.
The next commandment is embedded in the following scripture. It's
indicated by underlined text.
1Cor 3:5-15 . .What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants,
through whom you came to believe. As The Lord has assigned to each his
task: I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So
neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who
makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one
purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 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.
. . . For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which
is Jesus Christ. 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 spared, yet so as through
fire.
Sorry for that big gob of scripture, but in order to explain what is meant by
the underlined text it's essential that I retain it's context.
It's easy mistake the judgment spoken of in that passage for the judgment
spoken of in Rev 20:11-15. But there are crucial differences worth noting.
1• The fire spoken of at 1Cor 3:5-15 burns works. The fire spoken of at Rev
20:11-15 burns people.
2• People walk away alive from the fire spoken of at 1Cor 3:5-15. Nobody
walks away alive from the fire spoken of at Rev 20:11-15.
3• People are awarded at the judgment spoken of at 1Cor 3:5-15. People
are punished at the judgment spoken of at Rev 20:11-15.
FYI: Koiné Greek words for "purify" and "purge" are nowhere to be found in
1Cor 3:5-15; and a note in the current official Catholic Bible— the 2011 New
American Bible —says: "The text of 1Cor 3:15 has sometimes been used to
support the notion of a purgatory, though it does not envisage this."
If perchance there are Catholics reading this, I should clue them that the
non Biblical materials (foot notes) in the 2011 New American Bible have a
nihil obstat by Reverend Richard L. Schaefer, Censor Deputatus, and an
imprimatur by Most Reverend Jerome Hanus, O.S.B. Archbishop of Duguque.
Nihil Obstat is defined as: The certification by an official censor of the Roman
Catholic Church that a book has been examined and found to contain
nothing opposed to faith and morals
Imprimatur is defined as: Approval of a publication under circumstances of
official censorship
So; if 1Cor 3:15 doesn't envision the notion of a purgatory, then what does
it envision? It's a depiction of people who waken inside a burning home with
barely enough time to get out; taking nothing with them but whatever they
wore to bed. Their home is destroyed, and all their valuables and all their
mementoes; but at least the occupants themselves are safe, and suffer no
harm from the fire.
The works in context are those pertaining specifically to Christians like Paul
and Apollos; viz: people involved in ministerial capacities e.g. apostles,
missionaries, evangelists, pastors, deacons, Sunday school teachers, church
administrators, home Bible study leaders, et al. Though John Q and Jane
Doe pew warmer's works will some day be evaluated too; they are not the
ones whose works will be evaluated as per 1Cor 3:5-15 because John Q and
Jane Doe are depicted not as God's fellow workers, but as: (1) God's field,
and (2) His building.
It's extremely important to note that only the Christian worker's works are
tested with fire; not the worker himself. Compare this to the great white
throne event depicted at Rev 20:11-15 where the dead's works are not
tested; but rather, their works are introduced as evidence in the
prosecution's case against them. The Christian worker's works aren't
evaluated as evidence against them, but as potential credit to justify giving
them a performance award.
Another extremely important thing to note is that the Christian worker's
substandard works are burned up rather than burned off.
"let each man be careful how he builds upon it" indicates that Christian
workers need to keep in mind that what they produce will be thoroughly3
scrutinized; and projects that don't measure up will be summarily culled;
resulting of course in reduced compensation for their service. How sad it
would be to see workers like Mother Teresa who, after devoting decades of
their lives to a Christian service capacity, only to be stripped of everything
and come away with nothing to show for it; not even so much as a Boy
Scout merit badge.
_
1
