In First Corinthians 16:13-14 we find these commands from the Apostle Paul to the Church of Corinth. These words are equally important for the Church today, as they were for the original recipients.

“Watch! Stand fast in the faith! Be men! Be strong! Let all your things be done in charity.”

Let us unpack an understanding of Paul’s words and see what wider understanding can be gleaned from the Bible, and what we need to know as Christians.

1 Watch:- be continually in your guard.commands, Church,

a) For Jesus is coming –

Matthew 24:42 “Therefore watch; for you do not know what hour your Lord comes.”

b) That you do not enter into temptation –

Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

c) That you may be trustworthy –

Luke 21:36 “Watch therefore, praying in every season that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things which shall occur, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

d) For grievous wolves –

Acts 20-29 “For I know this, that after my departure grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock.”

e) In prayer –

Colossians 4:3 “praying together about us also, that God may open to us a door of the Word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I also have been bound.”

First Peter 4:7 “But the end of all things has drawn near. Therefore be of sound mind, and be sensible to prayers.”

f) In soberness –

First Thessalonians 5:6 “Therefore let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be calm.”

g) In all things –

Second Timothy 4:5 “But you watch in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fully carry out your ministry.”

2 Stand fast in the faith: – Keep rank. Do not be disorderly or retreat. Keep unity. Let nothing divide you so that Satan cannot defeat you.

Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free, and do not again be held with the yoke of bondage.”

Philippians 1:27 “Only let your conduct be as becomes the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you, or else am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, striving together with one mind for the faith of the gospel.”

Philippians 4:1 “Therefore, my brothers, ones loved and longed for, my joy and crown, stand fast in this way in the Lord, beloved ones.”

First Thessalonians 3:8 “for now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.”

Second Thessalonians 2:15 “Therefore, my brothers, stand fast and hold the teachings which you have been taught, whether by word or by our letter.”

3 Stand like men:- Do not flinch in the fight. Maintain your ground at all costs. Resist, press forward.

First Corinthians 16:20 “All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.”

Ephesians 4:13-14 “And this until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we no longer may be infants, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine, in the dishonesty of men, in cunning craftiness, to the wiles of deceit.”

4 Be strong: – Keep yourself fit. Learn how to conquer. Die in the contest or win.

Luke 1:80 “And the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the deserts until the day of his showing to Israel.”

Luke 2:40 “And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom. And the grace of God was on Him.”

Ephesians 3:16 “… that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man.”

5 Do all things in love:-

First Corinthians 13:4 “Charity has patience, is kind; charity is not envious, is not vain, is not puffed up.”

6 Submit to all true workers:-

First Corinthians 16:15-16 “But I exhort you, brothers. You know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruit of Achaia, and they appointed themselves to ministry to the saints. See that you also submit to such ones, and to everyone working and labouring with me.”

As I write this article, I am reminded of the Christians of the first century.

The seminal book on the first century Christians, “The Early Christians – in their own words” by Eberhard Arnold displays the fulfillment of Paul’s call of First Corinthians 16:13-14 by these devout and spirit filled Christians. Even a cursory reading of this book reveals how much of the spirit has been lost from the present day Church in developed countries.

This does not mean that times are necessarily easier for all Christians today, than they were in the first century. As we can see, the “Arab Spring” appears to be turning into an anti-Christian pogrom. The numbers of Christians who were martyred for their faith in the first century, is beyond calculation. Today it is no different. As Wikipedia says:

“Currently (as of 2010), as estimated by the Christian missionary organisation Open Doors UK, an estimated 100 million Christians face persecution, particularly in North Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia. A recent study, cited by the Vatican, reported that 75 out of every 100 people killed due to religious hatred are Christian.”

The words of Paul are clear and straightforward:

“Watch! Stand fast in the faith! Be men! Be strong! Let all your things be done in charity.”

The question is, what are YOU doing about it?

Perhaps the words of Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group will help focus your mind to the plight of other Christians. The text of the quotation is usually presented roughly as follows:

“First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.“

Amen and Amen and Amen.

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