Reward According to His Own Labour

1Corinthians 3:8-15
2Corinthians 5:10-11
Philippians 4:15-17

1Corinthians 3:8-15 tells us: Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.  For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.  According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.  But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 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.  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The word according  is defined as: Agreeing; harmonizing'.  The word according  comes from a musical chord which is several notes played together which are in harmony.  The more your life and work are in harmony with God's plan for your life the more eternal reward you will have.  We also have the concept of agreeing.  If I offered you pesos according to how many bricks you carried, you would get two pesos if you carried two bricks.  you would get twenty pesos if you carried twenty bricks.

A basic understanding of our reference tells us that:

• (1Corinthians 3:9) - we are labourers together with God ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.  Since we are God's building,  He has the plan for our life and, like any boss, expects labourers  to do what they are told to do.
• (3:8) - every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.  You do a lot of labour  in God's building  and according to His plan, you will receive lots of reward.  If you don't labour  you won't get reward.  If you go against God's plan for God's building  then you will get punishment.
• (1Corinthians 3:10) - But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.  This is a warning of potential punishment for building the wrong way or with wrong materials.  More will be said about this but lots of people preach doctrinal error which claims you can ignore this warning.  (3:15) tells us: he shall suffer loss.  Ignoring this warning can cause you to suffer  in Heaven because the judgment that our reference is talking about is after we get to Heaven. Our reference says that this judgment will be by fire.  You can't argue with fire.  It doesn't matter how pretty you think your life and work are if all you are left with are ashes.
• Finally, our reference tells us that this judgment will happen on the day.  That day  is when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

2Corinthians 5:10-11 tells us: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.  Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

• The judgment seat of Christ  happens in Heaven and only saved people will be there.
• The phrase that every one may receive the things done in his body  matches the phrase in our prior reference which said that this result will be according to that he hath done.
• Our reference says the saved will receive good or bad  and it says one shall receive a reward   and another shall suffer loss.  Please notice that both references tell us that people being punished in Heaven.  God does not wipe away all tears from their eyes  until after the great white throne judgment  according to Revelation 21:4.  That is more than 1,000 years after the judgment seat of Christ  which is the source of teats and I can show you where the Bible indicates that those tears will average almost twice a week for the full 1,000 years.
• Please notice the phrase Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord.  The word therefore  means that the terror of the Lord  is a direct result of the judgment seat of Christ.  This is not for lost people but for saved people who are already in Heaven.
• Next, look at the phrase we persuade men.  This tells us that if we want to avoid the terror of the Lord  we must persuade men,  which means do the Great Commission'.
• Our last phrase of: we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences  means that saved people who avoid the terror of the Lord  are revealed in every possible way ('made manifest') to God and man as workers with God in His kingdom.

Philippians 4:15-17 tells us Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.  For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.  Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

• The phrase but I desire fruit that may abound to your account  tells us that we have an account  in Heaven.
• It also tells us that we can add fruit  to our account.  When combined with commands to lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven  (Matthew 19:21; 27:29; Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22; Philippians 4:1; 1Thessalonians 2:19; 2Timothy 4:8; James 1:12; 1Peter 5:4; Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:11), we see that not only can we add fruit  to our account,  but we are commanded to do so.
• We receive an account  in Heaven when we get saved.  However, there is nothing in the Bible which says that anything is put into it by any means other than our doing the Great Commission' while in this physical body.  In fact, the parables about the pounds  and about the talents  (see below) tell us that the saved person who did not use what his Lord gave him to produce a profit for his Lord lost even that one gift at his judgment.  Thus, the saying ye have the poor with you always  (Matthew 26:11; Mark 14:7; John 12:8) will be true even in eternity.

Now that we have dealt with a basic understanding of these verses, we can look at their application.  The first application is disproving doctrinal error which many teach and some here probably believe to some extent.

