Lessons #583 and 584
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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Encouragement to believers (1 Cor 15:58)
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
The fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is devoted to the doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that of resurrection. However, the last verse of the chapter is concerned with encouragement of the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians and so to all believers. A person may say that the word “encouragement” or its equivalent is not used in our verse and so that my assertion is not valid. Well, what is encouragement? Is it not the raising of someone’s confidence or giving someone support to do something? This being the case, we contend that since our verse is concerned with words that should lead a person to act in positive ways stipulated in the verse, our verse is concerned with encouragement.
Encouragement is an important activity in spiritual life and so it is required of spiritual leaders. This we can learn from the commands issued to spiritual leaders to be involved in it. God instructed Moses to encourage Joshua as he was handing over to him the mantle of leadership of Israel as we have recorded in Deuteronomy 3:28:
But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.”
The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul conveyed that overseers or pastors of local churches have the responsibility of encouraging believers as in the instruction given to Titus, who represents overseers or pastors of local churches, as we read in Titus 2:15:
These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
Because encouragement is an important activity in spiritual life, all believers are expected to be involved in it. The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul communicated this requirement to believers in Thessalonica as we read in 1 Thessalonians 5:14:
And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
The same requirement is communicated by the Holy Spirit through the human author of Hebrews as stated in Hebrews 3:13:
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
Thus, it should be clear that all believers should be involved in the ministry of encouraging others. Of course, we should recognize that while all believers should be involved in it that there are those who would be more effective in carrying out this because of the spiritual gift of encouraging others as we may gather from Romans 12:6–8:
6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
By the way, we should recognize that correct encouragement given to anyone should be based on the Scripture since we are informed that it is the encouragement of the Scripture that breeds the proper expectations in the spiritual life as the Holy Spirit communicated through Apostle Paul as he penned down in Romans 15:4:
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Furthermore, we should recognize that although we may give encouragement to a fellow believer but God is the One that ultimately brings encouragement to a person. This fact is implied in what the Holy Spirit stated through Apostle Paul in the next verse, that is, Romans 15:5:
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,
This specific fact that God ultimately causes someone to be encouraged is intended to encourage a believer not to become disheartened if it appears that his encouragement to another believer is not fruitful. Realizing that God ultimately brings encouragement should cause a believer not to feel disheartened because of lack of apparent impact of encouragement given. In fact, it is when God encourages or comforts a person that such an individual could extend the same to others. This is especially the case with spiritual leaders. We say this because Apostle Paul indicated that it is because he and his team received comfort that he was able to encourage or comfort others as stated in 2 Corinthians 1:3–4:
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Be that as it may, it is our assertion that 1 Corinthians 15:58 is concerned with encouragement of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul given to the Corinthians and so to all believers following the doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ and resurrection. This being the case, we believe that the message the Holy Spirit wants us to bring to you from this verse is that You should remain consistently motivated to do the Lord’s work because of what He has done for you and because you will be rewarded for it. It is this message that we will expound using three propositions.
The first proposition needed to expound on the message of 1 Corinthians 15:58 that we have stated is that there must be doctrinal basis for encouragement given to believers. This proposition is derived from the very first word therefore that begins the verse. The word “therefore” is translated from a Greek word (hōste) that may be used either as a marker of purpose with the meaning “in order that, so that” as Apostle Paul used to describe the state he and his team experienced, because of the pressure they faced as stated in 2 Corinthians 1:8:
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
The word is used as a marker of result with the meaning “therefore” or even “for this reason” as Apostle Paul used it in his encouragement to the Philippians to stand firm in the Lord since they would eventually receive glorious bodies similar to that of our Lord Jesus when He returns as we read in Philippians 4:1:
Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58, the word means “therefore” or “for this reason.”
