REWARDED ACCORDING TO OUR LABOR

Proclamation:

"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.  For we are God's fellow workers ..."  1 Corinthians 3:7-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are The Holy Spirit inspired words which the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth after a disagreement occurred between those who followed Paul and those who followed Apollos. (1 Corinthians 3:1-5)  Paul said that he had planted the seed, The Word of God, and that Apollos had watered it. (1 Corinthians 3:6)  He also said that neither he nor Apollos was important, they were only fellow workers for The Lord.  The only important one was The Lord God, and the only important thing was that The Word of God was being given to those who had not heard it.  God will reward each of His workers according to their labor.

Application:

We must believe and have faith in God.  Without faith it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrews 11:6)  However, faith alone, without any supporting work to demonstrate it, is useless. (James 2:26)  All believers are fellow coworkers and we are all working for The Lord.  We are to share The Word of God with others, to tell our personal testimony of the things which The Lord has done for us, (Luke 21:12-13), and to live our lives in such a way so that others can see the light of The Lord shining within us. (Matthew 5:14-16)  We each have different talents and abilities, (Matthew 25:15, Acts 11:29, and 1 Peter 4:11), we have experienced different trials and tribulations, we travel in different social circles, we influence different people, and no one can tell our story like we can tell it.  We are all workers for The Lord and He has a plan for each of us.  When judgment day comes, we will each be judged and rewarded according to our labor.

Our Deeds Will Follow Us Even After Death

"Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them." Revelation 14:13 (NIV)

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, recounted and out of body experience in which things beyond earth were revealed to him. He was told by angels and by The Holy Spirit to write what he saw and heard. He was told that those who die believing in Jesus Christ will be blessed. They will be given rest from their earthly labor, and they will be rewarded for their works which were obedient to His word.

This revelation of John was revealed to him after he saw images of the anti-Christ, and there are those who believe that this blessing is only for the martyrs who will be killed for refusing to be branded with the mark of the beast. Others believe that this blessing applies to all who die believing in Christ. Either way, it is clear that we will all have to give an account of our stewardship (Matthew 12:36; Romans 14:12; Hebrews 4:13; & 1 Peter 4:5) and it is clear that Jesus, The Christ, will judge each of our thoughts, words, and deeds (John 5:22; John 5:27; Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 11:32; 2 Timothy 4:8; Hebrews 4:12; and Revelation 20:12-13) and our future rewards will be based upon what we did to give God glory.