CHRIST the ONE in whom WE STAND: “Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast IN THE LORD, beloved” (Php 4:1). In spite of many adversaries, the Lord “is able to keep you from falling” (Jud 24). Nonetheless we are to take personal responsibility to “Watch, stand fast in the FAITH, be brave, be strong” (1 Cor 16:13). And through this “we have access by faith into this GRACE in which we stand” (Rom 5:2). “Stand fast therefore,” adds the apostle Paul, “in the LIBERTY by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Gal 5:1). Thankfully, the believer can “take up the whole ARMOR of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Eph 6:13). And we are encouraged to pray for God’s people that they “may stand perfect and complete in all the WILL of God” (Col 4:12). We are thankful that the saint “will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand” (Rom 14:4).
