“…each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.”

each one’s work will become clear;

God will bring our work out into the open at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The Lord will evaluate each and every believer separately. Each of us will give account for our life’s work. This is a review of the performance.

for the Day will declare it,

The “day” here is the Judgment Seat of Christ, where the Lord will evaluate each believer for what quality of work he did for the kingdom.

The word “declare” is literally to prove. God tests our service for approval to see whether it is genuine.

because it will be revealed by fire;

The “fire” will clearly distinguish genuine from phony. It is of the character of fire to part the destructible from the indestructible. There is no doubt that day will come.

and the fire will test each one’s work,

There is no discipline in this testing. There is no punishment for the Christian at the Judgment Seat of Christ because Christ took all our judgment at the cross (Ro 8:1). The test is to distinguish what God can reward from what He cannot reward.

of what sort it is.

The word “sort” indicates quality, not quantity. It is the nature of our work that counts, not the volume of our work. God will test everything we do in the light of His own standards. 

PRINCIPLE:

Every believer will receive an efficiency report at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

APPLICATION:

Every believer will give an account of himself to the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ. What he has done will be patently clear to God. God will not reward based on popularity but faithfulness. This is our efficiency rating. God will measure this rating strictly on our performance. Quality of workmanship in our service glorifies our Lord, so God will reward everything we have done in the fullness of the Spirit. God will bring up no sin at the Judgment Seat. God will bring up the rejection of Christ at the Great White Throne judgment for the unbeliever because the non-Christian rejected the finished work of Christ for his sin.

He 4:13, And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.