Introduction to the Assembly Theme on Stand Fast and Hold Fast (1 Cor 15:58)

Please note: This transcript is provided as close to verbatim record of the sermon.

Steadfastness 2026

Theme Sermon Manuscript (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Greeting and Introduction

Very good morning, brothers and sisters. First and foremost, wishing you all a blessed New Year 2026. Thank you also to those of you who have been praying for me, and particularly those who have texted or just have a word to encourage me—much needed.

So today is the first Sunday of 2026, and if you’ve been at the watch night service and the assembly retreat, you have heard Linus tell you, if you want to find out more about the theme, please come on Sunday. So today is that Sunday. It’s my responsibility this morning to give us the theme—the overview of 2026—the theme of steadfastness, to set the scene for what we’ll be covering and why it’s important, this theme of steadfastness.

Before we begin, before we go into the message proper, let’s have a word of prayer. Let’s pray. Let’s seek the Lord’s blessing.

Opening Prayer

Father, we thank you again for this time this morning. And we thank you again that on the first Sunday of the year, we can come aside to remember the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that as the times change, we can rest assured in the faithfulness and the steadfast love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We thank you that we can stand firm on the love of God—the unchanging, unwavering God, the God of the Bible. And we thank you that this morning we can spend time to delve into the Word of God, the unchanging truth that is found in your Word, the unchanging work and complete work of the Lord Jesus Christ that has been done once and for all, and the victory that has been secured for each one of us.

So Father, we pray that as we spend this time together you will quieten our hearts. Speak to each one of us through your Word. Convict us of the things that we need to do. Cause us to reflect and to meditate upon the words that you have to speak to us through your Spirit, that together as an assembly, as we move forward into the year ahead, may know your real blessing and guidance and wisdom upon each one of us. In Lord Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

 

1. Setting the Yearly Theme: From Four E’s to Three S’s

As we were also reminded at retreat yesterday, over the past couple of years we have taken a thematic approach year on year to help to direct our ministry service and focus for each year.

From 2020 to 2023 we went through a series of four E’s—evangelism, encouragement, edification, and exaltation. And these were structured to challenge us in terms of our working out of our salvation: to the lost around us, to the saints among us, and to the glorifying of our triune Lord God.

Then we moved into three interrelated S’s. So: four E’s, three S’s—starting with stewardship in 2024, and last year we covered servanthood, and this year we’ll cover steadfastness. And these are tailored to help us to emphasize to us the importance of faithfulness and commitment to the Lord, His Word, and the local assembly.

In 2024, we focused on stewardship, and we reviewed what it meant to be good stewards, and we considered how each one of us can be good stewards of what God has given to us individually and collectively as an assembly.

Last year we thought of servanthood, and we were reminded of who we serve, why we serve, and these two then informed how we serve. And as we started off the year last year, we were exhorted to serve as if we are serving Christ. And we ended the year at the watch night service and we were challenged to continue to serve because Christ is still worth everything. He is still worth our service.

And this segues very beautifully into our 2026 theme of steadfastness.

 

2. Theme Overview: Steadfastness

This year we will look at a theme of steadfastness which describes the quality of being resolute, of being dutifully firm and unwavering in our service for the Lord and our faith which is anchored in Christ.

We will discover that being steadfast is an essential attribute of a good servant and a faithful steward of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This morning we will look at a theme verse from 1 Corinthians 15, and we’ll consider what steadfastness means to us as believers as well as the implications to our Christian life and service. And then thereafter, for the next four weeks, we will delve deeper as our brothers take us through what it means to have steadfast faith, steadfast obedience, steadfast love, and steadfast hope—and we will see how we can live those out.

For today, we will refer to a few portions of Scripture together to hear what God has to say to us through His Word.

But for now, let’s turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and verse 58—our theme verse for this year and for this morning.

