Introduction
Do you want to know what scares me? You have seen scenarios in a movie or TV show where someone is causing mischief, not knowing that he is being observed by others about to administer retribution. You want to yell out, “Look behind you!” knowing the terrible punishment hanging over him. That is how I feel for ministers and church leaders who are breaking up their churches or leading their flocks astray. I feel that way because of this passage.
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If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
This verse bothers me. Why? It is this matter of reward. Paul is mostly likely thinking of what he said in verse 8: He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. That verse is even more problematic because it infers that church leaders, and perhaps all Christians, are earning what is their due from God.
So, what is wrong with that? Doesn’t God pay each person what he deserves? Aren’t we suppose to do good so we can receive God’s blessing? No! If there is one thought that I have tried to impress upon you over the years, it is that we are saved by grace and we live by grace. We do not work to receive God’s favor for salvation, nor are we to work thinking it is necessary to retain his favorable opinion of us, and certainly we do not work to get ahead of others.
Scripture is clear about this. The most well known is Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
As the Jerusalem church council debated the issue of requiring Gentiles to observe the Jewish laws, Peter settled the matter by declaring, “we [Jewish believers] believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they [Gentile believers] will” (Acts 15:11).
For there is no distinction: [Paul contends, regarding Jews and Gentiles in Romans] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:22-24).
God, by his grace, grants salvation and his blessing to whomever he wills. Recall Jesus’ parable about the laborers in the vineyard. In the story a man hires laborers throughout the day to work in his field. Some are hired early in the morning and some near the end of the day. When it comes time for pay, he gives the same amount to each. Upon complaint he responds, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” (Matthew 20:15). Jesus’ point is that we are not to think in terms of getting more than others from God. The kingdom of God does not play by the world’s rules of competition. Whatever blessing we receive from God comes by his grace and not by what we have merited.
If there is anything I want you to break free of, it is the notion that we must work to earn God’s favor – whether it be the work of doing good deeds or the work of following the moral law. Here, though, is Paul letting me know in verse 14 that I can expect reward if I do a good job building the church, and, by the way, don’t forget to collect my wages spoken of in verse 8.
Am I earning wages? Am I collecting bonus points to win rewards for my work? Yes and no. I will receive wages or reward, but I am not earning them in the sense that I earn wages from this church. Faith Church hired me to carry out the work of preaching and pastoring the congregation. The church did so because it thought that I possessed the necessary qualifications to fulfill the job satisfactorily. We agreed that I would be paid wages for that work. Thus, as long as I faithfully carry out my end of the bargain, the church is obligated to pay me for what we agreed was fair. The church, furthermore, pays me after I have worked. It does not give me a check before the work time period, but after. The result is that Faith, until the paycheck is received, becomes indebted to me. Faith Church owes me my due.
In the kingdom of God, the system is different. In that sphere, God has appointed me to carry out the work of preaching and pastoring this particular congregation. He made no agreement with me. He merely appointed me to do what he wanted done. As for qualifications, he knew that I had none. Such matters are irrelevant to him, because he gives to his servants what is needed to their work. Though God did not consult me, though I know that he is not impressed with my qualifications, though I know that there is never a time in which he is indebted to me, I nevertheless am quite pleased to do this work. I am well aware that to serve the King of the Universe in whatever capacity is a high privilege. Understanding that the great King has paid the costliest price for my salvation makes my service all the more wondrous to me. And then to give me through the Holy Spirit all I need to serve him ably, I become amazed at his generosity. It would never occur to me at the end of a week to ask God to pay up, especially knowing that if God were to pay me fair wages he would sue me for damages rather than dole out cash.
Yet, God promises wages and reward. True, but considering the glory of the work, the little I really do, and the already immeasurable wealth given me through Christ’s redemption, such reward seems out of proportion to my work, and in truth it is. For the reward God gives is not in proportion to mine or anyone’s labor, but in proportion to his generosity spurred on by his mercy and grace.
There is, though, warning about losing reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
It is important to recall the context of Paul’s warning. He is speaking specifically of ministers, elders, and other church leaders. The “work” is the work of building Christ’s church as represented by the local congregations. We learned in the previous verses that everyone’s work will be tested by fire to reveal it for what it is. If the work is done with quality, the work will stand; if it is of poor quality, it will be destroyed.
If the works stands, then the laborer can expect reward; if it burns up, then he will suffer loss. What does “suffer loss” mean? I certainly want to know! First, what it doesn’t mean. The worker will not lose his salvation: he himself will be saved. That’s a relief, but only as through fire. What is that suppose to mean? Is there some kind of purgatory to go through, some form of suffering? Is that what “suffer loss” means?
No, at least the rest of Scripture does not support such a conclusion. All Scripture which depicts the Judgment Day, do so in terms of dividing the righteous from the unrighteous; the former get blessing and the latter judgment. There is no example of God holding back a group from the blessing side and saying, “We’ve got some business to settle before you go inside my mansion.”
Keeping with the image Paul gives of a building tested by fire, he wants the church leaders to imagine the following scenario. They are inside the building they have built and which is now being tested. As their work goes up in flames around them, they will escape, but only because God pulls them out in the nick of time. And instead of having a beautiful building to present to God as they enter into his rest, there are only ashes. That reward? I don’t think so. The worker suffers the loss of his work and his reward.
Paul then gets to the heart of the matter: 16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
He identifies just what the building is – the temple of God, not just the outer grounds, but the sanctuary itself. It is God’s dwelling place. The “you” is plural. The Corinth saints together make up the single temple. Paul said the same thing to the Ephesians: So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22).
