In 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, having argued that the word of the cross is foolishness to those lost but power to those who believe, are called, and are saved, Paul shows how…
GOD HAS CHOSEN THE FOOLISH, WEAK, THE BASE, THE DESPISED – 1:26-31:
The “wise” in our country said, back in 1963, “Take the Bible out of schools. Stop having teacher/principal led prayers in school. It’s forcing “Christianity” down the throats of people.” Now we have rioting in the streets, cop-killers, murders in big cities at an all-time high. The “smart” people cannot see the nose on their face. Families are falling apart, especially in inner city districts. The “smart” people say, “Give them more money.” We have spent eleven months in Swartz Creek studying why America needs the Bible (Those sermons can be seen through our website, livestream.com/swartzcreek). The “smart” people can’t see it. But the Bible is full of God’s wisdom and when we follow God’s wisdom, we generally experience prosperity in every aspect of our life.
In verse 26, Paul calls on the Corinthian Christians to consider their calling as Christians. Not many of the wise, according to the flesh, were called. Not many of the mighty (according to the flesh) were called. Not many of the noble (according to the flesh) were called. Paul is not saying that Corinth (the church) was full of dumb, poor peasants. What he is saying is that it wasn’t because they were wise that God called them to become Christians. It wasn’t because they were influential members of society that God called them. It wasn’t because they were from noble birth that God called them.
Instead (vs 27), God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. You cannot turn Christianity into a “middle class religion.” Or an “upper class religion” or even a “lower class” religion. Christianity is what it is and it calls all people, regardless of socio-economic status to submit to “Christ crucified.”
God has chosen the base things of the world (vs 28). God has chosen the despised things of the world. God has chosen the things which are not (important in the world’s eyes) so that He might nullify the things that are (important in the world’s eyes). God chose humility to save the world. God chose self-sacrifice to save the world. God chose the cross to save the world. God chose so many things that man perceives as weakness and God wove these elements together into the great plan of salvation with Christ crucified at the very center. Why?
So that (vs 29) no man may boast before God! God wants man to understand that man will be saved only by God, only by the grace of God, only by the wisdom of God, only by the Gospel of God, only by obedience to God. There is nothing that you and I have that can give us an advantage over anyone else or in the eyes of God: not intelligence, not influence, not achievements, not money, not prestige. We either follow God completely, and His wisdom, or we are lost.
At the base of the Statue of Liberty is the famous poem written by Emma Lazarus. That poem reads (in part):
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“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Ours is a country of “tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free” that has created this great nation of ours that now leads the world in so many different ways. By the same token, in Jesus Christ, even if we are (or have been), “tired, poor masses,” we have the grace to share the Gospel of Jesus crucified with a lost and dying world!
By humbly submitting himself to God (“by His doing,” vs 30) we are in Christ Jesus, who “became to us:” wisdom from God. That is, God made Christ to be, to embody His wisdom and that wisdom is revealed in what Christ brings to us: righteousness, sanctification, redemption.
Why did God save man this way? So that he may not boast (see vs 31) quoting Jeremiah 9:23 which says, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” Here, the idea of “boast” shades into the word trust. If you want to trust someone, trust the Lord. Especially when it comes to spiritual matters, religion, and salvation.
The world does not accept this message and too many of the world think that it is foolishness. But, Jesus Christ, crucified and raised from the dead, is the epitome of the wisdom of God and it is through Him and Him only that man be saved.
Your family may not hear the message if you don’t teach it. Your neighbors may not hear the message if you don’t teach them. Your co-workers may not hear the message if you don’t teach them. “How shall they hear without a preacher?”
Teach Christ crucified, the wisdom of God and the power of God.
–Paul Holland