We will consider the verse in three main sections, and the message will be structured that way:

1. The exhortation itself
2. The basis of the exhortation—the why
3. The outcome / objective / result of the exhortation—what it means for us

Theme Verse

1 Corinthians 15:58
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

 

1. The Exhortation: “My beloved brothers… be steadfast, immovable”

1) This exhortation is for all believers

We come first to the exhortation. “My beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable.”

The first thing we note here, brethren, is that it is not carved or limited to a select group of believers. We read there, it says, “my beloved brethren.” It is given to all those who call themselves children of God—to all those who are accepted in the Beloved.

And we referenced it this morning in our worship: Ephesians 1:3–6. It describes to us there how God has chosen us—each one of us believers in the Lord Jesus Christ—before the foundation of the world. He has predestined us to adoption as sons, and He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

My brothers and sisters, as we start the year, as we think about this challenge, this exhortation, this reference to being steadfast, immovable—the first point is this: this exhortation is to all of us.

We can all be abounding. We can all be steadfast. We can all be immovable. And we should all strive to do that. None of us is excluded. None of us is exempted.

2) What does “steadfast” mean?

Then we come to the exhortation itself: “Beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable.” What do these words mean?

The first word, steadfast, basically means to be firm, to be loyal, to be unwavering in our support, our belief, our purpose—showing great determination and reliability. It describes someone or something that doesn’t easily change or get shaken. It is often used to highlight strong devotion or commitment, such as steadfast resolve, steadfast loyalty.

The root Greek word—hedraios—has the meaning of being settled, to be set solidly, based, well-seated, firm, and not given to fluctuation or moving.

To be steadfast—and it is used three times in Scripture: one time here in 1 Corinthians 15:58; another in 1 Corinthians 7:37, with reference to being firmly established in heart and conviction about marriage, being steadfast in that conviction; and also in Colossians 1:23, which describes being steadfast in faith—stable and steadfast—not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you have heard.

That is steadfast: being firm, being well-seated, being secure in our faith, in our service for God.

3) What does “immovable” mean?

The second word, immovable, is based off a Greek word (Strong’s reference 277). I won’t try to pronounce it, but it’s only used here once in this passage—1 Corinthians 15:58. And it has the meaning of being without movement or change in location—being immovable, being fixed, staying in one place.

And so, my brothers and sisters, the exhortation is clear: beloved brethren—all of us believers in the Lord Jesus Christ—we are called to be steadfast, immovable.

Let us be steadfast, loyal, firm, and unwavering in our faith. Let us be settled and standing fast in our stewardship of God’s gifts, in our service for the Lord. Let us be immovable—be firm—be fixed in our dedication and commitment to our Lord.

Even as we are encouraged in Hebrews 6:18–19 to hold fast to the hope set before us, for we have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul—a hope that enters into the inner place beyond the curtain.

Our brother Kenneth gave an excellent word of exposition on this verse yesterday. I encourage us all to listen to it again if you have not. But my brothers and sisters, that is the exhortation from 1 Corinthians 15:58: let us be steadfast and immovable.

 

1. The Basis: “Therefore…”

We come then to the second part of the message, and we think of the basis of the exhortation.

And it’s all right for me to tell you, “please be steadfast, be immovable,” and then we end there. But the Bible doesn’t end there. Paul doesn’t end there. God doesn’t end there. He tells us why.

We read in 1 Corinthians 15:58 the first word there: “Therefore.” My beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable.

The word “therefore” tells us that there’s a reason, there’s a basis, there’s a foundation for this commandment, this exhortation.

And we look to the verses and passage that come before this verse 58—the passage preceding this. We recall that 1 Corinthians 15 is a long chapter, but in essence, the apostle Paul proclaims the fact of the resurrection of Christ. He expounds on the meaning of how it came about. He expounds on the relevance of it to believers in those days and to us.

I would encourage us to reread the entire chapter in detail—to take our time to refresh ourselves—to allow ourselves the time to follow the apostle’s train of thought. It is very logical. It is very sequential.