The apostle used the Greek word translated “therefore” in 1 Corinthians 15:58 several times in this epistle. Sometimes he used it to draw a conclusion based on what he previously stated or even to summarize what he had previously written but in our verse he used it as the basis for the encouragement he offered to the Corinthians. Thus, the apostle used the word “therefore” to indicate that there is a basis for the encouragement he gave in verse 58. The basis of this encouragement is primarily the victory that believers have in Christ, especially since that is what he thanked God for in the preceding verse 57. In other words, the apostle based his encouragement on the doctrine of victory that believers have through Christ. This victory is over sin and over death that in a sense has begun since believers have eternal life. Of course, this is not the only place where the apostle encouraged believers based on doctrine he had espoused. He did this, for example, with the Thessalonians as we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:18:
Therefore encourage each other with these words.
The requirement for believers to encourage each other is based on the doctrine of the fate of believers who have died in Christ as he taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17:
13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
It is true that the primary basis of the apostle’s encouragement to the Corinthians and so to every believer is the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ over sin and death but there is a sense that the doctrines the apostle had espoused in the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians would have been in his mind. In effect, he would also be thinking of the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of bodily resurrection as part of the basis for his encouragement to the Corinthians.
Anyway, the first proposition that there must be doctrinal basis for encouragement given to believers is a truthful principle that is evident not only in 1 Corinthians 15:58 but in other parts of the Scripture. Apostles Paul and Barnabas encouraged new converts as stated in Acts 14:21–22:
21 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
The encouragement given to new converts is to endure hardship or even persecution for their new faith in the Lord Jesus. The doctrinal basis of this encouragement is our Lord’s teaching that believers in Him will be persecuted as we find, for example, in Matthew 10:21–23:
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
This proposition that encouragement of others must have doctrinal basis is also implied in the OT Scripture. King Hezekiah encouraged his people during a military conflict not to fear their enemies but to be courageous in fighting against them as we read in 2 Chronicles 32:6–8:
6He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: 7“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
The doctrinal basis of this encouragement is Israel’s covenant relationship with Yahweh their God who in the past had fought their battles and so the king was confident in God’s power to deliver them from the hands of the Assyrians. King Josiah encouraged the priests and Levites to carry out their duty as recorded in 2 Chronicles 35:2–3:
2 He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the LORD’s temple. 3 He said to the Levites, who instructed all Israel and who had been consecrated to the LORD: “Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel.
The doctrinal basis for the encouragement of Josiah to the priests and Levites to serve God is that He had appointed them to that service. Moses’ song revealed that the Levites were responsible for teaching Israel as we read in Deuteronomy 33:10:
He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
The Levites are also responsible for the activities associated with the Tent of Meeting according to Numbers 18:5–7:
5 “You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that wrath will not fall on the Israelites again. 6 I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the LORD to do the work at the Tent of Meeting. 7 But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death.”
These doctrinal facts about the Levites are the bases of Josiah’s encouragement to the priests and the rest of the Levites during the spiritual awakening of his time. These two examples in the OT Scripture imply that to properly encourage a person you should have doctrinal basis for it. I must confess that I have difficulty encouraging or comforting an unbeliever who has lost a loved one because I have no basis for doing so. I can comfort or encourage a believer who has lost a loved one who is a believer by appealing to the fact that the Scripture assures us that believers will meet each other at the second coming but I could not truthfully use that to provide comfort to an unbeliever. So, you get the point that it is difficult to encourage or comfort someone without doctrinal basis for such an activity.
We should note that not only encouragement to believers that has doctrinal basis so do the commands in the Scripture or appeals to certain conduct. Take for example, the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul appealed to the Corinthians and so to the church at large to ensure they are constantly dealing with sin in their lives given in terms of purifying oneself in 2 Corinthians 7:1:
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
The appeal is given as let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit. The basis of this appeal is given in the clause Since we have these promises. The promises are those associated with believers being the temple of God given in 2 Corinthians 6:16–18:
16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17“Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 18 “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
The point is that whether we are dealing with encouragement for believers or instructions, they are either directly or indirectly based on doctrinal facts. Hence, the first proposition that there must be doctrinal basis for encouragement given to believers. You must endeavor to encourage others based on Scripture.
