Life in the Spirit: How to Do Church From Now to Eternity
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
(This was also a concluding sermon of a several year ministry.)
Final words should be important words. I recognize that. I think Paul recognized that as well. I believe he chose carefully the way he would close 1 Corinthians. So I want to follow his pattern and leave with you the final words of this important letter.
For several weeks we have been examining this letter. Let me remind you of the context. First Corinthians was written by the missionary church-planter Paul of Tarsus about thirty years after the resurrection of Jesus. It was addressed to a group of new Christians in the Greek city of Corinth about three or four years after the planting of the church. All of the believers were new to Christ.
Most importantly, they lived in one of the most thoroughly pagan cities of the ancient world. As with any believer who tries to take seriously the call of Christ in a non-Christian world, they struggled. They had questions. They were sometimes confused. They frequently made mistakes. Sometimes big ones.
This letter covers two main subjects. First, Paul speaks to two problems he had been told about by the couriers of the letter—church fights (1-3) and tolerance of immorality in the fellowship (5-6). The rest of the book addresses a series of questions that the Corinthians had asked Paul about. Behind the questions was a common piece of confusion or distortion. Some in Corinth apparently had developed an idea that true spirituality was a matter of special visions or spiritual insights that placed the recipients above the normal concerns of life. Some Corinthians seemed to claim that their spiritual gifts of speaking in languages/tongues excused them from listening and learning God’s truth or behaving according to normal standards of Christian conduct.
Almost all of 1 Corinthians can be understood best against the background of this confusion. Paul attempts to ground their faith not in ecstatic experiences but in the truth of the gospel and the call to holy living and servanthood.
So how will Paul conclude this? What are his final words? Tucked away in the middle of the final chapter are two verses that I want to examine with you. These verses provide what I will call guidelines for “how to do church from now on.” They are simple and clear. In five simple imperatives Paul lays out principles that these believers needed to hear, to heed, and to remember if they wanted their future faith and church-life to be what both they and God wanted them to be. These are the words I want to leave with you.
13Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14Do everything in love. (1 Cor. 16:13 through 1 Cor. 16:14 (NIV))
The five commands or imperatives divide into two concepts. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the break down. The first four commands go together and the last one stands alone. Together they describe what might be called the two sides of Christian fellowship or church life. Both are important. They are very similar to what Gary Smalley and John Trent call the Two Sides of Love in their work on marriage and family. On one hand is the tough side; on the other the tender side.
A healthy, happy church life requires that we be both tough minded—that we think clearly and believe soundly and tender hearted—that we extend compassion and forgiveness in a self-denying, Jesus-style love. Imagine the horrible state of affairs when we reverse it and at church become weak minded and tough hearted—when we are weak on convictions and hard on one another. Let’s consider this important balance that is needed to do church from now on. This balance was needed at Corinth and I suspect needed here.
I. We Must Be Tough Minded in Our Faith.
The first four imperatives of our text are all military terms. First century readers would have recognized them as such. They are also present imperatives in the grammar. This means they are commands that are intended to be continuing habit patterns, not just something that is done once and then forgotten. Notice the four tough-minded commands.
First, be on guard. Watch out. Picture a military sentry posted at the outskirts of the camp. You remember the old western movies. After the good guys make camp for the night, the first thing they do is decide who is going to stand guard. They take turns watching so the others can sleep in safety.
This term is used nearly two dozen times in the New Testament often in reference to anticipating Christ’s return and the judgment to come. Listen to Jesus: 42“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. “ Matt. 24:42 through Matt. 24:44 (NIV)
Or Paul’s call to spiritual alertness, “2for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.” 1 Thess. 5:2 through 1 Thess. 5:6 (NIV).
Why must we stand guard? For the same reason that a military camp posts sentries. There are enemies to watch for. Make no mistake about it, there are spiritual enemies that every Christian and every church must be alert to. For centuries Christian thinkers have termed them: the world, the flesh, and the devil. When you find a church or a believer wounded and hurting today, it is always one or more of these same enemies that have broken through.
