Jerry Shugart said:
Are you so stupid that you do not even realize that the "reward" which we are speaking of is according to "works" (1Cor.3:12-15)?
Or do you believe that the reward of "His life" is according to works?
Jerry, if there is stupid in the room, you are smelling your own stench.
This is the final time that I am going to explain this to you, because you obviously think that God owes you something for whatever it is that you perceive that you have done for Him.
"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ."
The Corinthians had been immersed in the wisdom of this world (chapter 2), and Paul must address the things that are bringing division among them.
"I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly."
Paul laid the foundation of Christ Jesus, but they could not move on the the meat of the message, because they were still immersed in the things of this world.
"For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?"
They were attributing to men the things that belong solely to God, and they followed them. This led to This led to jealousy and division.
"For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants
through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but
God was causing the growth."
ALL the glory goes to God, Jerry. Paul and Apollos were simply servants of God through whom they had come to believe in God.
"So then
neither the one who plants
nor the one who waters
is anything,
but God who causes the growth."
They are tools in the hand of God as He works in and through them.
"Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor."
Paul and Apollos are workers in the field. The work that they are doing is laying the foundation and building upon it. The "reward" is related to the work that they are doing in the field. One of them plants the seed, and another one waters it. Just as in crops, the same is true... If you plant a good seed, and water it as it should be, you will have the reward of your labor. So it is here. If the seed that is being sown into the hearts of men is a good seed, and/or if it is cared for properly, they they will be rewarded for their labor.
The reward is that there is fruit. The fruit of the labors of Paul and Apollos are the souls that are not only saved (present tense), but also that those who are saved reach maturity (future tense).
"For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be careful how he builds upon it."
Paul goes on to compare his labors as in constucting a building. He lays the foundation, and another one comes along and builds on that foundation. However, it is important how someone builds on that foundation, just as it is important how someone cares for the seed that was planted.
"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
There is only one foundation that can be built upon, and that is Jesus. As Paul just stated in the previous chapter...
"For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."
"Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work
will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself
will test the quality of each man's work."
Whatever someone uses to build upon the foundation will be revealed, when it is tested by fire. If it remains, then the work was true, if it is burned up, then it was a dead work. It was of no benefit to the one who received it.
"If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward."
This is where the heart of the self-righteous stumble, and in fact is revealed. The reward is that it remained. The reward is revealed by the fire.
Because you are so "works" oriented, Jerry, you think God owes you something for your labors, but it is simply that the works you have done are either revealed as having been in vain, or there was real fruit.
Just like in a building. If you had built the building with the proper materials, then when it is exposed to fire, it will remain, and the reward is in the fact that the building remains. You do not get something else because the building remains as some sort of bonus. You only did what you were called to do, and the fire proved that you were a faithful builder.
"If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire."
If the proper materials were not in use, then the building will have been destroyed, though the foundation remains, but the one who built it will suffer the loss of the reward of having the building remain. However, he will not be lost, but all his efforts will have been in vain.
It is really simple, Jerry. There are ministers of the gospel who actually continue to bring the truth of the message of Christ in you to their congregations, and then there are those who do as the Judaizers did to Galatia, and add to the foundation with perfection through the deeds of the flesh. They probably say things like... "If you obey the Law, then God will give you some rewards in heaven". They are preaching a message that will not remain.
