Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Corinthians 3:15

"If any man`s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire." — 1 Corinthians 3:15 (ASV)

So as.—These words remind us that the whole passage, and especially the reference to fire, is to be regarded as metaphorical, and not to be understood in a literal and physical sense. Forgetting this, Roman theologians have evolved from these words the doctrine of purgatory.