Lessons #93 and 94
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Building in Corinth (1 Cor 3:10-15)
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.
Our last study was focused on the third truthful principle that every believer should recognize as it relates to his/her activities in the advancement of the church of Christ or in the cause of Christ which is that only activities that the Lord judges acceptable would be rewarded. So, we began to consider the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 3:14 he will receive his reward, but we were unable to finish it. We indicated that we would resume this study by focusing on the concept of reward that is mentioned in the sentence. It is with this subject that we begin our study today.
We are not truly equipped to understand the nature of the reward the Lord will give to those whose good works or activities survive or endue divine scrutiny. However, the concept of reward is introduced in the Scripture using three metaphors related to crowns. Specifically, there are three crowns mentioned in the Scripture to give us an understanding at the present what the future rewards will entail. We say this because of what the word “crown” signified in the Scripture and outside it. The word “crown” used in the NT is primarily translated from a Greek word (stephanos) that describes a wreath consisting either of foliage or of precious metals formed to resemble foliage and worn as a symbol of honor, victory, or as a badge of high office. The word describes a prize or reward given as the result of outstanding performance, especially in the Olympic or public games. That crown is used as reward for being a winner in public games is implied in Apostle Paul’s reference to this usage in 1 Corinthians 9:25:
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
So, figuratively crown symbolizes victory, or an accomplishment, hence conveys the concept of honor and blessing. In the OT Scripture, crown was worn by kings as we can gather from 2 Kings 11:12:
Jehoiada brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”
Thus, crown is used as symbol of authority and in case of Israel’s kings, signify their consecration to God. Crown was used as a symbol of honor as in the honor Mordecai received, according to Esther 8:15:
Mordecai left the king’s presence wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration.
Crown symbolized honor and blessing. This we can note from Job 19:9:
He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head.
Job’s complaint is that the Lord had removed his honor and blessing in terms of his wealth. The same concept of crown signifying honor and blessing is found in Lamentations 5:16:
The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!
The crown that has fallen from the head of those in Judah means that they have lost their honor and blessing. Anyway, the imagery of crown is used in the NT to describe reward, that is, honor and blessing that await believers in heaven. Therefore, we will consider the three metaphors that utilized crown given in our Scripture to convey the concept of reward.
A first description of reward using the imagery of crown is that “crown of righteousness” mentioned by Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 4:8:
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
The phrase crown of righteousness is a reward that God will give to believers for doing that which pleases Him or for living righteously in the sense of fulfilling His requirement. This is more evident if we translated the phrase crown of righteousness as crown for righteousness since the Greek syntax involved in our phrase permits this translation. Of course, “righteousness” has the sense here of meeting or fulfilling God’s expectation. In effect, it describes the life that is lived in a right relationship with God in this life so that one does those things that please God. So, those who focus on God’s demands and fulfill them would receive this reward. We must admit that there is no way for us to know what this reward or prize would look like, only that it is a kind of reward that believers who meet God’s expectation or standards would receive in heaven. To indicate that it is a reward for faithfulness or compliance to God’s expectation, the apostle indicates that the reward is not only for him, being an apostle with specific commission, but for all believers who meet God’s expectation. This, he conveyed in the last part of 2 Timothy 4:8 and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. This clause depicts God’s grace. Unlike ancient, athletic competition where only one winner receives a prize or reward, God will give each believer this prize or reward so long as he/she meets the conditions for it.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
The “crown of life” is that reward that God would give to a believer in the eternal state because of having successfully handled circumstance of life in such a way as to glorify Him. It is, therefore, a reward that is associated with remaining faithful under trials because of the name of Jesus Christ. This explanation is supported by the fact that in the two occurrences of the phrase “crown of life” in the NT, they occur in the context of testing or suffering as indicated in our passage of James 1:12. The other occurrence of this phrase is with the church of Smyrna that was undergoing persecution but was encouraged to remain faithful to receive the crown of life, as we read in Revelation 2:10:
Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Hence, it should be clear that the crown of life is a reward that reflects that a believer proved his faith genuine and therefore remained faithful under testing. The fact that this reward is to be given to those who persevered under trial means that not every believer would probably get it. But there is no reason for any believer not to get this since God promised it to those who love him according to the last clause of James 1:12 that God has promised to those who love him.
