Be established in Christ

(1 Thessalonians 3:1-3)

One of the most important things we must do, especially in these times, is to be established in Christ. These verses today tell us that there will be afflictions, and we are certainly seeing that now. But in spite of or because of these afflictions it is essential to be established in Christ. Here is what the scripture says.

1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in the gospel of Christ, to establish you in your faith and to exhort you, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. You yourselves know that this is to be our lot. (1 Thessalonians 3:1-3)

So let us examine these things to try and understand why and how to be established in Christ.

Why be established in Christ?

As a Christian this seems like it might be stating the obvious. But not everyone understands the importance of why we need to be established in Christ Jesus.

As Christians we have been called to walk with Him for the purpose of growth. We are to grow in Christ Jesus and be transformed into the image of Christ in full maturity as Christians.

When we are mature we will be established in Christ. We will not be at the whim of all kinds of false and misleading teachings that have no basis in the truth. And we will be able to walk fully and wholly in the truth of Jesus Christ.

We see the importance of this in the following scripture.

“…until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles.” (Ephesians 4:13-14)

In these words we see the importance why we must be established in Christ.

It is for the purpose of maturity and stability. We must become stable and steadfast so that when things happen, we remain unaffected.

There will be trials and tribulations. We will be tempted and tested. There will be times when we come up against false teachings and false teachers who want to entangle us in ministry that is not of the Lord.

But when we are established and mature in Christ, we can stand solid and steadfast. We will not be like the description in the scripture above. We will not be, “…tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles.”

Instead we will be able to stand against such things and expose those lies for what they are. And we can teach or help others to be strong also as they grow in the Lord.

How to be established in Christ

This brings us to the next question. If it is important that we be established in Christ, then it is even more important to learn how.

The answer is quite simple.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind. (James 4:7-8)

And we also need to take heed of these words, spoken by God the Father at the transfiguration of Jesus.

And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” (Mark 9:7)

In the first of these two verses, we see that we must draw near to God. This is how we will be established in Christ. When we draw near to God we move away from the things of this world. And when we draw near to God, then the devil will flee for he cannot stand being in the presence of God

But how do we draw near to God?

The first way is quite simple: pray. We can come to God in prayer at any time, day or night. We can simply pray and seek the Lord in any circumstance and over any matter. By so doing we are drawing close to God.

But prayer alone will not affect change in us to bring us to maturity. It will certainly help when we are being afflicted in one way or another, but there is more we need to do.

This is where the second scripture above becomes important. We must listen to Jesus.

To be established in Christ we have to listen to what He had to say. We need to absorb His words and His teachings. We need to be immersed in the words of Jesus so that they become part of who and what we are.

When we know the scripture and can live in the words of Jesus we can stand against false teachings and false teachers.

We are also told that the word of God, that is, the teachings contained in the scriptures, is the sword of the Spirit. So when we study, learn and immerse ourselves in the scriptures, we are arming the Holy Spirit to fight for and with us.

Recall when Jesus was in the wilderness forty days and forty nights without food. When the devil came to test and tempt Him in His weakened state, Jesus defeated each of the temptations by the word of God. He knew and understood the scriptures and used them to quash the desires of Satan who wanted Jesus to bow to him.

This is why we must, “Listen to Him.” We listen to what He had to say and apply it in our lives to grow stronger. And as we listen, apply, and grow we will be established in Christ. We will become mature and able to withstand the afflictions, tests, and temptations that will come against us.

And as Paul said to the church of the Thessalonians, we should no longer be moved by afflictions. That is the aim and goal of learning and growing in the truth. It is the reason why we must be established in Christ.

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