James_Newman said:
Then explain why building the temple with wood hay and stubble is not defiling the temple. Why would God judge our works that we build upon the foundation if it were not possible to defile the temple?
If I explain it again, will you accept my explanation? I have already explained this passage many times to you.
James you highly regard the KJV, and so do I. When the NT was originally written it was written in the Greek language. There were no chapter breaks, and no paragraph breaks. In most cases the KJV translators did a very good job of putting these breaks where they should go. They were the scholars of their time. Your KJV does have a symbol which indicates when a separate paragraph or different subject is about to start. Among others there is one at verse 11, verse 16, and verse 18. That inidicated to these many scholars that verses 11-15 were speaking of one topic, 16,17 another topic, and 18-20 still another topic. Those are where the paragraph breaks are according to the KJV translators.
Thus the passage from verse 11-15 is a scene that takes place in heaven. It is known at the JSOC. As TCGreek has pointed out, many of the elements used in that picture are figurative simply because it is a heavenly scene. It is our works that are being judged. A work is a work. I don't think a work is automatically and miraculously going to metamorphose into either gold or stubble. Rather it will be accounted as such in value. Remember it a heavenly scene. It depicts the results of the works of the temple that was being built on earth (any given local church).
In verse sixteen (see paragraph break), Paul brings this picture back to reality, back to earth once again. He brings it back to where he left off in verse 10, speaking of the building of the temple.
We do not build this earthly temple (our local church) with wood, hay and stubble). We have left that heavenly scene and its symbolic and figurative language, and have come back to earth. One cannot impose the picturesque language of Paul in vs.11-15 into verses 16 and 17! Do you build temples with wood hay and stubble? No, no one does. So don't force this into this verse where it does not belong.
You ask: "Why would God judge our works that we build upon the foundation if it were not possible to defile the temple?"
--God judges our works and hands out rewards accordingly. The passage only speaks of rewards and loss of rewards. One cannot read into that passage anything more than what it says. It speaks of reward that is gained, and reward that is lost. It does not speak of chastisement, punishment, hell, thousand year exclusion, or punishment of any kind. It speaks only of reward and loss of reward. That is all that we can glean from that passage. Nothing more.
Verses 16 and 17 are not even directed to believers. They are directed to those who would destoy the temple (the local church). They are directed against false teachers. These verses have nothing to do with vs.11-15. It is a different subject as the paragraph break shows. Why are trying to impose the subject matter of the previous paragraph into this one. It doesn't fit. False teachers are trying to defile and destroy the local church, and yet God says that they themselves will be destroyed. Remember that Jesus said: "I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." False teachers (Satan's emissaries) shall not prevail against God's work. They shall be destroyed. Ultimately they were destroyed at the cross. Victory is found in each believer as they look to the cross, the shed blood of Christ. There is victory in Jesus.
The context is judging believers.
Only in verses 11-15
Just because you are not appointed unto wrath doesn't mean you can't experience wrath. All that says is that it is not God's will for you to experience wrath.
It is not God's will for any believer to experience wrath, and no believer will. No believer will suffer through the Tribulation Period, and no believer will suffer the wrath of God in a Baptist Purgatory. The only "wrath" if you call it that, is the suffering we endure on this earth. But that is not wrath. That is God's love as he allows us to endure suffering in a process of sanctification that we might be molded and conformed to the image of Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:18
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
That is a very poor debate tactic, as never was that verse being discussed.
Here is what was being discussed or debated.
1 Corinthians 3:17
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.