I.                   Introduction

There have been cases throughout history where Christians will desire certain “powerful” people to get saved.  There is nothing wrong with that desire.  We would probably be a better country with an all Christian government.  Athletes would probably be better role models if they were Christians.  The problem comes when we think that somehow by these “powerful” people getting saved the world will be a different place. 

Now, would the world be a different place if Osama Bin Laden became a Christian? Maybe.  But more than likely there would be another evil man right around the corner.  The point is we should definitely desire the salvation of all people.  That’s God’s desire and it should be ours, as well.  But no person in history to get saved has any more ability to reach anyone than you do.

Think about it.  The more famous people that are Christians, people like Kurt Warner (Quarterback of the Super Bowl runners up, Arizona Cardinals), or Mark Richt, coach of the University of Georgia football team, have the ability to interact with lots of folks and perhaps some of them have come to Christ.  But we certainly don’t hear about mass conversions.  You have the ability to interact with lots of people, as well.  Neighbors, friends, relatives, store clerks, co workers, classmates, roommates, spouses, children, whoever; the list could go on and on.

The point is that believers are significantly insignificant.  It’s not about the person.  It’s about God.  It’s not about worldly wisdom, it’s about heavenly wisdom.  It’s not about worldly possessions, it’s about heavenly treasure.  That is exactly the issue that Paul is going to be addressing in this passage.  He opens with the statement that not many of those who have been called by God were wise by worldly standards.  Not many were powerful or of noble birth.  Most of those that God calls are significantly insignificant.

One of these days I will share my testimony with you.  I’ll wait until I have had a chance to establish my ministry and know that you guys love me; because if I share now, you might get rid of me!  But I will say this.  I am a living, breathing example of the fact that God chooses the foolish things of the world.

II.                The Insignificance of Believers (1:26-31)

1 Corinthians 1:26-31  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."

As always, it is important to set up the context.  We must remind ourselves where we have been in order to understand what Paul was trying to say.  We must remember that the chapter and verse markings were added later for the purpose of reference.  The letter to the Corinthians was just that, a letter.  It has really revolutionized the way I read the Bible when I try to remember that.  A lot of the time, one of the first things I do when I study a book is I try to type it out without chapter and verse markings.  By typing it out as a letter and printing it out I can avoid getting distracted by the chapter breaks and the section headings that are in our English Bibles.  It is really helpful to understand the flow of thought and to get a sense for what the author had in mind when he wrote it.  Try it sometime! 

So, that being said, every week I will take a moment and remind you of the context of last week’s message.  Last Sunday, during what some have termed my most controversial message to date, we looked at what Paul meant by the foolishness of God.  He explained that the word of the Cross was foolishness, the preaching of the Word is foolish and that all that foolishness was designed by God to save people.  That is the foolishness of God.  The Gospel.

So the question, then, heading into this week has to be, “why?”  Why would God use such a foolish message?  Part of the answer to that question was answered by Paul two weeks ago in verse 17, so that the “cross of Christ will not be emptied of its power.”  But, he is going to expound on it in the text that we are going to look at today.

1 Corinthians 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.

Paul was calling attention to the significant insignificance of the believers.  He describes them as foolish, weak and insignificant.  The “for” that starts the sentence is telling us that Paul is about to expound on and explain what he previously wrote.  Building off of verse 25, 1 Corinthians 1:25  For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. He was setting out to explain what he meant by that. 

God desires to work through the previously debased, so as to confound the wisdom of the world.  That’s what Paul illustrated in verses 27-29. 

1 Corinthians 1:27-29  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.

It’s almost as if God has a bit of a “because I can” attitude.  Think about it this way.  If God were to only choose the significant, wise and powerful people of the world, it would be the tendency of people to think that there was something significant about the people themselves.  God’s desire is to show them that the significance is in Him.  Not, in the significantly insignificant accomplishments of men. God doesn’t care about that. 

It might be better to say that God does care, just not in the way that we would think He would.  You see, the passage at hand says that God does not choose many wise, powerful, significant people.  The wisdom, power and significance of people seem to prevent salvation from coming there way.  

The reason behind this is so that no human may be able to boast in the presence of God.  There is absolutely nothing about you that has attracted God to you; nothing, that is, except for your significant insignificance.  What attracted God to you is your low standing in the world (vs. 28), so that He may shame the wise and strong, and bring to nothing the things that are. 

How does that make you feel?  Hopefully it causes you to rejoice in your weak, foolish insignificance!  Because that is exactly the type of vessel that God delights to work through!  God is not interested in the strength and wisdom of this world.  In fact, He seeks to shame it and bring it to nothing (vv. 27-28). 

Now, before we go too far down this path and start actually glorying in our stupidity, Paul said something else that we need to look at.  1 Corinthians 1:30-31  He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.  (31)  Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 

This passage shows us that we have tremendous worth in Christ.  It is because of Him that we are in Christ.  He is the source of our life.  With God we are very wise, powerful and significant.  Our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption are from Christ. 

