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HB -- Tim and Brian are correct. 1Cor. 3 has been used to teach the diabolical doctrine of Rewards, which totally misunderstands Paul's original point. Many OSAS teachers teach the doctrine of Rewards as an alternative to all those passages that appear to teach a works salvation. Rather than loosing your salvation, they would say, a person looses their rewards.

This is not Biblical and certainly not what Paul was saying in 1Cor. 3. Real fast, here is the breakdown.

The issue: Favoritism, i.e. siding with one teacher against another.

The answer: Paul and Apollos are both servants, not to be worshiped or preferred against the other. Each man as a role to play in God's work.

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4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not [mere] men? 5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave [opportunity] to each one.

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Paul will make an analogy between farmers and teachers such as Apollos and himself.

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6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

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The context is a discussion concerning Apollos and Paul. He and Apollos are like farmers. Paul does the planting and Apollos does the watering. But in terms of gaining a crop, Paul and Apollos are "nothing" because it is God that causes the growth. But what does the farm represent?

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8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

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Again, the pronouns "he" and "his" refer to Paul and Apollos. He who plants is Paul. He who waters is Apollos. Paul and Apollos have a unified goal, which is to prepare the field for growth.

And who is the field? The Corinthian church. Both Paul and Apollos were teachers at the Corinthian church. Each man as a role to play in growing the church body in that city. And each man, Paul and Apollos will receive his reward.

And what is the reward? The growth of the Corinthian church.

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10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it.

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Here the metaphor shifts from a farm to a building. Paul is the master builder and is laying the foundation, which is the most important part of the building. If the foundation crumbles, the entire building is lost.

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But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

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In this case, Paul established the Corinthian church and preached the Apostolic message of salvation in Jesus Christ. That is the foundational teaching. Any other teacher who comes along will not lay a new foundation. He will build on the core teaching Paul has already given them.

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12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is [to be] revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.

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Remember, Paul is still talking about teachers such as Apollos, who build on the core teaching Paul has already established. The gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw figuratively represent various doctrines a man might teach that use the core Gospel Paul initially taught.

Paul invites the reader to consider how each of these materials stand up when subjected to fire. Gold, silver, and precious stones, might survive a fire, but wood, hay, and straw will not. By analogy then, he implies that certain doctrines will survive and other doctrines won't.

But again, what is the work? The work involves the spiritual growth of the Corinthians. And so, certain doctrines will tend to help promote spiritual growth and others won't.

And what will be the test of each man's work? Contrary to OSAS teachers, "each man" is not each believer, but "each man" is each teacher. The test of each teacher's work is the spiritual state of the church under their leadership. At the end of the day, if the teacher's words promoted spiritual growth, their work will endure the test of time. But if the teachers words were worthless with regard to the spiritual growth of the church, their work will not have eternal significance.

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14 If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward.

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Here again, Paul refers to himself, Apollos, and any other teacher that attempts to build on the core doctrine Paul originally presented to the church. If the teacher's words were helpful to the spiritual growth of the members of the church, his reward will be the spiritual growth of the church. That's his work, that's his goal, and if he does his job well, he will meet his goal.

If not,

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5 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

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The loss he suffers is a bunch of waisted time. He taught doctrines that added nothing to the core Gospel and were burned up in the end. He said nothing that promoted eternal values or things of eternal significance. He taught and believed the core Gospel and so he was saved. But the rest of his teaching was worthless and transitory.

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16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and [that] the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.

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While Paul elsewhere uses the temple as a metaphor for our physical body, in this context the temple is a metaphor for the church. This is a warning to those teachers that would dare destroy the church and especially those who would attempt to build a different foundation than the one Paul laid.

Hopefully you find this helpful.