"Be on the alert, stand fast in the faith, act like men, be strong! Let all that you do be done in love!" (I Corinthians 16:1-2)
These are the final words of exhortation which the apostle Paul gave to the Corinthian believers at the end of his epistle, following 15 chapters of mostly admonitions and rebukes, to address and correct the many problems that existed in the church! MacArthur notes that the Corinthian church had more problems and was in worse shape than any of the New Testament churches, but also that what he wrote was all done in real love! He said in I Corinthians 4:14 that he wrote what he did "not to shame them but to admonish them as his beloved children" (which, MacArthur says, is "the whole key to the book")! He became, in essence, their "father through the gospel," and he exhorted them to "imitate him" as he imitated Christ"!
And so the final four imperatives, as a kind of "take-away," and a good reminder, to help them deal with all the everyday problems they would continue to face, which MacArthur calls, "principles for powerful living," and which apply to us as well, and to every believer through all the ages! "Be on the alert, stand fast in the faith, act like men, be strong, and let all that you do be done in love!"
Many of the Corinthians lived not only in a "physical stupor," due to drunkenness (even when gathering to celebrate the Lord's supper, according to what Paul earlier wrote) but, more importantly, in a "spiritual stupor," and thus needed to "awake" and become aware and watchful of what was going on around them, and particularly of what "their adversary, the devil," was up to! I Peter 5:8 says, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert; your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour! But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world!"
They also needed to be alert to "temptation"! Jesus told His disciples, while in the garden of Gethsemane (in Mark 1:38), that they needed to "keep watching and praying that they might not come into temptation," and how "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"! Prayer strengthens us in God's ways just as it protects us against the ways of Satan! MacArthur calls it "the heartbeat of spiritual life"! Ephesians 6:18 says, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints!"
Watch out too for "apathy and indifference" to the things of God, as was the case with believers in the church of Sardis (in Revelation 3)! They assumed that they had spiritual life because, verse 1 says, "they had a name that they were alive, but they were dead"! They were so indifferent to the Lord's ways that they didn't even realize that they were "dead"! And so the Lord said, "Wake up and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God! So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent!"
Then, to false teachers! II Peter 2:1-2 says, that "false prophets arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves! Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned!"
But there are also some positive things to be alert to as well! Most importantly, we should be watching for the Lord's return! Matthew 24:42 says, "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day the Lord is coming!" And II Peter 3:10-12 adds, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens and the earth will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up! Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you top be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells!"
The second great imperative! "Stand firm in the faith!" Or, "hold fast to the gospel!" I Timothy 6:12 says, "Fight the good fight of faith! The faith revealed by God! The gospel message! I Corinthians 1:18 says, "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God!" MacArthur notes how the Corinthians had allowed human wisdom to infiltrate the church and that they were accepting it on an equal basis with God's revelation! And so "God's revelation had lost its distinctiveness"! Some didn't even believe in the resurrection of the dead! And so, they weren't standing for the faith! And that needed to change! Philippians 4:1 says, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, whom I long to see, my joy and my crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved!" Galatians 4:1 says, " It was for liberty that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of bondage!" And Ephesians 6:14 adds, "Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness!"
Thirdly, "Act like men!" Be mature! Not like the Corinthians who were like babies--immature, fighting and squabbling, and "being tossed around in all forms of false doctrine"! They needed to "put away childish things"! II Peter 3:18 says, "But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!" Ephesians 4:13-14 says we are to keep growing, "until we become a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ...and we are no longer children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming!"
And, fourthly, and closely related, "Be strong!" Here we're reminded of Paul's admonition to Timothy, in II Timothy 2:1, "You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ; the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also!" And, in I Corinthians 10:12, Paul warned the Corinthians (who thought they were strong), "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall!" And, finally, in Ephesians 6:10-11, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might! Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil..."! And how can we be strong? Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!" And Paul also writes this (in Ephesians 3:14-19): "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and heights and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God!" Wow!
And so that's how we can be strong in the Lord! "Strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man"! It's God who gives us the strength! (I find myself often talking to the Lord throughout the day, "Lord, give me strength for..." whatever!) Rod noted in his talk last night that "we only grow in strength as we use our strength," as in daily workouts, and that it's the same for growing in spiritual strength, through the discipline of reading and relying upon His Word!
But there's something else that's needed! And that's "love"! Strength without love doesn't work! And that brings us to the fifth and final imperative for powerful living! Paul writes, "Let all that we do be done in love!" I Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins!" It's the "beautiful softening principle," noted Rod, and MacArthur says it's so important because "it balances everything else!" We need to be "rooted and grounded in love" (I want to sing: "O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forever more endure, the saints and angels song!") Let us love one another!
The apostle Paul closes out I Corinthians by showing how the "marks of love" were displayed by Paul and the Corinthian believers, as Rod noted, through evangelism and service, submission, companionship and respect, and hospitality! Paul writing how Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, "supplied what was lacking...refreshed his spirit and the spirit of others, and should be acknowledged;" by sending greetings from close companions, Aquila and Priscilla, who opened up their home for the church (in Ephesus); by calling for them to greet one another with a "holy kiss," as was their practice! Then, by citing the common "watchword" used by believers upon departing, "Maranatha!" "The Lord is coming!" Followed by Paul's closing words, which he apparently penned by hand, to authenticate his writing, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you! My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen!"
And so, the five principles for powerful living that the apostle Paul gave us in this passage? Working on them, til the Lord comes?