In any case, the doctrinal basis of the encouragement of 1 Corinthians 15:58 is introduced with the word therefore that begins the verse. The doctrinal basis not directly stated in the verse but implied in the context is the victory through Christ that believers have. In the context, the apostle had already indicated that we have victory through Christ that is the reason for his thanksgiving to God as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:57:
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The victory we have in our Lord Jesus Christ as we had previously examined is over sin and death.
The victory we have over sin through Jesus Christ may be established from what the apostle wrote in the context of 1 Corinthians 15:58 and his epistle to the Romans since there is no direct statement in the passage of 1 Corinthians 15 of our victory through Christ over sin although that is implied. Apostle Paul tells us that what gives power to sin is the law as we have already considered in 1 Corinthians 15:56:
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
Through the death of Christ on the cross and our union with Him we are no longer under the law as the apostle penned down in Romans 6:14:
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.
If we are not under the law, then the power of sin over us is removed. Since we were enslaved by sin through Adam, our being not under it implies there is a sense in which we are victorious over that which gives sin its power and so victorious over sin. This victory over sin through our Lord Jesus Christ is conveyed in the sense of being set free or released from the power of sin as we read in Romans 6:18:
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
There should be no doubt that it is because of our union with Christ that we have victory over sin since it is our union with Him in His death that is a basis for us not being enslaved to sin as the apostle stated in Romans 6:6:
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
The point is that although it is not directly stated in the context of 1 Corinthians 15:58, we have victory over sin. It is because of this victory over sin that we are commanded to avoid a lifestyle that is inconsistent with the doctrinal position of victory over sin as we have, for example, in Colossians 3:5:
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Our victory over death is conveyed in terms of bodily resurrection or the transformation of our bodies at the second coming of Christ. This doctrine was the concern of the apostle in the passage we have studied previously, that is, 1 Corinthians 15:51–54:
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
This victory over death through Christ is a truth that we can apply at the present. In effect, it is because we should believe and function according to this doctrine of our victory over death that we are expected to live a life where we are no longer intimidated by death as Satan’s agent of intimidating humankind as we learn from Hebrews 2:14–15:
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Anyway, the doctrinal basis for the encouragement the Holy Spirit gave in 1 Corinthians 15:58 that is our concern is victory we have in Christ over sin and death, hence the first proposition of the message of the verse that we are considering. Again, the first proposition is there must be doctrinal basis for encouragement given to believers. But before we get to the second proposition, we should note that the encouragement of the verse is directed to the Corinthians and so to the universal church of Christ.
That the encouragement of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul is directed toward the Corinthians and so to all believers is introduced with the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:58 my dear brothers or more literally my beloved brothers.
The word “dear” of the NIV or “beloved” of the literal translation is translated from a Greek word (agapētos) that pertains to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished and so means “only, only beloved.” Thus, it is the word God the Father used to describe God the Son during the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus as recorded in Matthew 17:5:
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
The sentence This is my Son, whom I love is literally This is my beloved Son. The word may pertain to one who is dearly loved hence means “dear, beloved, prized, valued.” The word is a favorite one used by writers of our NT epistles to address the group of believers that were the original recipients of their epistles. Apostle Paul used it to address the Philippians before his instruction regarding their being careful to ensure that their salvation is reflected in their lifestyles as we read in Philippians 2:12:
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
By the way the expression continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling is not a teaching of salvation by works nor is a teaching that believers can improve or enhance their salvation as that is the work of God from start to finish. Instead, it means that the believer must work out their deliverance from sin in their daily lives and everything that will hamper them from enjoying fully their salvation in this life. That aside, our Greek word translated dear in 1 Corinthians 15:58 is used by the human author of Hebrews to address the recipients of his epistle before giving them the assurance of what God does as it relates to salvation in Hebrews 6:9:
Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case—things that accompany salvation.
