QUESTION: Hello Pastor, Praise God, I need some guidance on 1Corinthians 3:12-15. Will there be different rewards for people who are saved but did not preach and draw people to Christ? Let’s say those whose work will be the quality of wood will not be rewarded but those whose work will be of Gold and silver will be rewarded accordingly. Will there be different rewards based on what we did for the Kingdom while here on Earth?
Doreen.
Response: Praise God Doreen and thank you for the question. To attempt a response I request that you allow me to paste the passage from which your question comes.
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw –each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1Corinthians 3:9-15 RSV)
First, it matters that we are reminded that these rewards have nothing to do with one’s salvation or damnation for eternal destinies. We are saved by Grace through Faith and not by works. No one will go to hell for bad manners and none will enter heaven due to a perfect moral code. Heaven and Hell are destinies tied to one’s faith-relationship with Jesus Christ. Heaven (eternal life) is not a reward based on how good and right we have performed. We do not deserve eternal life. Eternal life is a gift that our loving father in whom we have believed has bestowed upon us (Ephesians 2:8-9).
As a Christian community saved by grace and the responsibility of the Kingdom of God is upon us. We are called to the task of building that kingdom. Apostle Paul, however, has reminded the Christian builders that we don’t build the Kingdom of God from the foundation for the foundation has already been laid by God himself (Jesus Christ).
Servants in the Kingdom of God are not founders but builders (1Peter 2:5) on an existing foundation (Mathew 16:18, 1Corithians 3:11). The structure of the Kingdom of God is as follows according to scripture:
The Believers are built on the Apostles and Prophets as their foundation (Ephesians 2:20) and the apostles and all ministers are built on Jesus Christ as both their cornerstone and foundation, therefore (Ephesians 2:20, 1Corithians 3:11, Mathew 16:18).
The issue of the foundation is very significant in answering the question of rewards for the rewards are awarded not only based on how much one has contributed but also upon which foundation one has been building on. Apostle Paul was deliberate in ensuring that whenever he built, he did not build on another man’s foundation (Romans 15:20). Gold, Silver, Precious stones, Wood, Hay or straw in 1Corinthians 3:12 are reward qualities determined by which foundation they are built upon before they are quantified.
History has a record of wonderful people who have done extraordinary good things. People, who have given to charity, helped the orphans, saved villages and improved the welfare of numerous communities. The list under Mother Teresa is longer than you probably know. However, the question is, what foundation and which kingdom exactly are these good people building upon? This is the quality assurance method of determining what work is of Gold and which one is of Straw.
It is not just about doing good but also why you are doing the good you are doing. Apostle Paul said; An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules (2Timothy 2:5). The rewards talked about therefore are exclusive to the Christian’s service to the Kingdom of God. These rewards are based on how much one has contributed to the building of the Kingdom of God here on earth. These works of individual Christians cannot be judged by fellow Christians but these will be judged by God himself at the Judgment seat. Romans 14:10 and 2Corithians 5:9 talk about the Judgment Seat and the Greek word translated as ‘Judgment Seat’ is Bema. New Testament writers and preachers like Apostle Paul always borrowed social concepts to communicate divine lessons.
Bema in the Greco-Roman world was a high table set for a Roman Magistrate or any other leader to make conclusive decisions and pass sentence. All saved Christians will appear before the divine Bema to receive their rewards based on their contribution to the Kingdom of God while they were on Earth. The Bible has rectified this truth in the book of Revelation 22:12 in these words;
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
We (Christians) will appear before the Bema to receive rewards based on the value addition (Greek: Agathos-valuable or Phaulos-worthless) we made to the Kingdom of God (2Corithians 5:10). These rewards will obviously be different.
This knowledge, however, shouldn’t motivate a spiritual competition (1Corinthian 9:24-25) in us but instead inspire our natural good intentions and endowed abilities as we serve in the Kingdom of God. The difference between the divine race and the competitive races that we are accustomed to is that, in the divine race, each Christian is running their own race and they out-compete no one but the devil and evil itself.
Heavenly rewards are not awards given to those who have been better than other Christians have but instead rewards for doing the right and valuable thing. At the end of each one’s race, they will be able to say as the Apostle Paul said:
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2Timothy 4:7).
The word of God, however, has not left us Christians to speculate on these rewards but instead provided us with five categories of these rewards in form of crowns. Let’s conclude this by mentioning them but first, I have to point out that all these are due to the victory of Jesus Christ.
All the Christian rewards are due to the crown of thorns on the bleeding head of Jesus Christ (John 19:2-5; Mathew 27:29; Mark 15:17). He alone conquered not only the Devil but also Sin and Death. Because of this victory, all those in heaven with the best rewards will cast their crowns on him (Revelation 4:10-11) and eventually Jesus Christ’s crown will have many crowns on his head since every rewarded Christian would have been victorious due to him (Revelation 19:10).
Here are the five categories of crowns that individual Christians will be rewarded with at the Heavenly Bema (Judgment Seat):
- The Crown of Life: rewarded for endurance of trials and temptations that life brought one’s way (Revelation 2:10, James 1:12).
- The Crown of Glorying and Rejoicing in the Commission: rewarded for evangelism: witnessing, ministry to others and follow-up (1Thessalonian 2:19-20; Philippians 4:1-4; 1Corinthians 15:58)
- The Crown of Incorruptibleness: rewarded and recognized for all the self-control that one exercised and practically demonstrated throughout their Christian life (1Corithians 9:25)
- The Crown of Glory for Shepherds: rewarded for the faithfulness exhibited in one’s pastoral ministry as they discharged their responsibilities in that office.
- The Crown of Righteousness: rewarded and recognized for using our talents, skills, and opportunities in the commission and kingdom of God as well as our attitude to the appearing of the Lord in the clouds.
Finally, I would like you to know that the above are rewards which will stand the test of fire from the throne of our God. These rewards are under the jurisdiction of God the Judge on the Bema and therefore could be beyond our comprehension (1Corinthians 2:9; Philippians 3:14).
The five rewards (crowns) are golden works in the Kingdom of God, tested and purified with fire (1Corinthians 3:13). Nevertheless, our (Christians) sociological responsibility still stands and we must do all the good that we should. For the good we do in our sociological world, we are rewarded for it in this life (Galatians 6:9; Colossians 3:23-24; Proverbs 10:16; 11:18).
We are promised materialistic rewards as well if we live accordingly (Mark 10:30), and these are not Golden as the spiritual rewards in the five categories but could be of the quality of Jewels, wood and hay that won’t stand the fires.
God bless you I invoke TRUTH, REASON and FAITH (2Tim 2:7)
Pr. T.I.M WHITE
The Gospel Hawker
@iTiS Well of Worship Fellowship (John 4:24)
iTiS Well of Worship Fellowship (John 4:24) 