Transcript

It’s unknown who wrote the following poem: “When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ And He shows me His plan for ME; The plan of my life as it might have been, Had He had His way, and I SEE.

“How I blocked Him here and I checked Him there, And I would not yield my WILL, Shall I see grief in my Savior’s eyes; Grief though He loves me STILL?

“Oh, He’d have me rich, and I stand there poor, Stripped of all but His GRACE, While my memory runs like a hunted thing, Down the paths I can’t RETRACE.

“Then my desolate heart will well-nigh break, With tears that I cannot SHED. I’ll cover my face with my empty hands, And bow my uncrowned HEAD.

“No. Lord of the years that are left to me, I yield them to Thy HAND. Take me, make me, mold me, To the pattern Thou hast PLANNED.”

The Word of God tells us about the Judgment Seat of Christ to challenge us to live for the Lord and for the eternal. God is a just God Who will reward faithful service rendered to Him. He wants us to serve Him, and He desires to reward us for it.

In eternity and at the Judgment Seat, we will never regret that we gave our time and effort to serve the Lord. Each of us, I am sure, will only wish we had done more for Him to honor and glorify His name.

1 Corinthians 3:8-9: “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”

In the context, Paul is continuing to address the error of the Corinthians in their favoritism and creating competing groups over Paul and Apollos.

When Paul wrote in verse 8 that “he that planteth,” he is referring to himself, as he was the one who planted the seeds of the gospel in Corinth and planted their church and established them in the faith.

And “he that watereth,” is Apollos, as Apollos came along after Paul’s ministry in Corinth, and by his ministry, he watered the seeds of the gospel and the truth that Paul planted.

Paul wrote that he and Apollos in their service and labors “are one.” Paul was combating the Corinthians’ desire to divide over spiritual leaders, and he reminded them they were all on the same team.

There was no rivalry and no jealousy between Paul and Apollos. They had distinct ministry callings, but both were engaged in the same work, united under the same objectives and aims in bringing others to a saving knowledge of Christ and helping believers grow in Him and His Word.

The ministry of each, Paul and Apollos, was dependent upon the other. They were not competitors or rivals, but teammates, and fellow workers. They worked in complementary roles, not competitive roles.

And that’s how it is for the whole Church, that we depend on each other, need each other’s service, and work with each other as fellow-laborers.

Then Paul points out that “every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.” While he and Apollos were one, Paul shows they would be rewarded separately and individually.

All are one in the work of the ministry, but all will not be rewarded alike. We are all called to work together as one in the Church for the honor and glory of our Savior, but each one of us will receive our own reward individually according to our own labor.

The day of that reward is the Judgment Seat of Christ. God will bestow to each believer the reward that their labor deserves on that day when we each stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to give an account of our service.

It’s important to note that it is our “labor” that will be the basis of our reward, not the fruit of our labor. Reward is not given according to gifts, talents, or even success, but according to our labor. The reward of our labor is primarily about our faithfulness.

One author explained it well, “God rewards on the basis of labor, not success or results. A missionary may work faithfully for 40 years and see only a handful of converts. Another may work far fewer years and see far more converts.

“Jeremiah was one of God’s most faithful and dedicated prophets, yet he saw little result of his ministry. He was ridiculed, persecuted, and generally rejected along with the message he preached. Jonah, on the other hand, was petty and unwilling, yet through him God won the entire city of Nineveh in one brief campaign.”

And speaking of labor, Paul wrote, “For we are labourers together with God.”

In the ministry of the Church, we are each given this amazing opportunity to work with God. Finite, mortal man has been given this remarkable privilege of joining God in His work in this world. And God uses us as His fellow workers in the building of His Church.

Paul shows in these verses that our work in the ministry is dependent on the work of others in the Church and also that all of us are mutually dependent on God Himself.

We cannot work without Him. We need God’s gracious enablement and strength in the work of the ministry.

