The Greek noun misthos means wages, pay, or reward — compensation received for labor or service. It appears approximately 29 times in the New Testament, used both for literal wages paid to workers and for the eternal reward God gives to His faithful servants.
Misthos carries both economic and eschatological weight. On the economic level, Paul insists on the justice of fair wages: 'The worker deserves his wages (misthos)' (1 Timothy 5:18; Luke 10:7). This principle has broad application to honoring ministers, workers, and anyone who renders legitimate service. On the eternal level, misthos is one of the key motivational words in the New Testament. Jesus promises: 'Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward (misthos) in heaven' (Matthew 5:12) — spoken to the persecuted and reviled. The specific misthos of a prophet (Matthew 10:41), a righteous person (v. 41), and even a cup of cold water given in Jesus' name (v. 42) — all carry their own eternal weight. Paul's theology of misthos is nuanced: salvation is not wages but gift (Romans 4:4), yet faithful service will be evaluated and rewarded (1 Corinthians 3:8, 14). The Christian works not to earn salvation but in response to it — and God, in His grace, chooses to call those Spirit-empowered works worthy of eternal reward.