1 Corinthians 15:58 records Paul's conclusion to his lengthy defense of the resurrection of the dead, that Jesus did raise to eternal life and will raise believers too after we have died. In light of this, we should be solid and consistent, producing and over-producing good works of obedience to God, remembering that there is a purpose and a reward to living this way, when Jesus comes into His kingdom one day.
In 1 Corinthians 15:58, Paul concludes his teaching on resurrection with a charge to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord, because resurrection guarantees that all toilinthe Lord will be richly rewarded:
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (v 58).
Therefore, points the previous fifty-seven verses to this application. In the previous verses, Paul noted that we have been given victory over death. He used the present tense to describe that victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).
Even though the victory over death will not be made complete until we are resurrected, we can live in the current reality of Christ's victory over death by walking in faith, living in obedience to Jesus through His resurrection power dwelling within. What does that look like?
It looks like being steadfast in following Jesus's commands.
It looks like being immovable in sticking to Jesus's commands.
It looks like abounding in the work of the Lord, fulfilling God's works which He prepared for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10).
This is difficult. It requires putting to death the desires of the flesh. It requires resisting temptation. It requires enduring rejection from the world. But there is more than good cause to do this hard thing. The phrase knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (v 58) looks forward to the reward God promises for those who serve Him.
To be God’s child only requires faith. The faith required is the same as Israel looking at the bronze snake lifted up in the wilderness. Jesus used that illustration to demonstrate that being born again only requires the faith to look at Jesus lifted up on the cross, hoping for deliverance from the poisonous venom of sin (John 3:14-15).
But to possess the reward of the inheritance requires pleasing God (Colossians 3:23-24). All believers’ deeds will be judged, and rewards given based on faithfulness to God’s call (1 Corinthians 3:11-15,2 Corinthians 5:10). Those who live as abounding in the work of the Lord will receive incredible rewards. Paul asserted that these rewards are beyond our human capacity to comprehend (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Jesus even promises that to those who overcome as He overcame, He will share His authority. Believers who are faithful stewards of thework of the Lord will be given great responsibility in His kingdom (Matthew 25:21,Revelation 3:21). As Romans 8:17 indicates, all believers have God as an inheritance; all believers are in Christ. For Him to reject us, would be to reject Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). As Romans 8:17 also indicates, the reward of being a joint heir with Christ is conditional on suffering as He suffered.
Jesus suffered rejection from the world. As Hebrews 12:2 says, Jesus lived as "despising the shame" because of "the joy set before Him." That "joy" was to sit down "at the right hand of the throne of God" and be granted "all authority" both "in heaven and on earth" (Mathew 28:18). Paul exhorts believers to adopt this same perspective (Philippians 2:5-9). Believers who are faithful to toil for the Lord will be greatly rewarded, and there is no doubt this will be the case. This blessed hope is what should motivate us to work diligently for Him.
The Greek word "kopos," rendered toil, means to labor to the point of weariness and cost. It can be translated "trouble" as it is in Galatians 6:17. Paul readily admits that living out the gospel is difficult. As he says in 2 Timothy 3:12 that all who desire to live godly will suffer persecution. The world rejects those who will not bend to its ways.
The Greek word translated vain in the phrase your toil is not in vain in the Lord (v 58) is "kenos." Paul used this word earlier when he said his preaching was "vain" and faith was "vain" if Christ had not risen (1 Corinthians 15:14). Our faith in Christ is NOT in vain because the resurrection is sure. And our striving and labor for the Lordis not invain because His promised rewards are equally sure.
Because Christ has, in fact, been raised, the entire scenario of no resurrection is of no threat to our hope. Instead, everything done in the Lord survives the grave with the one who did it. Each believer's work will be revealed and tested, and "if any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward" (1 Corinthians 3:14); God is "not unjust so as to forget your work" (Hebrews 6:10); "in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary" (Galatians 6:9).
Paul addresses the Corinthians as my beloved brethren, treating them with warmth and recognition that they are fellow believers even while correcting them. Paul’s correction is given in love, for their benefit. He is their spiritual father who desires their greatest spiritual prosperity (1 Corinthians 4:15). Their spiritual prosperity comes through understanding and following the truth.
Paul’s charge to be steadfast exhorts the Corinthian believers to be settled, seated, fixed in the gospel message they received and in which they stand (1 Corinthians 15:1). They are not to be misled by false teaching and induced away from the truth.
His charge to be immovable is an exhortation to hold to what is true and not allow the Corinthians to be dislodged from believing in false teaching. Specifically, they are not to be misled by the kind of teaching that had crept into the church at Corinth, claiming there is no resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12). A church convinced of the empty tomb and the coming trumpet holds its ground when false teaching opposes it.
And Paul's exhortation to be always abounding in the work of the Lord (v 58) exhorts believers to be overflowing, exceeding in measure in their service for the cause of Christ. This would be according to each person’s gifting and according to their opportunity. Paul’s exhortation would apply to any deed done for the Lord, whether proclamation, giving, hospitality, endurance, or the daily obedience of ordinary life.
As Paul asserts in Colossians 3:23-24,the Lord will reward whatever deeds we do heartily for Him. Jesus promises to reward His servants for living as faithful witnesses. The final clause provides the hope of reward to motivate the suffering: knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (v 58).
Paul states this as his own motivation many times. Some examples:
In 2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul asserts that he considers the great difficulties he has endured a small price to pay for the hope of the glory which he trusts will be his reward from Jesus for his faithfulness.