Stand guard. Stay awake. An unbelieving world that neither knows or cares to know the ways of God is waiting in the shadows. Satan the enemy of our souls is ready to pounce. Our flesh, our humanness, our old habit patterns, our old predisposition to sin and disobedience is ready to take over at a moments notice. Command one for a tough minded faith—be on guard!
Second, stand firm in the faith. The military metaphor continues. A sentry stays alert to anticipate an attack. Once the battle is engaged, good soldiers must hold their positions. They must not give an inch. Their orders are to hold back the enemy and keep their ground.
The phrase “the faith” in this command refers not to act of believing but to the object of our belief. Jude 3 uses the same phrase: ‘3Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” Jude 1:3 (NIV). This distinction is important because today many have given up standing firm in the faith and replaced it with some sort of mushy-headed faith in believing.
You have heard the idea: it doesn’t make any difference what you believe as long as you believe. Nonsense! The Christian faith is not about believing what ever you want; it is about believing the truth revealed in Jesus Christ! It is not our believing (being religious, superstitious or sentimental) that saves us but our trusting in the right object, the Living God revealed in Jesus Christ. For that we must stand firm.
Earlier Paul had outlined that faith in chapter 15: 1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, . . .” 1 Cor. 15:1 through 1 Cor. 15:4 (NIV).
In Ephesians 4:14, Paul praises the results of standing firm for the truth of God’s Word: “14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” Eph. 4:14 (NIV).
At Corinth such firmness of faith was needed because there were those who thought that ecstatic experiences and spiritual visions were more important than what was believed or taught. That’s why there was so much confusion about basic Christian conduct and primary Gospel content. Some thought it was how you believed not what you believed that mattered most.
The same challenge exists today. What is it for which we must stand firm? I think Martin Luther outlined it as well as any five hundred years ago when he trumpeted a series of “solas” or “only’s” for which true believers must be willing to do battle. Three are especially worth noting today:
Scripture Only: God’s revelation and the content of our faith are grounded in the Word of God alone and not in human traditions, worldly wisdom, or claims of personal spiritual visions and enlightenment.
Christ Only: We become God’s children and receive the promise of heaven and the forgiveness of our sins only because of what Christ did for us on the cross. There is no other savior. There is salvation in none other. Apart from Christ all are lost and in their sins forever.
Faith Only: We appropriate the blessings of Christ’s death and walk in the ways of Jesus by faith. We cannot earn it, work for it, buy it, or do business with political or religious institutions to get it. Our relationship with God is a gift of God received by faith.
If you understand the implications of these truths—Scripture alone, Christ alone, faith alone—then you begin to understand what you must stand for as you do church from now on!
Be alert! Stay awake! Be on guard! Stand firm! Don’t give away an inch of the faith! Hold your ground!
The third tough minded command may sound a little strange to our ears. The idea is important. The NIV says, be men of good courage. The King James Version renders the same phrase: quit you like men. The Revised Standard Version says simply, be courageous. The Living Bible read, act like men. The old Moffatt translation says, play the man. Aristotle used this phrase to describe the preferred mean between fear and recklessness. It describes serious, measured battle conduct.
Do you see the progression? The sentry stands guard. When under attack, the good soldier holds his ground. In the midst of an all out assault, the warrior must be brave, even heroic. In the battle, be a man!
The sense in context can actually cut in two different directions. Both have relevance. First, Paul is calling for masculine courage, not that females can’t be just as courageous. But in the normal life of the warriors (despite our modern efforts at social re-engineering and the stuff of warrior princess legends) most battles are fought by men. In the midst of spiritual attack, stand up! Be counted! Don’t run and hide! Stand and fight! Act like a man, a trained warrior—not a sissy!
But there is another meaning, particularly in 1 Corinthians. The concept can carry the idea of be a man, not a boy, not a child. In this sense, the call to adult behavior is just as applicable to women as to men. This was a challenge that Paul raised more than once in 1 Corinthians. Just as a man acting like a coward is sad thing, so is an adult behaving like a child. That was actually what was happening at Corinth.
Listen to Paul’s words: “1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?” 1 Cor. 3:1 through 1 Cor. 3:3 (NIV)
”20Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” 1 Cor. 14:20 (NIV).
