1 Corinthians 3:8-15 “Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labour. (9) For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field; you are God's building. (10) According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. (11) For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (12) Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, (13) each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. (14) If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. (15) If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
We saw earlier that at all times the born-again believer is either walking in the spirit or they are walking in the flesh. And so just as we have seen that all works done in the spirit will be rewarded on that day, the exact opposite is true for all works done in the flesh, for all works done in the flesh will be burned up on that day. Clearly if saints have any desire to receive their eternal rewards from our Lord Jesus on that day, then they are encouraged to stay away from works done in the flesh for all those works will not survive the test of fire and those saints will suffer loss on that day. I want you to note that I am not talking about the works “of the flesh” as mentioned by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 5:19-21), but rather I am referring to works done “in the flesh”, for there is a difference between the two. The works “of the flesh” is what scripture also calls sin and these works will be judged differently on that day. Nevertheless there is such a thing as works done “in the flesh”. These works are seemingly good works and not sinful in nature, nevertheless they are done in the flesh and not in the spirit. In the passage of scripture quoted above the Holy Spirit informs us that there are certain works that will be burned up on that day, resulting in those saints incurring loss for all eternity. And so because these works will not survive the test of fire on that day it is important for us to have a clear understanding of just what kind of works they are so that we can avoid them. The example put forward in this passage is a comparison of two ministers and the gospel message that they preach. Paul describes the one as preaching with silver, gold and precious stones, while the other preaches with wood, hay and straw. On their day of judgement the minister who preached with silver, gold and precious stones would be rewarded because his works would stand the test of fire, whereas the minister who preached with wood, hay and straw would suffer loss because his works would obviously not survive the test of fire. In this passage Paul reveals the key to not having one’s works burned up on that day, when he mentions that “we are God's fellow workers”. In other words ministers that preach the gospel as fellow workers together with the Holy Spirit will only preach with the silver; gold and precious stones of God’s word, for their works are done in the Spirit. Whereas ministers that preach the gospel from their own resources will preach with the wood, hay and straw of man’s wisdom, for their works are done in the flesh. Sadly many ministers preach either their own or another man’s version of the gospel, not being led by the Holy Spirit in what they teach. And so although that which they preach may seem like a good work it is nevertheless a work done in the flesh and will not survive the test of fire on that day. Although the Holy Spirit has used ministers of the gospel in this passage to illustrate the point to us, the principle remains the same for all works done by the saints i.e. we are to be God’s fellow workers in everything we do, for the scripture declares that unless the Lord builds the house they labour in vain that build it (Psalm 127:1). And so those who are God’s fellow workers do their works in the Spirit, while those who choose to build on their own do their works in the flesh. The first will stand the test of fire while the second will not survive.
Michael E.B. Maher
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