That’s what makes the issue of rewards amazing to me. As we serve the Lord in the ministry, God gives the increase, the life, the growth, and any fruit.

As laborers together with God, we are called to depend on the Lord and His power in order to serve Him, and God does the work through us. So God does the work through us, God gives the increase to what we do for Him, and WE get the reward. And that is grace!

The work we do with God is to serve God’s Church, the Body of Christ. The Church is “God’s husbandry,” or His cultivated field.

This illustration goes with Paul’s teaching about planting and watering in this chapter. We plant and water in God’s field, and the life that springs and grows from our labor comes from the God of the increase.

And First Corinthians is an example of the Apostle Paul doing a little “weeding,” so to speak, in God’s field in Corinth! There were some unpleasant issues that needed to be dealt with, pulled up, and removed from the Church so they could grow in Christ.

A field demands labor and takes hard work to produce a crop. As Proverbs 28:19-20 teaches, “He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough. A faithful man shall abound with blessings…”

Likewise, in spiritual matters, when we labor in God’s field of the Church, the faithfulness of our labors will result in abounding blessings and rewards at the Judgment Seat.

Moving from an agricultural illustration, Paul then presents an architectural illustration of the Church being “God’s building.”

As God works, He works in His field AND on His building. We are not only the field that God cultivates, but we are a building that God constructs.

With us, the Church, being BOTH God’s field and God’s building, it reminds us two different ways that we are “God’s” and that He is continually working on us and in us.

As Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”

The Church, and each one of us in it, is God’s construction project. As we labor together with God, we work with Him on the same building.

A building does not rear itself; it is reared by its workers. We work with God in building His Church. And we work under Him, of course, carrying out His will from His Word.

God has called us to work together with Him in the “building” of the Body of Christ under grace, building up the saints in the faith.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11: “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

“According to the grace of God given unto me,” is referring to God’s grace in putting the former blasphemer into the ministry as the Apostle of the Gentiles. In Romans 1:5, Paul wrote of himself, “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for His name.”

As an apostle, Paul was “a wise masterbuilder.” Paul did not put himself in this position. It was by the grace of God. He knew that his status as the masterbuilder for God’s building was based on God’s undeserved favor, not on his own merit.

The Greek word translated as “masterbuilder,” is architekton, from which we get our word, architect.

In Paul’s day, the word carried the idea of a builder as well as the designer, or a combination of an architect and a general contractor. And Paul was both.

To Paul, Christ, by special revelation, gave the plans and specifications for the building of His Church under grace, the Body of Christ. Paul is the masterbuilder of the Church as a whole under grace.

Paul was a “wise” masterbuilder, according to the “wisdom” given to Him by Christ. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:7: “But we speak the WISDOM of God in a mystery, even the hidden WISDOM, which God ordained before the world unto our glory.”

The Church is built upon this previously hidden wisdom which is, “the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.” The mystery is the body of grace truth for the Church that was revealed to Paul.

The message given to Paul by Christ makes up the blueprints for the Church during the dispensation of grace. As God’s architect and apostle for God’s building, the Church, Paul received them from Christ and then he built according to these specifications.

God is the great and ultimate Architect, but this verse teaches that He chose to appoint an architect for this age of grace, through whom He revealed His plans for the Church today.

And that architect is the Apostle Paul. He was given the plans of God for this age. In his inspired letters, we find God’s blueprints for the building of the Church.

According to these blueprints given to him by Christ, Paul “laid the foundation” for the Church. Paul did not design the foundation; he only laid it.

And Paul did not say that he built on a foundation that another had laid, but instead that “I have laid the foundation” of “God’s building” for today, the Body of Christ.

A new dispensation and a new church were ushered in with the raising up of Paul and his salvation. According to the revelation given to him by the risen, exalted Savior about our Lord’s current heavenly ministry, Paul laid the foundation of the Church.

Paul states very clearly in verse 11 that “other foundation can no man lay that that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Church, the Body of Christ.