And this all climaxes, if you like, in the verses from verse 54 onwards.

For the purpose of linking us back to steadfastness, I will draw us in this section to two key portions.

1) The resurrection of Christ: the foundation of steadfastness

If you look at verse 55, we see:
“O death, where is your sting? O death, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law.”

But first and foremost, as we go through chapter 15, we are brought face to face with the truth of the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, my brothers and sisters, the basis of our being steadfast, immovable—it all lies and is anchored in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In 1 Corinthians 15:3–19, Paul reminds us:
“For I delivered unto you of first importance that I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. He was buried. He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He appeared…”

My brothers and sisters, the foundation of the death and burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ—in accordance with Scripture—is fundamental to our being immovable and steadfast.

But he goes on in verse 12 to 19, and he says: if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

And in verse 16–19:
“For if the dead were not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins… If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

So my dear saints of God, this morning as we start the year, can I remind us, and can we realize that these verses are very clear?

Our Christian faith, our salvation, is anchored in Scripture—in accordance with the Scriptures. It is centered not only in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ—yes, that’s important—but it is also set on the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on the third day.

And this is a central and fundamental truth that I hope and I pray each one of us will realize and hold on to and fully accept and trust: that our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ was dead, but He is alive—and He is alive forevermore.

Apart from the profound and wide-ranging implications we read from verses 16 to 19, as our brother Chiri reminded us last week, a servant cannot serve a dead master.

And we rejoice at the start of this year—and I rejoice day by day—that we believe in and we serve a risen Savior.

This is the same Lord Jesus who proclaims in Revelation 1:17–18:
“Fear not. I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades.”

My brothers and sisters, the basis of our being steadfast, immovable—the basis of our service and our dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ—is that we serve a risen Savior. One who died, one who is alive, and one who is alive forevermore.

And we’ll see in a short while: He is coming again for His people.

So as we end this part, may we recall the words of the hymn:

“I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today…
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today…”

So the basis of the exhortation, firstly, is that we serve a risen Savior.

2) Our victory in Christ

The second part of this is that we are reminded of our victory in Christ.

If you read and are familiar with 1 Corinthians 15, we see that as we come to verses 54 to 57, we read of the victory that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ because of His death and His resurrection.

We read earlier in 1 Corinthians 15:19 that if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. If we only can trust in Christ for this life and after that we die, we are lost—we have no hope.

But praise be to God, this is not the case.

This chapter ends with a very triumphant note. Verse 57 says:
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We do not have to be pitiful. We do not have to be uncertain. We do not have to be wandering through life and wondering about life after death. We have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And I want us to take some time to consider: what does this victory encompass? It’s very easy to say, “we have victory,” but it’s good for us, as we strive to be steadfast and immovable, to understand and to fully appreciate what it is that we have victory in—what Christ has secured for us over.

We see in verse 54 and 55:
“Death is swallowed up in victory… The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”

So we have three key enemies, so to speak, that have to be overcome: the law, sin, and death itself.

1. a) Sin and death

We’re familiar with the linkage of cause and effect between sin and death.

Romans 5:12 tells us that by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed to all men, for all have sinned.

Romans 6:23: the wages of sin is death, and the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

By nature, all men have sinned. And by definition, the results—the wages—of sin is death: eternal separation from God.

1. b) The law

Then we think about the law. For those of us who may be wondering what the law means in Scripture: the Scripture explains its role.

The law does not save. Rather, the law serves various purposes, which I summarize into two broad headings.

First, the law defines sin. Romans 7:7:
“If it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin…”

James 4:17 reminds us: whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

So the law helps us to understand what is sin.

Second, the law reveals to us God’s holiness. It exposes human weakness and creates accountability before God, because the law represents God’s perfect standards. It shows our inherent imperfection and inability to meet God’s righteousness.