“This isn’t about you,” Paul is saying to the Corinthians. “This matter of what the church should be like isn’t about your tastes. It isn’t about what makes you feel comfortable or credible to others.” Being a church is about being the holy temple of God and what matters is fitting into God’s blueprint for what it is to be.
One feature in that blueprint is unity, which is being threatened in the Corinth Church. Divisions are forming, one major reason being the enthrallment with the world’s wisdom. In verse 17 Paul gives the strongest warning possible to the church leaders: If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him.
The word for “destroy” can mean just what the English word indicates or be translated as “corrupt.” Is Paul saying that a person saved by Christ can be destroyed, i.e. condemned? No, he has already noted that a true saint in Christ will be saved. But he is saying as forcefully as he can, “Beware! Christian leaders, don’t assume that because you are a church leader, you must be okay. You have not been put in your positions as rewards because God is impressed with you. You have been put there to serve God by building his church to be his holy temple. Take it seriously, because if you don’t; if you, instead of building, actually tear down God’s temple, then remember Jesus’ own words: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away (Mark 4:24-25).
Lessons
Because this text applies specifically to church leaders, I will tell you what I get out of it and you then apply it to yourselves as you are so led. This text tells me to take my work with all seriousness. Being a minister is not a job to take lightly because religion has always been an interesting subject, or because it has nice benefits, or for whatever reason. It is a calling by God to do his work for his glory and for the welfare of his people. This congregation is not a mere collection of people who get together for worship and ministry; this congregation is the sanctuary of God and he expects me to give it the best care possible. There remains building to do and every piece of material must be handled with the greatest skill.
As the previous verses made clear, that includes being sure to build on the foundation of Christ and with Christ. Never compromise him and his work; never cloak the gospel. I fear, I tremble each time I hear a minister, claiming to be a Christian minister, water down the gospel and even lead his people in discarding scriptural truth in order to “keep up with the times.” I do not begrudge people having their doubts, but for a person who bears the title of God’s Minister to nurture doubt in his people and even outright rejection of the fundamental tenets of the gospel, then his nerves are greater than mine. But his nerves will serve him no good when he stands before his Judge and explains how he abused his sacred calling to lead people astray.
But also those who are in perilous position are evangelical ministers who view their ministry as building empires for themselves, and others who are willing to let their churches die or break apart because of their obsession to maintain control. It is easy for us to hide our real motives even from ourselves. It is easy to hide behind religious posture, pretending that our concern is to win the lost when it is really to build impressive monument to ourselves. It is easy to profess our concern for keeping our people obedient to God, when in reality what we want is their allegiance to ourselves. Some churches are large because they have compromised the gospel. Some churches are small, because in the name of being faithful to the gospel, they and their pastors are in truth unwilling to get out and engage in warfare for the kingdom of Christ. Our work will be revealed for what it truly is on Judgment Day.
This text also assures me that my work is meaningful. Indeed, it puts my work in the only context that makes it meaningful. Ministers are like everyone else comparing ourselves to one another. We compare the sizes of our churches, our personal reputations as preachers, and so on. We can manufacture reasons for salving out pride. The large church preacher may pride himself through membership numbers and by his growing fame. The small church preacher may pride himself for his spiritual faithfulness and not caving in like his large church brother to worldly pride. Whatever the case, we all want the same thing: we want to know that what we are doing matters.
The answer is a resounding “Yes!” from God himself, for understand that it is God himself who makes what we do matter and not the outward temporary circumstances. I work hard to build a legacy. Should the Lord tarry in his return, I want the effects of my work to carry on so that there will always be Faith Presbyterian Church standing strong for God’s kingdom. And, yet, I know there is no guarantee. When I leave, be it tomorrow or many years, there is no guarantee that this church will last or remain true to the faith. Better men than I have served more skillfully in other churches that eventually fell away. I may be forgotten and my work forgotten, but not by God. My Lord calls me to build the best I can, but what happens in the future is for him to decide not me. As Gandalf wisely said to Frodo, “All we have to do is to decide what to do with the time that is given us.” The present time and the present place is always what matters to God’s servant. God may so choose to place his servant in a public place where his work is widely known, or he may so choose to send him where he is barely noticed. In either case, he is given neither more nor less attention by God nor his work rated higher or lower.
Finally, this text puts you, the congregation, in perspective for me. When the Solomon built the first temple, an incredible phenomenon occurred. After the priests completed putting in all the items belonging in the Holy of Holies, a cloud came down and filled the sanctuary. The cloud represented the presence of God. It was God’s visible way of indicating that the temple was his dwelling place, not that God needed a building in which to live, but that the temple let the people know that he dwelt among them. God, of course, is everywhere, but all of us at times feel like he is distant from us. And in a religion like Judaism in which physical idols are forbidden, all the more significant then to have that building which stood for God’s presence. In the temple, the worshipper could say with confidence, “Here is God.”
Brothers and sisters, I can say now, “Here is God” not because I am standing in a church sanctuary, but because I am standing before God’s people who together make up the temple of the holy God. It is the highest privilege that God would grant me the opportunity to serve you. The psalmist says, A day in your courts [the temple] is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents [in wealth and fame] of wickedness. There is no more significant place to be than here. I have stood before the wall of the Temple in Jerusalem, have walked on the same ground Jesus and the prophets, but those places are no more holy than the ground on which I now stand since I stand before God’s people. May God grant to me and to all ministers and church leaders such grace as is needed to serve him and his temple well.
