"By the grace of God .. " Grace played an enormous part in Paul's life. It is especially important to note that God's grace enabled him to do things, it was very active. Too often we think of grace only in terms of forgiveness, and God's goodness to us. Now these are of course vital and true, but we have way too passive a view of grace. The grace of God enable Paul to become the greatest apostle and evangelist who took the gospel to most of Europe.
Paul laid a foundation, but was quite happy for others to build upon that foundation, as long as it was always recognised that the only foundation is Christ.
And every work will be tested. If it is not built with Christ then it will be found wanting at the testing. But if it is built with Christ it will last and we will receive a reward.
Note that Paul makes it clear that our salvation does not depend on our works. Yet at the same time he is equally clear that our works do matter, and if we build with Christ then we will receive a reward. There is no conflict in the Bible between this and salvation by faith alone. It matters what we do with our lives.
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