Part 4: Boast in the Lord

1 Corinthians 1:26–31 NASB95

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Paul’s line of thought up to this point:

Reminds the Corinthians who they are in Christ: sanctified, called to be holy

Then he chastises them for having divisions. They are to be united on the Gospel.

He tells them how powerful the Gospel is. The implication: it it powerful, not just to save, but to unite.

Paul now turns to exhort them: if you are going to boast about following someone, boast in the Lord. Not Paul, Peter, Apollos, or even themselves.

He shows them this by reminding them what they were when then first became Christians:

1. Consider Your Calling (1:26)

1 Corinthians 1:26 NASB95

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

The second time Paul draws attention to the Corinthians’ calling:

1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:”

The first time he reminded them of their calling was in connection of who they ware in Christ: called to be holy (saints)

Now in v.26 it’s about who they were WHEN they were called, or just prior to their conversion:

What were You?

They were not “wise according to the flesh” - “flesh” is a reference to mere humanness. I.e., when the Corinthians were converted to Christ, they were not wise. It was not their human wisdom that led to their faith in Jesus. But more to the point: not many of them were a part of the higher social class. Most of them were average citizens, not Greek or Roman philosophers and politicians. Not many were from high pedigree. The world would view them as lesser.

They were also not “mighty” - lit. “powerful” (δυνατοί) - They had no ruling authority; they did not of ruling status in Corinth

They were not “noble” - They had not been born into nobility, or the ruling class

In short, they were:

Not Worldly Wise

God’s kingdom works by different rules: God’s kingdom calls those who are foolish in the world’s eyes. The world equates greatness with social status, nobility, and the authority to command others.

What were you when you were called?

Many/most of us were probably average/not a part of ruling political party or from high, or impressive, pedigree.

It can be a temptation for Christians to look down upon the unbelieving world. We take a look at the sinfulness and tragedies that are caused by sin, and then respond with a quick disgusted attitude or words. But what do we expect in a world that is lost?

Just remember that all of us were once without Christ. We were in the exact same position.

Paul reminds the Ephesian church about this.

Ephesians 2:1–5 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

Don’t be pompous, or boastful, about your current state in Christ. If it had not been for the grace of God, you would still be in your sins just like the world.

One thing to keep us from boasting and to keep us humble is to remind ourselves that:

We were not wise enough in our own eyes to accept Christ.

John 16:7–8 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”

We are not wise enough to get up one day and say, “You know, I’m a terrible sinner in need of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Left to our own devices without the Spirit working in our lives and convicting us, we would not conclude that we needed salvation.

Illustration: like a hand held mirror - we do not look at ourselves in a mirror honestly; the HS takes hold of the mirror and turns it to our face.

But then we have a decision: we will accept the fact of what we see: that we are a sinner? Will we accept what the HS is convicting us of?

We need to remember what we once were: nothing.

What we need to remember is what Paul goes on to tell the Corinthians: God chose us

2. God Chose You (1:27-29)

1 Corinthians 1:27 “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,”

The theme of God choosing us is a primary theme throughout all of the NT. It’s often connected with the idea of God calling Christians. We’ve already seen it previously in 1 Cor 1:2 (“saints by calling”) and 1 Cor 1:9 (“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son”).

We see it in 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Some of us may struggle with the idea that God chooses us for salvation. All sorts of questions begin come up, esp as it deals with human free will. What we need to remember: God’s choosing does not eliminate our free will to God’s call of the Gospel. For God to choose who will believe in Christ to be saved is not incoherent. They are compatible.

The main take away: God is the author of salvation, not us. He did the work through Jesus Christ. We did not.

The point Paul is making, however, is that God chooses . . . the foolish things of this world.

God chose the Foolish

1 Corinthians 1:27 NASB95

but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

Again, God’s kingdom works by different (often opposite) rules of the world. The world would choose what appears to be wise; God chooses what appears to be foolish, average, and even deplorable.