A third description of reward using the imagery of crown is that of “crown of glory” stated in 1 Peter 5:4:
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
The crown of glory is for elders who function faithfully in this life. It is also fitting that the Holy Spirit describes their reward using the phrase the crown of glory. For the word “glory” is translated from the Greek word (doxa) which means “glory, splendor, honor, magnificence.” There is no doubt that leadership involves some form of honor or even fame, but elders are commanded not to focus on this at the present time, because there is a time when the Lord Himself will hold in high honor those who executed properly their function as elders. In other words, even though they were the leaders of the flock, but they never ruled with their own honor and fame as the motivating factor. Therefore, in heaven the Lord will give them that honor that they were not concerned with on this earth. Therefore, the crown of glory reflects not only praise for a job well done but honor on the part of the faithful elder. This reward solidifies my conviction that God had already determined those who will receive certain rewards as implied in what the Lord Jesus stated in Matthew 20:23:
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
The word “glory” in 1 Peter 5:4 has a definite article before it to emphasize that this crown is for a unique group of believers known as elders. More importantly is how we should understand the phrase crown of the glory. The Greek syntax permits us to view this in at least two possible ways. Firstly, as the crown that belongs to glory. This will mean that the crown refers to the reward that is reserved for the eternal state. Secondly, we can understand the phrase crown of the glory as “the crown, namely, glory,” or “the crown, that is, glory.” In this way “glory” explains the meaning of the crown. The sense being that glory is the crown. In other words, the reward that this special group will receive is “glory.” It seems to me that both senses are applicable to our context. The reward that Apostle Peter is concerned is eternal and part of that reward is glory or honor. There is in a sense that this crown stands at the top of the other crowns. For, if believers receive the first two crowns, it must be because their elders functioned properly by feeding them with the word. It should be clear that the first two crowns are available to all believers, but this third crown is primarily for the elders. Someone may say that it is unfair for God to reserve this crown for certain class of people. Well, God is always fair in what He does and so has a purpose for this particular reward. Elder/shepherds bear a great burden for God’s flock that other believers know nothing about. Therefore, it is fitting that the Lord will reserve special reward for them. Nevertheless, every believer has the opportunity, in some unspecified way, of sharing this crown. How, we may ask? By supporting those who function as pastors and teachers of the word of God; for if you do so, you will share in this reward. My authority for saying this is what is recorded in Matthew 10:41:
Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.
So, we see that pastors should be motivated by their love for the Lord Jesus Christ and the special reward that the Lord has promised them. No pastor/elder should be concerned with fame or honor at this time rather his primary concern should be to discharge his duty faithfully before the Lord. For in the end, it is our Lord who will honor them. Eternal honor is superior to human honor. Nonetheless, all pastors or elders should remember that their authority is derived from the Lord Jesus Christ and so must never be autocratic. They should never be concerned with human honor or fame; instead, with great humility they should seek to feed their congregation. This aside, we should be clear that there are rewards in heaven that await believers whose good works or activities survive divine scrutiny. Therefore, each believer should strive to receive these rewards by paying attention to what make any good work or activity survive divine scrutiny as we have considered in this study. In any event, the third truthful principle that every believer should recognize as it relates to his/her activities in the advancement of the church of Christ or in the cause of Christ is that only activities that the Lord judges acceptable would be rewarded. This brings us to the fourth and final truthful principle that we need to consider in expounding the second reason the apostle cautioned regarding believer’s activities as they relate to the advancement of the church of Christ or the cause of Christ is that every of your activity will be evaluated for reward or loss as the apostle stated in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.
