1 Corinthians 3:15: A very un-Protestant Biblical Verse

There are many passages in the Bible that are very “un-Protestant,” that is, if Protestantism, especially Reformed theology (of course, using such terms anachronistically), is part-and-parcel of the theological matrix the biblical authors were working from, then there are many “odd” verses. One such verse would include Phinehas being credited with righteousness (the same term used of Abraham in Gen 15:6) due to his meritorious good works, not by his appropriation of an alien righteousness by faith alone:

Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment and so the plague was stayed. And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore. (Psa 106:30-31; cf. Num 25:7-8).

Another such text would be 1 Cor 3:15. Let us read it in its context:

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay straw--the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If that has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Cor 3:10-15 NRSV).

In this pericope, the “day” that Paul is discussing is clearly the final judgement, where God’s eschatological fire (cf. Zech 12:6; Mal 3:2) will test the various works that Christians have engaged in, resulting in a revelation of the true nature of, and motivations informing, the works of people; the Greek in v. 13 is rather explicit:

ἑκάστου τὸ ἔργον φανερὸν γενήσεται, ἡ γὰρ ἡμέρα δηλώσει, ὅτι ἐν πυρὶ ἀποκαλύπτεται· καὶ ἑκάστου τὸ ἔργον ὁποῖόν ἐστιν τὸ πῦρ [αὐτὸ] δοκιμάσει.

The Lexham Bible captures the nuances of the verse by translating the verse as:

The work of each one will become evident. For that day will reveal it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the work of each one, of what sort it is.

In other words, the Lord, through his “fire,” will reveal if our works were “good works” or “bad works.” The obvious meaning of the “bad works” are sins, but in spite of his, many Protestants have tried to avoid this. Notice how one Reformed apologist tries to wriggle out of this:

What is judged is the sort or kind of works the Christian has done. Sins and their punishments, are not even mentioned . . . The believer has already been judged with reference to sin in Christ Jesus, and has passed out of death into life, never to come unto judgment for sin again (John 5:24). The believer's sins were judged in Christ Jesus. The remaining judgment is not about salvation, but it is about rewards. (James R. White, The Fatal Flaw [1990], 179-80).

It is obvious for those informed about Reformed soteriology why White and others have to avoid the plain meaning of this verse, as it refutes their soteriology that Christ “paid” the legal penalty of their sins, and that, at the moment of justification, one’s sins, not just past and then-present, but also future are forgiven. Of course, texts such as Heb 2:17 and 1 John 2:1-2 refute such a heretical soteriology. Furthermore, White is guilty of wrenching John 5:24 out of context. Here is the entirety of the pericope that, when read contextually, refutes, not supports, White’s Calvinistic theology:

"Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life. "Truly, truly I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live. "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man. "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. (John 5:24-29; NASB [1995])

The believer’s basis for being saved in this eschatological judgement is not based on an appropriation of an imputed, external righteousness appropriated by faith alone but by one’s “good deeds” (Greek: οἱ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ποιήσαντες), just the “evil deeds” (Greek: τὰ φαῦλα πράξαντες  [alt. the worthless deeds/performances]) are obviously sins, the same type of “bad works” envisaged in 1 Cor 3.

In verse 14, we read that "if any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward." The term "reward" is μισθος which, contextually, is being ushered into the presence of God immediately, unlike the category of people discussed in v.15. Continuing, in verse 15, we read:

εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον κατακαήσεται, ζημιωθήσεται, αὐτὸς δὲ σωθήσεται, οὕτως δὲ ὡς διὰ πυρός.

If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss/be punished: but he will be saved, but as through fire (my translation)

The term translated “he will suffer loss” is ζημιωθήσεται, the future indicative passive of ζημιοω. This verb has a double meaning of “to suffer loss” and “to be punished.” Notice the following definition of the term in these Greek lexicons:

Friberg, Analytical Greek Lexicon:

ζημιόω 1aor. pass. ἐζημιώθην; 1fut. pass. ζημιωθήσομαι; only passive in the NT, as being set at a disadvantage suffer loss or damage, suffer injury, forfeit (1C 3.15)

Louw-Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the NT:

ζημιόομαι: to be punished, with the implication of suffering damage - 'to be punished, to suffer punishment.' εἴ τινος τὸ ἔργον κατακαήσεται, ζημιωθήσεται 'but if anyone's work is burnt up, he will suffer punishment' 1 Cor 3.15. 