Only one foundation is required for a building. Once it is laid, it never needs to be repeated. Paul said that he laid it, and no man after him can lay it again. Christ is that stable and solid foundation. And by this foundation, the Church is eternally secure.

Paul laid the foundation of Christ according to what He is doing today. Paul preached Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, which entails, as he wrote in Ephesians 5:23 that “Christ is the Head of the Church: and He is the Saviour of the Body.”

The Kingdom Church was built on the foundation of Christ as well, but it was on the preaching of Jesus Christ according to prophecy, of Christ being Israel’s Prophet, Priest, and King and further on Peter’s true confession of His identity that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. That is the rock upon which the Kingdom Church was built.

But later after Israel was temporarily set aside, God raised up Paul, ushered in the dispensation of grace, revealed a message that had been hid in God, started a new Church, and Paul laid a foundation of Christ for that building of God today, the Body of Christ.

Paul knew that his work for the Church under grace was foundational and that others would build on it going forward, as people from Paul’s day into the future would continue to build on the foundation he laid.

The Body of Christ is God’s current “building,” and that building project will continue until the Rapture.

Until that time, Paul warned the Church, “But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon.” These words of caution are still very pertinent. Because many are building on this foundation of Christ for the current dispensation of grace with the wrong materials.

Many builders are using material from the law and mixing it with the grace that was revealed to Paul, when grace and law should not and cannot be mixed.

Others are using prophetic materials and trying to spiritualize Israel’s prophetic promises and apply them to us the Church, when these things are not in effect under grace and will be fulfilled literally after the Rapture of the Church.

And most use kingdom materials and requirements from the four Gospels and from Peter and confuse them with Paul and his message of pure grace and our heavenly hope.

Most are concerned about building the kingdom, which has been postponed, instead of being laborers with God with what He is doing today and building the Body of Christ. The Church is what God is building today, not the earthly kingdom of Christ.

Every man truly does need to take heed how he builds on the foundation of Christ as laid by Paul and to be a careful builder according to God’s grace for today.

“Every man” is cautioned to take heed because, as Paul goes on to show, the work of every builder will one day be judged, as Paul wrote in Romans 14: “for we shall ALL stand before the judgment seat of Christ…So then EVERY ONE OF US shall give account of himself to God” (14:10,12).

1 Corinthians 3:12-15: “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

The quality of the foundation of God’s Building, the Church, is the supreme and the finest; it is Jesus Christ. However, the condition of the building depends on what others build on top of that foundation during this current age of grace.

It’s not only important what you construct a building on, it’s also important what you build it with. Paul teaches here that we can build the church with precious things like gold, silver, and precious stones, or with unworthy materials like wood, hay, and stubble.

The first set of three holds intrinsic value; they are high-quality and non-flammable. They represent the works we do that are rewardable in building the Church.

The second unit of three is inferior, temporal, and flammable, and represents the works we do in building the Church that are not rewardable.

The foundation is Christ, Who is precious, and His shed blood which has bought us is precious, and so it behooves all builders to build His Church with precious materials.

Gold, silver, and precious stones are the clearly desired materials with which Paul would have us build. They evidence the comparable worth and value of the foundation upon which we build.

The second set of three, wood, hay, and stubble, have no equality with the foundation of Christ laid by Paul.

This section entails what we do to impart true, spiritual strengthening and the building up of the members of Christ’s Body according to the truth of God’s Word. Doing so, the Spirit works in the Body of Christ to help believers to grow spiritually in Christ.

And how a person grows and is strengthened spiritually today is through Pauline building materials, the message of grace for the Church in this dispensation.

When we faithfully work, serve the Lord, share our faith, and live as a testimony by the grace of God, that is gold, silver, and precious stones.

And lest you think you have a pass since you are not a preacher, pastor, or a teacher, if you are a believer, you are part of the “any man” and “every man’s” of this section, because every believer is teaching and ministering to others in one form or another. Thus, we are all builders.

Gold, silver, precious stones are also materials you find under the ground, while wood, hay, and stubble are found on the surface and are easy to obtain.

