On the Subject of Rewards...

[Freak]

Recently, a poster mentioned the subject of rewards. He quoted the apostle Paul:

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

I believe our reward is the very life of Jesus Christ, the hope of glory. But, some believe there are some rewards that are given to believers. Is there any reward greater then Jesus giving us His very life? Any other so-called rewards would pale with this reward-Jesus!

What are these rewards? Can we lose them? By what objective standard do we use to test to see if whether we have lost an reward? Can you lose an reward? Can you gain it back? Do you lose rewards through ones sin? What sins causes you to lose rewards?

I believe the reward is Jesus. It's that simple. Jesus said:

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

Our life in Christ is all we need.

[Solly]

I think you are broadly right Freak. Some have speculated that there will be various "victory crowns/garlands" for conspicuous service though. But since we will cast them all at his feet, i don't think it will be a divisive issue amongst the glorified.

[Freak]

Today @ 11:30 AM post located here
Solly:

I think you are broadly right Freak. Some have speculated that there will be various "victory crowns/garlands" for conspicuous service though. But since we will cast them all at his feet, i don't think it will be a divisive issue amongst the glorified.

Excellent point. Any reward we do receive (if there are rewards to be given) are given back to Christ anyway. I believe that is mentioned by John in the Revelation.

[AcousticJS]

I've always understood the rewards being along the lines of what Jesus talks about in the parable of the talents - you were faithful with 5 talents, therefore you will be put in charge of ten cities on the new earth. Tying that in with 1 Cor 3, it would seem there are rewards in addition to knowing Jesus and His life. That is the bare minimum of our inheritance in Him, and that's too marvellous for words anyway!

God bless
Jon

[Dee Dee Warren]

But what is there to be put in charge of? That is what I am curious about..... angels?

I have heard it explained that the rewards are an increased capacity for fellowship and worship.

[Sozo]

"Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. "

Our reward is the eternal inheritance of the very life of God. This verse points out that our work is a result of the hope that is within us of that promised reward, and not the result of our works.

The reward that Socrates points out in Corinthians are the souls that our won from sharing the gospel, as opposed to those who are hearing something else.

If we believe that rewards are things, than how in the condition of being perfect and free from coveting, envy etc., be able to place value on things, when we will be perfectly content?

[Bartholomew]

Today @ 06:31 AM post located here
Freak:

Excellent point. Any reward we do receive (if there are rewards to be given) are given back to Christ anyway. I believe that is mentioned by John in the Revelation.

Yes, we will "cast {our} crowns" before His throne. Our rewards will be, IMHO, more ways in which we may praise Him. Why is this a reward? Well, quite simply, because we will be fufilling our intended purpose in a greater way!

~Matt

[Freak]

Today @ 04:43 PM post located here
Dee Dee Warren:

But what is there to be put in charge of? That is what I am curious about..... angels?

I have heard it explained that the rewards are an increased capacity for fellowship and worship.

Huh?

Colossians 2:10 tells us that we are already "complete in Christ" so how can we have an increased capacity in light of this truth?

Ephesians 1:3 tells us we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing. So, in light of this truth, how do you respond?

[Freak]

Today @ 04:24 PM post located here
AcousticJS:

I've always understood the rewards being along the lines of what Jesus talks about in the parable of the talents - you were faithful with 5 talents, therefore you will be put in charge of ten cities on the new earth. Tying that in with 1 Cor 3, it would seem there are rewards in addition to knowing Jesus and His life. That is the bare minimum of our inheritance in Him, and that's too marvellous for words anyway!

God bless
Jon

Can you lose rewards? Can you gain more then 1 reward? Does a believer know how many he/she has attained or is that a mystery?

I believe our reward is Jesus! Nothing is better, or needed besides Jesus! That is our reward. We come to Him and we'll never desire anything else!

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

[$cirisme]

Your verse says that there are rewards....

If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

If the award is life in Christ, then this passage is lying, because both people are saved in Christ. If we were to use your logic, one gets the award(Life - as you say), but the other receives nothing, and instead loses it. Not to mention the fact that if this passage was talking about life, that would make life works based, wouldn't it?

[Bartholomew]

Today @ 02:17 PM post located here
Freak:

Can you lose rewards? Can you gain more then 1 reward? Does a believer know how many he/she has attained or is that a mystery?

I believe our reward is Jesus! Nothing is better, or needed besides Jesus! That is our reward. We come to Him and we'll never desire anything else!

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

Perhaps a simple question will answer you objection to rewards:

If you're complete in Christ, does this mean that your spiritual growth is done?

~Matt

[Freak]

Today @ 07:26 PM post located here
InquisitorKind:



Perhaps a simple question will answer you objection to rewards:

If you're complete in Christ, does this mean that your spiritual growth is done?

~Matt

Is there any better reward then Jesus Himself?

[Bartholomew]

Today @ 02:28 PM post located here
Freak:

Is there any better reward then Jesus Himself?

No. A better question would be:

Are there other rewards than Jesus?

~Matt

[Freak]

Today @ 07:23 PM post located here
cirisme:

Your verse says that there are rewards....



If the award is life in Christ, then this passage is lying, because both people are saved in Christ. If we were to use your logic, one gets the award(Life - as you say), but the other receives nothing, and instead loses it. Not to mention the fact that if this passage was talking about life, that would make life works based, wouldn't it?

Do you believe this:

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

When we come to Christ is there anything else more to desire then HIM? Jesus told us we would no longer hunger or thirst (even rewards) for anything.

[$cirisme]

I believe our reward is Jesus! Nothing is better, or needed besides Jesus! That is our reward. We come to Him and we'll never desire anything else!

It depends on what you are talking about. If you believe that the rewards that 1 Corinthians 3 talks about is salvation, then salvation is works based.

There are two types of rewards: one is works based, the other is not. We do not know what the rewards are that 1 Cor 3 is talking about, but at the very least, we can rest assured that it is not salvation because it is based on works. We do know, however, that Hebrews 11:6 is talking about salvation; for it is given to everyone that seeks Him, not just those whose works survive the fire.