WWUTT 1643 Act Like Men, Be Strong (1 Corinthians 16:13-24)

As Paul closes out his letter to the Corinthians, he says to grow up in the faith, to be in subject to their elders, to show affection for one another, and to be watchful for the

Lord's coming, when we understand the text. This is

When We Understand The Text, a daily study in the word of Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. Well, here we are. We've come to the conclusion of our study in 1

Corinthians. We have chapter 16, verses 13 to 24 to go out of the

Legacy Standard Bible. This is the word of the Lord, through the Apostle Paul, writing to the church in Corinth.

Be watchful. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men.

Be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Now I exhort you, brothers, you know the household of Stephanas, that they were the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves for service to the saints, that you also be in subjection to such men, and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.

And I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas, and Fortunatus, and Achaus, because they have supplied what was lacking on your part.

For they have refreshed my spirit and yours, therefore recognize such men.

The churches of Asia greet you. Achaia and Priscia greet you heartily in the

Lord with the church that is in their house. All the brothers greet you.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. The greeting is in my own hand.

Paul. If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all, in Christ Jesus.

Amen. And once again, we see this very affectionate conclusion to this, what's been a very harsh letter.

But Paul's showing that he has love and commitment for them in the way that he concludes here.

This has not been some guy who's sitting at his keyboard, and he's just prattling on, on his discernment blog about this particular church that is doing all these awful things.

Look at that. So give me all these likes and clicks and all your attention, because I know better than they do.

This is not Paul doing this for his own sake. He's not doing it in vain. This is, this is not some empty rebuke.

He's not attempting to just tear them down and make them feel bad. This is an admonishment. It is correcting them with goodwill, that they would turn from their sin and walk in the righteousness that was first proclaimed to them when the gospel was declared.

Now the gospel of Jesus Christ is very simply, as we read in chapter 15, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.

He ascended into heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, where he is interceding for us before the father.

Jesus is going to return. As Paul also talked about in chapter 15, he will judge the living and the dead and all those who are in Christ Jesus will live forever.

And those who are not in Christ will perish. This is all part of the gospel.

We have salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. So that's simply the gospel, but then there are going to be effects of the gospel.

When a person believes in Jesus, they've been clothed in his righteousness and they will demonstrate the righteousness of Christ.

So what Paul has been exhorting the Corinthians to do is to walk in that righteousness, to no longer be in the sinful ways, the sinful passions of the flesh, nor to be ignorant about the things that they are doing or what they have been called to do in Christ.

For as Paul said earlier in the letter, I can't address you as mature brothers and sisters in the

Lord. You are still infants in your faith and so infant, in fact, so immature that he addresses them as if they are still in the flesh.

Now he doesn't address them as unbelievers. Because if Paul was addressing the church as unbelievers, they would not actually be the church.

They would be unregenerate and therefore could not be a part of the church.

And we see something of that even here at this conclusion where Paul says in verse 22, if anyone does not love the

Lord, he is to be accursed. This is once again a calling of the church of Corinth to attention that they recognize those among them who are not truly believers.

If they're rebuked and they don't repent, then they're to be removed from among you. Or even as he put it in chapter five, purge the evil person from among your midst.

You have somebody among you that calls themselves a brother or a sister in the Lord. And yet what is their behavior like looking at their fruit?

They call themselves a brother or a sister, and yet they're sexually immoral. They're greedy.

They're an idolater. They're a reviler or a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a one.

This is back in chapter five, verses 12 and 13. For what have I to do with judging outsiders?

Are you not to judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside,

God will judge. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves. And so those who are unbelievers need to be removed from this church.

But those who are believers need to grow up in their faith. Even though they are living as according to the flesh,

Paul does not refer to them as unbelievers. He refers to them as immature, but still in the flesh, that they would put away those evil deeds they once walked in.

If they are truly in the spirit, they will repent of that, and they will walk in Christ. Now there are truly men among them who are indeed believers, and I believe that's what

Paul calls to their attention here at this juncture of the letter, at this conclusion.

He names some of them among them who have been maturing

Christians and have worked on their behalf for their benefit so that they would repent of their sin and walk in righteousness.

Those men include Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaus that we have mentioned in verse 17.

Well, I'll get there here in just a moment. Let's start in verse 13 again. Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Again, this is a call to grow up, mature, be men of faith, not infants.

You're still infants in your faith, Paul said back in chapter 3. And then in chapter 13, when

I was a child, I acted like a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child, but when

I became a man, I put childish things away. And so now the call again to grow up and be men of faith, be watchful, he says, and this call to be watchful is to look out for one another in the church.

But it's also to recognize your own behaviors. Don't let yourselves be ensnared by the devil in his schemes.

This call to be watchful is a call to be on guard. And it's all over the

Old Testament, incidentally. So when Paul makes this reference, it is something that they would be reading in the

Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, this call to be watchful. As a watchman standing guard would be looking to see if any sort of enemy is coming or a messenger is on the way or visitors or anything like that.

A watchman that is standing at the watchtower. So we must be careful about the devil schemes.

