‘But if any man builds on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble, each man's work will be revealed for what it is, for the day will make it clear to us, because it is tested out in fire, and the fire will prove each man's work of what sort it is.'
He now moves on to consider building on the foundation that has been laid. Christ is the foundation. Christians are God's building (1 Corinthians 3:9). Now he comes to the adornment provide by the teachers. All who teach the word of God and the testimony of Jesus in any way must take heed of the materials that they use on the building.Their teaching, and all that they do, may be like gold, silver and costly stones, precious and valuable, surviving the test, precious, revealing the glory of God (compare Revelation 21:11; Revelation 21:18-21). Or it may be like wood, hay and stubble, temporary materials which are burned up and finally fail the test. It may consist of the wisdom of God which stands permanent in all its glory like the great Temple in Jerusalem, bejewelled, splendid and permanent, or it may consist of the wisdom of men and be like the booths erected at the Feast of Tabernacles, temporary and fleeting.
How much Paul foresaw of the future. He foresaw the building up of churches on sound teaching which would produce flourishing and spiritual Christians, and which would thus prosper, and, sadly, he foresaw the building up of churches on unsound and fallacious teaching which would not produce satisfactory fruit, and would wither and die inwardly, even if they continued to appear fine outwardly, and he knows that they will one day be destroyed, and that the destruction of them will be great (1 Corinthians 3:17).
The ideas behind the detail are based, although not directly, on Old Testament thoughts and passages. It is important to interpret them carefully for while the Old Testament passages are the basis for the ideas, the application is very different.
‘Gold, silver and costly stones.' The main point behind the description is of that which is most valuable in man's eyes used as building material, that which all men basically desire, and it has reference to the ‘wisdom' previously mentioned - (1 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; compare 1 Corinthians 2:10-12)). Paul may well have in mind Proverbs 3:14-15 which is describing true wisdom and understanding (Proverbs 3:13) based on God's instruction (Torah) and commandments (Proverbs 3:1). ‘The merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. It is more precious than rubies, and none of the things that you can desire are to be compared to her.' Also in mind may be Job 28:12 (Job is cited later), again speaking of wisdom and understanding, which ‘cannot be obtained for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for its price, it cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire, --- the price of wisdom is above rubies' (Job 28:15-18). Both these contexts link wisdom and understanding to gold, silver and costly stones, although, be it noted, in both cases the latter are not even comparable (see also Proverbs 8:19). However, as Paul has in mind heavenly gold, silver and costly stones, signifying true spiritual wisdom and understanding, he may well have this comparison in mind. Thus gold, silver and precious stones are the true wisdom of God given through His Holy Spirit to those who build wisely.
‘Wood, hay, stubble.' The main point here is that of cheap and temporary building materials and adornments, and of what is worthless and useless, that which is easily destroyed in fire. What men really value they build permanently and gloriously. What is seen as of secondary value is built of lesser materials. Wood and stubble are temporary and fleeting. They are described as burned up in Malachi 4:1 which speaks of ‘the day that is coming' (compare 1 Corinthians 3:13) which will burn as a furnace and in which all who are proud and all who work wickedness will be stubble, and ‘the day that is coming will burn them up, says Yahweh of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.' The idea of Malachi is of judgment of the people, but that jusdgment is certainly based on their lack of wisdom and understanding (1 Corinthians 3:7). They are destroyed because their wisdom is false wisdom. It is clearly lacking. They have turned from God's revealed wisdom to their own wisdom. Thus false wisdom and understanding is there clearly connected with combustible material that is burned up.
Furthermore Malachi contrasts God's own peculiar treasure (1 Corinthians 3:17) with these false materials, and differentiates between those who serve God truly, and those who do not serve Him because of their false wisdom and understanding (1 Corinthians 3:18), and contrasts those destroyed like stubble with those who are like gold and silver passing through the furnace and coming out refined (1 Corinthians 3:3). Together with the reference to ‘the day' it is difficult to avoid the suggestion that Paul has this passage in mind, while altering the ideas and fitting them into his scenario.
So everyone who teaches God's word must beware how he teaches, for their teaching can consist of wisdom and understanding that is permanent, based on the One Who is the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:30), the true foundation, or it can be that which is only fit to be destroyed.
‘Each man's work will be revealed for what it is, for the day will make it clear to us, because it is tested out in fire.' Surely here Malachi is in mind. The idea here is that the teaching of those who claim to teach God's word will be put to the test and proved as to its real worth. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or the local minister, or the Sunday School teacher, the work of each will be tested and proved, and will either stand the test or burn to ashes in the great Day that is coming.
‘The day will make it clear to us.' With daytime comes light. All is to be seen in the light of the Day, the great Day of the Lord when God Himself will act openly and when all will be shown to be what it is, both men's teaching and their behaviour and obedience (Malachi 3:2-3; Malachi 4:1).
This may be translated in the middle voice. ‘The day will manifest itself in fire'. Or it may be translated as the passive, ‘The day is to be revealed in fire'. Compare 2 Thessalonians 1:8, ‘in flaming fire rendering vengeance to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus.'
God's coming day is a day of fire for all. It will be a purifier and refiner of His people and a destroyer of those who have rejected His truth and wisdom.
‘It is tested out in fire, and the fire will prove each man's work of what sort it is.' The fire will test all doctrine and wisdom that has been taught, and the lives and motives that lie behind them, and will either approve them or destroy them. There is no thought here of direct judgment on people. No person is strictly thought of as being destroyed or refined (unlike in Malachi 3:3). It is the person's work that is destroyed. There is no thought here of Purgatory (except in so far as the unscriptural doctrine of Purgatory will be one of the teachings destroyed) or of judgmental fires burning up the wicked (although the latter is found regularly elsewhere). The ‘fire' is the penetrative eye of the One Who has eyes like a flame of fire (Revelation 1:14 compare Daniel 10:6) searching out and passing judgment on the teachings and activities of men of God, from Whom nothing can be hidden.