When the believers are judged by the Lord at His judgment seat, some will receive a reward. Many verses in the New Testament speak of this. First Corinthians 3:8b says, “Each one shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.” Then in verse 14, concerning building upon Christ as the unique foundation, Paul goes on to say, “If anyone’s work which he has built upon it shall remain, he shall receive a reward.” According to the context, the work that remains must be that of gold, silver, and precious stones, the product of faithful ministers of Christ. Such a work will be rewarded by the coming and the judging Lord. Reward is based on a believer’s work after being saved. It differs from salvation, which is based on faith in the Lord Jesus and His redemptive work.
In 1 Corinthians 9:17 Paul speaking of preaching the gospel says, “If I do this voluntarily, I have a reward.” The book of 1 Corinthians was written not to help lost sinners to be saved, but to help saved believers to grow (3:6-7), to build with precious materials (3:10, 12-14), to care for the Lord’s members (8:9-13), and to run the race (9:24). Hence, reward is mentioned repeatedly as an incentive to the believers’ progress (3:14; 9:18, 24-25).
Revelation 11:18b says, “The time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give the reward to Your slaves the prophets, and to the saints.” The reward will be given by the Lord to His faithful ones at His coming back (Rev. 22:12; Matt. 16:27). The purpose of the judgment of the prophets and the saints will be to determine who among the saved persons will be worthy of a reward and who will need further discipline. The giving of the reward to the prophets and to the saints will occur after the resurrection and rapture of the saints.
In Matthew 16:27 the Lord Jesus says, “The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each man according to his doings.” The context indicates that the Lord’s rewarding of His followers at His coming back in this verse will be according to whether they lose or save their soul, as mentioned in verses 25 and 26. This means that the reward will be given according to how we have borne the cross. It will depend on whether or not we keep ourselves under the killing of the cross, on whether we save our soul life in this age or lose it. If we bear the cross to follow the Lord by losing the enjoyment of our soul in this age, He will reward us with the enjoyment of the soul in the kingdom.
In 16:27 the Lord says that He will reward “each man according to his doings,” that is, according to whether or not we lose our soul life’s enjoyment in this age. This will have nothing to do with our eternal salvation; however, it will have very much to do with the Lord’s dispensational reward to us. The Lord’s reward will be the entering into the kingdom, which will be at the manifestation of the kingdom. The manifestation of the kingdom in the millennium will be the reward to the followers who remain under the killing of the cross. All the believers who follow Christ in this way will be rewarded with the manifestation of the kingdom.
In Philippians 3:14 Paul declares, “I pursue toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The prize here will be the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom as a reward to the victorious runners of the New Testament race. In this verse the goal is for us to gain, whereas the prize is for us to enjoy. We may reach the goal in this age, but we shall enjoy the prize, the reward, in the coming age.
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