“For though I am absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.“
“and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ”
The word “steadfast” carries implications of the military term phalanx. A phalanx was an ancient Greek formation of infantry. Soldiers were arrayed in eight to sixteen rows, making a solid block. This block could sweep through the more dispersed army of the enemy. Spartans initially deployed the phalanx. Epaminondas of Thebes developed it (362 B.C.). This method of war reached its apex under Alexander the Great. He used the Macedonian Phalanx (16 soldiers deep armed with a 24-foot spear). Alexander conquered all of Greece and the Near East with this system of warfare.
The Christian is to be an immovable phalanx in the Word. The Christian phalanx stands solid against the charge of the enemy. The true church holds fast to the phalanx of faith. A true faith refuses to yield to opposing influences, but neither is it a rigid orthodoxy where all change and adventure of thinking are heresy.
Principle:
Christians are to display orderly rank and solid discipline in the Word of God as troops of Jesus Christ.
Application:
How solidly do you adhere to the allegiance of your faith — Jesus Christ? Does your love waver from him? Do you have a solid understanding of who he is and what he did for you? No Christian is free from the authority of Jesus Christ. When we reject his authority, we reject what is best for our soul. Then we substitute drugs and alcohol to fill the vacuum in our souls. When we substitute our souls with other answers than Jesus Christ, we break rank with him. Are you the kind of soldier who stays in rank with the Word of God?