We must be sure that we do not stumble into sin, but we're also watching our brothers and sisters in the

Lord and anybody who may come into our midst that claims to be a brother or sister, but is not.

They're a wolf in sheep's clothing. All of this is wrapped up in this call to be watchful, to be on the ready, to be girded up and ready for action.

There is something incredibly masculine and a call to be as a soldier here in what we read in verse 13.

Now, there are some that have interpreted this. So looking at the whole verse, be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

There are some that have interpreted this to say, well, it's just Paul saying that we need to be grown up. But no, there's something deliberately masculine about this particular charge because we see over and over again in the scriptures and Paul uses this language to be like soldiers, to be girded up for action.

I mean, you talk about the the armor of God that's in, well, Paul uses it with the

Thessalonians. Most famously, it's in Ephesians chapter six. Peter says to prepare your minds for action.

That's a call to be a soldiers. You have the reference to being a soldier ready for good service that Paul says to Timothy in both first and second

Timothy. So this statement here in verse 13 is the same. You are preparing yourself to do spiritual battle for the sake of the church, against the enemies of the church.

Now, when we get to the next letter, when we get to second Corinthians, Paul says there that the kind of battle that we're doing is spiritual warfare.

It's not against flesh and blood, just as is said in Ephesians chapter six.

So let me read here from second Corinthians 10, beginning in verse three, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the tearing down of strongholds as we tear down speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

And we are ready to punish all disobedience whenever your obedience is fulfilled.

So that's even wrapped up in this statement that Paul is making here in first Corinthians 1613, to stand firm in the faith, know the truth, remain steadfastly in what is true, act like men, grow up, be strong.

If they're not handling some of the disagreements within the church, some of those who are acting in sin and not being confronted on it, if they continue in the factions and all this stuff that has happened in the church in Corinth up to this point, then they're not being strong.

They're being weak. And the church is weakened. And there are many who are going to be led astray and false teaching will spread like gangrene and parts of the body of Christ will even rot and fall off.

I mean, that's the picture that Paul gives to Timothy in second Timothy. And so that needs to be the concern even within the church of Corinth.

They need to handle these things that they might be firm in their faith, that they might grow up and act like men and be strong.

Now, even though this this charge is quite masculine and even to be a soldier, that doesn't mean that it doesn't apply to women, nor is it saying that women must become masculine.

That's not the statement there either. But rather, who are going to be those that will be that will provide the most protection for the church and be a benefit, therefore, to everybody?

It's going to be the mature men. Those men in the church that are mature and growing in this faith, when men are in those positions of leadership, it's a benefit to everybody.

It benefits the men of the church and the women and the children. But when the men are weak, women begin to move into those roles.

And we have seen already Paul make a rebuke of women in authority.

He said in First Corinthians 1434, the women are to keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to be subject themselves, just as the law also says.

But if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.

If a woman steps into those authority roles into the church, into those teaching roles, having teaching authority over men, then the whole church is weakened.

But when men are acting like men, when they are mature in their faith, when they are standing in those places that God has appointed for men to stand, then everybody benefits.

The church is strong. They are doing exactly as God had arranged for the church to be.

And even the women and the children are protected and therefore growing in their faith because of strong men acting as men.

And yet Paul says in verse 14, let all that you do be done in love. Strong men are not unloving.

Strong men are not toxic. Strong men are what we need. Strong men are not the problem.

Strong men are the solution. And these strong men yet need to do all that they do in strength, but that true strength is also going to be done in love.

And that even calls back to attention what we were reading in chapter 13 because the Corinthians were not being loving.

And so Paul had to rebuke them because they did not demonstrate this love. They were factious. They were divided.

Each one was after their own benefit rather than considering the needs of others.

But if all that they do is done in love, again, benefits the whole church. Everybody is being built up together in love.

The spiritual gifts that they have are being given to them, not to benefit themselves, but for the benefit of the whole church, as Paul had expressed back in chapter 14.

So now moving on, verse 15, now I exhort you brothers, you know, the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits of Achaia and they have devoted themselves for service to the saints.

We've read about Stephanas before he was mentioned back in chapter one. I don't know if you remember that, but we're seeing some of those things from earlier in the letter that are now coming back here at the very conclusion.

But if you'll remember some of the things that Paul confronted at the very start, there was, you know, factions, of course, among the

Corinthians, because some of them were even saying, my baptism is better than yours. I got baptized by Paul. I got baptized by Peter.

And Paul says in, I'm going to go back to chapter one, verse 13 here. Has Christ been divided?

Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank

God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name.

Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that,

I do not know whether I baptized any other. So Stephanas being of the first fruits of Achaia, this was like the first convert that Paul made when he came to Achaia, the region where Corinth is in, they've devoted themselves for service to the saints,

Paul says. So I'm back in chapter 16, verse 16, that you also be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.

And I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaia because they have supplied what was lacking on your part.

Now it sounds like the way that Paul is referring to Stephanas, that he's an elder there in the church, could even be the overseer.

