“Gold,
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble” were
among the materials which Paul the apostle declared could be built
upon the “foundation” of
the “gospel”
of Jesus Christ,
and in chapter three and verse thirteen of
First Corinthians, Paul shared how
“every man's work shall be made
manifest”
where we read:
Every
man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because
it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work
of what sort it is.
The
verse begins, “Every
man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,...”
Paul began
with the word, “Every man's” which
means “each and every person's” “work”
or “business, employment or that which any one is occupied”
“shall be made”
or “will become, come to pass and into existence or to happen”
“manifest”
which means “apparent, evident and known”: “for
the day”
or “because the last day of this present age, the day Christ will
return from heaven, raise the dead, hold the final judgment, and
perfect his kingdom” “shall declare
it” or
“will share, show and manifest the works done”. When “the day
of the Lord comes”, he shall reveal “each person's” works for
what they truly are.
The
verse goes on to say, “... because
it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work
of what sort it is.”. Paul
continued with the word, “because”
which means
“since and on account that” “it
shall be revealed” or
“the work shall be uncovered, laid open, made bare and disclosed”
“by fire”
which means “through fiery purification”; “and
the fire”
or “and the fiery purification” “shall
try” which
means “will test, examine, prove and scrutinize” “every
man's” or
each and every person's“” “work”
which means
“business, employment or that which any one is occupied” “what
sort it is”
or “what manner or quality the work is”. A “fiery test” shall
“prove and scrutinize” every “work”
that a person does and then the real motive for the “work”
shall be “exposed” and “revealed”.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see how “all” the “works”
of “every person” shall be “tested” or “proved” in the
“day of the Lord”. The motives for these works will be
revealed, and the value of the “work” shall be exposed.
Paul told the Corinthians works could be “perishable” like “wood,
hay and stubble” or imperishable like “gold, silver and
precious stones”. “Fire” shall prove the worth as it
burns away the “wood, hay and stubble” and it will refine the
“gold, silver and precious stones”. Jesus came to die for our
sins and to be raised from the dead on the third day afterward. Any
other works performed after believing this shall be tested and proved
by the Lord for it's value. Each person has the opportunity to know
Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and once they receive Him, they may
build with “imperishable” material upon that foundation.
Next
time Paul shares “if any
man's word abide...he shall receive a reward”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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