1 Corinthians 3:15 states: “But if any person’s work is burned up [by the test], he will suffer the loss [of his reward]; yet he himself will be saved, but only as [one who has barely escaped] through fire.” AMP
The context of this verse is Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthian believers to live fully for Christ. They were worldly in the ways they behaved. But God wanted more for them. His Spirit inspired Paul to write words of warning to encourage them to live by the Spirit, and not by their fleshly desires.
Please consider Paul’s words in the above verse. The people he is talking about are those who have truly made a profession of faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. They have rejected false gods, and will one day be in heaven with all Christ’s followers.
There are people who belong to Jesus, but have not moved from that initial step of relationship into deep and intimate fellowship with God.
Consider Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 3:1-5:
“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.”
The believers in Corinth had a relationship with God, but their jealousy and quarreling [ie. prideful ways] interfered with them growing in their fellowship with God.
Sin always interferes with our fellowship with God.
Christ’s followers who have fellowship with God are growing out of their former worldly ways. Pride will always be a battle, but God will help those who want deeper fellowship with Him to increasingly reject ungodly thinking and behavior, and be willing to behave in ways that exalt God and edify others.
God created and made us in His image because he wanted to have intimate fellowship with His followers. He wants to show us how much he loves us, but too often our worldly desires interfere with that goal.
We choose to follow worldly ways. God then has to discipline us in order to get our attention and to help us to understand that our worldly ways are worthless. Obedience to God’s discipline will lead to intimate fellowship with God and His people. Consider Hebrews 12:4-6:
“In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”
When a parent disciplines a child, it is for the child’s well-being. The disobedience of the child has interfered with their relationship, and their fellowship is decreased. The disobedience is counterproductive to the maturing of the child. In the same way, when we belong to Jesus, our disobedience is counterproductive to our lives being transformed. We are to produce evidence of Christ’s Spirit in us. Galatians 5:22-23 indicates the characteristics of the Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
It is possible to go through religious activities – reading and studying the Bible, attending and serving in church, etc., but not have fellowship with God.
We need to ask God to search our hearts and to reveal to us what is interfering in our fellowship with Him. How often do we do this? How have we acted upon what God has revealed to us?
Perhaps God is using someone in our lives to help us see our worldliness. Are we resistant or responsive to that help?
What difference will it make in our fellowship with God if we heed what He is saying?
Please email me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com if you have any questions about growing closer to our amazing God.
Living for Jesus, Donna
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Note: If the verses for Bible references do not appear when you hover over them, go directly to the website, and they should appear for you. Also, please remember to look at the full context of the verses by reading the complete passage.
Copyright 2026 Donna Shappy All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.