"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit ye like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity." I Cor. 16:13-14
The church at Corinth was like a garden plagued with weeds. It is a wonderful testimony to the grace and power of God that there was a church there at all, given the native moral and spiritual condition of the city. But, wherever God is at work planting or growing His church, there the adversary will be at work to corrupt and destroy it.
Pride, strife and division, moral degeneration, disorder in worship (specifically at the Lord's table,) abuse of spiritual gifts and serious doctrinal error were all manifest in the congregation, not unlike many a 21st century church. Specific remedies for these ills are proposed along the way, as the holy Spirit addresses them through the apostle's teaching, but our text today offers a kind of summary defense against the invasion of the body of Christ by the power of darkness.
The first admonition is "watch." The word used here means to stay awake. The Savior used the same word when He said to His disciples, "The Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh…lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch (Mk. 13:34-37)." (See also Mt. 23:42-44) We have a familiar idiom that expresses the idea: "Don't fall asleep on the job." Careless, casual Christianity is not equipped for the battle we are called to face.
It follows, of course, that if we need to be awake and alert, we also need to know what to watch for. Error, as a rule, does not enter the church in a frontal assault, but like the proverbial "thief in the night." We need to know the scriptures and keep them ever before us if we are to guard against it. More than ever, in these days of creeping apostasy, Christians need to be biblically informed and spiritually alert.
The second exhortation is to spiritual steadfastness. "Stand fast in the faith." It is of little use to remain on the alert if we are not prepared to resist the enemy when he makes his appearance. There is, however, an important modifier: "in the faith." There are those in some churches who "stand," but who stand in the way of spiritual progress. They lack the ability to recognize the difference between the "tradition of the elders," for instance, and real essentials of the faith. Stubbornness and steadfastness may on the surface look the same, but they are from different roots. We must stand firmly against all compromise of that faith revealed in the New Testament scriptures, but clearly distinguish it from the cultural accretions sometimes added to it, like barnacles clinging to the hull a great ship, and threatening to hinder the cause of Christ or bring reproach upon His name.
The third challenge issued here is, "Quit ye like men, be strong." It is a call to a mature and courageous disposition. Many a church has decayed because there was no one willing to "stand up and be counted," when the situation required it. This is a call to strong spiritual initiative, and it is noteworthy that it is addressed to "The church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.… (I Cor. 1:2)." This call to maturity and courage in spiritual matters, along with the command to be alert and stedfast, is not addressed to an elite group within the church, but to the whole congregation. It is every believer's responsibility, if the church is to withstand the onslaught of "spiritual wickedness in high places."
With all of that , however, there is a "bottom line" of paramount importance. "Let all your things be done with charity." Here that divine love comes into play again. Sometimes the methods and manner of those who perceive threats to the testimony of Christ, which need to be addressed, only compound the problem by the way they confront the issues. Through this same apostle the Holy Spirit counsels in another place, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted (Gal. 6:1)." Being mature and strong in our stand for the truth of God does not mean throwing our weight around or heavy handed harshness in dealing with those who err. It means being on the alert, standing firm, exercising our strength in a mature and loving way, seeking the preservation of the faith, the purity of the gospel and the welfare of every believer, including those who may be at "fault."
Love—for God, for the faith, for our fellow believers—is the bottom line, without which the right thing may be done in the wrong way and only further compound the problem. "Let all your things be done with charity!"
In and for Him,
"Pastor" Frasier
The church at Corinth was like a garden plagued with weeds. It is a wonderful testimony to the grace and power of God that there was a church there at all, given the native moral and spiritual condition of the city. But, wherever God is at work planting or growing His church, there the adversary will be at work to corrupt and destroy it.
Pride, strife and division, moral degeneration, disorder in worship (specifically at the Lord's table,) abuse of spiritual gifts and serious doctrinal error were all manifest in the congregation, not unlike many a 21st century church. Specific remedies for these ills are proposed along the way, as the holy Spirit addresses them through the apostle's teaching, but our text today offers a kind of summary defense against the invasion of the body of Christ by the power of darkness.
The first admonition is "watch." The word used here means to stay awake. The Savior used the same word when He said to His disciples, "The Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh…lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch (Mk. 13:34-37)." (See also Mt. 23:42-44) We have a familiar idiom that expresses the idea: "Don't fall asleep on the job." Careless, casual Christianity is not equipped for the battle we are called to face.
It follows, of course, that if we need to be awake and alert, we also need to know what to watch for. Error, as a rule, does not enter the church in a frontal assault, but like the proverbial "thief in the night." We need to know the scriptures and keep them ever before us if we are to guard against it. More than ever, in these days of creeping apostasy, Christians need to be biblically informed and spiritually alert.
The second exhortation is to spiritual steadfastness. "Stand fast in the faith." It is of little use to remain on the alert if we are not prepared to resist the enemy when he makes his appearance. There is, however, an important modifier: "in the faith." There are those in some churches who "stand," but who stand in the way of spiritual progress. They lack the ability to recognize the difference between the "tradition of the elders," for instance, and real essentials of the faith. Stubbornness and steadfastness may on the surface look the same, but they are from different roots. We must stand firmly against all compromise of that faith revealed in the New Testament scriptures, but clearly distinguish it from the cultural accretions sometimes added to it, like barnacles clinging to the hull a great ship, and threatening to hinder the cause of Christ or bring reproach upon His name.
The third challenge issued here is, "Quit ye like men, be strong." It is a call to a mature and courageous disposition. Many a church has decayed because there was no one willing to "stand up and be counted," when the situation required it. This is a call to strong spiritual initiative, and it is noteworthy that it is addressed to "The church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.… (I Cor. 1:2)." This call to maturity and courage in spiritual matters, along with the command to be alert and stedfast, is not addressed to an elite group within the church, but to the whole congregation. It is every believer's responsibility, if the church is to withstand the onslaught of "spiritual wickedness in high places."
With all of that , however, there is a "bottom line" of paramount importance. "Let all your things be done with charity." Here that divine love comes into play again. Sometimes the methods and manner of those who perceive threats to the testimony of Christ, which need to be addressed, only compound the problem by the way they confront the issues. Through this same apostle the Holy Spirit counsels in another place, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted (Gal. 6:1)." Being mature and strong in our stand for the truth of God does not mean throwing our weight around or heavy handed harshness in dealing with those who err. It means being on the alert, standing firm, exercising our strength in a mature and loving way, seeking the preservation of the faith, the purity of the gospel and the welfare of every believer, including those who may be at "fault."
Love—for God, for the faith, for our fellow believers—is the bottom line, without which the right thing may be done in the wrong way and only further compound the problem. "Let all your things be done with charity!"
In and for Him,
"Pastor" Frasier
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