Steadfast (1476) (hedraios from hedra = chair, seat, abode, place) is a word that originally was used to speak of one who was sitting (sedentary) and later came to be used figuratively of that which is firm, settled, steady, unshakeable, stable. It refers to something that is firmly fixed in place, secure and generally permanent. Vine says the metaphorical use (as in 1Co 15:58) describes one who is characterized by "moral fixity". Hedraios describes one who is firmly established in their opinions. Leon Morris says that... Hedraioi (firm) was used in 1Co 7:37 of having ‘settled the matter’; there is the thought of stable purpose, something that will not easily be disturbed, for the person’s whole bent is behind it (cf. Col 1:23). Let nothing move you underlines this thought. The Corinthians were prone to fickleness, shifting without reason from one position to another. Let them get a firm grip on the truth of the resurrection, on God’s final plan for all people and all things, and they will not be so readily shaken. (Vol. 7: 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press) The English dictionary says that steadfast describes that which is constant; firm; resolute; not fickle or wavering (unwavering), determined in purpose, loyalty, etc. Steadfast is from an old English word meaning "standing firm". Here are some synonyms for steadfast - abiding, constant, dedicated, dependable, enduring, established, faithful, firm, fixed, immovable, intent, loyal, persevering, reliable, resolute, single-minded, stable, stalwart, staunch, steady, unfaltering, unflinching, unswerving, unwavering, wholehearted. The antonyms include faltering, unstable, vacillating, wavering. Vine writes that... The word hedraios, “steadfast,” literally means firmly seated, but implies a fixed purpose of heart, as against allurements to evil; ametakinetos, unmoveable, suggests adherence to the faith, as against forces that would turn them aside from it and so from allegiance to Christ. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos) Isaiah reminds us that... The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace (Hebrew = "Shalom, shalom" - cf "the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension" Php 4:7), because he trusts in Thee (That is why he is "steadfast of mind" - because he trusts in God) . Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest, finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.” Like a River Glorious by Francis Havergal David declared... My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my soul. (Ps 108:1) The psalmist writes... He (the righteous Ps 112:6) will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD Comment: Note again the association of trust/faith/belief and steadfastness. So here in 1Cor 15:58, the righteous (righteous by grace through faith - cf Ge 15:6) man's belief in the blessed truth of the resurrection and an eternal glorified life undergirds steadfastness of one's heart/mind. Note also that while we use our mind to take in truth, that truth imbibed must sift down into our heart (see study of kardia, see also discussion of Pr 4:23), our "spiritual control center", for that is what will determine whether we prove ourselves to be saints who are steadfast or vacillating. In a parallel passage the writer of Hebrews encourages his vacillating Jewish readers (on whether to hold fast in faith to Messiah or return to their visible rituals)... This hope (The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ - which here in 1Cor 15:58 includes the hope of the resurrection and glorification in the twinkling of an eye - 1Co 15:52) we have as an anchor of the soul (and anchor helps the boat remain "steadfast" in rough/stormy seas!), a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Comment: Because our future hope is sure and steadfast, believers can continue steadfast in this present life. John MacArthur says that hedraios... It denotes being totally immobile and motionless. Obviously Paul is talking about our being moved away from God’s will, not to our being moved within it. Within His will we are to be always abounding in the work of the Lord. But we should not move a hairbreadth away from His will....If our confident hope in the resurrection wavers, we are sure to abandon ourselves to the ways and standards of the world. If there are no eternal ramifications or consequences of what we do in this life, the motivation for self-less service and holy living is gone. On the other hand, when our hope in the resurrection is clear and certain we will have great motivation to be abounding in the work of the Lord. (MacArthur, J: 1Corinthians. