Upside Down

INTRODUCTION

Do you remember when you were in grade school? Maybe in gym class, perhaps at recess, or maybe even in a pickup game after school, you had to pick for teams. So two team leaders were chosen one way or another, and they took turns selecting members for their team. I was a tall, scrawny kid. I was fairly average athletically. I wasn’t the best, but I wasn’t the worst either. It always seemed that it always happened the same way. You could guess which captain was going to choose which people, for the most part. Usually the fastest was picked first or perhaps the best shot. Perhaps the strategist would be picked for their knowledge first so that they could help pick the remaining team members. Usually the stronger people would be picked. I was usually somewhere nearer the middle to later because I was not especially good in any certain area. I was just average.

This idea still persists even in adults. Look at the draft. Various teams pick their members from a pool of candidates. Same idea even for jobs. A pool of candidates send in resumes and the company picks a certain number of applicants. This is the way the world works. The world looks for those with the most qualifications, those deemed to be worthy to be on their team or in their companies based on a person’s skills, education, and experience.

But when it comes to compiling His church, God does not pick those whom the world would choose. He does base His choice on wisdom, strength, or influence. He turns the world’s system upside down. He chooses the weak, the foolish, the nobodies in the world to become members of His kingdom. In our passage this morning, Paul reminds the Corinthian church of who they are without God’s wisdom. Hint: they aren’t the ones being picked for teams in the world.

1 Corinthians 1:26–28 CSB

26 Brothers and sisters, consider your calling: Not many were wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,

The People of God’s Choosing

This passage is an extension of the passage we examined last week. God’s message of the cross is foolishness according to the world’s thinking. Likewise, the people that God chooses to be part of his church is consistent with the message of the cross. Neither make sense according to the world’s wisdom. Yet Paul’s main problem was not with people of the world, but with people inside the church. These were believers in the church who were not glorifying God, but human leaders! Beginning in verse 26, Paul shows the paradox of God’s method. When choosing the membership of His church, He does not choose according to human wisdom. He chooses according to His own desires.

God does not choose those the world would choose

In connection with v. 25, where he wrote that God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength, Paul called the Corinthians to look to themselves. Consider your own calling! See yourselves! For by human standards, few of the Corinthians were learned, influential, or born with a pedigree of high standing.

God turns the world’s ways upside-down. While the world looks to promote “Somebodies,” God chooses “Nobodies.” By using people of humble and despised background, God has overthrown “the existing order.”

God is not impressed by your credentials.[3] He doesn’t care if you are rich or poor or middle class. He is not concerned if you have a Ph.D. or if you never completed the 8th grade. It doesn’t matter to Him how tall you are or how short you are. Skin color doesn’t affect His perception of you. It doesn’t matter to Him if you are male or female. You can be a country hick or a city slicker. It doesn’t matter because God doesn’t choose based on the world’s standards.

Why did God choose Israel?

Deuteronomy 7:7–8 CSB

7 “The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Look to Israel’s history. Israel rejected God as their king and sought to have a king like the nations around them. Who was the first king they chose? Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin. Why did they choose him? They chose him because he was tall and handsome. In other words, to them he looked like a king. But he was not a good king. He led the people away from God. Therefore, God chose another to be king.

God sent his prophet Samuel to find the next king of Israel from the tribe of Judah, the family of Jesse. When Jesse presented his eldest son, Samuel thought this was the guy. This guy should be king. God said no. So the next son was presented to Samuel and he thought this must be the one. But God said no. On and on until Samuel had seen seven of Jesse’s sons. It wasn’t until the youngest, who was out in the field tending to the sheep, was brought in that God told Samuel to anoint young David. Do you remember what God had said to Samuel?

1 Samuel 16:7 CSB

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”

Do you realize in the very next chapter we learn that Jesse’s oldest three sons followed Saul to war with the Philistines? What happened when the giant Goliath challenged the people of Israel? Where were Saul and David’s brothers? Scripture says that they lost courage and were terrified. But then along came little David, bebopping along, bringing food for his brothers. What did he do when he heard Goliath taunting the people of God? He acted with nobility and courage. He not only challenged the giant but defeated him. What would have happened to Israel if Samuel had anointed the one he thought should have been king?

God’s ways are not our ways. The people he chooses to use are not those the world would choose. God chooses people that are weak and foolish to the world to accomplish His purposes.

God uses the “Have-Nots”

In the Corinthian church, it wasn’t that God has selected people who were merely viewed as foolish and weak, but that they really were. Some of the converts at Corinth may have been men of rank, but the majority were either slaves or freedmen. When they were called, the Corinthians had no basis for boasting in the flesh. They had no basis to assert superiority over one another. They had no wisdom. They had no status. They had no power. They were the weak of the world. They were the foolish. They had nothing on their own. But look at the kind of people God chose to be a part of that congregation.

