The Builder's Reward
Another picture used by the apostle Paul is that of a builder. He speaks of the unity there should be between workers, but also emphasises personal responsibility for the individual's work:
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour … I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon … Now if any man build … gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest … 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 (1 Cor 3.8-15).
The personal salvation of all God's people is assured, but whether they obtain rewards depends on what materials they choose to put into the building; in this case God's assembly. The choice of materials is left to the builder, but the Lord Jesus will assess their worthiness. In Corinth, those who served their gods in idol temples built and beautified them with the best materials, while the poorest people built their hovels with wood, hay and stubble. If there was a fire in the city, the nature of the materials would become only too clear, with the temple surviving and the hovels being destroyed. God's assembly deserves the spiritual best, and Christ will reward accordingly.
The Servant's Reward
Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 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 (2 Cor 5.9-10).
One of the modern workplace innovations is teamwork, rather than individual effort, but there are always difficulties in assessing an individual's contribution to the work of the team. Although the apostle Paul was united with others in his service for the Lord, he knew that the Lord, who knows all things, could distinguish and then properly reward the efforts of individuals.
We must all stand before the Judgment Seat, or bema, of Christ. In Biblical times bema described a throne placed at the top of a number of steps. A person would be called to the bottom of the steps to give an account of what he had done. Then, according to the decision of the one on the throne, rewards would be given or withheld. In the expression "good or bad" cited above, "bad" does not mean that we will be judged according to our sins. A particular person might one day be a county court judge, who punishes criminals for their misdemeanours, while the same individual could on another day be a judge at a flower show where they would reward people according to their works. The Lord Jesus will never judge us punitively, but He might withhold rewards for things that are "bad", that is, not as they ought to be.
Then we must remember that
… whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward [recompense] of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons (Col 3.23-25).
We do not need to serve the Lord thinking that we will be putting a lot in and getting little out. This is a great encouragement to those who labour long and faithfully in evangelism and, for the moment, see little or no blessing. All our service is ultimately "as to the Lord", even if we are serving others. It is He who will recompense, not men, and His judgment will be fair.
Rewards in the Book of Revelation
The Great Tribulation ends with rewards for those who have served Christ faithfully during that time, and the list is very informative, for not only are the prophets mentioned, but also all the (Old Testament?) saints, them that fear His name, irrespective of their position, small and great. This tells us that all levels of society will be engaged in service for the Lord in that coming day, and all will be rewarded (Rev 11.18). At the end of the Book of Revelation, the Lord Jesus addressed Himself to the recipients of the book, and promised not only a speedy coming, but that His reward would be with Him "to give every man according as his work shall be" (22.12). The reward is His, for the work of the individual saint.
Conclusions
The overall principle of rewards is brought out in 1 Corinthians 4: "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God" (v 5). There is One who will judge righteously, with complete knowledge and truth (Jn 2.24-25), including knowledge of those inner motives; the counsels of the heart. He alone is the righteous Judge, entrusted not only with judging the world in righteousness (Acts 17.31), but also with awarding crowns of righteousness to the likes of Paul, and to all those who have their love set on his appearing (2 Tim 4.8). That "appearing" is "the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2.13), when He comes with His saints to "reign … a thousand years" (Rev 20.6). Those who have His appearing in view in that coming day will be careful to serve Him now!
We will always be unprofitable servants who, at best, have only done "that which was our duty to do" (Lk 17.10), yet God, in His grace, deigns to give us rewards. The rewards will be crowns, as well as administrative service, in the Millennium. With regard to the latter, our present service is probationary, and will dictate the nature of our future service when all His servants shall serve Him perfectly (Rev 22.3). Rewards that could have been ours may, in different ways, be lost down here (Col 2.18), and we should be those who heed the apostle John's call to "Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward" (2 Jn v 8).
Put simply, rewards from the Lord follow the Christian's use of the right materials (1 Cor 3.12-15); the possession of the right motives (1 Cor 4.5) and, lastly, following the right methods (2 Tim 2.5); that is, the appropriate what, why and how of service.
Finally, looking forward to rewards is not selfishness on our part, but they should rather be seen as a measure of His pleasure, the One before whose throne the elders cast their crowns (Rev 4.10). There, rewards are also reflected in the Bride's garment, "for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints" (Rev 19.8, JND¹); "righteousnesses" which have passed the Judgment Seat of Christ. (Concluded.)
¹ J N Darby, The Holy Scriptures - A New Translation from the Original Languages.
