Parting Words

Guiding Question How do you stand strong and live well when you're spiritually on your own?

Summary

In this message, Robert Lewis draws a parallel between the emotional farewell of parents dropping their child off at college and the apostle Paul’s final words to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 16. These “parting words” from Paul are short but charged imperatives meant to prepare the young, struggling Corinthian believers to live faithfully when left to stand on their own.

Lewis opens by summarizing the spiritual condition of the Corinthian church: educated and gifted, yet immature, morally confused, and spiritually wobbly. Then he unpacks Paul’s five closing exhortations in verses 13–14—urging believers to be spiritually alert, to stand firm in their faith, to be courageous, to draw strength from Christ, and to do everything in love.

Each imperative comes with vivid illustrations and real-world applications. The message concludes with a personal challenge: When you’re spiritually alone—at work, at home, or in a crisis—what’s actually true of you? And if it’s not working, are you ready to become something more?

Outline:

1. Introduction: A Parent’s Parting Words – Connecting college send-offs to Paul’s final exhortations.

2. Snapshot of the Corinthian Church – Gifted but immature, well-taught but not spiritually grounded.

3. Paul’s Parting Words (1 Corinthians 16:13–14):

   • Be spiritually alert – Stay awake to the spiritual realities and threats around you.

   • Stand firm in the faith – Hold fast to historic Christian truth amid cultural drift.

   • Be courageous – Take bold leaps of faith and live for eternal rewards.

   • Be strong (in the Lord) – Draw inner strength from the living presence of Christ.

   • Do everything in love – Let love temper your convictions and your courage.

4. Application Challenge – What is true of you when you’re spiritually alone?

Key Takeaways

• Living the Christian life means learning to stand alone with strength, courage, and clarity.

• Faith requires spiritual alertness in a world filled with subtle and overt threats to your soul.

• You must decide if you truly believe “the faith” (historic Christian teaching)—because you can’t stand firm in what you’re not sure of.

• The Christian journey involves leaping into faith experiences that feel risky but reveal God’s power.

• Inner strength comes not from self, but from Christ alive in you.

• Love must guide all your spiritual practices; without it, truth becomes harsh and courage becomes pride.

Scriptural References

• 1 Corinthians 16:13–14 – Paul’s five imperatives: “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong, let all you do be done in love.”

• 1 Corinthians 3:1–3 – The Corinthians were spiritual infants.

• Hebrews 5:14 – Mature believers have trained their senses to discern good and evil.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:15 – “Stand firm...and hold to the teachings.”

• Ephesians 3:16 – Strengthened with power through the Spirit in the inner man.

• Colossians 1:27 – “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

• John 14:23 – Jesus promises to make His home with those who love and obey Him.

Recorded 8/8/04