Those that have not perception

God does not choose those that are wise in the world. That is not so say that He doesn’t choose any that are wise or intelligent. There have been many wise and intelligent men that God has chosen to use for His purposes, but most of the time God does not choose those that are wise according to the world. He doesn’t choose those that can perceive the mysteries of the earth often. It is not that intellect necessarily keeps one from serving the Lord, but honestly, most of us can be thankful that God does not choose only those who are brilliant.

I am at least thankful. There are some people in this world that are truly brilliant by the world’s standards. They are sharp! They can debate philosophy. They can speak in terms so far above my head that it seems like they are speaking gibberish! Perhaps you have been around someone who is the same way. According to the world, these are the ones that should be saved in the event of some major global catastrophe. They hold the keys of human knowledge. They should be saved.

But God does not choose those that are wise according to the world, but rather He has chosen the “normal,” everyday people like you and me. He chooses the cowboy, the farmer, the rancher. He chooses the schoolteacher, the Walmart greeter, the convenience store worker. Aren’t you thankful that you don’t have to be Einstein-level brilliant to have a relationship with God? He doesn’t choose the wise, but those the world considers foolish.

Those that have not power

Two men were walking through a forest. Suddenly, they saw a tiger in the distance, running towards them. They turned and began running away. But then one of them stopped, took some running shoes from his bag, and began putting them on. “What are you doing?” asked the other man. “Do you think you will run fast than the tiger with those?” “I don’t have to run faster than the tiger,” the first man said. “I just have to run faster than you.”

The world says that to get ahead in this world, you have to be strong or at least stronger than other people. Survival of the fittest! Only the strong survive! Therefore, you must be faster, stronger, bigger and better than everyone else. But God has chosen the weak of the world to shame the strong. It doesn’t matter how strong you are, mentally or physically.

Look at the example of Gideon. When Gideon is introduced to us in the book of Judges, he was hiding from the Midianites in a wine press. Not exactly who you would likely choose to lead your army. But God chose him to lead Israel’s army to victory. How many did Gideon have in his army, do you remember? 300. 300 men to attack the Midianites. Yet God displayed His power through Gideon, granting him the victory. You don’t have to be the biggest, baddest dude on the planet to have a relationship with God. You don’t have to lead the strongest army. God chooses the weak to shame the strong.

Those that have not prestige

There are only certain people that can receive certain privileges in the world. People from money have a better chance to have some experiences that other people never will experience. People with fame receive benefits that many of us aren’t even aware are possible. I mean, how many times has someone famous committed a crime and received nothing but a slap on the wrist while the rest of us would likely end up in prison for the rest of our lives? But God has not chosen these kinds of people.

Or another way of looking at it, they haven’t chosen Him. Think about it. How many movie stars put their trust in Jesus for their salvation? How many politicians? How many famous musicians? How many college professors? How many wealthy people? Not many. Why is that?

Look at the example in Scripture. One day a young man came up to Jesus and asked him what he must do to receive eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the commandments. The young man said that he had kept the ones that Jesus listed for him, but what was still lacking? Jesus told him to go and sell all of his possessions and give to the poor and then follow Him.

Matthew 19:22–24 CSB

22 When the young man heard that, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions. 23 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Even Jesus disciples were amazed at this, thinking, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus told them that it is only through God that salvation is possible. It is difficult for someone with prestige, power, or perception to have such faith in God because they have something else in which they can place their trust. Thankfully, God does not limit this salvation only to the rich and famous, but it is available to all who trust in His Son for salvation.

God chose to use Moses for Israel’s benefit, but the problem with Moses was that he was a Somebody. For forty years, Moses learned how to be a Somebody in Pharaoh’s court. But after he murdered an Egyptian for mistreating a Hebrew man, Moses fled into the desert. He spent another forty years learning how to be a Nobody. It was once he learned to be a Nobody that Yahweh revealed Himself to Moses. God made Moses into somebody by His will and His power, not for Moses’s glory, but so that all glory would go to God Himself.

Church, understand that the old saying that “God does not call the qualified, but qualifies the called” is true. God does not need someone who is wise, someone who is mighty, or someone who is of noble birth to accomplish His work. He chooses common, everyday people like you and me. And He does this for an important reason.

1 Corinthians 1:29–31 CSB

29 so that no one may boast in his presence. 30 It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption 31 —in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.

The Purpose of God’s Choosing

Paul recognized that the Corinthians were full of pride and that this pride was the opposite of faith. What really matters is not the categories of wisdom, influence, or noble birth, but rather God’s saving power in the gospel. The gospel is a message designed to enhance the glory of God.

No one can boast in flesh

Paul did not use these unflattering descriptions of the Corinthians to belittle them, but to remind them that they did not have a basis for boasting in the flesh. Paul indicates that God has done all this with the purpose of taking away from men any opportunity for personal boasting.