Maranatha!
Lowell
These are the final words of exhortation which the apostle Paul gave to the Corinthian believers at the end of his epistle, following 15 chapters of mostly admonitions and rebukes, to address and correct the many problems that existed in the church! MacArthur notes that the Corinthian church had more problems and was in worse shape than any of the New Testament churches, but also that what he wrote was all done in real love! He said in I Corinthians 4:14 that he wrote what he did "not to shame them but to admonish them as his beloved children" (which, MacArthur says, is "the whole key to the book")! He became, in essence, their "father through the gospel," and he exhorted them to "imitate him" as he imitated Christ"!
And so the final four imperatives, as a kind of "take-away," and a good reminder, to help them deal with all the everyday problems they would continue to face, which MacArthur calls, "principles for powerful living," and which apply to us as well, and to every believer through all the ages! "Be on the alert, stand fast in the faith, act like men, be strong, and let all that you do be done in love!"
Many of the Corinthians lived not only in a "physical stupor," due to drunkenness (even when gathering to celebrate the Lord's supper, according to what Paul earlier wrote) but, more importantly, in a "spiritual stupor," and thus needed to "awake" and become aware and watchful of what was going on around them, and particularly of what "their adversary, the devil," was up to! I Peter 5:8 says, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert; your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour! But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world!"
They also needed to be alert to "temptation"! Jesus told His disciples, while in the garden of Gethsemane (in Mark 1:38), that they needed to "keep watching and praying that they might not come into temptation," and how "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak"! Prayer strengthens us in God's ways just as it protects us against the ways of Satan! MacArthur calls it "the heartbeat of spiritual life"! Ephesians 6:18 says, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints!"
Watch out too for "apathy and indifference" to the things of God, as was the case with believers in the church of Sardis (in Revelation 3)! They assumed that they had spiritual life because, verse 1 says, "they had a name that they were alive, but they were dead"! They were so indifferent to the Lord's ways that they didn't even realize that they were "dead"! And so the Lord said, "Wake up and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God! So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent!"
Then, to false teachers! II Peter 2:1-2 says, that "false prophets arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves! Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned!"
But there are also some positive things to be alert to as well! Most importantly, we should be watching for the Lord's return! Matthew 24:42 says, "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day the Lord is coming!" And II Peter 3:10-12 adds, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens and the earth will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up! Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you top be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells!"
The second great imperative! "Stand firm in the faith!" Or, "hold fast to the gospel!" I Timothy 6:12 says, "Fight the good fight of faith! The faith revealed by God! The gospel message! I Corinthians 1:18 says, "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God!" MacArthur notes how the Corinthians had allowed human wisdom to infiltrate the church and that they were accepting it on an equal basis with God's revelation! And so "God's revelation had lost its distinctiveness"! Some didn't even believe in the resurrection of the dead! And so, they weren't standing for the faith! And that needed to change! Philippians 4:1 says, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, whom I long to see, my joy and my crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved!" Galatians 4:1 says, " It was for liberty that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of bondage!" And Ephesians 6:14 adds, "Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness!"
Thirdly, "Act like men!" Be mature! Not like the Corinthians who were like babies--immature, fighting and squabbling, and "being tossed around in all forms of false doctrine"! They needed to "put away childish things"! II Peter 3:18 says, "But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!" Ephesians 4:13-14 says we are to keep growing, "until we become a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ...and we are no longer children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming!"
And, fourthly, and closely related, "Be strong!" Here we're reminded of Paul's admonition to Timothy, in II Timothy 2:1, "You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ; the things that you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also!" And, in I Corinthians 10:12, Paul warned the Corinthians (who thought they were strong), "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall!" And, finally, in Ephesians 6:10-11, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might! Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil..."! And how can we be strong? Psalm 27:14 says, "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!" And Paul also writes this (in Ephesians 3:14-19): "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and heights and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God!" Wow!
And so that's how we can be strong in the Lord! "Strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man"! It's God who gives us the strength! (I find myself often talking to the Lord throughout the day, "Lord, give me strength for..." whatever!) Rod noted in his talk last night that "we only grow in strength as we use our strength," as in daily workouts, and that it's the same for growing in spiritual strength, through the discipline of reading and relying upon His Word!
But there's something else that's needed! And that's "love"! Strength without love doesn't work! And that brings us to the fifth and final imperative for powerful living! Paul writes, "Let all that we do be done in love!" I Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins!" It's the "beautiful softening principle," noted Rod, and MacArthur says it's so important because "it balances everything else!" We need to be "rooted and grounded in love" (I want to sing: "O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forever more endure, the saints and angels song!") Let us love one another!
The apostle Paul closes out I Corinthians by showing how the "marks of love" were displayed by Paul and the Corinthian believers, as Rod noted, through evangelism and service, submission, companionship and respect, and hospitality! Paul writing how Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, "supplied what was lacking...refreshed his spirit and the spirit of others, and should be acknowledged;" by sending greetings from close companions, Aquila and Priscilla, who opened up their home for the church (in Ephesus); by calling for them to greet one another with a "holy kiss," as was their practice! Then, by citing the common "watchword" used by believers upon departing, "Maranatha!" "The Lord is coming!" Followed by Paul's closing words, which he apparently penned by hand, to authenticate his writing, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you! My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen!"
And so, the five principles for powerful living that the apostle Paul gave us in this passage? Working on them, til the Lord comes?
Maranatha!
Lowell
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