Liddell-Scott, Greek Lexicon (Abridged):

ζημιόω, f. ώσω: aor. i ἐζημίωσα: pf. ἐζημίωκα:-Pass., f. ζημιωθήσομαι, but more often in med. form ζημιώσομαι: aor. i ἐζημιώθην: pf. ἐζημίωμαι:-to cause loss or do damage to any one, τινά Plat., etc.:-Pass., μεγάλα ζημιώσεται will suffer great losses, Thuc.

II. to fine, amerce, mulct in a sum of money, c. dat. rei, ζ. τινὰ χιλίῃσι δραχμῇσι Hdt.; χρήμασιν Thuc.:-Pass. to be fined or amerced in a thing, c. dat., Plat.; c. acc., τὴν ψυχὴν ζημιώσεαι wilt lose thy life, Hdt.

2. generally to punish, Id., Thuc.

Moulton-Milligan, Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament:

ζημιόω.

     To the exx. of this verb cited s.v. ζημία we may add P Tebt I. 5⁹² (B.C. 118) τοὺς δὲ παρὰ ταῦτα ποιοῦντας θαν@άτωι ζ]ημιοῦσθαι, and for the more special sense of “fine” P Par 47¹⁸ (c. B.C. 153) (= Selections, p. 23) χάριν γὰρ ἡμῶν ἠζημίοται εἰς χαλκοῦ τ(άλαντα) ι®ε®, “for on our account he has been fined to the amount of 15 bronze talents,” BGU IV. 1044¹³ (iv/A.D.) ποιήσω ὑμῖς ζημιᾶσθαι (l. ὑμᾶς ζημιοῦσθαι) δέκα ἀντὶ τούτου. For the verb in the inscrr. see Michel 1342⁴ (i/B.C.) ἐζημιωμένον ὑπὸ τῶν πρυτάνεων … ὀφίλοντα τοὺς κατὰ τὸν νόμον στατῆρας δύο, and OGIS 669⁴⁰ (i/A.D.) ὁ τοῦτο ποιήσας ἀπαραιτήτως ζημιωθήσεται. In accordance with the primary meaning of the word “suffer loss,” “receive damage” (see e.g. the citation from P Flor II. 142⁸ s.v. ζημία). Field (Notes, p. 61) translates Lk 9²⁵ “and lose, or receive damage in, his own self.” A new verb ζημιοπρακτέω, “exact punishment from,” is found in P Tor II. 7⁷. 

Danker, Greek NT Lexicon:

ζημιόω [ζημία] lose; financial imagery is apparent in the following: Mt 16:26; Mk 8:36; Lk 9:25; 1 Cor 3:15; Phil 3:8; and perh. 2 Cor 7:9. The pass. use indicates experience of someth.

Gingrich, Greek NT Lexicon:

ζημιόω inflict injury or punishment. Pass. suffer damage or loss, forfeit with acc. of respect or specification Mt 16:26; Mk 8:36; Lk 9:25; Phil 3:8; without acc, 2 Cor 7:9. Be punished 1 Cor 3:15.*

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (3d ed.):

3378  ζημιόω

• ζημιόω fut. 3 pl. ζημιώσουσιν Dt 22:19; 1 aor. 3 sg. ἐζημίωσεν 1 Esdr 1:34. Pass.: 1 fut. ζημιωθήσομαι; 1 aor. ἐζημιώθην, subj. ζημιωθῶ, ptc. ζημιωθείς (Eur., Hdt. et al.; ins, pap, LXX, Philo, Joseph., Test12Patr) gener. ‘to cause injury or inflict punishment’, in our lit. only pass.