In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul likens his discipline of his own body to that of a high performance athlete competing to win the Olympic games.
In 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul is facing death as a martyr for Jesus and his overriding sentiment is one of expectation that he will be rewarded for his faithfulness.
The hope of resurrection means that everything we do for Christ in this life is like a deposit we can retrieve in the age to come. But rather than just receiving what we deposited, Jesus promises to multiply it a hundredfold (Matthew 19:29,Mark 10:30).
1 Corinthians 15:58
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
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1 Corinthians 15:58 meaning
In 1 Corinthians 15:58, Paul concludes his teaching on resurrection with a charge to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord, because resurrection guarantees that all toil in the Lord will be richly rewarded:
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (v 58).
Therefore, points the previous fifty-seven verses to this application. In the previous verses, Paul noted that we have been given victory over death. He used the present tense to describe that victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).
Even though the victory over death will not be made complete until we are resurrected, we can live in the current reality of Christ's victory over death by walking in faith, living in obedience to Jesus through His resurrection power dwelling within. What does that look like?
This is difficult. It requires putting to death the desires of the flesh. It requires resisting temptation. It requires enduring rejection from the world. But there is more than good cause to do this hard thing. The phrase knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (v 58) looks forward to the reward God promises for those who serve Him.
To be God’s child only requires faith. The faith required is the same as Israel looking at the bronze snake lifted up in the wilderness. Jesus used that illustration to demonstrate that being born again only requires the faith to look at Jesus lifted up on the cross, hoping for deliverance from the poisonous venom of sin (John 3:14-15).
But to possess the reward of the inheritance requires pleasing God (Colossians 3:23-24). All believers’ deeds will be judged, and rewards given based on faithfulness to God’s call (1 Corinthians 3:11-15, 2 Corinthians 5:10). Those who live as abounding in the work of the Lord will receive incredible rewards. Paul asserted that these rewards are beyond our human capacity to comprehend (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Jesus even promises that to those who overcome as He overcame, He will share His authority. Believers who are faithful stewards of the work of the Lord will be given great responsibility in His kingdom (Matthew 25:21, Revelation 3:21). As Romans 8:17 indicates, all believers have God as an inheritance; all believers are in Christ. For Him to reject us, would be to reject Himself (2 Timothy 2:13). As Romans 8:17 also indicates, the reward of being a joint heir with Christ is conditional on suffering as He suffered.
Jesus suffered rejection from the world. As Hebrews 12:2 says, Jesus lived as "despising the shame" because of "the joy set before Him." That "joy" was to sit down "at the right hand of the throne of God" and be granted "all authority" both "in heaven and on earth" (Mathew 28:18). Paul exhorts believers to adopt this same perspective (Philippians 2:5-9). Believers who are faithful to toil for the Lord will be greatly rewarded, and there is no doubt this will be the case. This blessed hope is what should motivate us to work diligently for Him.
The Greek word "kopos," rendered toil, means to labor to the point of weariness and cost. It can be translated "trouble" as it is in Galatians 6:17. Paul readily admits that living out the gospel is difficult. As he says in 2 Timothy 3:12 that all who desire to live godly will suffer persecution. The world rejects those who will not bend to its ways.
The Greek word translated vain in the phrase your toil is not in vain in the Lord (v 58) is "kenos." Paul used this word earlier when he said his preaching was "vain" and faith was "vain" if Christ had not risen (1 Corinthians 15:14). Our faith in Christ is NOT in vain because the resurrection is sure. And our striving and labor for the Lord is not in vain because His promised rewards are equally sure.
Because Christ has, in fact, been raised, the entire scenario of no resurrection is of no threat to our hope. Instead, everything done in the Lord survives the grave with the one who did it. Each believer's work will be revealed and tested, and "if any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward" (1 Corinthians 3:14); God is "not unjust so as to forget your work" (Hebrews 6:10); "in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary" (Galatians 6:9).
Paul addresses the Corinthians as my beloved brethren, treating them with warmth and recognition that they are fellow believers even while correcting them. Paul’s correction is given in love, for their benefit. He is their spiritual father who desires their greatest spiritual prosperity (1 Corinthians 4:15). Their spiritual prosperity comes through understanding and following the truth.
Paul’s charge to be steadfast exhorts the Corinthian believers to be settled, seated, fixed in the gospel message they received and in which they stand (1 Corinthians 15:1). They are not to be misled by false teaching and induced away from the truth.
His charge to be immovable is an exhortation to hold to what is true and not allow the Corinthians to be dislodged from believing in false teaching. Specifically, they are not to be misled by the kind of teaching that had crept into the church at Corinth, claiming there is no resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:12). A church convinced of the empty tomb and the coming trumpet holds its ground when false teaching opposes it.
And Paul's exhortation to be always abounding in the work of the Lord (v 58) exhorts believers to be overflowing, exceeding in measure in their service for the cause of Christ. This would be according to each person’s gifting and according to their opportunity. Paul’s exhortation would apply to any deed done for the Lord, whether proclamation, giving, hospitality, endurance, or the daily obedience of ordinary life.
As Paul asserts in Colossians 3:23-24, the Lord will reward whatever deeds we do heartily for Him. Jesus promises to reward His servants for living as faithful witnesses. The final clause provides the hope of reward to motivate the suffering: knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord (v 58).
Paul states this as his own motivation many times. Some examples:
The hope of resurrection means that everything we do for Christ in this life is like a deposit we can retrieve in the age to come. But rather than just receiving what we deposited, Jesus promises to multiply it a hundredfold (Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:30).