Reward
1 Corinthians 3:1-15
In this passage Paul lays out the concept of
reward for service to God. There are two misconceptions current in
Christianity which concern this:
One says that we need do nothing
in our Christian lives. After all, grace is God’s free gift.
But as James says, faith without works is dead. If you have
faith, then works will surely follow.
The other says that works are a
requirement for salvation – you must work your way into
heaven. This, surprisingly, makes salvation too cheap.
Salvation cost the blood of the perfect Sacrifice; it is not
for sale at the price of our works.
All this, however, does not mean that God does
not recognize nor reward good works. Indeed, God is just; and being
just he does reward.
(1 Cor 3:1-15 NIV) Brothers, I
could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in
Christ. {2} I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet
ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. {3} You are still
worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are
you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? {4} For when one
says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not
mere men? {5} What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only
servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has assigned
to each his task. {6} I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but
God made it grow. {7} So neither he who plants nor he who waters is
anything, but only God, who makes things grow. {8} The man who
plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be
rewarded according to his own labor. {9} For we are God's fellow
workers; you are God's field, God's building. {10} By the grace God
has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone
else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he
builds. {11} For no one can lay any foundation other than the one
already laid, which is Jesus Christ. {12} If any man builds on this
foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,
{13} his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will
bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will
test the quality of each man's work. {14} If what he has built
survives, he will receive his reward. {15} If it is burned up, he
will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping
through the flames.
The worker is nothing
One of the difficulties that the able Christian
finds is that God is not in need of what he can bring. Indeed, God
makes it very clear that we should consider ourselves as unimportant
in the kingdom – because we are.
“Only servants”
See how Paul is careful to phrase it: “through
whom you came to believe.” It is an odd way of putting it; most of
us would say, “I converted you to Christ.” But Paul wants to make a
point – that he, himself, is not important. Why?
First, because humility is the
proper attitude of the Christian towards God. Without it,
your relationship is on the wrong basis.
Next, so that no one will make
the mistake of worshiping the human messenger rather than
the God who sent him.
Finally, so that grace may be
seen in action. Paul laid the foundation – by the grace that
God had given him. Thus in his words and deeds Paul shows us
the grace of God to be primary in his kingdom.
“You are God’s field”
The servant of God must always remember what he’s
handling – and that it belongs to God, not to him. But the “field” –
those in the church – must remember also that they belong to God:
You are God’s by right of
creation. If I make something, it’s mine. He made the
universe and all that is in it; you are his.
You are God’s by right of
redemption. He sent his Son to the cross for you; he
bought you from sin with his own blood.
You are God’s by right of
lordship – for you accepted Jesus as both Savior and as
Lord.
God “makes it grow”
God is the life giver; from him all life flows.
We need to remember that we are not the ones responsible for the
result, only for our own efforts toward the result. The results are
God’s.
They arrive on his schedule.
He does not normally work miracles, but usually allows these
things to proceed like growing things, little by little.
They arrive by his supply.
The church often looks starved and poor in the world’s eyes
– but they do not see the purpose, nor the supply for it.
The results are his results.
Those results may not be the ones we dreamed of; they are
the results he planned.
Working in God’s Plan
God is the one doing the planning – though we
often like to think otherwise. He has his plan, and it will be
fulfilled. It’s important for us to remember that.
Each his assigned role
We know – as members of the body
– that each of us has a different role, as assigned by God.
It’s a good thing to know what you’re supposed to be doing.
But in so doing we need to
remember that we are fellow workers. We are not out there
independently, but should be upholding each other.
Always – remember that we have
the same purpose. The Great Commission was given to all of
us.
Fellow workers with God
Note that phrase. We are not just fellow workers
with each other, but fellow workers with God! The Greek word used
here for “fellow” is the one from which we get our word, “synergy.”
We are working in the “same energy” as God, for that is the literal
meaning.
We need to remember what an
honor this is. We don’t deserve it, but this sacred trust
has been put in our hands. We should handle it with the
gravity it deserves.
We also need to remember our
place on the team. If God is our leader, where should there
be dissension?
We have individual responsibility
Do you see how Paul tells them that they were not
mature enough to handle the things he wanted to tell them – as
evidenced by their infighting? That’s a key point here. It tells us
that each of us has the responsibility to examine our circumstances,
in prayer and thought, and then do what we believe to be the best
for God. Paul didn’t charge ahead like a robot thinking, “God will
change and enlighten them – I can go straight to the meat of the
thing.” He evaluated their situation and brought them along as they
could handle things. If we misjudge things and aim too high or too
low, God will provide for that as well.
The growth is by his plan. This can lead to
results we don’t expect. Sometimes those results are discouraging;
we think, “I’ve labored in vain. God threw away what I did; it must
be useless.” We must remember that God is just. He rewards us
according to our labor.
Reward according to labor
It can be confusing. Salvation is free, and equal
to all – but reward is according to your labor, not your results.
God is responsible for the results. So how shall we approach this
problem?
Be careful how you build
If you’re working for God, think like a good
craftsman. God rewards good work. He’s not at all fond of slipshod
construction.
Build on the right
foundation. Many people establish a “ministry” based
upon good works – feeding the poor, sheltering the homeless
and so on. These are good things. But if the ministry is not
built on Jesus Christ, it counts for nothing. It is of
little use to feed the poor physically if you deny them
spiritually.
Take care in what you build
with. If your work is done at leisure, with no thought
for the quality of your labors, then what good is it? You
would not accept that from a carpenter; why should the
Carpenter accept it from you?
Remember that others will
build on your work. Don’t force them to tear down your
mistakes to correct them. More than that, when they do – and
surpass you in the process – rejoice. It means your work is
approved in God’s plan!
The test is by fire
Suppose you get your car’s wheels aligned. You
may not know anything about how to align those wheels – but you know
whether or not they wobble and vibrate. You take that car out for a
drive before you accept the work as being done correctly. Our Lord
will follow a similar process – his test is by fire.
What survives? The costly.
If your work for God costs you greatly; if you put your
heart and soul and treasure in it, then it is precious to
God. Good work often takes more time than shoddy. Was your
heart in the job?
What doesn’t survive? The
cheap and the shabby. If your work for God came from
what you had left over; if your chief contribution to
charity is used underwear going to Goodwill; if your service
to God is mainly singing during the worship service, then
your work will get the reward it deserves. If Christ were to
dine at your house, would you serve him leftovers?
Don’t think you can hide it from
God. You can hide it from me. I’ll only know about it at the
Judgment Day, if then. But then, my opinion doesn’t count –
His does.
The Foundation remains
All this talks of reward, not of salvation. The
foundation – Jesus Christ, our Savior – remains. What we do may be
burnt up, or may be valued – what he does is eternal.
Grace is his eternal plan. Since
we cannot earn it, it is not connected to our reward.
Reward is according to our labor
– quality and quantity, I suspect – not according to our
circumstances (which God arranges anyway).
Both reward and grace are based
on the eternal character of God. Grace, for he is love;
reward, for he is righteous and just.
Summary
Keep your pride in check; God
doesn’t need you. He wants you.
Work at your assigned post,
considering it an honor to be a fellow worker with Christ.
Do your work with craftsmanship,
and the Creator will honor and reward you for it.
