Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.
LET ALL THAT YOU DO BE DONE IN LOVE.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Paul meant that they should not depart from the Christian faith, and neither should we! This is the marching order for every Christian of all eras, times, and places.
Paul himself gave this the highest priority, saying near the end of life that “I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; HE WILL NOT FAIL YOU OR FORSAKE YOU.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
This commandment, delivered first to the people and a moment later to Joshua, has been the marching order for God’s people in all ages.
Paul seems to have borrowed this in 1 Corinthians 16:13, where we have, `Stand firm in the faith, play the man, be vigorous,’ – act like heroes.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the Lord!
Psalms 27:14
These words are a testimony and strong exhortation to steadfast endurance.
This conclusion of the anthem emphasizes human frailty, but stresses the fact of Divine intervention, the utter certainty of the Lord’s sufficiency, and the patience of faith which waits with confidence.
This Psalm bear testimony to a vital faith. The psalm ends, as it began, with trust, trust tried by difficult times
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil.
For we are NOT contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:10-13
As Christians, we do not oppose evil of our own strength, but in the strength of the Lord.
Only the armor of God is sufficient to the warfare involved!
So-called “moderns” or “progressive” Christians, who are so far above the word of God that they reject all possibility of an unseen kingdom of evil presided over by a malignant personal foe (Satan), are not “wise” in any sense, but are blinded and deceived by “the god of this world.”
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
CHRIST ONLY, and not Christ as an accepted and honored hero of redeemed secular Israel, was enough, not merely for Paul, but for all who ever lived on earth.
Paul here accepted this, determined even to glory in his weakness.
This verse describes Paul’s living with the thorn unremoved; and there is not a word of sickness, disease, or near-sightedness, or anything of the kind.
It is “injuries, persecutions, etc.” of which he speaks; and what were these but the multiplied efforts of the hardened Israel against the gospel of Christ?
Nevertheless, Paul will continue, thorn and all; even with the humiliation of his noblest personal aspirations in their rejection; EVEN IN THAT WEAKNESS HE IS STRONG. The same applies to all of us living in 2022!
Furthermore the testimony of nineteen centuries proves that he was correct in this.
Philippians 4:13
