Thanks to you both for your kind support. I don’t know anymore which is correct (whether St Paul was addressing the church at Corinth only corporately or addressing each individual there) but ultimately I don’t think it matters.
Verses 13-15 of chapter 3 remain and as you both pointed out in it’s clear that each individual’s work (either his own “building” or his own contribution to the “building” that is the Church) will be tested, as by fire, and that which can be burned away will be burned away.
This is why, I believe, apologists don’t claim the entire dogma of Purgatory is contained in this passage but the concept is clearly there.
And which is the only postmortem suffering for believers, which takes place the judgment seat of Christ due to the loss of rewards and the Lord's disapproval. (1Co. 3:8ff) Which one is saved despite of and which does not occur until the Lord's return! (1Cor. 4:5; 2Tim. 4:1,8; Rev.11:18; Mt. 25:31-46; 1Pt. 1:7; 5:4)
For in addition to being made accepted in the Beloved on His account, versus justified by their own holiness as per Rome, God recompenses faith (Heb. 10:35) for what it did, which also means the loss of rewards for building the church with tares.
Souls are to seek to be as Christ, but as with "be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect, such calls are not conditions for being with the Lord, but are an exhortations in response to already being children of God by faith, who spiritually have direct access into the holy of holies by the sinless shed blood of Christ. (Heb. 10:19)
Salvific faith must be the kind that effects holiness, and thus the holy are promised salvation as well as those who believe, but the effect is not the cause of justification and entering into glory, but that of being forgiven and accepted in the Beloved on His account. For He who is holy was numbered with the transgressors, the Lord laying on him the iniquity of us all (Is. 53:6,12) bearing our sins in His own body on the cross, (1Pt. 2:24) God making Him who knew no sin to become sin for us. (2Co. 5:17)
By which the believer is already accepted in Christ and positionally seated with Him in Heaven, (Eph. 1:6;2:6) and will be with Him at death or His return, (2Co. 5:8; Phil. 1:21-13; Acts 7:59; Lk. 23:39; 1Ths. 4:17) which is what the entire church was told in the first century.
The apostle Paul expressed that to depart from this life would be to be present with the Lord, though he confessed to the same people that he was not perfect, (Phil. 1:21-24; 3:12) but that he longed to practically be what he positionally was - which" high calling of God in Christ Jesus" is to be the hunger of a true believer - for which he consistently only pointed to the the resurrection as effecting any postmortem constitutional change. And it is then and only then that believers are said they will be like Christ.
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:20-21)
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven...Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (2 Corinthians 5:2,5-6)
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)
Nothing unclean with enter the Heavenly City just as no unclean soul can have communion with God now, but it is by true faith in the Lord Jesus to save the damned and destitute sinner by His sinless shed blood that a believer is both spiritually with God now and will be after this life.
The idea that even a new convert has attained to perfection of character, or that the contrite criminal did in a few hours on the cross, is also absurd. growth toward perfection is a long process requiring manifold temptations, and not simply suffering. (1 Peter 1:6-7; 1Jn.2:14; 5:4,5; Rv. 2.7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21) Thus the Divine Lord Himself in the mystery of His incarnation had to experience being tempted in every basic way we are. And being made perfect [in experience and overcoming] , he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him; (Hebrews 5:9)
It remains that the idea that one must "actually be perfect as the Father is perfect" "having the perfection of our heavenly Father" in order to be with God is indeed absurd, as it effectively turns salvation by grace thru faith into salvation under the Law - which required perfect conformity to be saved (Gal. 3:10) - except that one is given more grace to become as good as Christ, which is blasphemous.
Ah, well I would say the concept is there because the concept is Jewish. May His great Name grow exalted and sanctified (Amen.) in the world that He created as He willed. May He give reign to His kingship in your lifetimes and in your days, and in the lifetimes of the entire Family of Israel, swiftly and soon. Now respond: Amen. (Cong Amen. May His great Name be blessed forever and ever.) May His great Name be blessed forever and ever. Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, mighty, upraised, and lauded be the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He (Cong. Blessed is He) beyond any blessing and song, praise and consolation that are uttered in the world. Now respond: Amen. May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and life upon us and upon all Israel. Now respond: Amen. He Who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace, upon us and upon all Israel. Now respond: Amen.
The one holy catholic apostolic church has believed in purgation and prayers for the dead for almost two thousand years. The Jews have been doing so even longer, unto this day. When a Jew dies, Kaddish is said for up to eleven months to purify the deceased from such venial sins. In all of the Messiah's recorded conversations with Jews, or teaching, there is no mention of it to overturn this belief among the Jews.
A mourner says Kaddish to help along the soul of the deceased in its journey upwards.
To be clear it’s clear in the Greek that the pronoun/verb phrase “you are” in verse 9 is the second person plural, so it’s clear that St Paul is addressing the entire church at Corinth when he says “you are God’s building”. It’s still immaterial though because verses 13-15 speak of an individual trial by fire.
The problem really stems from the usage of hemera in verse 13, which as even Strongs says can (and does in other places) mean the day of judgment (by God). In other words the time every man dies.
The problem is that the preponderance of commentaries (on the Internet at least) insist as Mr Rogers has, that essentially this “day” hÄ“mera) in verse 13 is a “future” day yes but it’s a day in the future life of every believer where, sometime while still on earth, each person’s faith will be tested, and that which is true will remain that which is in error will be consumed (or destroyed)
The Catholic translations translate hemera in verse 13 as “day of the Lord”, at least some do, but I haven’t been able to find any Catholic commentaries for a balance to the Protestsant ones I’ve found. Of course commentaries are just that, commentaries, not Scripture. So they can only go so far. Really of course, again, the question comes down to wether or not one accepts the authority of the Catholic Church and her ability to teach authoritatively.
Note that in Heb 9:27, the word hemera is not used for that “judgement”, rather we read there that “it is appointed for man to die once then the judgement”, there the word for “judgement” is krisis not hÄ“mera. Just for everyone’s information.
We generally don't believe that the Holy Bible speaks in complete dogmas, like the Catechism. It is clear from this passage and several others that the work of Christ continues beyond death leading us to heaven. It is the job for the Church to formulate it dogmatically, and she did.
Verse nineteen of chapter six explicitly indicates the individuals, not solely the unity of those individuals in the church, are the temple of the Holy Spirit, so one cannot exclude an individual being the building.