For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. —1 Corinthians 3:11
What we are told in this verse is that when Paul laid the foundation in Corinth some four years earlier, he was doing nothing more than following God’s architectural blueprint.
Peter says that foundation was predestined; the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world, who died on the cross, was slain from the foundation of the world. What happened at Calvary two thousand years ago was simply the following of a blueprint that had been predestined in eternity.
It is provided, or as Jude puts it, ” . . .the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (Jude 3). We do not need to go looking for this blueprint in the archives building as though no one knows what the faith is. We have it in the Bible, given by inspiration of God.
This foundation is an unchangeable foundation, not just from place to place as in Ephesus, Corinth, or Thessalonica, but also from generation to generation. This is why Jude says, “I . . .urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” It is not received from the saints; it is delivered to the saints.
But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice [propitiation] for our sins. —1 John 2:1-2
What does John mean? For God to be propitious toward us means that He is favorable toward us, because when Jesus died He was the propitiation who satisfied the justice of God! Thus, calling this foundation propitious simply means that all who rest on it are saved. The superstructure may go wrong, but all who rest upon the foundation are saved.
Excerpted from When God Says “Well Done!” (Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 1993).
