In much the same way as Jesus Himself used parables in His teachings, Paul used metaphors in his letters to the early church. Christians, he had said, are God’s field; God’s servants have planted the seed and watered the crop, but the actual growth and yield are the work of God. Then, switching the metaphor, Paul told the Christians in Corinth that they were the building of God.
Paul said that he himself was like a master builder, laying the foundation upon which others continued with the work of the building. This is a great responsibility, one that must be carried out with the utmost care. For just as the foundation is critical to the strength and life of the building which is erected upon it, so our foundation as Christians is critical to our strength and growth in Christ.
And what is this foundation, upon which the whole of our faith depends? Is it Love? Truth? Righteousness? Yes, of course it includes all of those; yet each of them is incomplete when considered alone. Paul says that the only foundation of the Christian is Jesus Christ. Only Jesus– Who is Himself Love and Truth and Righteousness and so much more!– is our firm foundation.
How many times in the New Testament we read that we are saved when we believe in Jesus! It was Jesus, a real complete Person, who suffered and died on the cross for us. It was Jesus Himself Who rose again for our justification. It is Jesus Himself Who promised to be with us until the end of the age. Jesus Himself is the beginner and completer of our faith.
The View from my Window 