At the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul give concise and final instructions to the church at Corinth. After strongly encouraging them to mature in their faith and set their divisions aside (1 Cor. 1, 3, 11, 12), to cease in accepting and even bragging about sinful behavior among them (1 Cor. 5), and to follow the perfect example of Christ in their daily lives (1 Cor. 11) Paul concludes with these words:
“Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act
like men, be strong. Let all that you do be
done in love” (16:13-14)
After a harsh letter from the apostle, what the Corinthians needed to hear were the fundamentals necessary for every Christian to survive in a sinful world:
“Be on the alert…” – Never let your spiritual guard down
“…stand firm in the faith…” – Be immovable in your trust in God
“…act like men…” – Make mature decisions and take mature actions
“…be strong…” – Faithfulness is not weakness
His final statement may be the most important. His last words emphasize what is absolutely necessary in every encounter, decision, action, and circumstance of the Christian life:
“Let all that you do be done in love.”
Matt Langfield