As
he wrote to the Corinthian church concerning their “works”
in God's Kingdom after salvation, Paul the apostle shared how “every
man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire”,
and in chapter three and verse fifteen of
First Corinthians, Paul shared how
“If
any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss... but shall be
saved”
where we read:
If any
man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss:
but
he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
The
verse begins, “If
any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss:”
Paul began
with the word, “If any man's”
or “whoever or whatever person's” “work”
or “business, employment, enterprise and that which is occupied or
undertaken” “shall be burned”
which means “burned up, consumed wholly and utterly”, “he
shall suffer loss”
or “be affected with damage and receive injury”. Paul projected
“damage, injury and loss” to the person whose “works”
are “burned up” like “wood, hay
and stubble”
would be.
The
verse goes on to say, “but
he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire..”.
Paul
continued with the word, “but”
which is a
disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be written
takes precedence over what was just stated“” “he
himself” or
“the person themself” “shall be
saved”
which means “will be made whole, preserved and rescued from danger
of destruction”; “yet so as”
or “moreover and” “by fire”
which means “through fiery purification”. The person in the
Kingdom of God whose “works”
are “consumed” shall be preserved and purified.
When
we think through these words from Paul, we understand how “works”
in the Kingdom of God and toward the “gospel of Jesus Christ can be
“consumed”. Like the “wood, hay and stubble” that
burns away with fire, some “works” shall be “damaged”
and worthless. However, Paul promises that the person who performs
them shall be “rescued, preserved and purified”. Many times
motives determine whether a “work” in God's Kingdom is
“valuable” or not, and our focus should be to please Jesus Christ
as we function in His “gospel”. Some people worry as to
whether their motives are correct and pure, but lest we become idle
and not “work” at all, let us be busy about the “work”
of the “gospel” and trust that God not only shall burn
away that which is “unprofitable”, but shall also “preserve”
us even if they are.
Next
time Paul shares how the Corinthian church members are “the
temple of God”,
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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