God desires for the Church to dig deep and put effort into our spiritual lives, and further we also discover the gold, silver, and precious stones of the Word by digging into it.

Proverbs 2:3-5 reads, “Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.”

The Judgment Seat of Christ takes place following the Rapture of the Church in heaven. It is when believers in the Body of Christ will stand before the Lord individually, and our service for Christ as believers will be brought under review.

At that time “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”

We will each stand before the Building Inspector at the Judgment Seat one day. At that time, the work of each believer will be manifest or made clear, plain, and visible.

The work we do to build the Body of Christ is not work that everyone sees, and the results of our labor involve much that even we never see. But there is coming a day when our work will all be “made manifest.”

The work here is about the work, service, and labor involved in the builders who labored together with God in serving and building the Church on the foundation of Christ.

And as the Head of the Church, the Righteous Judge sees and cares what we do in the part of the building where we work for Him in His Church.

When we stand before this judgment seat, our entire body of work as a believer will be made manifest by our Savior. All the service that we rendered for the Lord after coming to know Him, and all the work that we did to build God’s church will be revealed.

The purpose of this review will be to determine if we qualify for “a reward” or if we must “suffer loss” of reward in that day.

To make this determination, Paul wrote that the Lord will “try” or test our work by “fire.”

Fire in the Scriptures speaks of the Word of God. Jeremiah 23:29 says, “Is not my Word like as a fire? saith the Lord.” Our works will be tested by the Word of God, and specifically by the grace truth revealed in Paul’s epistles which give us the commands of Christ and blueprints for the Church today.

In that day, through the holy fire of the Word, and with the spiritual discernment of God Himself, the quality of each one’s work will be proved. It is not the believer himself who is tested by this fire, but rather our works, and what we did in our service to the Lord. And when God tests our work it will be fully revealed what kind of work it was.

These verses remind us that while our salvation is secure, rewards are not guaranteed.

And if a person’s work abides and does not burn, and is found to be gold, silver, and precious stones, “he shall receive a reward.”

But if a person’s work goes through the fire of the Word, and burns, and is found to be wood, hay, and stubble, “he shall suffer loss.”

The trial by fire does not respect the inexpensive, combustible materials, and the fire of God’s Word will reduce to ashes all combustible materials. These are works that are not of grace through faith, born out of selfish ambitions, carnality, and bad doctrine.

Thus, it teaches that believers are to work with gold, silver, and precious stones, the only standards that will be approved and rewarded by the righteous Judge.

These are works that are of grace through faith, born out of a desire to honor the Savior, in the power of the Spirit, and in accordance with the Pauline truth for the Church today.

But Paul adds that no matter how much of a person’s work and service goes up in smoke, that person will still “be saved; yet so as by fire,” as no person who has trusted Christ as their Savior will or could ever suffer the loss of their salvation at the Judgment Seat.

Verse 15 gives us the visual of a man escaping a burning building; he has his life, but no possessions. And likewise, many will have their eternal life after the Judgment Seat, but no rewards after the fire tests their work.

David C. McCasland wrote the following: My father-in-law spent 30 years helping people in the public health field. When he went to heaven at the age of 76, he left a closet full of files and a wall full of awards.

When it came time for us to clean out his “work” closet, the family pictures and a few mementos were kept, and all the rest had to go. I got the job of disposing of it.

I hauled it up past the barn into an open field, doused it with diesel fuel, and set it on fire—old project files, slide presentations, plaques of appreciation, correspondence, everything—and I watched it burn.

It was a sobering experience as I thought that someday when I stand before God, all my “work” will meet the same test. Only what survives the fire has eternal value.

Watching letters and proposals turn to ashes gave me a new understanding of 1 Corinthians 3:13, where Paul said, “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.”

Today the work. Tomorrow the fire. That afternoon in the pasture made me more careful, more thoughtful, about my fleeting opportunities to do work that won’t burn.