The fourth truthful principle that every believer should recognize as it relates to his/her activities in the advancement of the church of Christ or the cause of Christ is that unacceptable activity will result in loss of reward but not loss of salvation. This principle is not intended to cause a believer to become slack in his/her spiritual life but if anything that should be a motivating factor that drives every believer to want to carry out any activity in a way that he/she would not lose eternal reward, that is, that each person’s activity should survive divine scrutiny on the judgment day. Furthermore, this principle is a reminder of the grace of God in our salvation as we will consider later. Anyway, this principle is contained in 1 Corinthians 3:15.
The ideal situation that is expected of believers is that our activities or works should stand divine scrutiny on the day of judgment. However, the Holy Spirit, who knows the reality of what would happen on that day, conveyed the fact that there are believers whose activities would not survive divine scrutiny, so he directed the apostle to present this fact in the introduction of the conditional clause of 1 Corinthians 3:15 If it is burned up. Literally the Greek reads If the work of anyone is burned up.
The use of the pronoun it in the NIV or work in the literal translation of the introduction of the conditional clause we are considering, raises the question as to whether the word “work” in the singular or “it” of the NIV implies the totality of a believer’s activity or simply that the focus is on one activity after another. We raise this issue because the Greek word translated “work” may on the one hand, sometimes, when used in the singular be translated to convey the sense of plural. On the other, sometimes when it is in the plural could be translated to convey the sense of the singular. We see this approach in the translation of our Greek word in the NIV. Let me illustrate first with examples of where the singular usage of our word in the Greek is translated as if it were plural. Apostle Paul used the Greek word in the singular to address the Corinthians regarding the attitude of some of them about him and his letters, as we read in 2 Corinthians 10:11:
Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.
The phrase in our actions is literally in deed or in action if we use the meaning “action” to translate our Greek word. The same approach of translating the singular usage of our Greek word (ergon) into the plural in the English is adopted by the translators of the NIV in describing the qualifications of a widow that would be included in the list of those to be supported by the local church in 1 Timothy 5:10:
and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
The phrase to all kinds of good deeds of the NIV is literally to every good work. The same approach is used in indicating that love is to be recognized through our actions not merely by what we say, as recorded in 1 John 3:18:
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
The phrase with actions is literally in deed because the Greek word that means “work, deed” is given in the singular in our passage. Hence, there may be situations where the Greek word in the singular may be translated as if it were plural. We also have examples of where the Greek word in the plural is translated in the NIV as if it were used in the singular. When Jesus spoke about His activities among the Jews, our Greek word which appears in the plural is translated in a singular sense in John 5:36:
“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.
The phrase the very work is literally the very works. In Apostle Paul’s instruction to Titus regarding what he should communicate to believers in Crete, he used the plural of our word, but it is translated in the NIV as if it is in the singular in Titus 3:8:
This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.
The verbal phrase be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good is literally be careful to engage in good deeds. In describing the creative activities of God, the human author of Hebrews used the plural of the Greek word that may mean “work” or “deed” in Hebrews 4:4:
For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.”
The verbal phrase rested from all his work is literally God rested on the seventh day from all his works. Hence, we see that sometimes the plural of our Greek word may be translated in the English as if it is in the singular in the Greek. However, in our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:15, we have a singular usage, but the question is whether we should consider the singular usage as conveying a single activity of the believer or the totality of the activities of believers on this planet.
What we have considered is not a trivial matter because of the implication. On the one hand, if the focus is on the individual activity of the believer then it is difficult to have the result stated that we will get to shortly. On the other hand, if the totality of the believer’s activity is in view then the result that follows should put fear in all believers as to be careful to ensure that every activity that we get involved is to be done to meet divine standard on the judgment day. This second option is probably what the Holy Spirit intended because if we do this, we will be in agreement to the instruction given to believers in Colossians 3:17:
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Anyway, the prothesis of the conditional clause we are considering in 1 Corinthians 3:5 again is If it is burned up.