Romans 3:20: by deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified… for by the law is the knowledge of sin. And verse 23: all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

It is a very bleak picture, isn’t it? But it contrasts, and it gives us an appreciation of verse 57: “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

So what exactly has He done? What exactly is the victory that we have secured over the law, sin, and death?

1. c) Victory from the law

We read in Galatians 3:11–14: no one is justified before God by the law… Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

And Galatians 4:4: God sent forth His Son, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because we are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father.”

My brothers and sisters, we have victory from the law because we have been redeemed from the curse of the law by the Lord Jesus Christ—by the proactive, loving, gracious action of God.

And not only victory—we have been received into the family of God. We have received adoption as sons. We have been made heirs of God. We have been indwelt by the promised Spirit of God.

1. d) Victory from sin

What then is our victory from sin?

Ephesians 1:7:
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”

And 1 Peter 1:3–5: we have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading—kept in heaven for you—guarded by God’s power through faith.

My dear saints, we have redemption. We have forgiveness from sin through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through His death upon the cross and through the work of salvation, we have been born again—we’ve been made new creatures, new creation in Christ by the Spirit of God—to a living hope, to an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, unfading, guarded for us.

This is the victory that has been secured for us through Christ over our sins.

1. e) Victory over death and the grave

Then we come to the final victory: victory over death and the grave.

We read in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 onwards, and this gives us assurance and conviction and confidence of why we can serve a living Savior and why we can be sure our service is not in vain.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep.

And verse 16: the Lord Himself will descend from heaven… and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive will be caught up together with them… and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Brothers and sisters, we do not have to fear death. We do not have to fear the grave. We do not have to worry about our loved ones who have been called home in Christ, because we are promised, assured, guaranteed: we will be raised again in a coming day bodily, to be with the Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever.

And how do we know that? Because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has first been raised from the dead.

So surely we can give thanks, praise, and worship to our great God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as we contemplate the extent and completeness of His great victory on our behalf.

As we hold fast to these truths of Scripture—the truth of the resurrection of Christ, the truth of our victory in Him, the truth of His soon coming return for His saints, both called home and alive, the truth of our own bodily resurrection with Him—surely nothing can or should shake us as we stand firm in the face of life’s challenges and in our service for the Lord.

That is the middle section of the message: the basis of the exhortation. How can we be steadfast, immovable? Why does the apostle Paul write this? Why does God exhort us to be steadfast, immovable? Because of what Christ has done and secured for us.

 

III. The Outcome: “Always abounding… knowing… your labor is not in vain”

Finally, we come to the outcome, if you like—the what.

Verse 58 again:
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

If I may paraphrase: therefore, my brethren, in light of our assurance that you believe in and serve a risen Savior; in view of the profound and complete victory we have through our Lord Jesus Christ—victory from the law and our elevation to the status of sons of the living God; victory from sin and obtaining inheritance incorruptible reserved for us in heaven; victory over death and the grave and the assurance of a bodily resurrection as our Lord Jesus Christ to live forever with Him in heaven—in the light of all this, we are called to be always abounding in the work of the Lord.

Always—not occasionally, not in peaks and troughs, not in starts and spurts—always abounding.

Abounding means plentiful, abundant, overflowing. Always abounding—not limited, not miserly, not constrained—in the work of the Lord. Not our own work, not our own ambitions.

Knowing that in the Lord—knowing that we serve the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that He enables us and guides our service—our labor is not in vain. It is not empty. It is not of no value, because we serve the Lord Jesus Christ and we serve in the power of the Spirit.

My dear brothers and sisters, as we start 2026, may we rededicate ourselves to be steadfast in our faith, in our service for the Lord. May we strive to be abounding and abundant in our labors for Him.

And again, I’ll draw us back to the three enemies that have been overcome for us, as we think about how we can be steadfast, immovable, and abounding in our service for Him.