1. to experience the loss of someth., with implication of undergoing hardship or suffering, suffer damage/loss, forfeit, sustain injury (PFlor 142, 8 of a sale ὥστε μήτε τὸν πιπράσκοντα ζημιοῦσθαι; Pr 22:3) w. acc. τὶ suffer loss w. respect to someth., forfeit someth. (Thu. 3, 40, 3; Pla., Leg. 916e; Philo, Spec. Leg. 3, 143 τ. τιμήν; Jos., Ant. 11, 214; s. B-D-F §159, 2; Rob. 485) τὴν ψυχήν Mt 16:26; Mk 8:36; cp. Lk 9:25; 2 Cl 6:2. ἐν μηδενὶ ζ. ἔκ τινος in no way suffer loss through someone 2 Cor 7:9; permit oneself (permissive pass. Gildersleeve, Syntax I §167) to sustain loss w. acc. δι᾽ ὃν τὰ πάντα ἐζημιώθην for whose sake I forfeited everything Phil 3:8.

2. be punished (Lysias 31, 26 al.; OGI 669, 40; PTebt 5, 92; Pr 19:19; Jos., Ant. 15, 16) 1 Cor 3:15.—DELG s.v. ζημία. M-M. TW. Spicq. 

This double-meaning to ζημιοω is appropriate in light of (1) Paul's parable of the builder suffering loss by seeing his building become dilapidated, and (2) in the spiritual realm, which refers to divine chastisement.

Let us examine the instances where ζημιοω appear in the LXX, clearly showing it has the meaning of “to punish,” not only “to suffer loss”:

If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished (ζημιοω), according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. (Exo 21:22)

And they shall amerce him (ζημιοω) in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. (Deut 22:19)

Also to punish (ζημιοω) the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity. (Prov 17:26)

A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment (ζημιοω); for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. (Prov 19:19)

When the scorner is punished (ζημιοω), the simple become wider; when the wise are instructed, they increase in knowledge. (Prov 21:11)

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished (ζημιοω). (Prov 22:3)

And fined (ζημιοω) the nation one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold (1 Esdras 1:36 [NRSV])

What we can conclude from Paul's use of ζημιοω is that the person in view in v.15 will be saved, but only after suffering a punishment, and even then, he will be saved only by the skin of his teeth, or as Paul says, "ουτως ως δια πυρος" ("but as through fire"). This is utterly nonsensical in light of the various soteriologies within Protestantism, including Reformed theologies, wherein one's works are not determinative of where one will spend eternity, not only the rewards one will enjoy in heaven. Furthermore, in such theologies, one is saved through appropriating the alien righteousness of Jesus through faith alone, but what "clinches" salvation here is not just one's faith, but having experienced this eschatological punishment, and only then, if one capable of earning their "reward" (cf. v. 14) of eternal life. Indeed, this is strengthened by the fact that a valid translation of ουτως can be "in the same way," and not just "yet so." As this adverb modifies the verb ζημιωθησεται ("shall be saved"), it points out the manner in which the person is saved. The adverb points to the subordinate noun phrase to answer the question of how this person is saved, that is, δε ως δια πυρος ("as through fire"). The connection between the subordinate phrase ("as through fire") and its preceding verb ("shall be saved") is contextualised by the previous usage of πυρος ("fire) in v. 13. There the fire refines the individual's work,  not simply their faith. Contextually, the fire of v.15 is also refining, but with its object being the individual himself. Paul connects these two usages by fire by the adverb ουτως and means: as the work of the individual is brought through the fire and purged, in the same way, the worker is brought through the fire to be purged, which will eventually result in his being "saved." The time reference for bringing the individual through the fire coincides with "the day" (of final judgment).

All of this is utterly foreign to the theologies of our Evangelical Protestant opponents, but is consistent with LDS soteriology wherein those who will eventually inherit the telestial kingdom must go through a purgation period:

These are they who suffer the wrath of God on earth. These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. These are they who are cast down to hell and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fullness of times, when Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work. When he shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father, spotless, saying: I have overcome and have trodden the winepress alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. (D&C 76:104-107).

