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.
Paul does not merely assert the resurrection but closes with exhortation, which carries far greater force. Your labor is not in vain because a reward is laid up with God; this hope alone sustains believers in the race. Without it, the foundation of piety is rooted up and the whole structure falls.
AI summary
Be steadfast in the faith of Christ's death and resurrection, and immovable in your expectation of being raised incorruptible. A disbelief of the future life opens the way to all licentiousness; men naturally infer they may eat and drink, for tomorrow they die.
AI summary
Paul closes with an exhortation that plainly follows from the truth of resurrection. Be firm and fixed in faith; let not sin's power, philosophy's sophistry, or the enemy's arts seduce you. Labor diligently always in the work of God, for your labor in the Lord shall not be without reward.
AI summary