Be Steadfast, Immovable, Always Abounding
Scripture: First Corinthians 15:50-58; Philippians 3:20-21
This morning I want to encourage you to be steadfast and immovable as you abound in the work of the Lord. We are entering a time of transition as a Church and while some might be concerned about what the future holds, I am not. You see, if I remain focused on what God instructs me to do as I walk with Him day by day, I will understand where He is taking me in due time. Right now, I am comfortable in the dark.
This year is almost over and, for me, it has held many changes that I did not expect when the year started on the first of January. A lot has happened this past year and there is still more to come before the year is done. There were many individuals who were alive on January 1st but not alive today, November 12th. Individually, and as a Church family, we had some good days, and we experienced some bad days. We had times when we truly felt blessed and sensed God’s presence all around us and there were times when our adversary tried to make us believe that we were all alone. There were times when we laughed and there were times when we cried. There were times when we had plenty and there were times when we might have struggled to make ends meet. Yet through all of this, God was faithful. He was with us every single day in every single situation. He never left us! There were times when we were healthy and there were times when we were sick and He was there. There were times when we were called on to pray for others and there were times when we asked others to pray for us and God answered those prayers. There were times when we turned on the news and were blessed by some stories and there were many times when the news was so bad that all we could do was pray. There were times when we had sunshine and there were times when we had rain. There were times when we rejoiced and there were times when we mourned. In everything that we have experienced this year the one person who remained constant, regardless of how our minds might have shifted, was God.
When Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, he wrote about the final victory that all Christians will experience. He was addressing this because questions had been raised about some of the doctrines that were being taught by the leaders in the Church. Specifically, there were those who were teaching that there would be no resurrection. Now, you can imagine the impact that this teaching had on those new to the Christian faith. Our belief in the resurrection from the dead (Christ’s and ours) is crucial to our faith. Remember, if you do not accept the resurrection of Christ, nothing else we believe is worth anything. Everything starts with and has a foundation in His resurrection. So, this new teaching was spreading within the Church and totally confused the believers. So, Paul wrote the following to address it: “(50) Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. (51) Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (53) For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (54) So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY.’ (55) ‘O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING? O HADES, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY?’ (56) The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (First Corinthians 15:50-57)
Paul wrote to the Church to share with them (and each of us) that we will experience the final victory – a resurrection from the dead – if we stay faithful to God. He wrote that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, so therefore, corruption must be laid aside and incorruption must take its place. In other words, the physical flesh and blood body that we have in order to exist on this earth will be changed as we enter into God’s kingdom in heaven. Now understand this, while flesh and blood cannot inherit glory or the spiritual body, flesh and bone can. We need blood in order to live on this earth, but we will not need blood to exist in God’s kingdom. When we transition to God’s kingdom, we will receive a new body, a body that is not corrupt and will never become corrupt. That body will be a body consisting of flesh and bone. Remember when Jesus rose from the dead and He appeared to the disciples. At first the disciples thought that He was a spirit, but Jesus had to correct them. This is what is recorded in Luke 24:37-39, “(37) But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. (38) And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? (39) Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.’” (Luke 24:37-39) When Jesus’ disciples initially saw Him they thought that He was a spirit. Jesus told them to observe His body, that He had a body of flesh and bone. He stated that a spirit does not have a body of flesh and bone.
When our spirits leave our earthly, fleshly body at death, we are immediately transported to our new body waiting for us in heaven. That new body is one of flesh and bone. We know this to be true because Paul told us this in Philippians 3:20-21 when he wrote, “(20) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, (21) Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21) Paul states that our citizenship is in heaven and that Jesus will transform our bodies into one similar to His, one of flesh and bone. The Greek word translated as “transform” is metaschematizo which means “change the fashion of; refashion.” So, Paul wrote that our bodies will be transformed so that they would conform to Christ’s body. The Greek word translated as conform is summorphos and it means “liked-shaped or conformed to.” It means that our bodies will be of the same substance of Christ; changing from mortality to immortality – from a natural body to a spiritual one.
To address this false teaching, Paul told the Christians in Corinth that they were going to experience a final victory where death will not carry the sting of finality that it was believed to have had prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He told them that physical death would not be the last thing they experience, but a rebirth with a new spiritual body. And, because of this promise of receiving a new body, he told them in verse fifty-eight “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (First Corinthians 15:58) Paul wanted the people to understand that they were not working in vain as there was more to this life than just what they were seeing and experiencing day by day. So, he told them to “….be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” New Light, this is one of those verses that, if we are not careful, the revelation of what it says will be totally missed. Although the verse seems rather clear, I want to take a closer look at what it is saying and the promise it is making to us. Let’s examine three key words, steadfast, immovable, always and abounding.
Steadfast. The Greek word for steadfast is “hedraios.” It means to sit, be seated; sedentary; stationary, as something that sits in a place for a very long time. It also describes something that is firm and steady – something that can stabilize, like the foundation of a building. Lastly, it paints a picture of something strong, unbendable, unbreakable and permanent, such as a strong column that holds up a roof. This is an interesting word for Paul to use to describe what we should be doing. He is telling us that when it comes to our work for Christ, we should be firm as if we were in a seated position. Think about how easy is it to move someone when they are standing verses when they are seated. If a person is standing a small amount of force can move them from their position. But if that same person is sitting in a chair without wheels, it would take a great deal of force to move them. Some of you were not around in the sixties, but you may have seen some of the video’s from the sit-ins. Many people of color and others supporting them would stage sit-ins in restaurants protesting against racism. If you watch the videos, they could not be easily moved because they were sitting. They were firmly planted.