Such is also reflected in the writings of many LDS leaders, including Joseph Fielding Smith:

"Those who enter into the telestial kingdom, where their glories differ as do the stars of heaven in their magnitude, and who are innumerable as the sands of the seashore, are the ungodly, the filthy who suffer the wrath of God on the earth, who are thrust down to hell where they will be required to pay the uttermost farthing before their redemption comes. These are they who receive not the gospel of Christ and consequently could not deny the Holy Spirit while living on the earth.

. "They have no part in the first resurrection and are not redeemed from the devil and his angels until the last resurrection, because of their wicked lives and their evil deeds. Nevertheless, even these are heirs of salvation, but before they are redeemed and enter into their kingdom, they must repent of their sins, and receive the gospel, and bow the knee, and acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world.

. "In both the terrestrial and the telestial glories the inhabitants thereof will be limited in their powers, opportunities, and progression, because, like the sons of perdition, 'they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received' (D&C 88:32)." [Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:22]

. "All who have been filthy and who would not receive the truth and have not had the testimony of Jesus Christ, must suffer the torments of the damned until they are purged from their iniquity, for the blood of Jesus Christ will not cleanse them from their sins without their own individual suffering. Nevertheless they shall come out of the prison eventually." [Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:22-23]

. "These do not live during the millennial reign, but during that time are spending their time in torment, or anguish of soul, because of their transgressions. Christ has said that he suffered for all who will repent, but his wrath is kindled against all who will not repent, and they must suffer, 'how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit.' This suffering will be a means of cleansing, or purifying, and through it the wicked shall be brought to a condition whereby they may, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, obtain immortality. Their spirits and bodies shall be again united, and they shall dwell in the telestial kingdom. But this resurrection will not come until the end of the world." [Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 2:298]

The above should be compared with Lactantius (240-320) in chapter 21 ("Of the Torments and Punishments of Souls") of book 7 of his The Divine Institutes, where he wrote the following about post-mortem purification:

First of all, therefore, we say that the power of God is so great, that He perceives even incorporeal things, and manages them as He will.

For even angels fear God, because they can be chastised by Him in some unspeakable manner; and devils dread Him, because they are tormented and punished by Him. What wonder is it, therefore, if souls, though they are immortal, are nevertheless capable of suffering at the hand of God? For since they have nothing solid and tangible in themselves, they can suffer no violence from solid and corporeal beings; but because they live in their spirits only, they are capable of being handled by God alone, whose energy and substance is spiritual. But, however, the sacred writings inform us in what manner the wicked are to undergo punishment. For because they have committed sins in their bodies, they will again be clothed with flesh, that they may make atonement in their bodies; and yet it will not be that flesh with which God clothed man, like this our earthly body, but indestructible, and abiding for ever, that it may be able to hold out against tortures and everlasting fire, the nature of which is different from this fire of ours, which we use for the necessary purposes of life, and which is extinguished unless it be sustained by the fuel of some material. But that divine fire always lives by itself, and flourishes without any nourishment; nor has it any smoke mixed with it, but it is pure and liquid, and fluid, after the manner of water. For it is not urged upwards by any force, as our fire, which the taint of the earthly body, by which it is held, and smoke intermingled, compels to leap forth, and to fly upwards to the nature of heaven, with a tremulous movement.

The same divine fire, therefore, with one and the same force and power, will both burn the wicked and will form them again, and will replace as much as it shall consume of their bodies, and will supply itself with eternal nourishment: which the poets transferred to the vulture of Tityus. Thus, without any wasting of bodies, which regain their substance, it will only burn and affect them with a sense of pain. But when He shall have judged the righteous, He will also try them with fire. Then they whose sins shall exceed either in weight or in number, shall be scorched by the fire and burnt: but they whom full justice and maturity of virtue has imbued will not perceive that fire; for they have something of God in themselves which repels and rejects the violence of the flame. So great is the force of innocence, that the flame shrinks from it without doing harm; which has received from God this power, that it burns the wicked, and is under the command of the righteous. Nor, however, let any one imagine that souls are immediately judged after death. For all are detained in one and a common place of confinement, until the arrival of the time in which the great Judge shall make an investigation of their deserts. Then they whose piety shall have been approved of will receive the reward of immortality; but they whose sins and crimes shall have been brought to light will not rise again, but will be hidden in the same darkness with the wicked, being destined to certain punishment.  (ANF 7:216-17)

