"FOUNDATION WORK" (Pastor Tom Henry) ~ 4/16/26

“And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.” (I Kings 5:17)

Solomon began the building of the Temple of God at the foundation. With this unseen but vital part of the structure he spared no expense or effort, but laid great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones. This house, when finished, would be one of the great wonders of all time. People of rank would make long and arduous journeys to see the glorious Temple of God that Solomon built. But that marvelous beauty would have been short-lived had he not wisely given due attention to the unseen, but vital foundation upon which it stood.

There is a greater temple, of which Solomon’s was but a type, which is still “under construction,” the glory of which, when complete, will outshine the sun. The glory of Solomon’s Temple will pale by comparison. The workers are not Solomon’s and Hiram’s gifted builders and stonesquarers (Vs. 18), but rather redeemed sinners from every place and walk, who are “laborers together with God.” The house is built with living stones laid carefully upon the true Foundation of Jesus Christ. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house...” (See I Pet. 2:4-6)

As those concerned with Christ’s great Temple, the Church, let us be sure to give proper attention and effort to foundation work. Of course, we must build upon Christ. The foundation is laid in the person and work of Jesus Christ. (I Cor. 3:10-11) However, the Foundation Work that we must also be concerned with has to do with that upon which a believer’s faith is founded, i.e. that which is fundamental to all true and genuine professions of faith.

Often, workers (builders) today try to build the upper stories, before any foundation work is done. That is, they seek a profession of faith, baptism, church membership, Christian stewardship, etc., before conviction of sin, repentance and faith. In other words, the outward elements are encouraged before there is any evidence of regeneration. Clearly, they are far more interested in quantity than in quality. It seems that appearance means more than substance. Sadly, in many cases it’s worse still: profession alone is sufficient; the name alone is enough, even where there are no signs of life.

Jesus’s parable of the wise builder and the foolish builder, illustrates our point perfectly. (Matt. 7:24-27) The foolish builder focused his attention entirely on the upper house. He did not see the need to waste time and effort with a foundation. He simply leveled out the sand a bit and began building. His house went up much faster than his neighbor’s. His house was built in no time, and ready for occupancy. He had already settled his family in their beautiful new home, while his painstaking, tedious friend was over there digging and sweating and working below the surface making sure that his house would be well founded, and once finished, able to withstand the fiercest storms.

Professions of faith that come without painful conviction of sin, and godly sorrow which works true repentance, are like houses built upon sand. They may take the name of Christ, and they may fare pretty well in life, but how will they do in the swelling of Jordan? How will they do in the Day of Judgment? The foolish man’s house appeared fine while the weather was fair, but when the storm came it fell, and great was the fall of it. Nominal Christians may have a religion to live by, but since it consists in profession only without foundation, it will never bear up in the Judgment. To encourage such professions is a great crime against men’s souls.

In our dealings with others, we must give emphasis to foundation work. We must not allow our desire for results to tempt us to rush God’s work. We must not be counterfeiters of the Spirit’s work. As builders and laborers together with God, we must be patient, encouraging repentance, faith, a genuine experience of salvation, despairing of self-effort, and reliance on God’s grace alone.