James used our Greek word to address the recipients of his epistle before instructing them about their conduct as we read in James 1:19:
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
Apostle Peter used the Greek word to address the recipients of his epistle before instructing them to avoid a life of sin in 1 Peter 2:11:
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
Apostle John used it to address the recipients of his epistle before he instructed them about testing of spirits to determine genuine spirit in 1 John 4:1:
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
Jude used the Greek word to address the recipients of his epistle as we read in Jude 17:
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.
The word is used not only to address groups of believers but individual believers. Thus, Apostle Paul used it to describe Philemon in Philemon 1:
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker,
Likewise, Apostle Paul used it to describe Timothy as his spiritual son in 2 Timothy 1:2:
To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
Thus, one gets the idea that the word “dear” is an argot (an often more or less secret vocabulary and idiom peculiar to a particular group) among the early church. It is not just a word but one that conveys love to each other. Unfortunately, most of us modern Christians have lost sight of how dear we should hold each other in our minds. This was not the case with Apostle Paul. He considered the Corinthians as highly valued and beloved by him and so he addressed them as my dear brothers.
The word “brothers” is translated from a Greek word (adelphos) that has several meanings in the Greek. It could mean brother in the sense of a male person from the same mother as the referenced person. It is in this sense that the word is used by Apostle Paul to reference those who are from the same mother as Jesus in His humanity as he defended his right to marry as stated in 1 Corinthians 9:5:
Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?
The word may mean “a believer” as that is the sense of the word “brother” used by Apostle Paul in his instruction to slaves regarding how to treat their masters who are believers in Christ as we read in 1 Timothy 6:2:
Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.
It is clear that “brothers” is used here for believers because of the clause because those who benefit from their service are believers. Hence, the word “brother” is the same as “believer.” Thus, it is not surprising that the translators of the NIV translated the Greek word as “believers” in the letter of the first church council that was sent to Gentile believers as we read in Acts 15:23:
With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.
The phrase the Gentile believers in Antioch is literally the brothers from among the Gentiles in Antioch. In keeping with this understanding, the word may mean “brother” in the sense of one who has the same beliefs with the one that uses the word, irrespective of gender, that is, the word refers to “a fellow believer.” It is in this sense of one who shares the same faith and so belongs to a specific Christian community, that is, a “fellow believer” that Apostle Paul used the word to describe Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:25:
But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs.
It is in this sense of fellow believers, regardless of gender, that Apostle Paul used it in his final greetings to the Ephesian church in Ephesians 6:23:
Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The peace the apostle wished on “the brothers” could not possibly apply only to male members of the church in Ephesus. Therefore, the word “brothers” has the sense of “brothers and sisters in Christ” here in Ephesians 6:23. It is in this sense that the word is used in 1 Corinthians 15:58 to refer to “fellow believers” or “brothers and sisters in Christ.” Hence, some English versions, such as the NET, the NCV, and the 2011 edition of the NIV, among others, used the phrase brothers and sisters to translate our Greek word in our verse of study.
In any case, it is to all believers in Corinth regardless of their gender that the apostle addressed using the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:58 my dear brothers. In effect, the apostle addressed the Corinthians as “my dear brothers and sisters in Christ.” The apostle before he encouraged the Corinthians with the words in verse 58 must have been overwhelmed with the thought of how blessed they were in that they were the first group of believers that received the fuller doctrine of the bodily transformation that will occur at the second coming of Christ since he used the Greek word translated “mystery” in 1 Corinthians 15:51. True, the apostle had written to the Philippians sometimes after the composition of the first epistle to the Corinthians with a passing reference to bodily transformation of believers in Philippians 3:21:
who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
He wrote the Thessalonians sometime before his first epistle to the Corinthians to indicate that the dead in Christ will accompany Him when He returns while believers who are alive would join Him as described in a passage we cited previously, that is, 1 Thessalonians 4:14–17
14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
But it is to the Corinthians, the apostle provided more details regarding the bodily transformation, victory over death and sin in relationship to the second coming of Christ using the word “mystery” or “revealed secret.” This being the case, the apostle must have also considered Corinthians as being in a unique class that is very special to him. I say this because of the phrase in 1 Corinthians 15:58 my dear brothers. This is the only place in all his epistles that we find him use this phrase that consists of two words “dear”, and “brothers” associated with the possessive pronoun “my.” He used the combined words “my” and “brothers” three times in this first epistle to the Corinthians. He used this combination when he first introduced the concept of division that exists among them as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:11:
My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
The apostle used the same combination when he summed up the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper as stated in 1 Corinthians 11:33–34:
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
Again, he used the same combination of “my” and “brothers” in summing up the vexing doctrine of the gifts of speaking in tongues and prophecy in the worship service in Corinth as recorded in 1 Corinthians 14:39–40:
39 Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.
