Always Abounding in the Work of the Lord - 1 Corinthians 15:58
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Psalm 47:5–7 (ESV)
5 God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!
2 Peter 1:3–11 (ESV)
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Introduction
We have seen something of the glory of heaven much of which is being experienced by those in heaven now. Have also seen that a great change is to take when the Lord returns and we shall then worship God unceasingly in our resurrected bodies. Our text speaks to what we are to do in the here and now until the Lord calls us to be with him.
Stand
Work
Motivation
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1. Stand
1. Stand
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1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable,
a. Therefore
a. Therefore
The exhortation has little to do with the immediately preceding verses on the victory the believers share with Jesus Christ. It is an entreaty that arises from the entire chapter if not the whole epistle. Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (Vol. 18, p. 587). Baker Book House.
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
It is unsafe to do anything against one’s conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. So help me God. Martin Luther
b. Steadfast
b. Steadfast
The adjective ἑδραῖοι means “sitting,” established in a seat, and thus fixed, settled, firm, solid. It thus refers to our own inner faith and conviction. Having a victory so great and vital, our first obligation is to be firmly and fully settled in it and thus to realise for ourselves its greatness and its glory, its preciousness and its power, and to abide in it with happy and thankful souls. So many are inwardly unstable, are like water or sand, never settle down solidly in the gospel and its glorious faith. They allow their hearts to be fixed elsewhere; and as empty as these other ideas are, so empty is their attachment to them. Lenski, R. C. H. (1963). The interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second epistle to the Corinthians (p. 753). Augsburg Publishing House.
Paul commends the believers for their steadfastness and exhorts them to continue their dedication to the Lord (compare Col. 1:23). Amid the onslaught of diverse teaching in a pagan culture, he urges them to remain firm in the Lord and not to waver. Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (Vol. 18, p. 587). Baker Book House.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
c. Immovable
c. Immovable
Paul tells the Corinthians to be immovable. This last word is a compound that signifies an inability to move from their spiritual moorings. Paul is not talking about retaining the status quo in the church. He wants the people to grow in their love for the Lord and to communicate this in their deeds. Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (Vol. 18, p. 587). Baker Book House.
Be not shifted from your position!” is Paul’s admonition. This refers to outward solicitation and attack. Foes are always ready to assail our faith. Some strike at it with open denial, some with subtle error that leads us to compromise our faith and our confession, and some come with immoral temptation. They seek to turn us, who are victors in Christ, into slaves of men. Paul bids us to stand “unmovable against all of them. Lenski, R. C. H. (1963). The interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second epistle to the Corinthians (p. 753). Augsburg Publishing House.
9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.
19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
21 but test everything; hold fast what is good.
Hebrews 10:23–25 (ESV)
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
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2. Work
2. Work
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1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)
58 always abounding in the work of the Lord,
a. Always Abounding
a. Always Abounding
Because of our wealth of heavenly spoils and our eternal victory in Christ we can afford to “abound.” We are not called to idleness and mere enjoyment but to diligent effort “in the work of the Lord.” Lenski, R. C. H. (1963). The interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second epistle to the Corinthians (p. 754). Augsburg Publishing House.
If Christ is not risen, and if no transformation awaits us, then we should have no real work in life. Creature enjoyments would be our all, v. 32b. But now a thousand voices call upon us to be busy and tireless. Paul is an excellent example in following his own admonition. Lenski, R. C. H. (1963). The interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second epistle to the Corinthians (p. 754). Augsburg Publishing House.
1 Corinthians 15:32 (ESV)
32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
Isaiah 22:13 (ESV)
13 and behold, joy and gladness, killing oxen and slaughtering sheep, eating flesh and drinking wine. “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
b. The Work of the Lord
b. The Work of the Lord
Paul significantly calls this the work “of the Lord.” He has instituted this work, and all of it belongs to him personally. This is the work of the gospel, the work of filling our own hearts and our lives with the truth, the power, and the light of the gospel and the hearts and the lives of as many others as possible. This is the work of the church which has places and tasks for every one of us. Its nature is spiritual throughout. This significant genitive “of the Lord” should correct the so-called “church work” of many who busy themselves with worldly tasks in the churches, with mere humanitarian “social service” and a hundred other things with which the Lord and the gospel are not concerned. Lenski, R. C. H. (1963). The interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second epistle to the Corinthians (p. 754). Augsburg Publishing House.
What is the work of the Lord?
The work entails preaching and teaching Christ’s gospel,
applying the contents of Scripture to our lives,
edifying one another,
loving our neighbour as ourselves (compare 16:10).
It consists of an earnest desire to keep God’s commandments
and to do so out of gratitude for our salvation provided through his Son.
As his love extends to us without measure, so our selfless deeds are done for him without measure.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (Vol. 18, p. 588). Baker Book House.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
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3. Motivation
3. Motivation
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1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)
58 knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.
The faithful Corinthians have a sure knowledge that the deeds done out of love and thankfulness to God will not be forgotten (see Heb. 6:10). The word labour is often used by Paul in a missionary setting and means working with his own hands for his own support (4:12) “and for activity in the Christian community as a whole.” Such labour given freely in service to the Lord is never in vain because the Lord himself blesses his servants (Matt. 19:29). Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (Vol. 18, p. 588). Baker Book House.
10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
Conclusion
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1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.