In 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul says, “Another foundation no one is able to lay besides that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” This verse indicates that as the Christ and the Son of the living God, the Lord Jesus is the unique foundation laid by God for the building of the church (Matt. 16:16-18). No one can lay another foundation. Nevertheless, certain of the believers at Corinth were taking Paul, Apollos, or Cephas as their foundation (1:12). When they were declaring that they were of Paul, Apollos, or Cephas, they were saying that these were their foundation and standing. In 1 Corinthians 1:13 Paul asks them, “Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?” By asking these questions Paul points out that he is not the foundation. On the contrary, Paul says in 3:10, “According to the grace of God given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid a foundation, and another builds upon it.” The unique foundation is not Paul, Apollos, Cephas, or anyone other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
The problem among the Corinthians was that they were trying to lay many other foundations. Some of the Corinthian believers laid a foundation of opinion or wisdom. We see in chapter 14 that for some, speaking in tongues was a foundation. This indicates that it is possible for a particular practice, such as speaking in tongues or baptism by immersion, to become a foundation. Therefore, Paul wanted the believers at Corinth to realize that he had already laid the unique foundation, Jesus Christ.
Christ, the unique foundation, has already been laid. This foundation has been established not only for the time of the apostles but for eternity. However, it is common for Christians today to lay foundations other than Christ as the unique foundation. We may have preferences in persons, matters, and things, and we need to see that to have a preference is to lay a foundation. Whenever we claim to be for a particular person, doctrine, or practice, we are laying another foundation. Christians have been divided by the many different foundations. Thousands of foundations have been laid, and more are being laid. Thus, we should not say that we are of anything or anyone or that we are for anything or anyone. To speak in this way is to lay another foundation; it is also to cause division. A division is always caused by laying a foundation other than Christ Himself. To lay a foundation besides Christ ruins the Body life and damages God’s building. In other words, this is not the building of the church; it is the tearing down of the church. We are only of Christ and for Christ. We should not exalt anything, anyone, or any doctrine or practice. We should simply build upon the all-inclusive Christ as the unique foundation already laid.
Building upon the foundation already laid means that we must build upon the unique Christ practically and experientially. To fellowship with others with a living spirit full of the riches of Christ is to build upon the foundation already laid. To minister to others the Christ whom we have experienced is also to build upon the foundation already laid. When we contact others in this way, we build upon Christ and with Christ. As a result, others will be solidly built up into the church as part of the Body. This is to build upon the foundation already laid.
According to 1 Corinthians 1:2 and 9, Christ is theirs and ours, and we have been called into the fellowship of Christ. This Christ, God’s unique center and our unique portion, is the unique foundation. If we touch the depths of the truth in 3:11 and understand this verse according to its context and background, we shall see a vision of Christ as the unique foundation. This truth, this vision, will then govern and control us.