1 Corinthians 16:13-14 Amplified Bible
13 Be on guard; stand firm in your faith [in God, respecting His precepts and keeping your doctrine sound]. Act like [mature] men and be courageous; be strong. 14 Let everything you do be done in love [motivated and inspired by God’s love for us].
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
- Be On Guard
- Stand Firm in the Faith
- Be Courageous
- Be Strong
These robust commands urge our readiness for warfare against Satan and his angels of darkness. [2] The battle is at hand. We must be prepared to Hold On!
But, were we a little surprised with that not so sounding warlike 5th command?
Let everything we do be done in love – motivated and inspired by God’s love for us – not physical weapons of destruction being waved around in greatest anger?
Be On Guard With Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed
When looking at the cornerstones of the Christian life, some tenets include prayer and worship, but the key cornerstone of being on our guard is our faith.
Putting our trust in God, that He will take care of the future, provide for needs, and provide for salvation.
Rabbi Jesus spoke about the power of faith several times in His teachings and then used multiple metaphors to explain what faith is and how important it is.
One of the most powerful is that faith can be like a mustard seed.
Jesus said to those struggling with belief,
“Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you” (Matthew 17:20).
God wants to work with His people, to strengthen them, but will not force them to become instruments of His will like puppets; instead He works through them based on their faith, challenging all believers to a deeper relationship with Him.
What Does It Mean to Have Faith of a Mustard Seed?
The mustard seed would have been a common enough plant in that culture; they would be able to picture it without reference.
Classified as an evergreen, the Salvadora perisica can grow to twenty feet wide and tall.
They can thrive in environments typically hostile to plants.
Their seeds are very small, but yet they grow large and expansive and tall.
The mustard seed in Jesus’ example symbolizes the potential in faith.
As a believer begins their journey, they’ve just begun to learn about how much God loves them, how much He wants to do for them, all that He has for them.
God wants to work with these believers to bring others to Himself, and to build His kingdom;
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).
By faithfully following God’s plan, Christians will do great things for Him, even with the small mustard seed of faith they have at the beginning of their walk.
Of course, the truth about a seed is that it does not remain a seed.
Planted into the soils of our hearts, by the grace and nurturance of God, it eventually germinates, where, sight unseen, the seedling slowly breaks out of the shell, breaks through the ground surface and grows into a full-sized plant.
Mustard trees are huge, despite the size of their seeds.
Faith cannot remain static or the same in order to have a deeper relationship with the Lord.
The things people will do for God, and the cultivated, germinating courage they do it with for their neighbors, is correlated with the amount of faith present.
If someone has faith God has saved them from their sins, but that God cannot heal an illness, they have a smaller measure of faith than someone who does.
The courage to share faith in dangerous settings, it takes a lot of maturing faith.
James even wrote, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26b).
Faith must be cultivated, faith must be nurtured, faith must grow, must mature and be tested, to persevere, and be acted upon with good deeds and evangelism.
Does It Matter How Much or Little Faith We Have?
If Jesus is saying faith as small as a mustard seed is all it takes, then is that all that’s needed?
Can one “be on guard against the evil one” and have just a little “seed of faith?”
Putting one’s faith in Jesus Christ is an important step.
In the same chapter where Jesus tells the parable of the mustard seed, the people in his hometown reject Him, and lacked faith.
The Bible says, “And [Jesus] did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58).
It was not just in Nazareth where Jesus would not work great miracles because of a lack of faith.
He declared, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works one in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Matthew 11:21).
In Mark 8:22-26, an account of Jesus healing a blind man in Bethsaida recounts that Jesus took the blind man out of the town before He healed him, and ordered the man, “Do not even enter the village” (Mark 8:26b).
The people of Nazareth, Chorazin, and Bethsaida had so little faith that nothing Jesus could have done would have led them to repent.
There are still people like that today.
The level of faith one has can also impact how God can bless individual Christians.
In the Book of James, the writer stated, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You cover and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2).
Believers in James’ time were fighting amongst one another because they lacked, but they did not have the faith to go to God and ask.
This statement does not mean that one can have anything, or that ‘name it and claim it’ philosophy is true, but that it is important to fully and faithfully rely on God, and ask Him in prayer, in supplications for the things of faith needed.