Once in this first epistle, he used a combination of the word “my” and “dear” in the Greek as he warned the Corinthians against idolatry as we read in 1 Corinthians 10:14:
Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
The phrase my dear friends composed of two words in the Greek, the word “my” and the Greek word (agapētos) that as an adjective means “dear” but because it is used as a noun in this command, the meaning of the Greek word is “dear friends.” The other time the apostle used the same phrase is in his instruction to the Philippians regarding ensuring that they are working out their deliverance from sin in their daily life and in everything that will hamper them from enjoying fully their salvation in this life is in the passage we cited previously, that is, Philippians 2:12:
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
That aside, we contend that because it is only in 1 Corinthians 15:58 that the apostle used the phrase my dear brothers that he must have been overwhelmed with the thought of how blessed they were in that they were the first group of believers that received the fuller doctrine of the bodily transformation that will occur at the second coming of Christ since he used the Greek word translated “mystery” in 1 Corinthians 15:51. In effect, the apostle reminded the Corinthians and so all believers how special we are in that we are privileged in Christ. This privileged position we enjoy in Christ puts us under great obligation in keeping with what the Lord Jesus communicated to His disciples in Luke 12:48:
But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
With this comment about privileged position and responsibility of such privilege, we proceed to the second proposition that is necessary to expound on the message of 1 Corinthians 15:58 which, again, is You should remain consistently motivated to do the Lord’s work because of what He has done for you and because you will be rewarded for it.
The second proposition necessary to expound on the message of 1 Corinthians 15:58 is that the content of the encouragement should be clear. This proposition is derived from the instruction of the apostle to the Corinthians in verse 58 beginning with stand firm or literally be firm. This is because the word “stand” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (ginomai) that may mean “to be” although it is different from another Greek word (eimi) that may also mean “to be” in that our Greek word emphasizes that of being what one was not before. That aside, our Greek word has several meanings. For example, it may mean “to come into existence” so may have the sense of “to perform” as it is used in the prayer of the early church requesting God to do miracles to authenticate their message in the face of persecution as narrated in Acts 4:30:
Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
The word may mean “to become something” as Apostle Paul used it in cautioning believers not to become stumbling blocks to others in their use of their freedom in Christ in 1 Corinthians 8:9:
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
The word may mean “to occur as process or result” hence may mean “to take place, to happen.” Thus, it is the word that is used with the meaning “to happen” to describe the change of attitude of the islanders of Malta when they noticed that although a viper coiled around Apostle Paul’s arm, he suffered no harm as narrated in Acts 28:6:
The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58, the sense of the word is “to become,” that is, “to enter or assume a certain state or condition.” The word is used to issue encouragement or command to the Corinthians regarding what state or condition required of them. The apostle used a present tense in the Greek implying here that the Corinthians are to become or to enter again and again or to continue what is specified in the command stand firm of the NIV or become firm. What is the apostle commanding the Corinthians to do in the command stand firm? We are out of time so we will consider this in our next study. However, let me end by reminding you of the message of this passage we are studying which is You should remain consistently motivated to do the Lord’s work because of what He has done for you and because you will be rewarded for it.
12/22/23