STANDING FIRM

 

STANDING FIRM

 

1 Corinthians 15:57-58

57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.(NIV)

The great Apostle Paul frequently uses the phrase, “Thanks be to God” in his Epistles.

In Romans 6:17 he said,  “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient…

In Romans 7:25 he said, “ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

In 2 Corinthians 2:14, he said,  “But thanks be to God, Who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”

Thanks be to God is also recited in responsorial liturgy during worship. The word “thanks” in the Greek efcharisto is our word for grace. We are grateful for God’s grace.

Thanks be to God who (present tense - continually) gives us the victory. This is in the present tense participle so another way of saying it is “thanks be to God who keeps on giving us victory” Note the present tense participle (continually giving). This is good news for it emphasizes the certainty of the victory.

Victory “through our Lord (kurios, kyrios) Jesus (Iesous yesous) Christ  (Christos) - Through is the preposition  indicating that this victory "flows" from the throne (the Father) through the Son to His own! Notice Paul uses the full Name, the Lord Jesus Christ. Every spiritual victory we will ever experience in this life comes through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Bible Commentator Richard Lenski gives the view that the phrase “Victory through the Lord Jesus Christ” connotes that the medium through whom victory is ours is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Evangelist Ray  Stedman shares his testimony how he wins over his failures as a servant of Christ. He said,  “I do not know anything that means more to me as a Christian than the fact that every day I can lay hold of the grace of Jesus Christ. He is not a distant Savior who lived twenty centuries ago. He is alive, and I meet him every day. When I find myself having failed, faltered, and sinned, I come again and receive from him the cleansing that he has won for me on Calvary. My sins are washed away anew. I am forgiven once again, and given a clean slate to start over again from that moment. That gives me new power to say, "No!" to all the evil, afflictions, and pressures of my life.”

Never A Quitter

Be steadfast . . . in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain. —1 Corinthians 15:58

To be steadfast means to be faithful to the Lord and to His teachings. To keep going. To be immovable. Paul was concerned about thetnedency of the Corinthians to compromise their behavior and beliefs for the sake of culture in which they live. To be “always abounding in the work of the Lord.” Paul has been clear that God gives each believer ways in which to serve Him, and the believer should work with enthusiasm because the work is guaranteed to continue through all time.

A preacher who was growing weary in the ministry had a dream. He saw himself pounding away at a huge chunk of granite with a pick-axe. It was his job to break it into small pieces. But hard as he tried, he couldn’t chip off even a tiny piece. At last, tired and disappointed, he decided to give up.

Just then a stranger appeared and said, “Weren’t you given orders to do that work? Your duty is to give your best regardless of what happens.” The preacher, with a renewed determination, lifted the pick-axe high in the air and gave the granite a crushing blow. It broke into a thousand pieces. He had almost quit—one blow too soon.

A person who is steadfast and immovable is solid, firm, resolute, firmly fixed, and incapable of being diverted from a primary purpose or mission.

The Lord wants us to keep working at our God-given task no matter how difficult it might be. Even when success seems remote or impossible, we are to remain steadfast, assured that there will be an ample reward for those who persevere.

Have you grown tired in your service for God? Have you become so discouraged that you’re tempted to “throw in the towel”? Remember that preacher’s dream. Better still, remember God’s promise spoken by Paul: “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9). By:  Richard DeHaan  (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. —

Paul reminds the Corinthians not to become so preoccupied with nonessentials that they are in danger of not remaining steadfast and immovable in the work of the Lord.

The apostle Paul experienced a similar compulsion, except that his drive was God-motivated. As he explained to his friends in Corinth, “the love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor. 5:14). His was a burning passion, an emotional fire, a spiritual force that made him share the good news of Jesus and His death and resurrection.

Such dedicated zeal has characterized many of our Lord’s followers throughout the years. May a spark of that fire burn in our own hearts.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). The word “therefore” is a conclusive term.

Therefore Be Active; Therefore  “Work.”  Be Devoted, “Work of the Lord.” Be Steadfast.  “Unmovable.” Be generous. “Always Abounding.” Be Hopeful.         “Forasmuch as ye know that your  labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Th good Apostle gives this exhortation of encouragement to servants of God. (1 Corinthians 15:57, 58)

I. The Exhortation.

 

         1.      In faith be steadfast (Col. 1:23).

         2.      In trial be unmovable

         3.      In work be always abounding.

 

II. Be Encouraged.

 

         1.      Your work is in the Lord.

         2.      Your labour is not in vain.

         3.      Your triumph is sure. “He giveth us the victory.”

Because our labor for Christ is never worthless or futile, we can find encouragement to keep honoring and serving Him in all that we do.

Bible Translator and Anglican clergyman J. B. Phillips summed it up well when he said, “Nothing you do for Him is ever lost or ever wasted.”