An earlier (2nd century AD) text, Testament of Isaac, in 5:10-20, explicitly teaches the doctrine that posthumous punishment is afflicted upon souls who will eventually be saved (cf. 1 Cor 3:15; D&C 76:104-7):

 

¹⁰ Isaac said, “I looked and, behold, they had agreed on a person and were hurrying him along. ¹¹ And when they had made a sign to the lions, those who were walking with him withdrew from him. ¹² Then the lions turned upon him, tore him apart in the middle, dismembered him, and chewed and swallowed him. ¹³ After this they ejected him from their mouths and he returned to his original state. ¹⁴ And after the lions the others came forward and did the same thing to him. ¹⁵ One after the other they would take him, and every one of them would chew him, swallow him, and eject him, and he would return to his original state.” ¹⁶ Then I said to the angel, “O my lord, what is the sin which this man has committed that he should have to endure a burden like this?”

¹⁷ The angel said to me, “It is because this man, whom you see, was in enmity with his neighbor for five hours, and he died without having been reconciled with him. ¹⁸ So he was handed over to five of the tormentors that they might torment him a whole year for each of the five hours which he spent as the enemy of his friend.” ¹⁹ Then the angel said to me, “O my beloved Isaac, see here the sixty myriads who inflict torture for each hour that the man remains hostile to his neighbor. ²⁰ He is brought here to these creatures who torture him, each one of them for an hour until a full year is completed if he had not been making peace and repenting of his sin before his removal and his separation from his body.” (W.F. Stinespring, "Testament of Isaac," in James H. Charlesworth, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Volume 1: Apocalyptic Literature and Testaments [London: Yale University Press, 1983], 908-9)

These texts emphasise a biblical truth that is stated in Rev 21:27:

But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. (NRSV)

In this verse, John states that those who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven will be "clean." This "cleanliness" is not, at a face-value reading of this verse, based on an imputed righteousness, but the actions of a person. Indeed, this can be seen in the fact that what makes a person in this verse "unclean" and unworthy of the Kingdom of God are their actions.

The term translated "unclean" is κοινος. This word has the meaning of "defiled" or "worthless." While it is true that this term can be used in the sense of ritualistic impurity (e.g., Mark 7:2, 5; Acts 10;14, 28), the book of Revelation, and the eschatological judgment in view in ch. 22, are both on the New Testament side of the cross, where such rituals have been abrogated, so the concept of mere ritualistic purity or lack thereof is not in view. Furthermore, it can, and is used in the Greek New Testament to denote sinfulness, not mere ritual uncleanliness:

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing (κοινος), and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (Heb 10:29)

Furthermore, even when used in the sense of ritual purity under the Law of Moses, κοινος is used for deliberate transgression thereof (e.g., 1 Maccabees 1:47). This further parallels Rev 21:27, speaking of those who "do detestable things" (Greek ποιων βδελυγμα). As for the term “detestable thing” or “abomination” (βδελυγμα) while it, like κοινος has a ritualistic meaning, it is also used in the book of Revelation to refer to deliberate sinful activities, too (Rev 17:4-5), so mere “ritual uncleanliness” is not the only thing in view here.

The focus is clearly on the actions of believers versus unbelievers. This is further strengthened by the parallel in Rev 22:11, 15:

Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy . . . Outside [the kingdom of God] are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Finally, we will discuss the construction σωζω + δια + genitive which appears in this verse further supports that the fire is the instrumental means of the "cleansing" from sins of the people being discussed in this verse. Protestant) wrote:

The construction occurs twice in the Septuagint, in eight other instances in the Greek New Testament (not counting 1 Cor 3:15), frequently in the Apostolic Fathers, and sparingly in Philo and Josephus. In the vast majority of these cases, the preposition takes the instrumental sense.