1) In light of victory from the law

Firstly, in light of our victory from the law, may we strive to be steadfast in walking in the Spirit—to develop the fruit of the Spirit—to be led by the Spirit in our service for and worship of the Lord.

Galatians 5:18 tells us: if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. And verse 25: if we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

As we strive to be abounding in the work of the Lord, my brothers and sisters, let us remember: as we have been given victory over the law, let us be led by the Spirit. Let us be cognizant and sensitive to the Spirit’s leading.

Let us be identified by the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Let us serve the Lord and walk in the Spirit.

2) In light of victory from sin

Secondly, in light of our victory from sin, let us be steadfast in working out our salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that it is God who works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

It is God who works in us and through us for His glory. Please refer to Philippians 2:12–13 as well as 1 Corinthians 15:10. The apostle Paul spells this out and gives us the example of himself.

3) In light of victory over death and the grave

And finally, my brothers and sisters, in light of our victory over death and the grave, let us be steadfast and confident in dedicating ourselves wholly to Christ, so that we can echo the words of the apostle Paul in Philippians 1:20–21: that Christ be honored in our bodies whether by life or by death.

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Why do we do all this?

To remind ourselves: we have the full assurance that our labor in the Lord, for the Lord, will not be in vain.

Revelation 22:12: the Lord Jesus Christ says, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to everyone according to his work.”

Over the next four weeks and through the year, we will expand further into how we can exhibit steadfastness in different aspects of our Christian walk. But to start us off, and through the year, can I encourage us to spend time meditating and reflecting on 1 Corinthians 15:58—to pen down for ourselves:

• What does it mean to you and to me to be steadfast, immovable? These are very deep words, very hard to understand. But what does it mean to you and to me?
• Can we prayerfully consider what area of service, what type of labor, what aspect of my Christian walk the Lord is calling me to abound in? There’s a work for Jesus only you and I can do. What area of service, what labor for the Lord can we abound in?
• And thirdly, can we also reflect: what areas of my life do I need to surrender or to put away so that I may dedicate myself to be always abounding in the work of the Lord?

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

As we end the message, can I just exhort us that we may live our lives in steadfast service for our Lord—to live our lives with a sense of urgency, knowing that our Lord’s return is imminent.

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

 

Closing Prayer

Let’s close in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for our time this morning. We thank you that we have such a simple verse. We thank you that your Word is not difficult to understand. We thank you that your exhortation is clear for each one of us day by day: to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.

And Father, we thank you that we have thought about the basis and the complete victory we have in Christ. We thank you for such a wonderful, perfect Savior who has come, who has lived, who has died, who was buried, and who has been resurrected and raised from the dead, and who is coming again.

We thank you, O Father, that we have this basis of our salvation, the basis of our Christian walk, and the guarantee of a home in heaven and a future with Him forever.

And Father, we are grateful, and we praise you for such a bountiful and full salvation.

Father, yet we are reminded from your Word this morning of the response that should be ours: that we should be always abounding in the work of the Lord. Whichever area of service, whichever work you have entrusted to us to do, we pray that we may put our hands firmly and fully to the plow.

That we may be dedicated to the work of the Lord—dedicated to the Lord Himself. We may be real and transparent with yourself and the Spirit within us. We may be caused to reflect in our own lives what needs to be put aside and surrendered to your Spirit’s control.

That together as an assembly, that together as individuals in the assembly, we may be encouraging one another, we may be examples to one another, we may be a light and testimony to the unsaved around us, that we may be abounding always in the work of the Lord even as we await His soon coming return.

So Father, we thank you for your goodness to us. We thank you that we are so blessed and so privileged people, for we call you our Abba Father.

We look for your blessing upon us today, the activities, and indeed into the year ahead, that whatever comes our way—be it good or bad—we can trace it all to your loving hands. We can trace it all to the Lord Jesus Christ who is walking step by step beside us and leading us ahead.

We pray and ask all these things in Lord Jesus’ name. Amen.