Lessons #585 and 586
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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.
This last verse of 1 Corinthians 15, as we indicated in our last study, is concerned with encouragement of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul to the Corinthians and so to the church universal. We indicated that the message 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. We also indicated we will expound the message using three propositions. The first proposition that we have studied is that there must be doctrinal basis for encouragement given to believers. The second is that the content of the encouragement should be clear. We began to consider this second proposition by focusing on the command stand firm or literally become/be firm with the question of what the command means but ran out of time. It is with the interpretation of this command that we begin our study this morning.
The command stand firm is one that appears several times in our English versions both in the OT and NT. However, it is the context that enables us to understand the command since often the command is not from either the same Hebrew word or the same Greek word. Take for example, in the time of exodus when Israel was facing an unattainable position of being hemmed in by the pursing Egyptian armies at their back and the Red Sea in their front. Moses issued the command recorded in Exodus 14:13:
Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
The expression “stand firm” is translated from a Hebrew word (yāṣǎḇ) that means “to take one stand.” In the context of Exodus 14:13, the Hebrew word is more communicative if we understand it with the sense of “to resist” considering the range of meanings associated with the word. The sense “to resist” enables us to recognize what it means to stand firm in the face of that which threatens the wellbeing of the believer. The Israelites were frightened by the sight of the Egyptian marching army hence the command of Moses to them not to be afraid. So, when he issued the command that is translated stand firm, he meant that they should resist fear so they can trust in Yahweh. In the NT, the command is either translated from a Greek verb or a Greek verb associated with an adjective. For example, when Apostle Paul taught about spiritual warfare, in order to encourage believers to hold their ground in the spiritual warfare, he used a Greek verb (histēmi) that basically means “to stand” but it is used with several other meanings and so it is used with the meaning “to stand firm” in Ephesians 6:14:
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.
The passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58 is an example of where the command stand firm is translated from a combination of a Greek verb and a Greek adjective. We noted in our last study that the word “stand” is translated from a Greek verb (ginomai) that in our verse of study means “to become,” that is, “to enter or assume a certain state or condition.” The word “firm” is translated from a Greek adjective (hedraios) that may mean “firm, steadfast” as it is used in the Apostle Paul’s encouragement to Colossians about maintaining the hope given in the gospel as implied in Colossians 1:23:
if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
The word may mean “settled” as in the decision a single believer reached about not marrying during crisis time as implied in 1 Corinthians 7:37:
But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58, the word is used the sense of “firm” or “steadfast”, that is, not subject to change or variation especially as it pertains to conduct.
We have indicated that it is the context that helps in interpreting the command stand firm. Based on the context of 1 Corinthians 15:58, we should understand the apostle to be encouraging the Corinthians and so all believers to be unwavering first regarding Christian doctrines. The apostle used a present tense in the Greek for the word translated “stand” in the NIV or “to become” as we interpreted the Greek verb (ginomai) so that the command of the apostle is for them to become firm or in case of those who have not been firm to begin to do so as soon as they hear the words of the apostle given in the verse we are considering.
There are two doctrines the apostle focused on in the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians. The first is the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus, the apostle encouraged believers who were wavering regarding the message of the gospel message not to do so, at the same time, encouraging those who were not wavering to continue to be firm in what they believe to be the gospel message. You see, there is a constant attack on the simple message of the gospel in the sense that there is attempt to make salvation dependent on works. Believers must remain unyielding to the fact that salvation is only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Apostle Paul stated in Ephesians 2:8–9:
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
So, believers must maintain that salvation is a matter of faith and never by works. The second doctrine the apostle expounded is that of bodily resurrection. The Corinthians and so all believers must never waver in their belief regarding bodily resurrection. We must hold on to the truth that this earthly body will be transformed and will never be a part of the resurrection body. There will be a total transformation of the body. Belief in bodily resurrection should affect a person’s conduct on this planet. For if a person believes that there is more to life than physical existence on this planet that should affect how a person lives while on this planet.