The sense of eight of the ten additional biblical occurrences of the phrase σωζω + δια + genitive is uncontroversial:

1. “ . . . so he [the LORD] saved them [Israel] by the hand [εσωσεν . . . δια χειρος] of Jeroboam son of Joash” (LXX 2 Kgs 14:27)

2. “The Lord has founded Zion, and the humble among the people will be saved through him” (δι’ αυτου σωθησονται) (LXX Isa 14:32b).

3. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (σωθη . . . δι’ αυτου) (John 3:17).

4. “But we believe that we are saved through grace” [δια της χαριτος . . . σωθηναι] of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11).

5. “Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him [σωθησομεθα δι’ αυτου] from the wrath of God” (Rom 5:9).

6. “Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you . . . through which also you are being saved” (δι’ ου . . .σωζεσθε) (1 Cor 15:1-2).

7. “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (σωσωσμενοι δια πιστεως) (Eph 2:8).

8. “He saved us through the water [εσωσεν . . . δια λουτρου] of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

In each of the above passages—two of which are from undisputed Pauline epistles, and two of which are from Deutero-Pauline epistles—the phrase σωζω + δια + genitive unambiguously takes the instrumental sense . . . in each case the object of the preposition belongs to a cluster of theological themes related to the gospel: faith, grace, Jesus, the good news, or the waters of rebirth and the Holy Spirit. Indeed, one gathers the impression that resistance to the instrumental sense of “saved through fire” in 1 Cor 3:15 stems from the apparent inconsistency between being saved by means of fire, on the one hand, and being saved by grace, the gospel of Jesus, or faith in Christ, on the other hand. For this reason, the remaining two biblical occurrences of the phrase σωζω + δια + genitive are of particular significance, despite the difficulties implicit in their own meanings.

According to the Deutero-Pauline 1 Tim 2:15, “she [woman] will be saved through childbearing” (σωθησεται . . . δια της τεκνογονιας). The instrumental sense of this phrase I frequently contested, presumably due to the tension that it creates with the conviction that one is justified by faith, nor works. The local reading of the verse would suggest that the woman’s life will be preserved through the dangerous process of giving birth. Attractive as this reading may be to modern exegetes who find this verse overtly patriarchal, it does not adequately fi the context of 1 Tim 2:15, for in the Pastoral Epistles σωζω is always used soteriologically, and given this context the instrumental sense of the preposition δια is most plausible. The instrumental reading, moreover, coheres with the Jewish view that the travails of childbirth in some way overcome the curse of Eve (see Gen 3:16) and that women attain merit by fulfilling their duties as wives and mothers.

We also have a rough parallel to this construction in 1 Pet 3:20, where we read that in the days of Noah, “eight persons were saved through water” (διεσωθησαν δι’ υδατος). At first glance, this verse appears to support the local reading, and some have taken it in this sense, for Noah and his family were preserved as they physically passed through the waters of the flood. However, as v. 21 explains, “baptism, which this [the flood] prefigured, now saves [σωζει] you.” According to the allegorical logic of these verses, the water of the deluge typologically signifies the water of baptism and the verb διεσωθησαν stands parallel to σωζει. Admittedly, reading the destructive waters of the flood as a type signifying the saving waters of baptism is, as R.T. France puts it, “a little whimsical.” However, as France goes on to observe, it is “certainly to belong the imagination of a keen typologist.” Indeed, if we follow the logic of 1 Peter 3 itself, the sense of the verse seems to be that the flood waters were instrumental in the salvation and cleansing of the believer. Thus, in our consideration of the construction σωζω + δια + genitive in 1 Cor 3:15, it is significant that in every other biblical instance it is used in the instrumental sense. (Daniel Frayer-Griggs, Saved Through Fire: The Fiery Ordeal in New Testament Eschatology [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf and Stock, 2016], 211-13)

