1 Cor. 3:9-17
For we are God's co-labourers; ye are God's cultivation, ye are God's building... Know ye not that ye are God's temple, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If anyone corrupt the temple of God, God shall bring this same one to corruption; for the temple of God is holy, which ye are.
A good passage on the concept of synergy--that description of salvation which solves all the supposed faith vs. works problems. We are God's co-labourers, God is the only source of God, but we must still make an "effort of faith" or "work of faith" (1 Thes. 1:3; 2 Thes. 1:11). Also a good passage to keep in mind when reading some of the ascetic--and especially monastic--ltierature from the Church. It is not just the soul that is "God's building," but in Orthodox anthropological thought the soul is inseperable from the body: and therefore our bodies are, in some mysterious way, partly "God's building".
According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise architect, I have laid a foundation, and another buildeth upon it. But let each one be taking heed how he buildeth up; for no one is able to lay any other foundation beside the One being laid, Who is Jesus Christ.
While elsewhere we see other foundations mentioned (Peter's Faith in Matt. 16:18-19; All the Apostles in Eph. 2:20), Paul specifies here that it is Christ Who is our only foundation. This has not a little importance in ecclesiology, it would seem. For what is our focus, the foundational stones (Eph. 2:20), the faith (Matt. 16:18 ), or he who is the center of them all, the only true foundation, the only cornerstone, Christ our God? Or put another way, is it the truth as written and expressed that is our focus, or the truth as taught by the successors to the apostles, or is it the Truth Himself, Christ? We must paradoxically do all of them, for they are all intertwining and interpenetrating; yet when it comes down to it, the last one, Christ, must be foremost and the original foundation. Anything else is a foundation built on sand. (Matt. 7:24-27)
Now if anyone build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grassm straw, the work of each shall become manifest; for the day shall declare it, because it is being revealed in fire; and the fire shall put to the test the work of each, of what sort it is. If the work of anyone abide which he built upon, he shall receive a reward. If the work of anyone shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, but so as in the midst of fire.
I'll admit that I used to have a different understanding of this passage than I do now. I use to think that it was comparable to Wis. 3:1-8 (or to a lesser extent, Sir. 2:1-9). I used to think that this spoke of a wordly trials that people went through, since many other passages are interpreted in this way (e.g., Matt. 5:25-26, see Saint John Chrysostom's Homily on this passage).But this passage in First Corinthians, according to the Saints, deals with the afterlife--with an otherwordly judgment. The words of Blessed Theophylact are quoted above, and there is also a link to Homily 9 on First Corinthians, where Saint John Chrysostom gives a lengthy interpretation of the passage (though essentially saying the same thing). And as I said, St. Mark of Ephesus basically follows along this same interpretation in the defense of Orthodox doctrine that he gave at the false Council of Florence.
One of the key terms is probably "the day". We aren't just talking about ordinary, everyday trials, but the judgment on the day of the Lord. Another term that is impotant is "test". This is not a purgatorial fire, but a testing one. Therefore, even the saints must go through this fire, and not just those in need of "cleansing". Interestingly, we also see the concept of synergy continued in this passage, for while Christ is absolutely the foundation and beginning, it is our own "building" that will be judged, and we can even "receive a reward" if we build aright.
We are God's co-labourers: he sets the foundation and provides all the materials and directions, and then it is up to us (under his supervision) to build up the walls and the roof. He will help as much as we seek help, and will stay away as much as we ask him to (even if we "ask him" by deeds and not words). When our building is tested, even those who thought they had a foundation in Christ may find out that they really had nothing of the kind. (Matt. 7:21-27) What's more, they may have their entire mansion in heaven (cf Jn. 14:2), which they thought that they were building for themselves, destroyed. For mansions to meet the building codes in heaven they must be built in cooperation with the authorities: Christ; any buildings created by rebels (while only paying lip service to the authorities) will be torn down and demolished. And then the building of that sub-standard dwelling will have to reside in the place that he created for himself: an empty, lonely place, a place of eternal sorrow.
It also just occured to me that Matthew 14:22-34 is another example that helps put the doubts of Thomas into perspective. The Apostles were often time (as in this passage) dumbfounded and in doubt (or not understanding) what they saw or heard.