So he might be like the first among equals. He could be the main teacher or the main pastor that's there at the church in Corinth.

And it could be that Fortunatus and Achaia, maybe they're part of Chloe's household. So they're part of the messengers that came to Paul and told them about what's going on in Corinth.

I'm being speculative there. We don't know for sure. Maybe that's Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaia are all elders there in the church because they have supplied what was lacking on your part for they have refreshed my spirit and yours, therefore recognize such men.

Now he says of Stephanas, I exhort you brothers that you be in subjection to such men and to everyone who helps in the work and labors.

That's a reference to elders. But then when he includes Fortunatus and Achaia, he says, recognize such men.

That may still be a call to be in subjection, or it could just merely be that what Fortunatus and Achaia have done have been for your benefit.

But to Stephanas and those like him there to be in subjection, very similar to language that Paul uses in first Thessalonians five regarding the elders and being in subject to those who are preaching and teaching.

So this is first Thessalonians 5, 12, but we ask of you brothers that you know those who labor among you and who lead you in the

Lord and admonish you and that you regard them very highly in love because of their work.

Live in peace with one another. So that statement there, a statement to be in subjection to the elders.

And then we see in Hebrews chapter 13, verse seven, remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.

And verse 17, obey your leaders and submit to them for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account so that they will do this with joy and not with groaning for that would be unprofitable to you.

We see very similar things at first Thessalonians 5, Hebrews chapter 13 sounds a lot like the way that Paul is talking about Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaus here at the conclusion of first Corinthians 16.

Be in subject to the elders, be in submission, yield to their authority for they are teaching you the word of God as you are to grow up and act like men and be strong.

It's their example that you're to follow. It's their teaching that you are to listen to recognize such men for the position and the authority that they have been granted.

And so we all must be in subjection to those teachers that have been placed over us.

Now there's ways that the scriptures tell us that we are to check those teachers and make sure that what it is that they are teaching is indeed in line according to the scriptures.

It doesn't mean that you just blindly follow and submit like their cult leaders or something like that. That's not what's being said.

But once again, as the statement was there in Hebrews 13, 17, do this with joy, submit to them with joy and not with grumbling.

Don't cause them to grumble or cause strife for them because that's not going to be of any benefit to you.

But we all together in the Lord, according to his word, grow up in these things and submit to the authority that is over all of us.

And that is the word of God. So we go on in verse 19, we're closing out the last five verses here, six verses.

The churches of Asia greet you, Akilah and Prisha greet you heartily in the

Lord with the church that is in their house. Now I think when I read through this on Monday, I might've said

Priscilla instead of Akilah, but that's the same person. Sometimes her name in the

New Testament comes out Priscilla, but it's just two variations on the spelling of her name.

This is the husband and wife duo who were with Paul at Ephesus. So hence

Paul saying, Akilah and Prisha greet you heartily with the church that is in their house, probably in reference to the church in Ephesus, since that's where Paul was.

It could be, could be the reference there. Ephesus was in Asia. That's an Asia minor, the far

West coast of what is today modern day Turkey. Verse 20, all the brothers greet you, greet one another with a holy kiss.

Now I want to mention something briefly about that, not to spend too much time on this, but holy kiss does not mean kissing with the lips.

This is a verse, I hear this used so often to say, you don't follow everything that's in the

Bible because Paul says, greet with a holy kiss and I don't see you kissing anybody who's coming into church. That is not what that means.

It doesn't mean pucker up your lips and smack one on a friend's cheek.

You know, that's, that's not, I'm going to smack your cheek. If you try to do that to me, we'll just put it that way.

A holy kiss could be in reference. It could be a handshake. It could be a foot washing. That could be a reference to a holy kiss.

Kiss does not have the same connotation in the first century Greek culture that it has in our culture today.

It is some gesture of affection, but doesn't necessarily have to be with the lips.

All the brothers greet you, greet one another with a holy kiss is really simply Paul saying, show affection for one another.

Don't just let it be assumed that your brothers in the Lord show that you are brothers and sisters in the faith.

And this can be done in a way that is respectful of one another and not invading on anybody's boundaries.

All right. You can still have your handshake time, your greeting time during the service at church without freaking out the people who are introverts.

Verse 21, the greeting is in my own hand, Paul. So we see, you know, if this was the original document in Greek, you would see

Paul's penmanship right there as having signed this letter. If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed.

This is same call that Paul makes in Galatians chapter one, verses eight and nine. If a person is teaching a gospel other than the one that we proclaim to you, let him be accursed.

And Paul, again, calling the Corinthians to correct those that are in your midst.

And if there are those among you who are not believers, get them out. But then this word

Maranatha means Lord Jesus come quickly. It's the same sign off that John gives at the end of revelation when he says, come quickly,

Lord Jesus. That's Maranatha. Oh, Lord, come is how it literally translates. Verse 23, the grace of our

Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.

Amen. And that concludes our study of the book of first Corinthians.

May we go and do likewise in the Lord. You've been listening to when we understand the text of Pastor Gabe Hughes.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an

Old Testament book. On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on an