The expression “burned up” is translated from a Greek word (katakaiō) that means “to burn down, burn up, consume.” It is in the sense of being “burned up” that the word is used to describe the future fate of the present earth and heavens in 2 Peter 3:10:
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
The verbal phrase will be destroyed by fire is literally will be destroyed by being burned up. The word is translated with the meaning “to consume” in the NIV of Revelation 18:8:
Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:15, it means “to burn” or “to destroy by fire.” Thus, the Greek word is used to indicated that the work or the product of the believer will not survive divine scrutiny. Of course, we contend that it is the totality of the product of the believer that will not survive rather than each individual product of the believer. True, we cannot be certain how the Lord would do this because He has not seen fit to provide us the details. However, it is unlikely, as we have stated that He would focus on anyone product. For if he focused on any one product, then it is difficult to conceive that a believer would not have done any work correctly while on this planet as to suffer complete loss as indicated later in the verse we are considering. In any event, it is because of what the apostle states next that we believe that the Holy Spirit focused the apostle’s attention to the totality of work or product of believer instead of “bean counting” of our works of either any believer or those who are in special ministry of the word of God.
The result of the believer’s work or product not surviving divine scrutiny is loss of reward that is given in the apodosis of the conditional clause of 1 Corinthians 3:15 he will suffer loss. The statement he will suffer loss should be understood to mean suffering loss of reward although the word reward does not appear but that is implied.
The expression “suffer loss” is translated from a Greek word (zēmioō) that means to experience the loss of something, with implication of undergoing hardship or suffering hence “to suffer damage/loss, forfeit, sustain injury.” It is in the sense of “to forfeit” that the word is used Matthew 16:26:
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
It is in the sense of “to forfeit” or “to suffer loss” that the Greek word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:15. Consequently, the result of the believer’s work or product not surviving divine scrutiny is loss of reward. It is because of the stated loss that we believe that the work or product in our passage is to be taken as the totality of our work or product and not counting the product in terms of numbers. You see, if the Lord intended for us to think in terms of certain percentage of our work or product surviving divine scrutiny then the Holy Spirit would not have indicated a total loss as implied in our passage. For if a percentage of a believer’s work is to survive then it would be difficult to conceive of the kind of total loss implied in our passage of study. Consequently, it seems that the Holy Spirit directed the apostle to write in such a way to cause all of us to be cautious that we should endeavor to ensure that we operate under the filling of the Spirit and according to God’s word in all we do to avoid loss of reward in heaven.
Be that as it may, God’s grace shines through in what happens to the believer that suffers total loss of reward in that we are assured that such a believer will still be in heaven as implied in the next sentence of 1 Corinthians 3:15 he himself will be saved.
The sentence he himself will be saved is a reminder of God’s grace displayed in our salvation. In other words, the sentence tells that salvation is a display of God’s goodness in which there is nothing in any human being that led to the individual being saved. Salvation is a gift of God that originated from Him and independent of any human and for His glory. The Scripture reminds of this truth when we are informed that salvation that makes us children of God is not due to any person’s desire to be saved or someone else willing another to be saved, as stated in John 1:12–13:
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
That salvation is a gift of God is stated Romans 6:23:
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Furthermore, the sentence he himself will be saved of 1 Corinthians 3:15 reminds us that salvation in no way involves works, as stated in Romans 11:6:
And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
You see, if a believer’s works or activities do not withstand divine scrutiny but the person is saved then that should convince us that salvation is in no way related to works. I think that it is because some believers fail to recognize this truth that they have problem with the security of their salvation. Such believers could not bring themselves to accept that a believer who does not live according to God’s word would be saved. They think it is unfair that God would let such an individual into heaven as He lets them who strive to live in accordance with the word of God. No! Salvation is a gift from God that depends on His goodness and nothing in any human being. Once God gives His gift of eternal life, He does not recall it since His gift is irrevocable, as stated in Romans 11:29:
for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.
