Eccl 3:3 tells us there’s a time to build up and a time to break down. If we were to read the epistles of Paul, we’ll discover there’s a constant message of building up and tearing down. And all the messages of course point towards building up the church of God.

If we’ve been to holidays to countries where there’s a stark divide between the rich and the poor, we’ll see the houses of the rich are built with stones, glass and bricks. On the other hand, the houses in the poorer districts are shabbier; built with wood or straw.

For those of us in Singapore, we may remember there was a big Bukit Ho Swee fire in the past. Tens of thousands of houses burned down, rendering tens of thousands homeless. The reason the fire spread so quickly and wildly was because in those days the houses were attap houses.

The materials that are used to build the house are hence very important. The Bible tells us we must take heed and build. So when we talk about taking heed and building, this doesn’t refer to building our own houses or this physical church building, but the building up of our faith.

Oftentimes when we see the word ‘edify’ in the Bible, it refers to ‘build up’. We must come to the understanding/have the vision that when talking about building, it first means the building up of our faith, and then collectively thereafter, building up the church’s faith as a whole.

1 Cor 3:9-15
Paul tells us that God is like the master builder. We know the church is built on the foundation of the prophets and the apostles; this means it’s built on their teachings. This cannot be changed because there’s no other foundation that can be laid. Even as we know the foundation of a building is very important, we know the foundation is not the entire building. We hence must take heed how we build upon this foundation.

The materials that are used to construction a building are different. Paul talks about two categories of materials. First are materials that can be burnt with fire - gold, silver, precious stones. The other category consists of cheaper ones that can’t withstand fire - wood, hay, straw.

When we build up, others may not know what material has been used. But on the last day, it’ll be tested. If we’re not vigilant and just build haphazardly, we will lose our reward. But if we have been diligent and taken heed as to how we built, we will receive our reward.

Paul used an analogy on another occasion: I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. This was to illustrate all of us just need to put in our utmost/do the best we can and God will make the ultimate decision. So there’s no need for us to argue with one another as to who/which section we belong to. Because in so doing, we hero worship. But in this analogy, Paul’s emphasis was different. Each of us need to put in the effort to build up.

1 Pet 1:6-7
Peter encouraged the believers here. It wasn’t easy because they were undergoing persecution then. Likely the believers would be wondering why they had fallen into such persecution, how long it’ll last and if they could have an easier journey. But Peter didn’t tell them they could relax and that they didn’t need to do this and that. Instead, he told them they needed to endure. He said these trials are just like gold being refined in fire. So when our believers are undergoing trials/difficulties, we shouldn’t necessarily tell them to choose the easy path. Because this is precisely the kind of test/trial God wants us to undergo. Such a message is of course not easy to convey, but we should encourage them to endure.

While reading these passages in the Bible, this brought to mind a story the speaker read as a child - the 3 little pigs. The moral of that story is quite similar to Paul’s message. The first pig built his house with straw. When the wolf came, he was able to blow it down in just a puff. The second pig built his house with wood and it was likewise blown down. Only the third pig who used bricks to build his house, a sturdier material, was able to withstand the blowing of the wind. Let us then not be lazy but diligent in building ourselves up and the church. We know that building up a strong and big house takes a lot of effort and money. Eventually if we have a house that can endure all these difficulties, we’d find it all worth while.

1 Cor 8:1-2
v1 says love edifies! It asks the question: do we build up with love or knowledge? Why did Paul contrast knowledge with love over here. There’s a historical context to this.

v4-6
There were many people who were formerly idol worshippers of other gods who converted to believe in the Lord. But they didn’t build up their knowledge. They didn’t know how to discern between the true God and the idols, especially with regard to food which was offered to idols.

1 Cor 10:27-33
Former idol worshippers who came to believe in the Lord knew very well they should not return to partaking of food offered to idols.

But people in those days would often host feasts in temples. If there was a brother who had some knowledge and accepted the invitation to the feast in the temple, knowing that some of the food had not been offered and hence could be eaten. But not everyone has that knowledge, and if a weaker brother comes and witnesses the other brother eating of the food he thinks is offered, and then eats food offered to idols boldly, then the first brother has caused him to sin. The weaker brother may have the misunderstanding and be caused to fall.

But brethren with knowledge may not bother about the faith of the weaker brethren. This knowledge may have given them discernment and freedom but they are unwilling to sacrifice the freedom they have for the sake of others’ faith.

Rom 15:1-2
Paul tells us that those who are strong should bear with the scruples of the weak, and that we must learn to benefit our neighbours and lead them into edification. So if one has the knowledge of the truth, that’s something positive. Indeed in 2 Pet, we are encouraged to add virtue to our faith, and to that, knowledge. So Paul wasn’t trying to deny the importance of building knowledge up. Rather, he was encouraging those with knowledge to bear with the weakness of those who didn’t have the knowledge. He encouraged them not to be puffed up and proud; to be more understanding to those who are weak.

Gnosticism was prevalent at that time who took great pride in their knowledge. They reckoned themselves to be gifted/specially chosen to be gifted with such knowledge. They hence became very proud. Paul wasn’t accusing these people of being Gnostics but rather wanted to remind them that they would end up behaving like proud Gnostics if they weren’t vigilant.

2 Cor 10:5-6
Paul talks about some work of tearing down and building up. He talks about casting arguments down. Why did he explain it in this way? Paul was being attacked by many false apostles. He was attacked to be a false apostle and that his epistles were written out of flesh; just human emotion. He was accused of going beyond his limit when he corrected the Corinthians. They felt Paul was doing the work of tearing things apart. But Paul defender hinder that that wasn’t the case. In fact, he had come by the meekness and gentleness of Christ (v1). He reminded them that he had brought them to Christ out of meekness, gentleness and lowliness. He was trying to rebuke those who were vigilant, but that was just a fraction of people.

Why was Paul so adamant about casting down? The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but might in God for pulling down strongholds (v4). People at that time were using logic to supersede the wisdom of God. They elevated logic to a plane others couldn’t reach. Such logic became an impediment to people. So Paul talks about pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

In such a situation, there’s a need to tear down. Sometimes when we’re trying to have a discussion with our friends that Christianity is the only way to salvation. They say all roads lead to Rome, whichever religion you’re in will ultimately lead to salvation. “Don’t be fixated on one religion. All will lead to the same place. Don’t tell anyone your faith is better than his.” But we must have faith to pull down these arguments. “You Christians say evil came from some created being. But you guys also say that what God created was originally good.” At the same time, Taoism says good and evil was created! Both are supposed to lead to salvation. How can these two be the same when their underlying beliefs are so different? Christianity says evil is not self existent and will be ultimately destroyed. Taoism says evil is self existent. A contradiction. We must use the truth to pull down these strongholds and cast down these things that exalts itself against the knowledge of God so we can remove the stumbling blocks that prevents people from coming to God. We may think a certain message is very strict, but they’re there to tear down these false knowledge and logic. They’re not intended to tear down the faith of believers but the things that stumble the faith of believers.

Psa 122:3
Jerusalem is built as a city that’s compact together. We have to build ourselves up first but eventually we have to build ourselves up as a city that’s compact together. So there’s a time to build up, sometimes there’s a time to tear down. Sometimes we have to tear the wrong things down to build things up. When building, we need to use our gifts and diligence. We must also take heed to edify one another in love and not allow our knowledge to stumble others.