This meaning is also borne out in Greek texts contemporary with First Corinthians (e.g., texts dating to the Apostolic Fathers, such as 1 Clem. 9:4; 12:1; 58:2; 2 Clem. 3:3; Pol. Phil. 1:3; Herm. Vis. 3.3.5; 3.8.3; 4.2.4; Sim. 9.12.3). Such is also buttressed by Philo,

. . . for he too uses the construction σωζω + δια + genitive exclusively in the instrumental sense (Leg. 3.189; Cherub. 130; Agr. 1.13; Abr. 145). The most significant of these is in his discussion of the judgment of Sodom:

Because of the five finest cities in it were about to be destroyed by fire, and one was destined to be left unhurt and save from every evil. For it was necessary that the calamities should be inflicted by the chastising power, and that the one which was to be saved should be saved by the beneficent power” (σωζεσθαι δε δια της ευεργετιδος). (Abr. 145) (Ibid., 214)

In light of the overwhelming evidence that the believer will be purified through the instrumentality of the fire in a posthumous state, Frayer-Griggs writes:

This is not to question Paul’s insistence that believers are justified by faith (see Galatians 2-3 and Romans 3-4) are ultimately saved through Christ (see 1 Cor 15:1-2; Rom 5:9). Indeed, in his building metaphor Paul assumes that the foundation is Christ (v. 12). Yet in Paul’s soteriology, the believer’s justification and future salvation do not preclude the possibility of punishment for sins either in this life or at the last judgment (see Rom 14:10; 1 Cor 4:4-5; 5:5; 11:29-32; 2 Cor 5:10). The verb ζημιωθήσεται in v. 15a may suggest that some of the saved will be “lightly punished at the judgment, depending on their deeds,” and in this instance the builder’s punishment may be the painful purification process of being saved δια πυρος. Perhaps the most relevant Pauline parallel is 1 Cor 5:5: “hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh [εις ολεθρον της σαρχος], so that [ινα] his spirit may be saved [σωθη] in the day [εν τη ημερα] of the Lord.” here the circumstances of exclusion, suffering, and possible death contribute (ινα) to the individual’s salvation on “the day.” Similarly, in 1 Cor 3:15, the fire of divine judgment on “the day” appears to be the circumstance through which the builder is purified of his sins and through which Christ saves.  (Ibid., 216, emphasis added)

As Robert Sungenis notes

Ironically, the Protestant conception of “just barely being saved” in vr. 3:15 is forced to accommodate the suggestion in vr. 3:17 that the same individual could actually lose his salvation for worse deeds. (Protestant literature is virtually silent regarding the connection between the salvation offered in 1Co 3:15 and the condemnation stipulated in 1Co 3:17) Yet Protestant theology simply has no theological rationale for determining one’s salvation by the degree of good or bad works. We can understand why Protestant theology has had an extremely difficult time translating and interpreting 1Co 3:13-17. It just does not fit into the mold of Paul’s thinking as Protestants normally understand it. (Robert A. Sungenis, Not By Faith Alone: The Biblical Evidence for the Catholic Doctrine of Justification [2d ed.; State Line, Pa.: Catholic Apologetics International Publishing, Inc., 2009],479 )

 

When read in its context, and in light of related verses, 1 Cor 3:15 is a strongly “un-Protestant” verse, just one of many when read in light of the historical-grammatical method of exegesis. Far from being reflective of “Biblical Christianity,” Evangelical Protestantism falls under the anathema of Gal 1:6-9 for preaching a false gospel, one antithetical to the pages of the Bible itself which they (falsely) claim to be formally sufficient, per their doctrine of sola scriptura.

Appendix: "Gehenna" Being a Place Where Peoples' Sins are Purified (and a note on Hebrews 9:27)

Nathan Eubank wrote the following about how Gehenna was seen to, at times, purify people by purging them of their sins before receiving their eschatological reward, not simply punish them eternally which ties well into 1 Cor 3:15, as well as a possible interpretation of the text Eubank is focusing on (Matt 5:22):

Scholars tend to equate Gehenna with eternal perdition or “hell,” but the concept was in fact more fluid than that. According to t. Sanhedrin 13:3 the house of Shammai taught that Gehenna was a place where some go temporarily to atone for sin, while others are punished there eternally:

A. The House of Shammai says, “There are three groups, one for eternal life, one for shame and everlasting contempt (Dan. 12:2) – these are those who are completely evil.

