1 Corinthians 3:13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
Our works tried:
While we journey thru this life we are to be fruitful and work for God (Jn 15:2-5, 7, 8, 16; Eph 2:10; 4:1). Our work is: business, employment; act, deed, thing done; so then our work can be not only our type of employment, but also the deeds that we do for Christ – toward others (Matt 10:42). In Matthew 25 Jesus tells of those who do good to others is equivalent to doing good to Him. The fruit we produce relates to seed, fruit of tree, ones fitted for the kingdom; thus it carries the idea of our sharing of the gospel to others and bringing them into the kingdom (1 Cor 3:6). Paul says that it is God that actually gives the increase or the bringing of souls to faith, but our job is to see to it that the word is sown (Matt 13:3-8; 28:19, 20; Mk 16:15; Lu 24:47, 48).
Jesus told two parables that relate to this matter – one about talents and the other about pounds (Matt 25:14 ff; Lu 19:12 ff). The word for talent means a scale of a balance; a weight; a sum of money. The key to better comprehending Jesus’ meaning may be in the wood “goods” which is wealth, possessions. God has given to us His wealth, possessions. We have been given the Holy Spirit, power in His name, the gospel, and much more (Rom 8:32). In Luke where Jesus gives the parable about pounds, the word can be used for one thing only – wealth, money. The parable is told primarily about the kingdom not coming immediately, but includes the idea of “occupying” until Jesus returns. In Luke we are told about only about three of the ten servants given a pound. The distribution was equal – each receiving one pound. In the parable about talents, three servant are mentioned and the division is unequal – five, two and one. In both parables the gain of the servants is unequal and they are rewarded accordingly. Those gaining less are not condemned for their smaller amounts, only the one in each parable that does nothing is condemned.
Paul tells us that we are stewards of what God has given to us. Whether it be talents, pounds, opportunities or whatever; and our only requirement is to be faithful (1 Cor 4:1-2; Titus 1:7; 1 Pet 4:10).
What sort it is:
When Paul writes about our rewards he addresses laying a foundation and the foundation he speaks of is Christ. Then he addresses the idea of our works (employment, deeds done) as being tried by fire. This may be fire of trials or final judgment, his emphasis is upon final judgment. The day will try every man’s work shall be tried and only those whose works abide the fire shall receive a reward. Those whose works burn up or are not proper shall suffer loss, but he will be saved. Paul’s qualification of works is not amount, just as in Jesus’ two parables, but what sort – quality it is. Does it meet up to God’s standard of performance? Quality is not a measure of amount but quality of work – are we doing it for Him and for His glory or for our own purposes.