When it comes to our work for Christ, we should be so settled and so firm that any wind of doctrine that contradicts Christ’s teachings does not move us from our place within him. Paul wrote, “(21) And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled (22) in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight (23) if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” (Colossians 1:21-23) Paul said that since we have been reconciled with Christ He will present us as holy and blameless and above reproach if we continue in the faith being grounded and steadfast. In other words, we have to be settled. We have to be seated in what we believe. If we are not seated, then we are subject to be moved from our position. One of the definitions of seat is “to put or fix in place.” This is the picture that Paul was trying to get the people to see. We should be firmly fixed in place when it comes to what we believe and the work we are doing for Christ. Picture your faith as a chair with restraints that is bolted to the floor. When you sit in that chair and the restraints are put in place you are not going anywhere. It does not matter how strong the storm is, you will not be moved because the chair is bolted to the floor and you are restrained to the chair. The only way you would be moved is either the restraints or the bolts came loose. Paul is telling us to be firmly fixed in place. Paul is telling us to be totally reliable, not shaky or undependable. Are you being steadfast as you go through your storms? The next word Paul uses is immovable which actually one of the Greek definitions of steadfast.
Immovable. The Greek word for immovable is “ametakinetos.” This word again is very similar to steadfast in that it means to be firm and unmovable. This word refers to something that is not capable of being moved from one place to another place. So when we tell God “yes” we should be a permanent fixture in that place where God has us to serve. Let me give you an example based on something I know very little about, basketball. To my knowledge, and please do not correct me if I am wrong because it would totally ruin my analogy, when a person is dribbling the basketball and comes to a stop, one of their feet must be planted. The foot that is planted cannot be moved or the person would be charged with walking or traveling. Now that the player has stopped dribbling, he only has two options. He can shoot the ball, or he can pass the ball. While he is making up his mind, no matter how he moves his body, one foot must be planted. He may turn to the left or right, move his upper body all sorts of ways to get clear, but that one foot must remain planted. This is what I think about when I think about being immovable. All of the other forces are trying to get me to move, but I know if I move the foot that I have planted it is going to cost me. So that one foot remains firm and planted no matter what comes up against me. As we continue our growth and our understanding of God’s Word, we begin to plant our feet just like the basketball player making sure the enemy does not move us out of our position. First we plant one foot; and as we begin to grow more in our faith we plant two; and finally we plant our whole bodies by sitting, our faith being firm. David summed this up when he wrote, “(1) Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. (2) But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. (3) He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalms 1:1-3) A person who stays in God’s word will be like a tree planted by rivers of waters bringing forth fruit and he will not take refuge or get comfortable being seated with sinners. The next word I want to look at is always.
Always: Paul said we should be “always abounding in the work of the Lord.” The Greek word for always in this verse is “pantote” and it means “at all times.” This word in its Greek meaning is somewhat different from how we use the word. As used in this verse, this word is not referring to time, as in all the time. This word actually means the “manner” in which you do it. So what Paul is telling us is that the way in which we do something should be in excess as it pertains to our work for Christ. This word represents the “mode of operation” so to speak. This is the same word that is used in Second Corinthians 5:6-7 where Paul writes, “(6) So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. (7) For we walk by faith, not by sight.” That word always tells us the manner in which we are to do the work of the Lord. The last word I want to look at is abounding.
Abounding. We should love this word. The Greek word interpreted as abounding is “perisseuma.” It means, “to have an abundance; more than enough; overflowing, surpasses.” In other words, it means to be in excess, to super-abound, to increase, be more abundant and better and having more than enough to spare. When a lot of people think about “abounding” they think about God giving them wealth so that all of their needs are met. Here Paul is saying that we should be abounding in our work for Christ, giving excess, not just the minimal requirement. Can you imagine what our lives would be like if we were always abounding in the work of the Lord – not just when we had high energy? It means that no matter what any of us are doing we are going over and beyond, over and above all of the basic requirements in order to enter into the realm of excess.
Now all of you know all of us love excess. That’s why our closets are full of clothes. That’s why our freezers are overflowing with food. That’s why we love all you can eat restaurants. We love excess! But Paul was talking about doing things in excess for the Lord. So if I am a choir member, not only do I show up for choir practice on time, but I get there early; bring a few refreshments; a few new songs which I volunteer to lead one or two; take music lessons to augment the other musicians; learn how to direct and perform every other duty associated to the choir. I do all of this without feeling threatened, overwhelmed, tired or frustrated. I do it because I love serving Christ and I want to enter into “abounding”, into excess when it comes to my works. This is not an easy thing to accomplish when we factor in all of the other excesses we have in our lives. If you are my age you remember growing up and having only four TV channels to watch. Your selection of TV shows was limited and to make things worse, all channels went off at midnight with the playing to the national anthem. But today we have an excess of channels to watch and we dedicate time that we do not have in order to see as much of them as we can. Oh what would happen if we started abounding in the work of the Lord!
Paul says that we should be steadfast, immovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord because we know that our work is not in vain. Have you ever done something “in vain?” For example, you go out and get a nice car wash only to have it rain and/or snow the next day getting the car all dirty again. Or you might have spent hours planning and making a meal for your family only to have them turn their nose up at it and not eat it. It is not easy doing something day after day after day when we think that it is all for naught, that nothing will come of it. Paul tells us that we should not give up or be moved because our work is not in vain. He made the same request to the Galatians when he told them “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” (Galatians 6:9) All of the things we are doing for Christ are going to pay off. But in order for that to happen, we must be steadfast, immovable and always abounding in that work.
New Light, as we continue to transition, remember that this verse was written to individuals, not institutions. So regardless of where you are a month from now, six months from now or years from now, you should ensure that you are steadfast, immovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord. As I close I want to read First Corinthians 15:58 from the Amplified Bible. It says, “Therefore my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, (always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord), knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile (it is never wasted or to no purpose.)” (First Corinthians 15:58, Amp)
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
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