Without even a mustard seed measure of faith, the Christian life is inhibited, and lacking the fullness that God wants to bestow upon those who love Him.
What Does This “Mustard Seed” Mean for Us Today?
The importance of faith is as crucial today as it was when Christ walked the earth 2,000 years ago.
Jesus gave a commission to His followers as He ascended into Heaven, a command to follow until He returns,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Once the seed of faith has been planted in someone’s heart and they are saved, the next steps of faith are for that seed to be cultivated and nurtured, to learn more about this new connectional relationship, obey this GOD commission.
Faith can be difficult, fleeting and failing, which is why it seems that in some moments in life it can be easy to have great faith, but at others, almost none.
When cultivating our relationship with God, growing that faith regularly can be truly empowering the believer to know their Savior better, and obey Him fully.
But, our great enemy of the faith Satan is always going to be, faithfully going to be on the prowl, like a roaring hungry lion looking for an easy, vulnerable meal.
1 Peter 5:6-9 Amplified Bible
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, 7 casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. 8 Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, and immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]
Be On Guard
The Scriptures make it clear that believers in Christ are to be on our guard because the enemy is against God, so He too will attack the Father’s children.
We are part of a spiritual battle that many days we wake up forgetting is going on – when our lives are consumed with the temporary, we forget the eternal.
When you stop and think about how you need to specifically be on your guard right now, what comes to mind?
In what ways is the enemy attacking you, your family, your friendships, your workplace, and your church?
Just as God is faithfully active, the Devil is faithfully active too.
He is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for people to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
Being on our guard works best when we are not reliant on our own strength but on the help of the Holy Spirit and the armor of God.
We are not left in the greatest heat of the battle unguarded and vulnerable, we are equipped and we are empowered with the victory of our Lord, Savior Jesus and hopeful that this temporary suffering is for His glory. (1 Corinthians 15:57)
In Our Savior’s Victory – Stand Firm in the Faith
Here is the call to stand firm.
When we think of the word “firm”, what do we envision, what do we picture?
I think of a rock, a strong muscle, or a wall.
I imagine something immovable, unshakeable and steady, something that will not shake or even give or even minimally lend itself to the idea that it would fall.
We have a firm foundation in Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:11 says, “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
There is absolutely nothing that I can create with my own hands to build my life on that will ever be more firm than choosing to steadfastly place trust in Jesus.
When Christ is the King over our lives, when we have placed our faith in Him, we too are now stable and immovable in Him.
He is the reason that we can have confidence and a place of refuge in the difficulties in life.
He gives us peace and bravery.
When a hurricane comes, it matters more what the homes are built out of to withstand the storm.
Although all will be hit by the storm, not all will crumble.
Because of Jesus, even though we are always in the midst of the storm of sin in this world, always under Satan’s ever watchful evil gaze, we will not crumble.
2 Timothy 2:19 says, “Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.’”
We can be rest assured that our Father God knows we are 100% His Children.
He can help us, and He can remind us that He is our firm foundation in this life.
We can place our full trust in Him, more so than when we sit in a chair and it holds us up or ride in a plane and hope it lands.
We have the promise He is always with us, and He will keep us safe in His arms. (Psalm 121)
Psalm 121 The Message
121 1-2 I look up to the mountains;
does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,
who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
3-4 He won’t let you stumble,
your Guardian God won’t fall asleep.
Not on your life! Israel’s
Guardian will never doze or sleep.
5-6 God’s your Guardian,
right at your side to protect you—
Shielding you from sunstroke,
sheltering you from moonstroke.
7-8 God guards you from every evil,
he guards your very life.
He guards you when you leave and when you return,
he guards you now, he guards you always.
In Our Savior’s Victory Be Courageous and Strong
Sin teaches us well – it is easy to live in fear when trials occur around us.
Satan is faithfully lurking – we can fall into the pit of anxiety and worry.
However, our victorious Christ has called us to be courageous and strong.
Joshua 1:1-9 GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lord Instructs Joshua
1 After the death of the Lord’s servant Moses, the Lord said to Moses’ assistant Joshua, son of Nun, 2 “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people must cross the Jordan River into the land that I am going to give the people of Israel. 3 I will give you every place on which you set foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your borders will be the desert ⌞on the south⌟, nearby Lebanon to the Euphrates River (the country of the Hittites) ⌞on the north⌟, and the Mediterranean Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to oppose you successfully as long as you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will never neglect you or abandon you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will help these people take possession of the land I swore to give their ancestors.