1. Works are done after birth and not before conception.
1. 'Works salvation' is a lie of the devil.  You cannot work before you have a body because work is done by a body.  Our body is first formed at conception.  Therefore, it is impossible for anyone to have any part in their own conception.  Our salvation is God's life in us and our spiritual conception happened when we accepted Jesus as our personal Lord.  God uses the physical to teach us about the spiritual.  It is impossible for any work done by us as part of our initial spiritual conception.
2. 'No works' or all by grace' is a lie of the devil.  Being saved is called being born again.  After birth a baby must learn to work and feed himself, dress himself and do more.  Romans 6:1-6 proves this doctrine to be a lie and even says God forbid  to it.
2. We will all get a mansion is another lie from Satan.  John 14:2 says: In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.
1. In most countries are many mansions.  All of God's people have a place  to sleep but few sleep in a mansion.  Filipinos should understand that a place  might be just bed space in a dorm room for 10,000.  Satan has people promise you a mansion  even if you do no work so that people stop working in God's kingdom.  However, we already saw that rewards are according to his own labour.  Satan can't take away your salvation but he can cause you to lose your eternal reward.  Satan hates all saved and wants you to be an eternal pauper.  Therefore, he has ministers telling lies and claiming that we get rewards, such as a mansion  with no labour  on your part.
2. Most people assume that they will be rich along with getting a mansion.  However, as pointed out above in the notes for Philippians 4:15-17, this is another lie from Satan and there will be many saved people in eternal poverty with nothing more than the robe that God gives them as saved people and bed space in whatever dorm room that God assigns them to.
3. 'No tears in Heaven' and eternal bliss as soon as we get to Heaven' are other lies from Satan designed to cause us to refuse to stop sinning.
1. We already dealt with the fact that there will be saved people who will receive bad  and the terror of the Lord  at the judgment seat of Christ.  This proves that No tears in Heaven' and eternal bliss as soon as we get to Heaven' are lies which go against the truth of the Bible.
2. The parables of the pounds  and about the talents  (see below) tell us that the saved person shall be cast into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth  (Matthew 8:12; Matthew 22:13; Matthew 25:30).  he word outer  is different from outside.  The lost are outside  of Heaven.  Those who are outer  are in Heaven but the farthest from Jesus and His light where they are in relative darkness.
3. The last sentence (2 verses) of Isaiah tell us the source of tears an average of almost twice a week for saved people who are in Heaven.  Their tears end after the great white throne judgment  but start at the judgment seat of Christ.
4. Matthew 25:15-30 is the parable of talents.  Luke 19:12-27 is the parable of the pounds.  These are parallel parables which teach the same lesson but with different details.
1. In both we see rewards given according to  the results produced by the servants.
2. In both parables we read that the Lord said Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over  however many cities based upon the results produced.
3. In Luke we were told that the Lord gave a pound  to 10 servants.  We were told what happened to 3 of them and the rest the Lord said But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.  This is obviously symbolic of the second death,  which means they went to hell and the other three did not.  Since the other place is Heaven, the other three went to Heaven.
4. In both parables, the servant who returned the pound  or talent,  without producing any profit for the Lord, was in Heaven but lost even what he had.  In Luke he was judged to be a wicked servant.  In Matthew he was judged to be a wicked and slothful servant.  He was then a pauper and was not allowed to be a ruler.
5. In Matthew 25:30 we are told And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Please remember that he was in Heaven.  Now please look at the phrase outer darkness.  Someone who is not in Heaven is outside.  Someone who is in the outer  parts of Heaven is still in Heaven but far from the center where Jesus is and where the best light is.  Compared to people close to Jesus, People are in relative darkness  and not absolute darkness  like people who go to the lake of fire.  Thus, the weeping and gnashing of teeth  matches what we already saw about people in Heaven having 1,000 years of tears.
5. Have you ever seen a naked bride?
1. In Revelation 19:7-8 we are told that the wife  of the Lamb  is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.  But we have no righteousness  of our own.  However, when we let Jesus Christ work through our life here in the flesh, He gives us His righteousness  and makes us righteous.  Therefore, those who let Him work through their life have the righteousness of saints  while saved people who do not have that do not have the righteousness of saints.
2. The lesson called Spiritual Maturity Levels according to the Bible explains that the Biblical definition of a saint  is: a fully spiritually mature saved person whom God can send anywhere and they can be a leader and teacher or preacher in an existing church.  If sent to where there is no church, they will start leading people to salvation and teaching them the Bible so that there is the basis for a true church when God sends a properly ordained pastor to the new work'.  People who do not let Jesus Christ work through their life in this world never mature to that point and cannot expect to receive the promises that God makes to true Biblical saints.

More Bible references can be presented but these should be sufficient to understand this basic doctrine.

1. We must be truly Biblically saved before we have an account in Heaven which holds the fruit  that God puts there based upon what we do for His kingdom while in this physical life.
2. God never changes (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8).  All through the Bible we are told that God blesses obedience and curses disobedience.  That does not change when the saved get to the judgment seat of Christ.
3. James 4:17 tells us: Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.  To obey God and do the Great Commission ' is good, refusal to do it is sin.  We've seen several Bible references which tell that saved people who do the Great Commission' and produce spiritual results for God's kingdom, will be rewarded.  However, we have also seen references which tell us that saved people who do not do the Great Commission' and do not produce spiritual results for God's kingdom, will be punished at the judgment seat of Christ.
4. Remember that the saved are judged according to their works, not according to their claims.  If you want to ask God for Help, He will help you produce results for His kingdom because that was His intention when He saved you and left you in this world.  If you don't want to produce results for God's kingdom, then you have been warned of the consequences.

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