, and it will all be burned down because they are not building God's temple according to God's word. After being burned by fire, although he is saved, it is as if he has passed through the fire, like an exploding popcorn, his face covered in blackness. After coming out of the fire, he is already tattered and even naked.

Today, we really need to have a heart that trembles at God's word. What are you living for? Do you have Mingding Destiny? This explains why some people build churches and develop brain cancer, grow brain tumors, and even bring themselves into a curse by building churches. This is incurable.

## V. If Anyone Defiles God's Temple, God Will Destroy That Person

> Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple. (*1 Corinthians* 3:16-17)

Who destroyed the Corinthian church? Those who destroy the Corinthian church behind the scenes will be cursed, and God will destroy them. Today, you need to carefully consider that destroying God's church is a very serious matter, and God will destroy that person. Wanting to build God's church but using the wrong methods is like an exploding popcorn, with a face covered in blackness after passing through the fire. If their attitude is not a problem, they will be saved, but their method is only wrong. But some people's methods are not wrong; they come to do destructive things, and God will destroy that person.

Paul was referring to those who wanted to destroy the church, those who led people to look at problems with human wisdom and human perspectives, and to boast about people. You cannot boast about people when building God's church. That is why our church has no name. Some people ask who preaches in this church, and the answer is always unknown. Just come and listen to God's word, and it does not matter who preaches it. My name is not important, and I do not want to build myself into a famous pastor, nor do I want to be a famous pastor. Some people may indeed have the heart to build a church, but using human wisdom to dress themselves up as famous pastors means boasting about people.

> For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about human leaders! For all things are yours. (*1 Corinthians* 3:19-21)

No one should boast about human leaders because all things are yours. The Corinthian church was destroyed by boasting about people and prioritizing ability. Some people come to destroy the church, and the spiritual forces of darkness behind them want to destroy the church through people. The Corinthian church is a typical example. But later, Paul brought the Corinthian church back from heresy and no longer boasted about people, but only boasted about the Lord Jesus Christ. How important the temple is, and how noble and precious we are in God's eyes, so why boast about people? Boast only in Jesus Christ.

## VI. Summary

This chapter mentions several important concepts. The first is that building God's glorious temple, building the church of Jesus Christ, is God's will, which is to build the body of Jesus Christ. Whether it is the New Testament *Bible* or the Old Testament *Bible*, the theme is to build a glorious church. The Old Testament points to Jesus Christ, and the New Testament builds God's temple on the foundation of Jesus Christ, no longer using stones, or bricks, or anything else, but using people. Everyone is a jewel in God's eyes, and the temple piled up is filled with God's glorious presence.

The second is what should people use to build God's temple? I emphasize trembling at God's word, but in reality, we do not tremble enough. Because of trembling at God's word, God will use fire to test our work. We all long for God to test our work with fire. If we can stand firm through every trial, then God will be with us until the end of the world. It is not possible for someone to come among us and destroy God's church, and many churches are particularly worried about Eastern Lightning and Jehovah's Witnesses because they cannot withstand them. But come and try us, it is definitely that they cannot withstand us because the requirements here are a bit high. Today, you need to be particularly invigorated and start building God's glorious church, which is such a blessing. May God bless you all!