Life lessons from Stephanas and family Examples in the faith 16:15,16

I. A submissive faith. They were saved

A. Their salvation was sure –

1 Corinthians 1:30-31 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Salvation is of the Lord! Men may object to this, but we must pay attention to the Word of God concerning this –
Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

B. Their submission was seen –

1 Corinthians 1:16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

II. An active faith. They were serving

1 Corinthians 16:15 I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)
1 Corinthians 15:57-58 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

For over five years, through all of the divisions and false teachings,

Divisions over personality
Disregard for morality
Disorder in marriage
Destitute of mercy, taking one another to the public courts
Demeaning the poor in the practice of the Lord’s Supper
Distorting the proper use of the God given gifts for ministry

– this family stayed true to the Lord through His Word! Through their steadfast love of God and His Word, they had –

III. A respected faith. These servants should be followed.

1 Corinthians 16:16 That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.

Paul directed Timothy to note those faithful believers, as Stephanas was in Corinth, and delegate authority to them to minister to others.

2 Timothy 2:1-2 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Genuine ministry in the church is centered on people. Notice the ministry of Stephanas is commended because of the faithful ministry ‘to the saints’.

One writer commented –

“Their authority came, not from achievement or status, but because they join in the work and they labor at it (1 Cor. 16:16). A leader worthy of recognition has a servant’s heart. Even servants possess genuine authority, to which others are to submit. But servants do lead by demanding respect not for their position but by their character. Authority thus flows from service, a truth embodied in the fact that deacons, key leaders in the early church, received the unadorned title “servants”.

Remember Joseph in Egypt who was celebrated as a servant and his authority was based on his faithful service!

Will we be faithful?