B. “An intermediate group go down to Gehenna and scream and come up again and are healed,

C. “as it is said, I will bring the third part through ire and will refine them as silver is refined and will test them as gold is tested, and they shall call on my name and I will be their God (Zech. 13:9).

D. “And concerning them did Hannah say, The Lord kills and brings to life, brings down to Sheol and brings up (1 Sam. 2:6).” (cf. m. ‘Ed. 2:10).

This passage indicates that Gehenna was sometimes viewed as a place where redemptive suffering takes place, a process of purification process which is compared to refining metal in fire (Zech 13:9). Similarly, according to the Mishnah, rabbi Akiva said that the unrighteous will suffer in Gehenna for only twelve months (m. ‘Ed. 2.10). Second Maccabees 12 shows that there existed the belief that some kind of atonement could take place after death and prior to the resurrection well before the late first century C.E. when Matthew was written. Testament of Abraham (c. late first century) describes God weighing the debt of sin against righteous deeds and temporarily “repaying” (ανταποδοσις) sinners with punishment at the hand of torturers (τοις βασανισταις εξεδωκεν) but then answering Abraham’s prayer for mercy by letting them go. (Nathan Eubank, Wages of Cross-Bearing and Debt of Sin: The Economy of Heaven in Matthew’s Gospel [Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2013], 59-60)

In a footnote for the above, Eubank writes the following which has importance for LDS and others, as it should give caution to those who naively cite Heb 9:27 (“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” [NIV]) as a meaningful “proof-text” against this doctrine:

One could appeal to the fact that the overall emphasis in Matthew is decidedly on the last judgment when some will be sent into “eternal” (αιωνιος) punishment (e.g., 25:46) or the “outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (22:13). Yet belief in a final judgment is not mutually exclusive with the belief that some sort of judgment takes place prior to the eschaton. T. Ab. 13, for instance, speaks of an initial judgment of sols which is followed by a final and irrevocable judgment by God. Luke appears to maintain belief in recompense at the return of the Son of Man (9:26; 12:35-48; Acts 17:30-31), but is also able to entertain the idea of immediate post-mortem judgment (16:19-31), albeit in a parable with a folkloric quality. Matthew’s main concern is with the Parousia, but this does not preclude the additional possibility of judgment prior to that time. (Ibid., 60 n. 21)

On Heb 9:27 itself, note the following from an Evangelical Protestant discussing posthumous salvation in the New Testament:

The context of Heb 9:27 is the unique sacrifice of Christ . . . Christ’s sacrifice was unlike the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament in that he did not need to offer himself again and again. Rather, he has“appeared once for all” (v. 26) to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Then the author then introduces verses 27-28 “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” The point of this verse is to illustrate the once-for-all aspect of the work of Christ, as opposed to the unfinished nature of the Old Testament sacrificial system, and it not a reference to personal eschatology . . . The writer of Hebrews uses this reference to show that human death is a once-for-all occurrence as a consequence of sin, so too Christ died once-for-all to take away the sins of many people. The phrase “and after that to face judgment” is often interpreted to mean immediately after death humans experience judgment, thereby ruling out the opportunity of post-mortem salvation. Boyd, however, contends that this “reads too much into the text.” He continues, “While this verse certainly rules out reincarnation, it does not rule out the possibility of intermediate events between death and judgment.” (Gregory A. Boyd and P.R. Eddy, Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology, 188) He also reminds us that most evangelicals agree that there are other events between death and judgment, such as, Christ’s return and the bodily Resurrection, and the post-mortem view merely adds one more event or process, namely, the evangelization of the previously unevangelized. This passage offers no timescale as to how long after death that judgment comes, thereby failing to link death with loss opportunity, which is commonly taught in evangelical circles. (Stephen Jonathan, Grace Beyond the Grave: Is Salvation Possible in the Afterlife? [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf & Stock, 2014], 89-90)