To indicate that the apostle is concerned with believers not wavering in their faith, he added another Greek adjective to the first one translated “firm” in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 15:58. The translators of the NIV rendered the second Greek adjective as Let nothing move you. Literally, the Greek simply reads immovable. This is because the apostle used a Greek adjective (ametakinētos) that appears only here in the Greek NT with the meaning “immovable.” This second adjective the apostle used in a sense helps to emphasize the first since this second adjective means essentially the same as the first adjective translated “firm.” The point is that the encouragement of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul to the Corinthians and so to all believers is that we should remain unmovable from our doctrinal standards regarding the gospel and hope contained in it as in the passage we cited previously, that is, Colossians 1:23:
if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
In any case, the second proposition we are considering is that the content of the encouragement should be clear. Consequently, in keeping with this proposition, the apostle continued to explain further what the encouragement to the Corinthians is. He moved from doctrine to application. It is this application that is introduced in the next expression of 1 Corinthians 15:58 Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. A literal translation from the Greek is always excelling in the work of the Lord.
The encouragement the Holy Spirit gave through Apostle Paul concerns something that should be constantly carried out by believers. We say this because the encouragement begins with the word always that is translated from a Greek word (pantote) that outside the gospels is used predominantly by Apostle Paul and the human author of Hebrews where the word appears only once. The word no doubt means “always” as the apostle used it to encourage believers to treat each other with kindness as the apostle penned down in 1 Thessalonians 5:15:
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
The word may mean “constantly” as Apostle Paul used it to describe the purpose of his and his team’s prayer for the Thessalonians that involves the Lord being honored or respected among them as we read in 2 Thessalonians 1:11:
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
The word may mean “at all times” as the apostle used it to describe his prayer practice as it relates to the Roman believers according to Romans 1:10:
in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
Interestingly, Apostle Paul used this word overwhelmingly for prayer. Even in the other usage of the Greek word outside the gospels, it is used in connection with intercessory ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ as our high priest as stated in Hebrews 7:25:
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
That aside, in our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58, the word means “always” in the sense of “all the time and on every occasion.”
The thing the Corinthians and so all believers should be involved with “all the time and on every occasion” is given next in the instruction of 1 Corinthians 15:58 give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord that literally reads excelling in the work of the Lord. You see, the expression give yourselves fully of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (perisseuō) that when used of things may mean to be present in abundance and so may mean “to overflow” as in the prayer of Apostle Paul for believers’ love to be demonstrated in such abundance to one another that it can be said to be overflowing, as in 1 Thessalonians 3:12:
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
When used of persons, the word may mean “to abound, to have an abundance” as in the statement of Apostle Paul concerning God making His grace available in abundance to the Corinthians to enable them to be generous and to be involved in good work, as we read in 2 Corinthians 9:8:
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
The word may mean “to excel” as in the commendation and encouragement to the Corinthians by Apostle Paul to be outstanding in generosity, as stated in 2 Corinthians 8:7:
But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58, the word has the sense “to be outstanding, be prominent, excel.” Thus, the encouragement of the Holy Spirit to believers is to be outstanding or to excel in what is described in the verse we are considering with the phrase the work of the Lord.
The word “work” is translated from a Greek word (ergon) that may mean “work” in the sense of that which one does as regular activity as Apostle Paul used it to describe the activity of Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:30:
because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for the help you could not give me.
The word may mean “deed” as that which displays itself in activity of any kind as Apostle Paul used it to describe sinful activities that believers should reject in Romans 13:12:
The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
The word may mean “product” or “undertaking” as that which is brought into being by work as it is used in the command of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul in Romans 14:20:
Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
The phrase the work of God is translated in the TEV as what God has done since the literal phrase the work of God refers probably to the church, which is the result of God’s work through Jesus Christ. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58, the word means “duty,” that is, “work that a person is obliged to perform for moral or spiritual reasons.”
The duty or work is associated with the Lord in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:58 the work of the Lord. There are two problems related to this phrase. The first is how to understand the word “Lord” and the second is how to relate the word “work” to “the Lord.”