7 “Only be strong and very courageous, faithfully doing everything in the teachings that my servant Moses commanded you. Don’t turn away from them. Then you will succeed wherever you go. 8 Never stop reciting these teachings. You must think about them night and day so that you will faithfully do everything written in them. Only then will you prosper and succeed.
9 “I have commanded you, ‘Be strong and courageous! Don’t tremble or be terrified, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’ ”
Just like Joshua was chosen, commanded by God to be strong and courageous, we too have been chosen and called by God to do the same in our generation.
Although Joshua battled real people, today, we have a great spiritual battle going on, raging all around us.
The covenant calling from God for both is still 100% the same, “be strong and courageous,” the promise the Lord is always with His people remains as well.
In Our Savior’s Victory – Do Everything in His Love
1 Corinthians 16:14 Amplified Bible
14 Let everything you do be done in love [motivated and inspired by God’s love for us].
Apostle Paul finishes out his first letter to the Corinthian church with a few last guidelines.
He tells them do everything in love, inspired and motivated by God’s love for us.
Love is something that is talked or written about a lot.
Usually the thought of love is a physical, temporary love.
During the 1960’s many people talked about love being the most important feeling, however, it was a physical love.
The world understands the physical side of love very well.
God made man to know and need that type of love.
Yet, there is a different kind of love that Paul talks about here.
It is not the physical, nor the emotional type of love.
This type of love is God’s kind of love, eternal, selfless, pure love.
This type of love loves no matter what. It love each and every person, regardless of any past actions.
It guards.
It protects.
It remains firm.
It endures all things.
It puts others first.
It builds up, rather than tears down.
It believes.
It trusts.
It is self-sacrificing for others.
It is with this kind of love that every action that is done is to be done in.
Most of the actions of those in this world are done for selfish reasons.
Believers are not to act that way, they are to do things for others out of love for others.
Jesus showed this type of love when He left heaven to live on this earth.
He showed this love when He died on the cross for the sins of each and every person on this earth.
He shows this immeasurable victorious love as He forgives any person who comes to Him with repentance for their sins.
This is true love.
In order to do everything in the same way Jesus did, one must do it in God.
God is love.
He is that perfect love.
When the believer does things in God, he will do it in love.
As we go through our day, take a look at all of your actions.
Are we doing these things in the love and victory of God?
And are we doing these things in genuine love, true love?
Love for others can be shown no matter what is being done.
It can be revealed, it can be shown in our helping others, sharing the gospel message, prayer, and even in rebuke of sins.
God’s kind of love must be shown in every word and every action that we do.
It must permeate everything that we do.
Are we doing everything in love?
I pray today that we will know God’s love for us and others; that we will love others as God loves them; that all of our actions and words will reflect God’s love for others; and that our life will be a reflective and revealing one of true love for God and others.
Intersecting our Savior’s Victory: Our Faith and Life:
How do we sense the enemy trying to work his mischief in our life?
In what ways is our faith being tested?
How can we remember to stand firm on Christ and not in our own strength and abilities in the midst of our enemies fiery trials?
How is God equipping and enabling us to be courageous and strong through His Spirit today?
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
ABBA Father, thank You for loving us in spite of how messed up we are – for the grace of mustard seed faith and for the promise of answered prayer. Help us, Father, understand that every answer to our prayers is filtered from Your heart of love, even when it doesn’t look like what we think it should. Fill those pockets of unbelief in our prayer lives with mustard seed faith. And Lord, when we struggle to believe You, please help our unbelief. Thank you that nothing is impossible in my life as I trust you in every area. Give me wisdom in all these difficult things facing me today. Give me the faith to be able to trust again, to forgive, to care, to love all those who have caused me pain. Give me the faith that I need to keep doing the right thing at work and at home. Give me the faith to be able to keep on trusting You for all the hard spots in my heart, home and work. I’m giving You all the worries and concerns facing me today, trusting You to do the impossible Lord. Increase my faith, today I pray.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 