God chose Jacob over Esau

God chose Joseph over all his brothers

God chose Ruth, a Moabite

Jesus chose: Levi (Matthew), Mary Magdalene, the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, Zacchaeus

The same for the Corinthians: he chose them over and against the popular/the wise by worldly standards.

Mark Taylor, commentator:

The Message of 1 Corinthians 2. The Ways of God (1:26–31)

Christianity spread most rapidly amongst the lower classes of Mediterranean society, and this single fact (in class-conscious Greek and Roman society) was partly the cause of its being so offensive. The riff-raff were being converted, saved, changed. God picked out the scum of the earth and made them kings and priests in his kingdom. This was precisely what Jesus had himself indicated when announcing his own ministry: ‘He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.’

Why does God choose the foolish of the world? => “to shame the wise,” i.e., the so-called wise—to overthrow human perception of wisdom and greatness.

God even chooses:

The Weak, Base, and Despised

1 Corinthians 1:27–29 NASB95

but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.

God chose weak little David to conquer over the giant Goliath.

God used weak fishermen to conquer the world for Christ.

“the base” = ignoble, of no important birth

“the despised” = those who are scorned

David Prior, commentator:

The Message of 1 Corinthians 2. The Ways of God (1:26–31)

By using such methods God is overthrowing one of the false standards of the world, i.e. the notion that those who matter to him are the wise, the well-bred, the articulate, the gifted, the wealthy, the wielders of power and influence.

The reason why God chooses the foolish: “so that no man may boast before God.”

God still chooses the foolish, weak, base, and despised

Christians today, just like the Corinthians, are still susceptible to looking at others through a worldly lense: we see others (and often, other fellow Christians) as lesser than ourselves because of how they look, smell, how they do things, if they are poor, different color of skin, speak a different language. When we look down on others for these types of reasons, we are fools (morons: silly, stupid) in the kingdom of God.

The greatest workers in the kingdom of God are those who look and act differently than the majority of Christians: the ones who do not have fancy, or what we would consider “nice,” clothes; those who are quiet and reserved, work behind the scenes and never draw attention to themselves.

As one who is standing on a stage right now under bright lights, the greatest in God’s kingdom are not people like me.

James 2:1–4 “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?”

We need to remember that we have nothing to boast about. We are better than no one, and we have done nothing to obtain our salvation. We cannot boast about our salvation or status in life—whatever it looks like—because it is God who chooses. Moreover: God chooses those who seem foolish, weak, base, and despised.

To keep us from boasting, remember:

3. God Did It (1:30)

1 Corinthians 1:30 NASB95

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

Paul puts an exclamation mark on the idea that God saved us, and not ourselves.

Echoes of Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Paul ends this thought by describing that Jesus is true wisdom:

Christ is Now Wisdom to Us

1 Corinthians 1:30 NASB95

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

Before our conversion, the message of Christ appears foolish. But once in Christ, it is the best wisdom that exists!

Why? Because it brought to us:

Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption

1 Corinthians 1:30 NASB95

But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

“Righteousness” - Christ’s perfection is attributed to us

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

“Sanctification” - holy; holy in the eyes of God because of Jesus’ death and resurrection

“Redemption” - “redeem” = to buy back; bought back to be God’s own possession by the blood of Christ

The point: GOD did all this, and so we do not boast in ourselves but in the Lord:

4. Boast in the Lord (1:31)

1 Corinthians 1:31 NASB95

so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

You have Nothing to Boast About

Here we come full circle about what Paul is telling the Corinthians: quit causing division by boasting in who discipled you and baptized you. Rather, be united in the Gospel, which the power and the WISDOM of God. Quit dividing yourselves up into groups according to worldly wisdom. You have nothing to boast about because God is the one who saved you, not yourselves, not Apollos, Cephas, Paul, or anyone else. If you want to boast, then boast in Jesus Christ! Look what JESUS did! He has given me his righteousness. He sanctified me. He redeemed me.

Philippians 3:8 “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish (σκῠ́βᾰλον; dung) so that I may gain Christ.”

In short: boasting in ourselves or others causes division; boasting in Christ unites.