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos or Wordsearch) Hedraios is used only 3 times in the NT, here in 1Co 15:58 and in... But he who stands firm (hedraios) in his heart, being under no constraint, but has authority over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin daughter, he will do well. (1Co 7:37). if indeed you continue (present tense = continually, as the general direction of your life) in the faith (study "the faith") firmly established and steadfast (hedraios), and not moved away (metakineo) from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. (Col 1:23). Comment: This passage uses hedraios as one of the "markers" of genuine salvation. Kenneth Wuest explains that: The word “if” here is not ean, an unfulfilled, hypothetical condition used with the subjunctive mode, presenting the possibility of a future realization, but ei with the indicative, having here the idea of “assuming that you continue in the faith.” That is, continuance in the gospel as it was preached by Paul would show that the person was saved and thus would be presented holy, without blemish, and unchargeable before God. That is, Paul was here addressing truly born-again Colossians, not unsaved professors of Christianity who would follow the Colossian heresy. Heretics would not so be presented, only true believers. It is not the retention of salvation that is in the apostle’s mind, but the possession of it that would be shown by their continuance in the gospel. Expositors says; “This is directed against the false teacher’s assurance that the gospel they had heard needed to be supplemented if they wished to attain salvation." (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos) John MacArthur writes that: "Of all the marks of a genuine Christian presented in Scripture, none is more significant than the one Paul mentions here. People give evidence of being truly reconciled when they continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast. The Bible repeatedly testifies that those who are truly reconciled will continue in the faith. In the parable of the soils, Jesus described those represented by the rocky soil as “‘those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away’ ” (Luke 8:13). By falling away they gave evidence that they were never truly saved. In John 8:31, “Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.’ ” Speaking of apostates, the apostle John writes in 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us.” After hearing some difficult and challenging teaching from Him, many of Jesus’ so called disciples “withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore” (John 6:66). By so doing, they gave evidence that they had never truly been His disciples. Perseverance is the hallmark of the true saint. C H Spurgeon in his sermon Stand Fast (Colossians 1:23) writes that: the battle does not end when by a desperate rush a man has come to Christ. In many it assumes a new form; the enemy now attempts to drag the trembler from his refuge, and eject him from his stronghold. It is difficult to get at the hope of the gospel; but quite as difficult to keep it so as not to be moved away from it. If Satan spends great power in keeping us from the hope, he uses equal force in endeavoring to drag us away from it, and equal cunning in endeavoring to allure us from it. Hence the apostle tells us not to be moved away from the hope of the gospel: the exhortation is needful in presence of an imminent danger. Do not think that in the moment when you believe in Christ the conflict is over, or you will be bitterly disappointed. It is then that the battle renews itself, and every inch of the road swarms with foemen. Between here and heaven you will always have to fight more or less, and frequently the severest struggle will be at a time when you are least prepared for it. There may be smooth passages in your career, and you may for a while be like your Savior in the wilderness, of Whom it is said, “Then the devil departed from Him, and angels came and ministered unto Him”; but you may not therefore cry, “My mountain standeth firm, I shall never be moved”; for fair weather may not outlast a single day. Do not grow secure, or carnally presumptuous. There is but a short space between one battle and another in this world. It is a series of skirmishes even when it does not assume the form of a pitched battle. He that would win heaven must fight for it. He that would take the new Jerusalem must scale it, and if he has the wit to take Jacob’s ladder and set it against the wall and climb up that way, he will win the city. “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” At this time our subject is not the winning, but the wearing; not the taking but the holding of the fort: “Be not moved away,” you that have come to it, “Be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” (Ed note: If you are in need of encouragement to continue in the faith read Spurgeon's practical message - Stand Fast) Matthew Henry comments that steadfast in this passage means... firm, fixed in the faith of the gospel, that gospel which he had preached and they had received, namely, That Christ died for our sins, and arose again the third day, according to the scriptures (1Co 15:3, 4), and fixed in the faith of the glorious resurrection of the dead, which, as he had shown, had so near and necessary a connection with the former. "Do not let your belief of these truths be shaken or staggered. They are most certain, and of the last importance.'' Note, Christians should be steadfast believers of this great article of the resurrection of the dead. It is evidently founded on the death of Christ. Because he lives, his servants shall live also, Jn. 14:19. And it is of the last importance; a disbelief of a future life will open a way to all manner of licentiousness, and corrupt men's morals to the last degree. It will be easy and natural to infer hence that we may live like beasts, and eat and drink, for to-morrow we die....Note, Christians should live in the most firm expectation of a blessed resurrection. This hope should be an anchor to their souls, firm and sure, Heb 6:19. 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