Basically, the Corinthians were not living and boasting according to God’s ways, but to the ways of the world. They were dividing themselves based on the patterns of the flesh rather than uniting in the pattern of God. But Paul reminded them, “hey, remember that there is nothing about you worthy of pride.” You all were nothing, perhaps are still nothing, according to the world’s standards. Yet you are acting like the world. Stop it! You have nothing to boast about because you did nothing. None of the world’s wisdom could save you from your sin. None of the world’s might could rescue you from death. None of the world’s money could buy your redemption. Even if it could, you had none of it anyway. Don’t you realize that you have nothing in which you can boast in the flesh? But the situation changes when you realign yourself in God’s ways. For while none can boast in the flesh,

All can boast in Jesus Christ

The source of salvation is in God the Father, accomplished through His Son Jesus of Nazareth, the promised messiah, the Christ, whom the Jews had awaited for centuries, empowered by the might of the Holy Spirit. Paul reminded the believers at Corinth that they were in Jesus Christ. There are grounds for boasting. Boast away! Boast away! But not in men. Not in Apollos or Paul or Peter. Boast only in Christ! Boast only is His redemptive work that was accomplished on the cross, for:

The cross is God’s wisdom

God Himself is the ultimate force behind the salvation of all who believe. God’s wisdom, as established in last week’s sermon, as is based in 18-15, is the work of the cross. The message of the cross is God’s wisdom. Christ became God’s wisdom, meaning that He submitted Himself to the will of the Father. He willingly died on a cruel Roman cross because in God’s wisdom, God chose this method as the way to salvation. A way that turns the ways of the world upside down. Paul reminded the Corinthians that the ways of the world are not His ways. The foolishness of the cross is His wisdom. His wisdom that He extended to us, for:

The cross is for our benefit

Though Jesus was innocent of all crimes, although Jesus was guilty of nothing, although Jesus was holy, He was tried as a criminal and sentenced as a criminal and died as a criminal. Jesus died the most inhumane way possible. Humiliated and beaten, His body was broken on the cross to provide for us that which we needed above all else. He died for our benefit. Notice that Paul reminded the Corinthians of the benefits the cross of Christ bought for them, and for us. Righteousness, sanctification, and redemption follow as a three-fold explanation of God’s wisdom. These three terms are not coordinate with wisdom, but rather denote aspects of the wisdom which believers find in Christ. For in Christ believers are justified, sanctified, and glorified.

Payment for our sin

All mankind has sinned against God. We have within us a sin nature. While in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve chose to follow what seemed wise in their eyes. They ate the fruit which the serpent said would grant them knowledge of good and evil. In doing so, they broke God’s rules. They rebelled against God and mankind has been rebelling against Him ever since. Since we have all transgressed against Him, we are all guilty before Him. Since God is just, He must punish such transgressions. Yet God is also merciful.

When Adam and Eve sinned, He provided a lamb as a substitute, covering their sinfulness by the shedding of its blood and covering them with the lamb’s pelt. Year after year, animals were slaughtered as a sacrifice to the Lord for the remission of the sins of the people. But then Jesus came. John the Baptist called Him the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Jesus took the punishment that was due to each of us as the perfect Lamb. Jesus was the only sacrifice worthy to be counted for all people for all time. When Jesus died on the cross, He died as our substitute. His blood was spilt instead of ours and He covered us with His righteousness. He paid the penalty for the sins of all who believe in His name and confess Him as Lord. Have you believed in Him? Have you confessed Him as Lord? Won’t you do so today?

Power for holy living

The cross isn’t only for our righteousness before God but is the power for our sanctification. It is the power for holy living before God and men. The cross sets believers apart from the world, made sacred and holy for God. Whereas justification refers to God declaring one righteous through the work of Jesus, sanctification is God’s transforming of a believer’s whole being. The same power that rose Jesus from dead is given to those who trust in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit works within us to align us to God’s wisdom. He grants us the power to live holy lives in accordance with the Word of God.

The problem with the Corinthians is that they weren’t working on their sanctification. They were living carnal lives, lives driven by the ways of the world instead of the ways of the cross. They weren’t living in humility displayed by Christ Jesus, but in the pride of the flesh. What about you? Are you living in the pride of the flesh or in the humility of the cross?

Promise of emancipation

The final aspect of God’s wisdom is that of redemption. Christ has redeemed us from the penalty of sin and from the power of sin, but one day He will come to fulfill His redemption when He removes His people from the very presence of sin. We have been freed! We can live with our eyes on the future promise of our emancipation. Paul writes more expansively on this topic in chapter 15 but suffice to say for now that it will be glorious.

CONCLUSION

Believers have all these things, not in themselves, but because of their union with Christ. Believers are in union with Christ because the Father chose to turn the ways of the world upside down. When He looks to choose His team, He doesn’t look for the fastest, the strongest, or the smartest. He doesn’t choose because someone has a lot of money. Rather, He confounds the wise. He shames the strong. He brings those proud in the world to shame and exalts those who were nothing. For though they were nothing, God in His grace, made them everything. What team are you o