The word “Lord” is translated from a Greek word (kyrios) that may mean “owner” as it is used to describe the owners of the slave girl that was involved in fortune-telling that Apostle Paul eventually healed that was described in Acts 16:16:
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
The word may mean “lord, master” as a person in a position of authority. It is in this sense that the word is used to describe Abraham in relationship to his wife, Sarah, as one with authority hence Sarah described Abraham as her master meaning that he has authority over her, in 1 Peter 3:6:
like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
The word may be used to describe God in a general sense without distinction to the person of the Godhead in view as in Matthew 4:7:
Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
It is in the sense of God the Father that the word is used in Matthew 11:25:
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
The word may refer to the Lord Jesus Christ. This may be the case in some quotations from the OT Scripture. Take for example, in Jesus’ quotation from Psalms in the question He posed to His audience as He taught, as reported in Mark 12:36–37:
36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ 37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
The One David calls Lord is the Messiah, that is, Jesus Christ and so the second reference to Lord in this question is a reference to Jesus Christ. The word “Lord” is applied to Jesus even when there is no quotation from the OT. Thus, the word was applied to Him when He had ordered His disciples to get Him the colt on which He would ride into Jerusalem in Luke 19:31:
If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
The word is applied more often to the Lord Jesus Christ in the epistles of Apostle Paul, as for example, in Ephesians 3:11:
according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Apostle Paul when he is not quoting from the OT uses the word often to describe Jesus Christ although in some passages it is difficult to be certain whether he means Jesus Christ or God in a general sense, as for example, in 1 Thessalonians 4:6:
and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58, it is used as a reference to Jesus Christ. Hence the word “Lord” in the phrase the work of the Lord refers to Jesus Christ.
The other problem of the phrase the work of the Lord is how to relate the word “work” to the word “Lord.” There at least two possible ways of understanding the phrase based on the Greek syntax. It could be understood as work or duty from the Lord Jesus, that is, what the Lord Jesus assigned to believers, or it could be understood as work, or duty directed towards the Lord Jesus that implies working for the Lord Jesus. There may not be a significant difference between these two so that it is likely Apostle Paul was concerned with work or duty that is from the Lord and for Him that believers should excel in.
What is this work of the Lord Apostle Paul was concerned with in 1 Corinthians 15:58? It is primarily witnessing for Christ or preaching the gospel. We say this because the word “work” of the phrase the work of the Lord has a definite article in the Greek and the word “work” is in the singular in the Greek. It is true that under certain contexts, the use of the definite article with the word “work” could indicate “works”, but that does not seem to be the meaning here. It seems that the apostle was concerned with identifying a particular work that stands out from all other works that can be carried out for Christ or because of Christ. Recall, the apostle began the fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians with exposition of the gospel he preached, so it is more likely that as he thought of the work of Christ his mind went to the preaching of the gospel message. Without the preaching of the gospel message nothing else would be meaningful in this planet. In other words, if a person does not hear the gospel and so become saved whatever work he does is of no eternal value so it must be the preaching of the gospel or witnessing that is foremost in the apostle’s mind.
There are other ways to demonstrate that when the apostle wrote the phrase of 1 Corinthains 15:58 the work of the Lord that he was thinking of witnessing for Christ or preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A specific interaction of Jesus Christ with the Jews during His earthly ministry supports our interpretation of the primary work of the Lord as preaching the gospel or witnessing for Christ. After the Lord Jesus miraculously fed about five thousand men with five loaves of bread and two fish, the crowd went to look for Him. When they found Him, Jesus conveyed to them that they were looking for Him because of the food He provided them. This was then followed by instruction to do the work of God as narrated in John 6:26–27:
26 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”
The people responded with a question that is tantamount to wanting clarification of what Jesus Christ meant according to John 6:28:
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
The Jews who asked the question in response to the instruction of our Lord Jesus used the plural “works” but when He answered them, He used the singular as stated in John 6:29:
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
The answer of the Lord Jesus Christ is that the most important work anyone could do is to believe in God and so to believe in Him. If the Lord Jesus indicated that the most important work is associated with belief in Him, that should imply that the most important work that can be done for Him is to bring the message by which people would then believe in Him. Hence, the Lord Jesus’ answer to the Jews should enable us to recognize that the primary work for the Lord is witnessing or preaching of the gospel. Another support that indicates that the primary work of the Lord is the preaching of the gospel is that the use of the combination of the definite article and the singular word “work” is often for the preaching of the gospel. This is the way it is used when the Holy Spirit instructed the church in Antioch to commission Apostles Paul and Barnabas to preach the gospel to the Gentiles as we read in Acts 13:2:
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
The work Apostles Paul and Barnabas were called to do was the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles as indicated in the statement of Acts 14:26:
From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.
The work the apostles completed was the preaching of the gospel to Gentiles. Apostle Paul himself considers the preaching of the gospel as the most important work of the Lord since he referred to the Corinthians as the result of his work in the Lord that is to be understood as his preaching of the gospel to them that led to their salvation as implied in 1 Corinthians 9:1:
Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?
