As spiritual builders we need to be sure of building structures that endure, that are not destroyed by wind and fire, and that are judged by Christ, the chief builder and carpenter, as well as architect, to be "well built." We know that Christ will say to his faithful servants in the day of judgment "well done good and faithful servant," or to them considered as builders, "well built."
Any builder knows that his building, both materials and workmanship, will be inspected by trained experts in local government agencies who oversee the construction process. There are footing and foundation inspections, framing and structural, plumbing, electrical, heating and air, etc. There is also what is called the "final inspection" before the property is permitted to be used and receive utilities.
Applying this to the judgment of our buildings constructed upon Christ and his word during the course of our lives, we may say that we too are being constantly inspected providentially. Our fellow believers judge our spiritual buildings. So too does the Holy Spirit who sends men of God to help us correct our buildings where needed. They will point out things that will not pass inspection, and things in the construction that need to be changed, things not up to code. Further, as I have already stated, we will not have any inferior constructions to go with us into heaven when we die. But, that does not negate that there will be a final inspection (trial or test) wherein we will see our own faulty construction disapproved, with loss of reward, or hopefully will find our work honored and recognized and given awards, trophies, and crowns.
What Loss Suffered?
The big question is to ascertain what is meant in the text by the words "he will suffer loss but he himself will be saved."
Let us make some initial observations.
1) No believer builds a perfect building in his or her life
2) A believer's spiritual construction will be a mixture of good and bad
3) Some who go to heaven have built nothing (such as those who died in infancy)
4) If salvation in the end depends upon having built perfectly, no one would be saved
5) What is lost and ruined (burned up) is not the foundation of stone nor the builder on the foundation
The loss is a loss of rewards, or awards, or crowns. Christ will recognize and give honors to all the saints for their deeds done in his name by faith and according to his word. He will praise and congratulate them. The praise for building well is similar to the praise for managing well, as good stewards and administrators, the money (talents or pounds) entrusted to the servants of God. The "good and faithful servants" not only took care of the money their Lord left to them, but increased it by investing, and were given reward, some more, some less, for their well doing as stewards.
As we have observed in the previous chapters, Paul and John wrote about labor lost, or labor that did not yield much advantage or profit. There will be some saints who will have little labor to be rewarded; And part of their loss will be knowing how they wasted much of their time, labor, and talents. So, every believer should do as Jude, the Lord's brother, urged when he wrote:
"But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." (Jude 1: 20-21)
Again, though believers strive for perfection, they never attain it in this life. In building up ourselves, our character, our beliefs, our activities, our homes and family, our institutions, the church, etc., we will find ourselves falling short in many ways. That cannot be helped. All we can do is strive to build a perfect building.
What Reward?
"If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward."
The test for the quality of work done in building is whether it "endures" the fire of "the day." If it passes through the fire unharmed (not burned), then the worker/builder will be given reward. We could say the same with other scriptural metaphors. So we can say that the one who finishes the marathon race will obtain the crown of victory (Stephanos crown), or say whatever buildings endure the earth shaking or whatever survives the tornado, will bring reward to the builders. There will be some, sadly, who will see a lifetime of work in ministry all go up in smoke because it did not pass God's trial by fire, the final inspection.
Jesus talked a lot about rewards in the eternal state and he encouraged his servants to seek them and work for them. Notice these texts:
Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Matthew 6:20 “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal…”
Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds."
These words about rewards for labor on behalf of Christ and his kingdom cannot be made to apply to this life only (although, as we have seen, pleasing God in our work has its rewards in this life and in the next). They speak of what will be given when Christ returns.
The verses also indicate that our good works become a sort of "storing up treasures." This fact tells us that some believers will have more treasure in heaven than other believers, for they stored up more on earth. Further, the reward is shown not to be the same for all, for some will have "great" reward, while others have not so great reward. How much do we have in the Bank of Heaven?
Saved Nevertheless?
We should not interpret the text to mean that a professing Christian is all one or the other, that is, that there is no Christian who is always building with the right materials, nor a Christian who is always building with perfect craftsmanship and without any faulty construction. We all fall short.
So, what does Paul mean when he says "he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire"? This is a good text to use to prove that people, once saved, cannot be lost, and that they are eternally secure, and that their perseverance in the faith is guaranteed according to God's working in them.
At one time I considered that the ones who had their buildings burned up manifested that they did not really have Christ as the foundation. I interpreted the words "but he himself will be saved" as "but he himself will be preserved" (for the word saved often means preserved), meaning that the unsaved who go to Hell are not burned up in the fires of Hell as are their works. We know that those who go to Hell will be in fire and yet not be consumed. But, that view is not held by anyone that I have read and is probably not what Paul is saying. However, it is a possible interpretation. We can say of every professing Christian who is a hypocrite and not really saved, that all his works in building will be burned up and yet he will not be burned up but will continue to exist in it forever.
Barnes in his commentary writes (emphasis mine):
"He shall suffer loss - :
(1) He shall not be elevated to as high a rank and to as high happiness as he otherwise would. That which he supposed would be regarded as acceptable by the Judge, and rewarded accordingly, shall be stripped away, and shown to be unfounded and false; and in consequence, he shall not obtain those elevated rewards which he anticipated. This, compared with what he expected, may be regarded as a loss.
(2) he shall be injuriously affected by this forever. It shall be a detriment to him to all eternity. The effects shall be felt in all his residence in heaven - not producing misery but attending him with the consciousness that he might have been raised to superior bliss in the eternal abode - The phrase here literally means, "he shall be mulcted." The word is a legal term, and means that he shall be fined, that is, he shall suffer detriment."
I believe this is correct.
Barnes says further:
"But he himself shall be saved - The apostle all along has supposed that the true foundation was laid 1 Corinthians 3:11, and if that is laid, and the edifice is reared upon that, the person who does it shall be safe. There may be much error, and many false views of religion, and much imperfection, still the man that is building on the true foundation shall be safe. His errors and imperfections shall be removed, and he may occupy a lower place in heaven, but he shall be safe."
I also agree with this and is what I have been affirming so far in our analysis of this text. We should all be careful in what we believe the bible to teach knowing these things. We must know that our foundational beliefs about Christ must be correct or we will not be saved. We must also take comfort in knowing that though we had biblical errors built upon that foundation, we will lose reward but still be saved.
Barnes says further:
"Yet so as by fire - ὡς διὰ πυρός hōs dia puros. This passage has greatly perplexed commentators; but probably without any good reason. The apostle does not say that Christians will be doomed to the fires of purgatory; nor that they will pass through fire; nor that they will be exposed to pains and punishment at all; but he "simply carries out the figure" which he commenced, and says that they will be saved, as if the action of fire had been felt on the edifice on which he is speaking. That is, as fire would consume the wood, hay, and stubble, so on the great Day everything that is erroneous and imperfect in a Christian shall be removed, and that which is true and genuine shall be preserved as if it had passed through fire. Their whole character and opinions shall be investigated; and that which is good shall be approved; and that which is false and erroneous be removed."
Well, such a truth fact is both good and bad. Good because our errors in certain areas of doctrine will not keep us from entering into eternal life as children of God. Bad because our errors in those secondary doctrines will bring us loss of rewards.
Barnes says further:
"The simple idea, therefore, is, that that which is genuine and valuable in his doctrines and works, shall be rewarded, and the man shall be saved; that which is not sound and genuine, shall be removed, and he shall suffer loss."
In the next chapter we will look at the life in eternity as immortal beings.
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