No other foundation
1 Corinthians 3:11
‘No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.’ It is one of the plainest and most important sentences Paul ever wrote. A building, however fine, is only as secure as its foundation. A crack there, and the whole structure is in danger, however beautiful the walls. And Paul says that, for the Church — and for every individual Christian life — there is only one foundation that will bear the weight of eternity. Not a thing, or a teaching, or an experience, but a Person: Jesus Christ Himself. This is searching, because there are so many other things we are tempted to build upon. We build on our experiences — the high spiritual moments, the feelings, the memories. We build on our achievements — on what we have done, how far we have come. We build on great teachers we admire, attaching ourselves to a name or a tradition. And Paul says: none of those can be the foundation. They cannot bear the weight. The high feelings fade; the achievements crumble; the teachers are themselves only servants. We are free to build — and indeed we will all build something with our lives. But everything finally depends on what we build upon. So let every Christian life, and every church, be built — and, where it has drifted, deliberately built again — on the one foundation that cannot be shaken: not on our experience of Christ, not on our work for Christ, but on Christ Himself.
Old Testament
Genesis
The book of Genesis is the book of beginnings. It sets the scene for everything else in the whole Bible. Study of the book of Genesis will show us why humanity was created as we are, and where evil, death, and suffering come from. Throughout Genesis we meet interesting characters such as Abraham, the great man of faith in the Promised Messiah; Jacob, the deceitful schemer until he finally trusts in the Lord and Joseph, who lives out his faith in pressurised circumstances.
Old Testament
Exodus
The book of Exodus provides the theological framework for the rest of the Bible. Whilst Genesis sets the scene, it is Exodus that maps out the doctrinal logic of the Bible. We learn how sin has affected our relationship with God, and how the Lord bringing His people out of Egypt is a powerful prophecy of the way the Promised Messiah would rescue His people through all history from the power of sin and the devil. Exodus teaches us about the Trinity, why Jesus died at the Feast of the Passover, and how the Tabernacle instructs us about the whole universe and the effects of sin upon it.
Old Testament
Leviticus
If the book of Genesis set the stage for the Bible's story and Exodus established the theological framework, then the book of Leviticus takes us into that theological framework to explain the inner workings. The book of Leviticus takes us down into the theological engine of the Scriptures to show us how and why the work of the Messiah is what it is.
Old Testament
Numbers
The Book of Numbers takes us deep down into the workings of Church. In this book of the Bible we see how the structure and organisation of a local church is one of the most important matters in human life. In a local church, we are learning to be truly human and how to live a full life together, filled with the life of God and walking onwards and upwards to His great and certain hope. Do we seek first this Heavenly Kingdom? Do we care more for His Kingdom, His Church, His righteousness, than for all the momentary comforts of this passing age? These are the questions that the book of Numbers puts to us over and over again.
Old Testament
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy is a record of how Moses prepared the ancient Church to enter into the Promised Land. It is a collection of his final sermons, preached to the ancient people of God as they were waiting to cross the Jordan river. They had been on the banks of the Jordan 40 years before, but they had been too frightened of the Canaanite giants to enter in. They did not trust in the Divine Angel of the LORD to fight for them... and so they were defeated by their own fear and doubt. It took 40 years of wilderness wandering to get a new generation ready to fight giants! Deuteronomy is a training manual for fighting giants - not just the ancient physical giants of ancient times but the "giants" of sin that we all have to face. Deuteronomy teaches us how to love the LORD with everything we have and then to obey His commands - so that we can possess all that he has promised.
Old Testament
Joshua
The conquest and settlement of the Promised Land under Joshua's leadership.
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