Anyway, the most important work of the Lord for all believers, as we have explained, is the preaching of the gospel or witnessing for Christ. If you are not doing this, you are not doing the most important work of the Lord and so you should endeavor to do so. By the way, under this work is that of those who are pastors that should devote themselves to the teaching of God’s word to believers to enable them to remain effective witnesses for Christ.
We have indicated that the primary work of the Lord is the preaching of the gospel or witnessing for Christ but there are other works or good deeds believers should do. A good list of these good works is given in the qualifications necessary to enroll a widow in the list of those the church would support as we have in 1 Timothy 5:10:
and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
Part of good deeds is being generous as indicated in 1 Timothy 6:18:
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
Good deeds or help believers give to others should be, of course, motivated by love for the Lord Jesus Christ. This is implied in what the human author of Hebrews stated in Hebrews 6:10:
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
On the surface, it appears that the author is asserting that there are two bases of reward in this verse: work and love. However, the author is actually stating that the basis of the reward that he indicates God will give is work that is governed by love. This interpretation may be supported by the word and in the phrase your work and the love. The word “and” is translated from a Greek particle (kai) that has several nuances. Here it seems to be used in an explanatory sense so that it has the meaning, “that is.” This meaning makes sense in the context if we translate the phrase your work and the love literally from the Greek as of your work, that is, of the love. The literal phrase of the love may be fully expanded to mean either “that characterized by love” or “derived from love.” In this way, it becomes clearer that it is not any work that the author is concerned about but that which arises out of love for Christ. That love motivates good works or activities that are honoring to the Lord or that love is connected with good works is not a strange concept since the Holy Spirit gives the same concept through the pen of the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 1:3:
We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The verbal phrase labor prompted by love is more literally of the labor of the love, which is quite similar to what the author of Hebrews wrote. The point is that the word “love” in Hebrews 6:10 helps to shed light on the work that the author had in mind. As a result, we are correct in stating that the basis of reward is not just any work, but that which results from love for God. In effect, we are saying that the work that counts before God is one carried out under the filling of the Spirit since an important aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is love. Therefore, if any good work that a believer does is not under the control of the Spirit, that work will not be rewarded. This should caution us to be careful when we do our good deeds to ensure that we are motivated by our love for the Lord and that we do it in the right spirit so that we will be rewarded in the future. At any rate, the thing that the Corinthians and so all believers should be involved with “all the time and on every occasion” is witnessing for Christ or preaching the gospel and doing good works or deed under the control of the Holy Spirit. With this we have expounded the second proposition that the content of the encouragement should be clear, so we proceed to the third.
Third proposition is that it is necessary to provide reason for encouragement given to believers. The encouragement given to the Corinthians and so to all believers to be devoted to the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ and good deeds under the control of the Holy Spirit is based on what the Lord would do for the believer who faithfully carries out the responsibilities we have mentioned. We assert that there is a basis for this encouragement because of the last clause of 1 Corinthians 15:58 because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain that literally reads knowing that your labor is not in vain in (the) Lord.
The literal reading that begins with the word knowing is because the apostle used a participle of Greek word (oida) with a range of meanings, but we will briefly consider those that are possible candidates in our context. The word may mean to grasp the meaning of something or to comprehend, that is, “to understand, recognize, come to know, experience” as it is used to indicate the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ to the Jews did not comprehend what He said to them that implies His death and resurrection in John 16:18:
They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”
The sentence We don’t understand what he is saying is literally we don’t know what he is saying. The Greek word may mean “to remember, recollect” as Apostle Paul used it to state of him not recollecting baptizing anyone else in Corinth than those he mentioned in the context of the first chapter of Corinthians as we read in 1 Corinthians 1:16:
(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
The Greek word may mean “to know” in the sense of having information about someone or something as Apostle Paul used the word to indicate that the Galatians, prior to their salvation, did not know the supreme God, the creator, in Galatians 4:8:
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58, the word means “to know” in the sense of “to be cognizant or aware of a fact.” The apostle used a perfect participle that in our context is best understood as presenting a reason for the Corinthians to be all the time and on all occasions involved with the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ and good deeds. Interestingly, the apostle’s use of the perfect tense suggests that the Corinthians should have been cognizant or aware of the reason that he stated. It is this prior awareness of what the apostle stated that should be the motivating factor for them and so all believers to be involved in the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The reason believers should be involved in the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ and good deeds is that there is a future reward that will take place after bodily resurrection or transformation. This the apostle presents in a negative manner in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:58 your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
The word “labor” is translated from a Greek word (kopos) that may mean “trouble, difficulty” as Apostle Paul used the word in his final appeal to the Galatians not to cause further trouble to him because he bears the scars brought about by suffering and beating because he was a faithful minister of God’s word, as we read in Galatians 6:17:
Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
The Greek word may mean “work, labor, toil” as an activity that is burdensome as the word is used in describing the activities of the Thessalonians in a passage we cited previously, that is, in 1 Thessalonians 1:3:
We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58, the word has the sense of “labor,” that is, an activity that is productive but burdensome. Hence, the labor in view here is first and foremost the hard work related to preaching of God’s word and to a limited extent to the teaching of God’s word by pastors or teaching elders of a local church. This is then followed by every good deed that a believer works hard to carry out, such as hospitality or generosity.