How do adults behave when they are acting like children or being childish? Obviously some children behave like perfectly little angels. Case in point—your grandchildren and mine! But other kids!! We all know what childishness means—mean, selfish, loud, uncontrolled and undisciplined behavior, shouting, inappropriate talking or acting. Kids will be kids, but when adults act like children, that is another matter.
This is at least part of what Paul is calling the Corinthians believers to do—to start thinking of others more, stop fighting, stop demanding their own way right now, and to start thinking before talking or acting.
The fourth imperative is also a military term. “Be strong!” I think the emphasis here is on keeping up the fight as long as needed. Real battles, spiritual and physical, are seldom won in a day. Perseverance often wins where simple skill and energy give up. Again, the progression is clear. Sentries, be on guard. When attacked, hold your ground. In the heat of battle, be courageous and heroic. Above all, stay the course. Don’t give up. Stay strong.
Interestingly this term is the only command in the series in the passive voice. This means the strength is not something we do or generate out of our own ability. It is something we receive from outside. Clearly this is the emphasis of Scripture. The spiritual strength needed to stay the course for the Lord is not our own, but his.
Listen to Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians: 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, Eph. 1:18 through Eph. 1:20 (NIV).
Later when Paul calls his readers to put on the armor of God and be ready to do battle, he begins by saying, “10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Eph. 6:10 (NIV). This is the same message the Lord gave to the prophet in Zechariah 4:6, “6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. Zech. 4:6 (NIV)
Doing church from now in this place will require a dependence on the Lord. All must call upon his strength. The enemies are too great and the obstacles too large for natural strength. Only the supernatural will do. The Good News is that such supernatural strength is ready and available for all who desire it, for all who will ask for it.
Be alert. Stay firm. Be men of courage. Remain strong. This is what it means to do church with a tough-minded faith. Without some tough-mindedness, a church has no identity. There is little to distinguish it from the shallow sentimentalism of the world. There is certainly nothing to fortify young and old against the assaults of the enemies. Without this toughness of spirit, there is nothing and no one we can count on when we are under temptation and attack. There is nothing to hold on to.
But there is more. If this toughness is all there is, a church can easily turn into a mean, harsh, legalistic, ugly fighting fellowship that no one wants to be a part of or remain with. The winsomeness of a church comes from the proper balance of tough-mindedness and tender-heartedness. Paul’s fifth imperative speaks to this.
II. We Must Be Tender Hearted in Our Fellowship.
“Do everything in love,” is the admonition. The Corinthians had heard this before, but they needed it again. Chapter 13 made the case for love regardless of what abilities or position one had or thought he had. There is no excuse for not loving.
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians provides the context for such love. There was a lot of unloving in Corinth. They were a divided fighting church. They seemingly justified their lack of love by who they were or who their enemies were, or what they had or what they knew. Again and again, Paul insists that possessing special spiritual abilities, seeing visions or dreams, having wealth, knowing more, being in church, or even being right is no excuse for not loving. In all things, love.
Paul described what this love looked like: 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Cor. 13:1 through 1 Cor. 13:7 (NIV).
Doing church from here on calls for such love. It calls for love in our worship. We must love God more than we love our own preferences. We must love our neighbor and care about his needs more than we love ourselves. Love does not seek its own.
We must love in our giving. Selfish, stingy, self-protecting greed will never do. Only self-sacrificing love will suffice.
We must love in our forgiving. Getting even, telling off, talking back, or angry encounters will not work from now on.
We must love our God, our brothers and sisters even when they are wrong, and the lost around us. Only when people are loved and know it will they want to find out what makes a church tick. Only when outsiders see people who love one another unconditionally, all of the time, will they want to become insiders.
Make no mistake about. Love is not easy. If it were, there wouldn’t be so much hate in the world. Not everyone will love back. Love involves words, but never just words. Love is never something that you can grow too old or too spiritual to have to work on. It is a life assignment. Those who do church well keep working on it.
Conclusion: There they are. Paul final exhortation—my final words. Yours is not an easy task. Doing church in this place from now will require the best you have. 13Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14Do everything in love. (1 Cor. 16:13 through 1 Cor. 16:14 (NIV).
A final postscript from Paul: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen. (16:23-24)
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
