The ultimate purpose of believers' work is to bring honor and glory to God, enhance His work and Kingdom, and help edify the Body of Christ to fullness.
Les Feldick teaches that no one works to be saved—salvation is by grace through faith alone. Once saved, believers are expected to work for reward, and the purpose of that work is to enhance God's work and bring honor and glory to His Name. Every believer shares this common purpose, just as every bee in a hive works together for the whole. Ultimately all of it fits into God's eternal purpose that everything redounds to His glory.
1 Corinthians 3:9 — This verse is the foundation for Les's teaching that believers are God's fellow workers and His field/building.
Ephesians 4:13 — It identifies the goal of all ministry and edification—the fullness and maturity of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:58 — It connects the believer's labor to the certainty that it will not be in vain.
Scripture shows that believers are not merely individuals doing their own work; they are co-laborers with God. In 1 Corinthians 3:9, Paul writes, "For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." The verse places every believer in the same field and the same building—God's—and describes them as working together with Him. The goal of this building work is stated in Ephesians 4:13: Christ gave pastors and teachers "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." The end of all ministry and labor is a mature Body of Christ. Scripture also says believers were "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Ephesians 2:10) and commands: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Les Feldick emphasizes that believers do not work for salvation—salvation is "all of grace by faith plus nothing." Once saved, God expects believers to work for reward, and the purpose of that work is to enhance His work, enhance the Kingdom, and "bring honor and glory to His Name" (Clip [2]). He repeats this in his treatment of 1 Corinthians 3, where believers are pictured as a hive of bees—each one working together with no place for idleness (Clip [0]). Expanding on that picture, Les says believers are God's husbandry, constantly cultivated by God until the work is finished (Clip [6]), and that everything God does on behalf of the church is for the edifying of the Body of Christ (Clip [3]). That Body is being built up until it reaches the unity of the faith and the stature of the fullness of Christ (Clip [3]). In addition, Les says God is keeping a record of every believer's earthly activity, so believers are to be steadfast and always abounding in the Lord's work, knowing their labor is not in vain (Clip [7]).
According to Les Feldick, working has absolutely nothing to do with salvation. He says, "you work absolutely not at all for salvation. It's all of grace by faith plus nothing." But he immediately adds that once a person has entered into that salvation experience, God expects them to work for reward. So the believer's labor is never a means of getting saved; it is the expected result of having been saved (Clip [2]).
Les uses a hive of bees as an illustration. In a hive, common workers all work together, and even lazy ones are kicked out, while the queen bee is followed throughout the hive. In the same way, believers are "laborers together with God." Not every bee does the same job, but all of them are part of the same hive and the same work of God (Clip [0]).
Les points out that prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers were given to edify the Body of Christ. The goal is that all believers come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, "unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). This is the common purpose that every believer's labor serves (Clip [3]).
Les teaches that God is keeping a record of every believer's earthly activity. Even if a believer never sees tangible reward in this life, their labor in the Lord is not in vain. He quotes 1 Corinthians 15:58, "be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (Clip [7]).
Laborers Together With God
Les teaches that believers are like a hive of bees—all working together with God as one body, each with a role in God's overall work.
Workers, Not Spectators
Les shows that calling believers "laborers together with God" means they are out working, not sitting in an easy chair.
The Ultimate Purpose: Glory to God
Les directly states that the purpose of working is to enhance God's work, enhance the Kingdom, and bring honor and glory to His Name; salvation is by grace alone, so work is for reward.
Edifying the Body of Christ
Les says all gifted ministry is to edify the Body of Christ until it comes to unity and maturity in the fullness of Christ.
Everything for God's Glory
Les teaches that God's eternal purpose is that everything redounds to His glory, and believers work into that purpose through grace and faith.
Created in Christ Jesus for Good Works
Les speaks of believers as His workmanship created in Christ Jesus, living a different life because of who they are in Him.
God's Cultivation of Believers
Les explains that believers are God's husbandry, cultivated by God like a crop until God's work in them is consummated.
Labor Is Never in Vain
Les uses 1 Corinthians 15:58 to show believers should always abound in the Lord's work because God records their labor and it is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 3:9: For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
This verse describes believers as God's co-workers and as God's own field and building, showing the collective nature of their labor.
Ephesians 4:13: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
This verse defines the goal toward which all ministry and edification work—the fullness and maturity of the Body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:58: Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
This verse encourages believers to keep working for the Lord because their labor is not in vain.
Ephesians 2:10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
This verse shows that believers are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.
No. According to Les Feldick, salvation is "all of grace by faith plus nothing." Believers do not work for salvation. After salvation, God expects believers to work for reward (Clip [2]).
The ultimate goal is to bring honor and glory to God, enhance His work and Kingdom, and help edify the Body of Christ until it reaches the unity of the faith and the fullness of Christ (Clips [2], [3], [4]).
Yes. Les Feldick says God is keeping a record of every believer's earthly activity. Because of that, a believer's labor in the Lord is never in vain, and they should be steadfast and always abounding in the Lord's work (Clip [7]).
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