All of us believers will one day stand before God at the Bema Seat (Rom. 14:10, 1 Cor. 3:10-15, 2 Cor. 5:10) when the Rapture happens (1 Cor. 4:5), and this will be a judgment of our good works for Him. Our good works will go through a fire (1 Cor. 3:12-13), and we’re told in 1 Cor. 3:14 that “If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.”
The good works of varying qualities, represented by gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble will go through a fire of judgment. Whatever abides will determine your reward.
Notice that Paul says If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon… The only good works that abide for which we receive a reward are the works built upon the foundation laid by Paul (1 Cor. 3:10-11). You’re doing that good work because of what Paul wrote. And for that, God will give you a reward.
But the bigger point is that whatever good works survive the fire will determine the greatness of your reward.
What is that reward?
We’re not told, but I’ll bet your reward will be the location of your heavenly seat (Eph. 2:6), which would be similar but different to the kingdom program. The quality of a Jew’s faithful service to Him over the course of their lives will determine their position in the kingdom. The humble, faithful, loving, obedient servants, usually the nobodies (Matt. 19:30), will earn high-ranking positions in His kingdom (Luke 19:11-27, Matt. 25:14-23, Psa. 2:8-9, Rev. 2:26-27).
When we think of a high-ranking position today, we think of stress, pressure, anxiety, etc. But that won’t be the case for a saint living in a sinless, glorified, resurrected body in His kingdom. To be in a high-ranking position is to enter into, and fully experience, the Lord’s joy of ruling (Matt. 25:21). And they will be wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. They will “eat the riches of the Gentiles” (Isa. 61:6).
But for us, what is our heavenly seat all about? The administration of God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 6:2-3) over the Earth and the angels.
Never forget that you are a co-inheritor with Christ (Rom. 8:17). What is it that Christ is going to inherit from God? Everything. He is “heir of all things” (Heb. 1:2), which means that “all things are yours” (1 Cor. 3:21). When you got saved, you didn’t get a ticket to Heaven. You won’t be a guest in God’s house. You are now in possession of God’s house. All of Heaven is yours. All of creation is yours.
God has freely given to you all things (Rom. 8:32). Literally! All things.
Is that not stunning?
This is why you have a heavenly seat with Christ in a heavenly place. You’re going to be sitting in an administrative position, like Christ, managing and overseeing that which you now possess – which is quite literally the entire kingdom of God.
Yet, as if that wasn’t enough, on top of all of this overwhelming generosity on God’s part, He is also going to reward you for all the good works you do for Him over the course of your life.
Is that not absolutely stunning?
What does this say about God?
The moment you got saved, you were spiritually transformed. You became a new creation. When you stop and consider that eternal life, forgiveness, freedom from sin, and complete justification are already given to us freely as a gift—without a single work on our part—the fact that God has also made us one with His Son, to share in the glories of His Son, that God has given us all of His creation to possess and enjoy, and then He also promises to reward our daily, post-salvation service – this reveals some very profound aspects about God’s character.
Four quick points:
He is Overwhelmingly Superabundantly Generous (Beyond Comprehension)
If someone saved your life and gave you an inheritance, you wouldn’t expect them to keep giving you more rewards every time you did a household chore for them. But God doesn’t stop at saving us from wrath. He pours out “the exceeding riches of His grace” (Ephesians 2:7). He doesn’t calculate and give us the absolute bare minimum.
He gives you EVERYTHING.
And then He gives a reward on top of that.
When Peter calls Him “the God of all grace,” he’s telling us that grace is the very nature and essence of God. He doesn’t choose to be gracious. He is gracious because that is His nature. His very nature is this unsearchable, bottomless well of grace and love. Most of the time, here on Earth, your reward is compensation for services rendered. But with God, His grace precedes your work, fuels your work, and then His grace turns right around and rewards you for your work.
He is Not a Taskmaster but a Jaw-Droppingly Gracious Father
By promising rewards at the Bema Seat of Christ, the Lord shows that under His care according to the riches of the grace of His Father, He relates to us on a practical day-to-day level, and He takes genuine delight in the spiritual growth and service of His beloved saints. Even though we could never do anything good without His gift of gift of grace (1 Cor. 15:10), He still chooses to reward us for choosing to produce fruit from the new life He gave us!
He Dignifies Our Earthly Existence and Daily Labor
By promising that “whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord” (Eph. 6:8), every job, every task, every responsibility now has spiritual significance. Everything you do matters now, because if you do anything in your life heartily as unto Christ (Eph. 6:5,7; Col. 3:23-24), God will reward you.
This means that every mundane task, every little thing you hate doing, every chore in your life, are all now opportunities for a greater reward. This also means that God gives us eternal dignity to our mundane lives and chores.
There is no faithful work — no matter how small, unnoticed, or mundane — that is wasted or forgotten by God. He notices the small details and values your faithfulness to Him in everything you do.
He is Absolutely Just and Righteous
I came across an interesting verse recently - Hebrews 6:10, which says that “God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love.” God feels that it would be unjust of Him to allow your faithful service done to Him to go unacknowledged and unrewarded.
Is this not cause to wake up with joy every single day?
Everything matters.
Great, thought provoking post regarding the riches of His Grace growing and increasing for eternity!!
My understanding of Romans 8:17 is “heirs of God” which all believers in this dispensation are, have unconditional inheritance, a glorious resurrected body and eternity in heaven with God. All the work of Christ.
However, only those that choose to become “joint-heirs with Christ”, to suffer with Him, that cry Abba Father, pursue their sons Godly edification in the milk to meat curriculum Christ gave Paul, follow Paul as he follows Christ, only then does a believer tap into rewardable works and only things done “walking after the Spirit”, thinking, living, laboring as God does will abide at our judgement seat of Christ evaluation before God the Father “sets” us in our governmental authority position in the heavenly principalities, powers, mights, thrones, dominions, etc.
The way you see it?