Those who do not accept that a believer’s salvation is secured must deal with the assertion of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul regarding the incestuous believer in Corinth that the apostle described what should happen to him, as we read in 1 Corinthians 5:5:
hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
You would note that the apostle did not say the person would be lost in the end but that he would be saved although he may suffer on this planet for his sin. The same idea that once a person has eternal life, sin does not change that, is also conveyed in what the Holy Spirit said through Apostle John in encouraging believers not to sin 1 John 2:1:
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
Those who reject the security of their salvation should have expected the passage to say something like “if any person sins, that individual is lost” but that is not what we read. Instead, we read if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. A gift always costs something to the giver. Therefore, the cost of the gift of eternal life is the death of Christ on the cross. He paid the price that made gift of eternal life possible. Be that as it may, the point we are stressing is that the sentence of 1 Corinthians 3:15 he himself will be saved is a reminder of the grace of God in our salvation.
Anyway, what does it mean that the one who suffered loss would be saved? To answer this question, we need to consider the word “saved.” The word “saved” is translated from a Greek word (sōzō) that is used in a physical or a spiritual sense. In a physical sense, it may mean to preserve or rescue from natural dangers and afflictions, hence “to save, keep from harm, preserve, rescue.” To save in the physical sense may mean “to heal”, that is, to rescue from torment of diseases or to be restored to health, as the word is used in Luke 8:48:
Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
The sentence your faith has healed you is literally your faith has saved you. The literal translation may imply that there is a physical healing as well as a spiritual healing. It is certainly only in the sense of physical healing that the word is used in James 5:15:
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
This is because the verbal phrase will make the sick person well is literally will save the one who is sick. To save may mean to keep from dying as in the instruction of Paul to the centurion taking him to Rome about not allowing the sailors to abandon ship, as we read in Acts 27:31:
Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
When the apostle said you cannot be saved he meant that the centurion and, of course, others would not be kept from dying or that they will not arrive at the shore alive. To save may mean “to deliver”, that is, to bring out safely from a situation fraught with mortal danger, so the word is used to describe Israel’s deliverance from Egypt in Jude 5:
Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.
The sentence the Lord delivered his people is literally having saved the people. In a spiritual sense, the word may mean to save or preserve from transcendent danger or destruction hence “to save/preserve from eternal death” with the implication of being preserved from judgment and from all that might lead to eternal death, for example, sin. Thus, it is in the sense of being delivered from the eternal consequence of sin that the word is used to describe Jesus’ mission in Matthew 1:21:
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
It is in the sense of being delivered from eternal destruction that the word is used when Apostle Paul offered eternal salvation to the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31:
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
It is in the sense of attaining eternal salvation that Apostle Paul used the Greek word to describe the effort of some Jews to prevent the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 2:16:
in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at last.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 3:15, the word is used in the sense of deliverance from eternal destruction. Thus, when the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:15 he himself will be saved, he meant that a person who suffers loss would not be eternally destroyed. The individual will be in heaven with God.
A believer may hear this teaching that despite the fact the person would suffer loss in terms of reward, the individual would be in heaven and so may ask: “What then does it matter if the individual does not strive to live according to truth in this life?” Well, it matters because the consequence of failure to live according to truth so as to receive eternal reward is that a person would be poor in heaven. When you think about it, there is nothing good in this life with being poor. You notice the kind of justice or treatment the rich receive in this life. People respect them even when their character is such that they should not be respected. People warm up to them with the hope that their wealth would rub off on them. No wonder the Scripture tells us that wealth attracts friends in Proverbs 19:4:
Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man’s friend deserts him.
But not so with the poor. No one wants to associate with such an individual including the relatives, as stated in Proverbs 19:7:
A poor man is shunned by all his relatives— how much more do his friends avoid him!
Though he pursues them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.
