Mike Spaulding
If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. —1 Corinthians 3:14
I was struck recently by the stark contrast between Christianity and every other faith system. During a recent communion service with the fellowship of believers I am blessed to be a part of, our worship was laser-focused by Bryan, one of several people who minister among us in music. Bryan played and sang this song, titled Communion Hymn:
Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away,
Slain for us: and we remember
The promise made that all who come in faith
Find forgiveness at the cross.
So we share in this Bread of life,
And we drink of His sacrifice,
As a sign of our bonds of peace
Around the table of the King.
The body of our Saviour, Jesus Christ,
Torn for you: eat and remember
The wounds that heal, the death that brings us life,
Paid the price to make us one.
So we share in this Bread of Life,
And we drink of His sacrifice
As a sign of our bonds of love
Around the table of the King.
The blood that cleanses every stain of sin,
Shed for you: drink and remember
He drained death’s cup that all may enter in
To receive the life of God.
So we share in this Bread of Life,
And we drink of His sacrifice,
As a sign of our bonds of grace
Around the table of the King.
And so with thankfulness and faith
We rise to respond: and to remember
Our call to follow in the steps of Christ
As His body here on earth.
As we share in His suffering,
We proclaim: Christ will come again!
And we’ll join in the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King.[1]
Around the table of the King, we will gather! What an inspiring realization. The song speaks of the willing sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whom the book of Acts says was: “delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God…and God raised Him up again.”[2]
Christianity proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, born of a virgin, who lived a perfect life without sin and in doing so, fulfilled God the Father’s plan of a Redeemer for His creation.[3] This same Jesus Christ was raised from the dead by the power of the Father and now sits at the right hand of the Father, awaiting His return to judge the living and the dead.[4]
The communion service, sometimes referred to as the Lord’s Table, is a commemoration and a memorial by which Christians proclaim what Christ accomplished for all who believe in Him.[5] One day Christians will not need to participate in this memorial because we will be sitting at the Kings table in eternity looking upon our Savior.
Meanwhile
I have written elsewhere about the Christian view of eternity. I won’t labor that point in this article, but I do want to say that understanding eternity does have implications for us today. These implications inform our minds, hearts, and subsequent actions.
In the verse cited above, the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth that their service to God resulted in heavenly rewards. Paul did not mean any work done for God but only that work which was truly done for God as evidenced by it having the proper foundation. That foundation was and remains Jesus Christ.[6]
What does that mean? How would someone know whether someone else is doing something for Christ? We do not have to guess at the answers because Paul says that:
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. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
You likely noticed two different categories of building materials in the passage above. The first, gold, silver, and precious stones and the second, wood, hay, straw. The first group represents those things refined by fire and the second group represents those things destroyed by fire. The exhortation by Paul is to make sure your building material is precious.
What makes the work we do for God precious is determined by our motivation for doing it. Remember, the proper foundation is in view here. If we work for Christ, then what we build becomes precious in God’s sight and will endure the judgment under which all believer’s works will pass. Building upon the foundation that is Jesus Christ means working, serving, ministering in His name, for His sake, and for His glory and not our own. Everything that we do for the glory of God is gold, silver, and precious stones.
The contrast to that is wood, hay, and straw. These materials are quickly consumed by fire. Picturing this in relation to judgment means that all our works will be judged and only those done with the proper motivation, i.e., for the glory of God will survive.
That is the meaning of the statement in verse 13: “for the day will show it.” The day there is the judgment day, which for Christians is the Bema Seat of Jesus Christ. Paul discusses this in 2 Corinthians 5:10. It is important to note that this judgment is not to determine anyone’s salvation. All present at the Bema seat of Christ are saved. Paul states that plainly in 1 Corinthians 3:15 cited above.
If any additional evidence is needed that this interpretation is the proper one then also note that each person’s “work” is being judged, not the individual. Everyone claims to be building upon the same foundation. Indeed, Paul says no one can build upon any other foundation than that which is Jesus Christ. However, everyone’s work done allegedly for the glory of Jesus Christ will be tested to reveal whether that was true.
So, what is in view here is reward for faithful service to our King. Among the many rewards the Bible discusses are crowns. There are at least five: the crown of righteousness,[7] the crown of glory,[8] the crown of life,[9] the incorruptible crown,[10] and the crown of rejoicing.[11] Jesus spoke of crowns given to His sons and daughters in a general sense in Revelation 3:11: “I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, in order that no one take your crown.” He spoke of our rewards even within the context of persevering through persecution:
“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 5:11-12; see also Luke 6:23, 35).
Some have supposed that this means the saints will live in eternity with crowns on their head and mansions full of riches. If Revelation 4:10-11 is indicative of all saints in eternity, and I believe it is, then we will place our rewards including our crowns at the feet of Jesus.
The twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne saying, ‘Worthy art Thou our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.’
Our joy is Jesus Christ and that will become clearer the longer we walk in humble obedience to Him and most certainly when we see Him face to face in eternity. Whatever our reward might be for a life lived for His glory here on earth, it pales in comparison to the glory and majesty that is our God.
We will with much joy lay our crowns and our rewards at His feet and with thankfulness worship Him who alone is worthy. Until then let us run with endurance this race that is before us, proclaiming the goodness of our soon coming King!
And so with thankfulness and faith
We rise to respond: and to remember
Our call to follow in the steps of Christ
As His body here on earth.
As we share in His suffering,
We proclaim: Christ will come again!
And we’ll join in the feast of heaven
Around the table of the King.[12]
© 2019 Mike Spaulding – All Rights Reserved
E-Mail Mike Spaulding: drmichaelspaulding@gmail.com
E-Mail Mike Spaulding: pastormike@cclohio.corg
Footnotes:
[1] Stuart Townend, Keith & Kristyn Getty Copyright © 2007 Thank you Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, songs@integritymusic.com) found here – https://www.stuarttownend.co.uk/song/communion-hymn/
[2] Acts 2:23a, 24a.
[3] See for example Galatians 4:4-5; Romans 3:23-24, 8_19-23; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Galatians 3:13-14; Ephesians 1:7, 13-14; Matthew 1:21-23; Isaiah 44:6, 47:4; Psalm 19:4, 34:22; Luke 1:68; Hebrews 9:11-12; 1 Peter 1:18-21;
[4] Ephesians 1:20-23; 2 Timothy 4:1.
[5] 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
[6] 1 Corinthians 3:9-11.
[7] 2 Timothy 4:8.
[8] 1 Peter 5:4.
[9] James 1:12; Revelation 2:10.
[10] 1 Corinthians 9:25-27.
[11] 1 Thessalonians 2:19.
[12] Stuart Townend, Keith & Kristyn Getty Copyright © 2007 Thankyou Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, songs@integritymusic.com) found here.