The word “vain” in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:58 your labor in the Lord is not in vain is translated from a Greek word (kenos) that is used in different ways in the Greek. The word may pertain to being without something in a literal sense, that is, empty, as it is used in the Parable of the Tenants in Mark 12:3:
But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
Another usage of the Greek word in a figurative manner pertains to being devoid of intellectual, moral, or spiritual value although it is still translated with the word “empty” in Ephesians 5:6:
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
In this figurative usage, it can mean without content, without any basis, without truth, without power when it refers to things. The apostle used it in the sense of “useless” in stating his reason of sending Timothy to the Thessalonians was to ensure that his work among them could not be regarded as useless as stated in 1 Thessalonians 3:5:
For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.
Still another usage of our Greek word used in 1 Corinthians 15:58 pertains to being without purpose or result and so means “in vain.” It is in this sense that the apostle used it to convey that he made known to the apostles in Jerusalem the gospel he preached as implied in Galatians 2:2:
I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:58, the word has the sense of “vain,” that is, being without purpose or result or benefit. Thus, the sentence your labor in the Lord is not in vain may be expanded to read your labor in the Lord is not without benefit. This expanded reading is a way of stating that the believer’s labor will be rewarded.
Our interpretation that the sentence your labor in the Lord is not in vain is Apostle Paul’s way of asserting that a believer’s labor will be rewarded should not be taken to be strange or untrue. This is because the apostle also presented the concept of reward not directly, in his epistle to the Galatians, but in terms of reaping harvest as stated in Galatians 6:9:
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Of course, the apostle had already referenced the reward that will be given to those who labor in the ministry of the word in 1 Corinthians 3:8:
The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
That aside, Apostle Paul refers to reward indirectly or figuratively with the word “crown” as a word that refers to an award or prize for exceptional service as he used it to describe the reward, he expects from the Lord for doing what God demands, as we read in 2 Timothy 4:8:
Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Apostle Paul is not alone in describing reward indirectly so did Apostle Peter who described reward to be given to elders who faithfully discharge their duty in terms of crown as we may gather from 1 Peter 5:4:
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
Be that as it may, the labor to be rewarded is qualified in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:58 in the Lord. The word “in” is translated from a Greek preposition (en) that has a range of usages or meanings. In our passage, it is used both in the sense of “because of” and “under the control of.” In other words, only labors that are done because of the Lord and under His control will be rewarded. The idea of labor or good deed performed because of Jesus Christ or on His account being rewarded is communicated by the Lord Jesus in what is recorded in Matthew 10:40–42:
40 “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
The concept of being under the control of the Lord Jesus when one performs good deeds being rewarded is implied in what He said about believers not being productive without Him as stated in John 15:5:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
To remain in the Lord Jesus is another way of saying to be under His control that is tantamount to being controlled or filled of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the point is that only those who labor as believers in Christ and because of Him and under the control of the Holy Spirit will be rewarded. The implication is, as we have stated previously, that we should ensure that we are controlled by the Holy Spirit as we labor either in the presentation of the gospel or doing good deeds in order to be rewarded. Anyway, the apostle’s encouragement to the Corinthians and so to all believers is that they should continue to labor with regards to witnessing for Christ and doing good deeds because they are assured that such would be rewarded by the Lord at the right time. So, let me end with a reminder of the message of the passage we have considered which 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.
12/29/23