A wealthy person never wants to be poor and so does everything to ensure it does not happen while the poor is constantly struggling and hoping to get out of poverty. So, you see that poverty is not something that anyone wants. If that is the case, it is even more important that a believer should not want to be poor in heaven. The poverty of this life lasts until death, but the poverty of heaven is for all eternity. We do not yet understand what this poverty would be like but what we have on this planet should make us realize that the poverty in heaven is not something desirable. Hence, it would seem to me that to clamor to be poor in heaven is insane. If you have the opportunity of becoming a millionaire would you pass it? If not, why would you want to arrive in heaven poor.
I have been using the word “poor” or “poverty” and so someone may question the legitimacy of such usage since the word “poor” or “poverty” does not appear in the passage of 1 Corinthians 3:15 we are considering. Yes, the word does not appear; but it is poverty in heaven that is given in the last verbal phrase in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 3:15 but only as one escaping through the flames. Interestingly, the phrase has been used to justify the concept of purgatory, but such an interpretation is not only absurd but ignores the context of where a person suffers loss of reward and has nothing to do with suffering for purifying a soul in a holding place or a state.
Be that as it may, the apostle wrote according to the NIV of 1 Corinthians 3:15 but only as one escaping through the flames. This translation of the NIV is an expanded translation since literally, the Greek reads but thus as through fire. This is because firstly the word “only” of the NIV is how its translators rendered a Greek adverb (houtōs) that on the one hand, may be used to refer to what precedes a given clause or phrase and so means “in this manner, thus, so.” On the other hand, it may pertain to what follows in discourse material hence means “in this way, as follows.” The word may also be used as a marker of a relatively high degree of something so that it means “so.” In our passage, it is probably used in the sense of pointing to what follows after the declaration that the believer who suffered loss of reward would still be saved. Hence, it is probably that the word is used with the meaning “in this way, as follows” to indicate that the person saved is one that is described with the Greek phrase but thus as through fire. Secondly, the word “escaping” of the NIV does not appear in the Greek. However, the word “as” is used in a comparative sense so that the literal Greek phrase as through fire needed to be explained. The sense of the phrase indicates the person saved is compared to an individual who had come through fire. This means that the comparison refers to the imagery one gets if a person’s house burns down but the person’s life is spared. When this happens, the person loses everything but his life. Such situation means that the one who had the experience has been reduced to a state where the person has nothing. Thus, there is a sense that the person is poor. Of course, we live in a time that people have home insurance so that when their houses burn down the insurance companies step in to help the person recover to some extent. Nonetheless, the imagery of escaping a fire with one’s life is that which speak to poverty brought about by the fire. Based on this imagery we are correct to speak of poverty in heaven in the sense that one has no reward in heaven to show forth God’s goodness towards the individual while on this planet. The point is that there would be believers in heaven that will be there without any reward that would show how faithfully they served the Lord while on this planet.
In any case, we end our study of 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 by reminding you of the main message we focused that applies to all believers although the context is concerned with warning for those in special ministry of the word. It is that If you want your activities as a Christian to be rewarded in the eternal state by God then they must be Christ-centered. Thus, you should be careful to understand that it is not what anyone says about you or your activities that is important. People may praise or criticize you, but they are not the final judge. The Lord Jesus is the final judge, so you should be concerned that all your activities are carried out with your eyes focused on Him. This means that you should strive to learn God’s instructions given in the Scripture and at the same time strive to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. For only if you are controlled by the Holy Spirit that your activities would survive divine scrutiny in heaven. All your production in this life would be evaluated but only if the believer is consistently controlled by the Holy Spirit that such an individual would not be poor in heaven. The message we have expounded should remind us of the Lord’s declaration recorded for us in John 15:5:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
Remaining in Christ is another way to describe the filling of the Holy Spirit. Thus, we encourage you to strive to learn the word of God so that when you are filled of the Holy Spirit your activities would be rewarded in heaven.
11/16/18