This is part 5 in our 5-part Wisdom In All Things Special Series, unpacking the implications of these two short verses from Paul, as they highlight 5 essential factors for living a life of purpose, wisdom, and impact.

“All the watching, all the standing fast, all the bravery, and all the strength the Corinthian Christians might show meant nothing without love. They were called to do all those things in a meek, humble spirit of love.” – David Guzik

Letting all that we do be done in love requires a daily commitment to live out the principles of love as God’s Word prescribes, by aligning our thoughts, attitudes, and actions with the love of Christ, allowing His love to flow through us to impact the world around us.

Read the transcript for Let All That You Do Be Done in Love

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You could say that the phrase ‘be strong’ follows ‘act like men’ as a definition and prescription.

Let’s have Alexander MacLaren take us back into the mindset of the battle as he elaborates on this connection between the two phrases:

“Play a man’s part in the battle; strike with all the force of your muscles. But the Apostle adds, ‘be strong.’ You cannot play a man’s part unless you are. ‘Be strong’—the original would rather bear ‘become strong.’ What is the use of telling men to ‘be strong’? It is a waste of words, in nine cases out of ten, to say to a weak man, ‘Pluck up your courage, and show strength.’

MacLaren points out the nuance of our phrase ‘be strong’. You can’t be a man without strength, and you can’t ‘just have’ the kind of strength the Apostle prescribes in this verse.

Alexander states that Paul’s use of this phrase is quite uncommon in the New Testament, but that another use of the phrase helps us better understand the nuance. He reveals that we are to be: “Strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man" (Ephesians 3:16).

Read the transcript for Be Strong

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Given the current cultural climate on the subject, some might think it pretty controversial to suggest that we ‘act like men’. After all, if you were to listen to the critics, “Could there be anything good that would come from it?”

I can understand the sentiment. But not the reaction.

I think it was John Stonestreet who I heard say recently, “The response to bad authority is not, ‘no authority’, it’s good authority.” The context had to do with governmental authority, but it seems like it would apply nicely here as well.

While we may have steered away from the path of guiding boys into becoming men, it is all the more important that we return to the path rather than abandon the pursuit of manhood altogether. To put it another way, we should seek ‘true manhood’ rather than ‘no manhood.’

Read the transcript for Stand Firm in the Faith

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