… stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
Summary: This passage provides multiple topics to ponder. In this meditation, we look at what it means to be “in the Lord.”
As we meditate on this passage, there are three separate sections we can focus on. The first is what it means to “stand firm.” The second is the phrase, “in the Lord,” and the third is “in this way.” All three carry special meaning and are worthy of our time.
Let’s begin with the second one, the meaning of “in the Lord.”
The New Testament uses the phrase “in the Lord” in an amazing variety of ways. Perhaps the most obvious and direct way is to “believe in the Lord” (Acts 16:31). Once we believe, our next challenge is to “have faith in the Lord” (Ephesians 1:15).
Once we believe in the Lord and begin to have faith in Jesus, we find that every aspect of our lives begins to change. Like flipping a light switch, a room that was dark is instantly filled with light.
Amazingly, the light is not coming from the ceiling or some distant corner of the room. The light comes from within us. We are the “light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8).
When we have God’s light in us, it is possible for us to be “strong in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:10). This is important because the world does not like the light. God’s Word says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
“But wait!” … as the man says on TV, “… There’s MORE!”
Because of the Light, we can be a “servant in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:21), confident in the Lord (Philippians 1:14), labor in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58), and work in the Lord (1 Corinthians 9:1).
Being “in the Lord” is unique. If we do things “in the church,” we are normally talking about a place, but if we do things “in good faith,” we are talking about a mode of action.
To do something in a “mode” is to meet certain conditions while you are doing whatever it is you are doing.
For a Christian, doing something “in the Lord” is to submit to Christ’s authority. It also means we are given the Holy Spirit and the Word. Paul explains it well when he says:
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6-7)
To be continued.
Application: Live in the Lord.
Food for Thought: Where is the line between being “in the Lord” and not being in the Lord? How do we know where we are?
Where is the line between being “in the Lord” and not being in the Lord? How do we know where we are?
You could do a whole series on this question!
First off, to be “in the Lord” means the Lord is in you. One must accept that they are in a fallen state and need the redemption of Jesus. This goes beyond the initial profession of faith in Jesus. That we must seek Him, submit to Him, and act in obedience to Him. We do so because we trust in Him. To be “in the Lord” means to trust Him now and in eternity.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
In Christ we are dead to sin, but sin is not dead to us. Our sinful nature still desires to control us and keep us from walking with the Lord. To be “in the Lord” means we must die to self.
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
To be “in the Lord” also means to be separate from the world.
2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
Wherever the Lord is invited, He comes. Wherever the Lord is present, there is love. Love is the greatest evidence of the presence of God. “To be in the Lord” means to operate our life, in word and deed, in the same love that Christ has shown for us.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1 John 4:7-12
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
Thank you, Chris!
You paint a beautiful picture of life in Christ!
Well expressed CH!
Where is the line between being “in the Lord” and not being in the Lord? How do we know where we are?
2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Philippians 3:20, But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
As believers we remain on earth, “in this world”, but are not of this world, meaning we do not belong to or place value in this world system, thoughts, or priorities. God has determined we remain here, confined in physical bodies, which seek to pursue life according to the standards of mankind, while our “spirits” are being empowered by Jesus, seek LIFE and are being transformed into His image on earth.
Romans 12:2, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Living in the Lord is spiritual life as we separate ourselves from the powers, influences of this world and by the power of the Holy Spirit, seek spiritual life/growth in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is this lifelong process of transformation which begins on earth and all believers look forward to being completed when we in Gods timing are joined with Him for all eternity..
1 Corinthians 6:11, Through the Holy Spirit we are washed, sanctified, and justified.
2 Corinthians 3:18, And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Thank you, Ron!
I love this passage, “The old has gone, the new is here!”
So appropriate! 🙂