Ministry of Grace Church

each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.

Truth to Learn

We need to be working in the church for God’s glory.

Behind the Words

“Each one’s” is from the Greek word hekastos, which we saw back in verse five. It refers to “each one” or to “everyone.” It implies specific application to each one separately, not to the group as a whole.

The word “work” is from ergon, meaning “a work or a deed.”

Phaneros is the Greek word translated “clear.” It is derived from phainō, which means “to shine” or “to cause to appear.” Hence, phaneros means “to be publicly apparent.”

The word “declare” is translated from dēloō, meaning “to make known” or “to reveal.”

“Revealed” is from apokaluptō, which is made up of apo, meaning “away from” and kaluptō, meaning “to cover.” Thus, apokaluptō means “to uncover” or “to expose.”

Pur is the Greek word translated “fire.” It refers to literal fire.

The word “test” is from dokimadzō, which means “to test for the purpose of finding good or value.”

Meaning Explained

Paul is talking about work that is being done in building God’s temple on the foundation of Jesus Christ, that is, the work of building the church body. Each and every Christian is responsible for using the gifts given him or her to build up the body of Christ. In verse ten we were told that we each need to take heed how we build on the foundation. In today’s verse Paul tells us why. He says that the work we do will be made publicly evident in “the Day.” Most Biblical scholars agree that this is a reference to the Bema Seat Judgment:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

This is a judgment of our works, not of our sins. Our sins were judged and paid for at the cross. These works will not be used to determine if we are saved or not because the Bema Seat Judgment happens after the rapture when all Christians are already in heaven. Also, notice in verse fifteen that even if our works are burned up, we will still be saved. The purpose of this judgment is to “test each one’s work.” The word translated “test” is dokimadzō, as we pointed out above. It is the word used of testing gold or silver in order to determine its worth. Also notice in verse fourteen that the works which endure the fire will result in a reward.

If we pay close attention to the context of today’s verse, we will see that the works being talked about here are specifically those done to build up the church, the body of Christ. This is of special note to anyone who is not serving in some capacity within the local church or the church universal.

Application

If we are not actively working to build up the church, we may find that we have no works to be judged. However, if we are working to build up the body, we need to be doing so at God’s direction and for His glory or our works may be burned up.