BE YE STEDFAST, UNMOVEABLE…ABOUNDING

In 1572, as John Knox lay dying, he asked his wife to read 1 Corinthians chapter 15 to him, saying ‘Is not this a comfortable chapter?’ Down through the years this chapter has been used to relieve and console the saints of God, as Paul ‘brings heaven very near, and the golden gates seem to come into full view across the horizon’, Alan Redpath. He proves without any doubt the truth of the resurrection from the dead and its fundamental necessity to faith, thus counteracting the scepticism and doubt that had pervaded the church at Corinth. In doing so he demonstrates the very practical implications for Christian living: ‘awake to righteousness, and sin not’, v. 34.

The mystery revealed in verse 51 is first mentioned in John chapter 14 verses 1-3 by the Lord Himself and elaborated upon by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4. 13-18. There will be renewal for all the saints, with no more decay or death but only the glorious assurance of being ‘forever with the Lord’. Well might Paul burst forth in praise: ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’, v. 57. This victory is for us to make real in our personal experience day by day. In view of the certainty of resurrection and the fact that our faith in Christ is not in vain, we are not simply to sit back and bask in the wonder of the second coming and the glory that is to follow. Rather, Paul challenges us to:

Be ‘stedfast’ - from a Greek word which means to be seated or settled, Col. 1. 23. We are to have convictions from the word of God about the truth of God which nobody can change.

Be ‘unmoveable’ - from a word meaning firm. Because the Bible is not a dry textbook but a practical guide for the Christian life, we must hold on to its truth with tenacity and not be moved away or ‘carried about with divers and strange doctrines’, Heb. 13. 9.

Be ‘abounding’ - we should be diligent in the performance of our duty and give ourselves wholly to it, never satisfied with just a little bit of service for Him. After all, we have the assured promise of reward!