1 Corinthians 3:15

 1 Corinthians 3:15

If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

a. ASV: If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: If of any the work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; and himself shall be saved, but so as through fire. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: But if any person’s work is burned up [under the test], he will suffer the loss [of it all, losing his reward], though he himself will be saved, but only as [one who has passed] through fire. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Peshitta Eastern Text: And the one whose work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be rescued, even as one who has been saved from the fire. [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT. Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

e. NLT: But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

1. “If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss…”

a. If [Strong: 1487. ei i a primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that, etc.:--forasmuch as, if, that, (al-)though, whether.]

b. any man’s [Strong: 5100. tis tis an enclitic indefinite pronoun; some or any person or object:--a (kind of), any (man, thing, thing at all), certain (thing), divers, he (every) man, one (X thing), ought, + partly, some (man, -body, - thing, -what), (+ that no-)thing, what(-soever), X wherewith, whom(-soever), whose(-soever).]

c. [Strong: 3588. [to] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [to] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé  hē, hai, tas.]

d. work [Strong: 2041. ergon er'-gon from a primary (but obsolete) ergo (to work); toil (as an effort or occupation); by implication, an act:--deed, doing, labour, work.]

d. [shall be] burned [Strong: 2618. katakaio kat-ak-ah'-ee-o from 2596 and 2545; to burn down (to the ground), i.e. consume wholly:--burn (up, utterly).]

1). Rick Renner, Sparkling Gems II, March 3: The word “burned” in Greek is katakaio — a compound of kata, meaning down, and kaio, meaning to burn. When compounded, the resulting word means to burn down, such as a building that burns all the way to the ground. In other words, this is no small fire. This is a fire that completely devours a building so that nothing remains but the foundation. Normally we would say a building burned up, but in actuality the word katakaio in this verse means to burn down until nothing remains but the foundation.Even though this person’s works have burned, he is still saved himself. His works have been lost, but not his salvation.

e. [he shall] suffer loss [Strong: 2210. zemioo dzay-mee-o'-o from 2209; to injure, i.e. (reflexively or passively) to experience detriment:--be cast away, receive damage, lose, suffer loss.]

1). Rick Renner, Sparkling Gems II, March 3: The word “loss” is from the word zemia, which means to suffer loss, to experience damage, or to forfeit one’s reward. This word pictures great injury, harm, and loss of property. It is the sad image of a man standing in the burned-down, charred remains of his house or building — but in this case, he is standing in the midst of his works that are now burnt to a crisp! Now nothing remains but a pile of rubble. After all his years of living and doing, everything went up in smoke, and now he has nothing to show for his life or works!

2. “...but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

a. but [Strong: 1161. de deh a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.:--also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).]

b. [he] himself [Strong: 846. autos ow-tos' from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

c. [shall] be] saved [Strong: 4982. sozo sode'-zo from a primary sos (contraction for obsolete saos, "safe"); to save, i.e. deliver or protect (literally or figuratively):--heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.]

d. yet [Strong: 1161. de deh a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.:--also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).]

e. so [Strong: 3779. houto hoo'-to, or (before a vowel houtos hoo'-toce adverb from 3778; in this way (referring to what precedes or follows):--after that, after (in) this manner, as, even (so), for all that, like(-wise), no more, on this fashion(-wise), so (in like manner), thus, what.]

f. as [Strong: 5613. hos hoce probably adverb of comparative from 3739; which how, i.e. in that manner (very variously used, as follows):--about, after (that), (according) as (it had been, it were), as soon (as), even as (like), for, how (greatly), like (as, unto), since, so (that), that, to wit, unto, when(-soever), while, X with all speed.]

g. by [Strong: 1223. dia dee-ah' a primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through (in very wide applications, local, causal, or occasional):--after, always, among, at, to avoid, because of (that), briefly, by, for (cause) ... fore, from, in, by occasion of, of, by reason of, for sake, that, thereby, therefore, X though, through(-out), to, wherefore, with (-in). In composition it retains the same general importance.]

h. fire [Strong: 4442. pur poor a primary word; "fire" (literally or figuratively, specially, lightning):--fiery, fire.] [Zodiates: Same Greek word used in New Testament in Acts 2:3; Revelation 4:5] 

1). In the New testament the same Greek word is found in Matthew 3:11, 12

a). Matthew 3:11, 12 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

2). In the Septuagint the same Greek word is used in the following verses.

a). Leviticus 10:3 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

b). 1 Kings 18:38 Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.  

3). What I see here is that God desires to burn up the chaff out of our lives here in this life. But if we fail to address it and bring it to the Lord here, when we get to heaven and stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that same holy fire will burn up all our works and deeds accomplished with impurities in our lives, that could have been dealt with and purified by the same holy fire.