This is important because it is speaks to the renewal of every thing.  Our minds (wisdom), morals (righteousness), ethics (sanctification) and destiny (redemption) are all renewed and shaped by our life in Christ.  Because the source of our worth is Christ we are left without a boast.  This is the ultimate purpose of God, to get us to forget about ourselves and focus on Him.  He wants, deserves and expects all the glory in every situation. 

This was illustrated magnificently for us in the story of Gideon and the process of choosing an army to face the Midianites.  Turn with me to Judges 7 and let’s read a very cool story.

Judges 7:1-8  Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.  (2)  The LORD said to Gideon, "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.'  (3)  Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.'" Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. 

(4)  And the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' shall not go."  (5)  So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, "Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink."  (6)  And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.  (7)  And the LORD said to Gideon, "With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home."  (8)  So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

Gideon and his army go on to defeat the might Midianites with just the 300 men and God gets all the glory!  Did you notice the statement in verse 2?  God’s purpose for dwindling the army down was so that Israel would not say “My own hand has saved me.”  300 men versus the innumerable troops of Midian and the other armies that had joined with them, and the Israelites defeated them without ever actually fighting with them.  God confused the Midianites and they all killed themselves!  Who gets the glory?  Why did God dwindle the army down to 300?  Because He can!

That story perfectly illustrates the point that Paul was making. “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  It is through God that we have our value and worth, our strength and power, our wisdom and significance.  Praise Him for that and utilize it to the best of your ability!  Be faithful with it. 

III.             The Insignificance of the Apostle(s) (2:1-5)

Paul is still addressing the issue of division over teachers. But, just as he drew the attention away from him by using personal illustrations to draw them to God in verses 13-17 he is going to do the same thing here. 

1 Corinthians 2:1-5  And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.  (2)  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  (3)  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,  (4)  and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,  (5)  that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

It is interesting to note how well the text flows together if you remove verses 18-31.  This tells us that those verses are sort of a parenthetical thought to Paul’s overarching theme started in verse 17, namely, making sure the cross of Christ is left with its full power.  Paul continued to bring up personal examples of how God has used him in all his insignificance to make a difference in the kingdom.  He talked about being with the Corinthians in fear and weakness and much trembling. He used simple words that were not even plausible (believable, credible) to demonstrate the power of the Spirit.  This is the second time that Paul has done something similar; using himself in a seemingly negative light to set an example for how he wants the Corinthians to live.  He is being subtle about it, but ultimately he is going to come right out and say, “follow me” in 4:16 and “be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” in 11:1.

We need to be careful of leading people to putting their faith in the wisdom of men. That is why we must not put our science, math, history, philosophy, psychology, or anything else when it differs from the Bible.  Paul strictly warned the Corinthians against this sort of thing, and I believe that warning is important and necessary for us to hear today. 

Notice that Paul said that he decided to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  It is not that Paul does not know other things; it’s that when delivering the gospel message that other stuff doesn’t matter.  All that matters is the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

This is Paul’s first mention of the Spirit in this letter.   Throughout the entirety of Chapter 2 Paul is going to explain the role of the Spirit in helping us to understand the secret and hidden wisdom of God (2:7).  It is precisely because of the Spirit that we look at statements like “the foolishness of God” (1:25) and scratch our heads.  To those without the Spirit there is nothing head-scratching about that statement.  God does seem foolish.  The message of God, namely the cross, seems even more foolish.  It is the Spirit that makes the foolishness of God seem so wise to us.

IV.            Conclusion

The question has to be asked, how do you want to be considered by the world?  Do you want to be wise or foolish?  Do you want to be powerful or weak?  Do you want to be significant or insignificant? 

Parents, how do you want your kids to be viewed?  Do you desire success and notoriety for your children?  Do you want your daughters to marry men with 401k’s and four bedroom homes irrespective of their character and standing before God?  Or, do you want your children to be those who the world looks at and says “this person knows nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified!”?  What is success in your mind?  What are your actions showing your children is important to you?  Success?  Power? Godliness? 

Now, I believe with all my heart that it is possible to be successful, powerful and notable and still know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  There is nothing wrong with being successful as long as you understand that your success is because God has allowed you to be successful.  There is nothing wrong with having power as long as you realize that your power comes from God. There is nothing wrong with being notable as long as you are using your notoriety to proclaim Christ and Him crucified. 

Your houses are going to burn, your 401k’s are going to disappear, if they haven’t already, your bank accounts are going to dwindle, your cars are going to be destroyed, your spouses will be gone, your children will leave home, and there will be a time in history when no one will remember you or your accomplishments.  But when you stand before God what will you be able to point to?  A 401k?  A house?  A job?  A title?  Hopefully, you will be able to point to the understanding and the proclamation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  Hopefully, you will be able to point to a godly heritage as people followed you as you followed Christ. 

Perhaps you are here today and this all sounds like foolishness to you.  You need the Spirit to help you interpret it!  We would love the opportunity to help you understand the word of the cross better.  Our prayer room will be open during the last song, please come and accept the gospel message. It would be our pleasure to show you the foolishness of God!