daily bible readings

Paul rounds his argument off by turning to the Corinthians themselves. He uses their own experience of Christ as a major part of his argument.  Paul begins by recalling their own conversion. In verse 27 he asks them, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.” For all their boasting and bragging, the Corinthians were not from noble stock. Not many were educated, wise, powerful or noble (1 Corinthians 1:26–29).

Paul then nails home the conclusion. This conclusion is a slap in the face to the overzealous and bragging Corinthians. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

In 1 Corinthians 1:25, Paul has already stated, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” The following verses prove this to be true. God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly and the despised to upstage and outdo the high and the exalted.  But, Paul doesn’t just state a theological truth, he moulds that truth into the lives of the Corinthians and shows how it’s true of them. They were the weak, lowly and miserable things that shamed the strong, wise and powerful.

In many cases, our churches do not reflect this truth. Churches can easily find themselves catering for the educated middle class and upwards. We can unknowing find ourselves in a situation where, as James 2 warns against, we are showing  undue favouritism towards the rich and a negativity towards the poor. A good test would be to compare the demographics of the church with the demographics of the society, say, in a 10km radius around the church. If the church has a higher concentration of educated, upper class people than the society around them, there may be a problem in our attitudes and practices that favours one group on society above others.

The Corinthians had such a problem and were boasting in their spirituality and wisdom and giftedness. They had forgotten their background and roots. In all their boasting and in all their claims to be wise and super spiritual, they should have boasted in the work of Jesus in their lives. They should have looked to Christ and boasted in Him. But, they did not. They looked in the mirror and boasted in themselves.

God’s work in the lives of His people is very humbling. Rather than boasting in who we are, we are humbled to realise that God uses the weak, the despised and the lowly to shame the exalted and lifted up in the world. Rather than boasting in ourselves, we can boast in Christ and the great work He has done in our lives. Rather than glorying in how great we are, we can and should glory in how great God is. 

PRAYER

Adoration

· Adore the Lord for He loves the lowly, the despised, the orphaned and the widowed.

· Adore Yahweh for His compassions never fail and they are new every morning.

Confession

· Take time to confess your sins to the Lord and to ask for forgiveness

Thanks

· Thank God that you are wise and strong in Christ and not in your own abilities.

· Thank God that He loves you enough to pull you out of the mud and mire of sin and into His glorious kingdom.

Supplication

· Pray that your church would reach the people in your area around your church meeting place and that many would come to know Christ as Lord and Saviour.

· Pray that your church would be boasting in how great God is and how great His work is, in and through your church.

DISCUSSSION QUESTIONS

1. What is Paul’s goal in reminding the Corinthians where they came from?

2. What cautions need to be heeded as we boast in what Christ has done in us?

3. Can you find examples of such boasting in the New Testament? Hint. They are there, you just need to look hard enough!