October 1, 2025 - Revelation 3:11-13 - "Our Standing"

Revelation 3:11-13

"Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

Here is a call to steadfastness, a call to hold fast to Christ and His Gospel. It is not a call to look within ourselves for strength, nor to imagine that we can preserve our own faith by sheer willpower. It is the LORD Himself Who comes, the LORD Who sustains, the LORD Who preserves His people.

The Gospel is the Word of His patience, the testimony of Christ enduring suffering for His people. He did not shrink back but bore the cross, despising the shame, and now He promises His church that He will not leave them comfortless. He will come.

We are reminded that salvation is never conditioned on man but on Christ alone. False religion abounds; it speaks of grace, redemption, even forgiveness, yet subtly shifts its "hope" to something in man. But the Gospel is Christ crucified, His blood, His righteousness accomplished fully at the cross for the redemption, justification, sanctification, and glorification of His elect sheep. It is His patience, His endurance, His finished work at the cross. That is the Word we are called to keep in heart and mind by the Spirit of Grace in us.

“Behold, I come quickly.” To the first-century church in Philadelphia, this meant His intervention, His presence in their distress. He is not far removed. Though in glory, His hand is not shortened that it cannot save. He came in judgment upon Jerusalem in A.D. 70, as He said He would. He comes in the Spirit to comfort His people. He comes in providence to deliver them. He comes finally in glory to receive every redeemed sinner into His eternal presence (Revelation 22:3-5). But in every way, His coming is certain, and it is for the good of His people and the glory of Christ to have everyone for whom He paid their debt, around the throne, saying, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing," (Revelation 5:12).

The Scriptures remind us that His hand directs all things. Nothing comes but by Christ’s sovereign will. He acts in judgment or He acts in mercy, and His people are never left to themselves. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful… who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will… make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Our strength is not in ourselves. If David fell, or Peter, shall we think we are stronger? Yet God is faithful. He provides the Way of escape—Christ crucified, His blood and righteousness. That is how we bear our guilt, how we stand under trial.

Therefore, “hold that fast which thou hast.” What is it that we have? We have Christ Himself. We have His crown of righteousness, His Spirit dwelling within, His promises. We are to fear God above men. “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). We are a soul, breathed into by God, redeemed by Christ’s blood, sealed by His Spirit. Men can take life, but not Christ’s salvation. That crown of glory cannot be removed, for it was never earned by us and cannot be taken by another.

Here lies the assurance of the believer: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… which hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible… reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation” (1 Peter 1:3–5). Not our power, but His. Not our keeping, but His. Eternal security rests not in man’s decision, but in God’s election, Christ’s redemption, and the Spirit’s effectual calling.

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God.” A pillar speaks of permanence, stability, and immovability. Christ places His own upon Himself, the sure Foundation, and they shall go no more out. David prayed, “One thing have I desired of the Lord… that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life” (Psalm 27:4). That is the desire of every redeemed soul: to abide in Christ forever, unmoved by winds of doctrine, unshaken by trial, fixed in Him.

And here is the sweetest promise: “I will write upon him the name of my God… and my new name.” To be owned by Christ Himself, to be marked as His, to be claimed by Him as His redeemed—that is the highest glory. “Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Before we knew Him, He had already redeemed us and God the Father justified us upon completion of His death on the cross. Therefore, He has written His name upon us, declaring to angels and men: these are mine (Hebrews 2:13). He owns His people as His given family, presenting them before the Father in perfect unity and redemption.

Finally, verse 13 concludes: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” This is the Spirit’s call to listen, to receive, to bow to the Word of Christ. The promises are not empty words. The warnings are not idle threats. The Spirit presses these truths upon every hearer. Let us not be deaf to His voice. Let us hear the witness of the Spirit Who always points us to the shed blood unto death of the LORD Jesus, His cross, and His finished work.

This is the fourfold reward set before the believer: the promise of Christ’s coming, the promise of safekeeping, the promise of everlasting salvation, and the promise of being owned by Christ Himself. And then the Spirit says—hear Christ, believe Him, hold fast to Him, and rest in Him. So then, let us not fear. Let us not be moved. Let us not take our eyes off the crowning glory of Christ for the perishable things of this world. Trials will come, but they will only reveal what is true. And true faith, given of God, will endure, because Christ endured.

“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown… He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Christ has redeemed us. Christ has called us. Christ preserves us. Christ will come for us. All glory be to Him Who was slain, and Who lives forevermore!