God's strength — Faves of Dave - Bible Study

1Cor. 1:26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

In our last study, Paul wrote that the message of the cross of Christ is foolishness or folly to the world. But God’s foolishness is wiser than humanity’s wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than mankind’s strength. The theme of God’s wisdom and what God offers us through Christ continues in this section.

Look at verses 26-29. Are there not ideas here that seem paradoxical, seemingly in contradiction with each other? What Paul is saying to these Corinthians is, Hey, Folks! According to the world’s standards, you are mostly considered uneducated, fools, and not important in any considerable way. (My paraphrase) We might think to ourselves, That’s not very nice, or I’ll bet that wasn’t received well. But, don’t miss that he began this with “consider your calling.” Then, in verses 27-28, Paul writes three times, “God chose (you).” This is saying that while people around you may not think you have value, God highly values you. This is a message that people need to hear today. People of all ages need to hear this because the world is shouting through social media or other means, “You’re not smart enough, you’re not rich enough, you’re not beautiful enough,”

and so forth. Paul says the world doesn’t know what it’s talking about. God is the truly wise one, and God values people so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for their sins.

In Acts 2, we read about Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit caused the disciples to prophesy in other languages understood by different people groups from around the known world. They recognized these men were “Galileans” who were looked down upon by people from Jerusalem. God chose these men for his specific purpose to confuse and confront the so-called wisdom of men. (See Acts 2:6-7) It’s reasonable to assume that God may choose us to speak his truth to others, and some will think we are fools.

Verse 29 explains God’s purpose in doing this is to keep each of us humble. Paul writes, “so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” This is a theme throughout the Scriptures. There is a healthy and important balance for us to accept that God values us greatly, but we need not allow arrogance to manifest itself. We need to remain humble before the Lord. This is what Paul is advocating in verses 30-31.

Paul writes in verse 30, “Because of him (God) you are in Christ Jesus.” This reminds us that our privilege in Christ is not due to something that we have achieved but purely by God’s grace toward us. Paul continues by saying that Christ is the “wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption” we have received from God. In other words, by God's standards, everything that is truly valuable in our lives is provided to us through Christ. Therefore, we don’t have any basis upon which we boast of ourselves. That comes from arrogance. Rather, we can boast about Christ. (v. 31) That comes from humility with gratitude.

Prayer: Heavenly Father - Thank you for Jesus! Every good thing we have is through him.