Living Understanding Pt 23: Weak things

1Corinthians 1:26-31            26Brothers and sisters, 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. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24                  23This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, 24but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

2 Corinthians 5:21                21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Wise by human standards

Many of us think of ourselves as relatively smart, and most of us have some kind of education beyond high school.  We think we know how to navigate through life.  But how do we know how we are doing?  The answer is that we measure ourselves against some standard.  For instance, how do we know we are speeding unless there is a posted speed limit?  But the problem with measuring against a standard is that the standard can be wrong, or at least misguided.

This is the idea Paul is addressing in this passage:  He is writing to very ordinary people; people just like us.  Corinth was a cosmopolitan city of wide diversity:  There were those who were wealthy and there were former slaves who had been freed but were very poor.  It had its problems and its successes; in other words, it was very much like any medium to large city today.  And just like today, people measured themselves against how other people were doing.  There was always someone doing better and some someone not doing as well.  Just like today.  Social status and success often derive from wisdom, or power, or being born of parents who had those things.  And although that spectrum of success must have been present in the Corinthian Church as well, Paul wanted to remind his readers that there really wasn’t anything special about them after all.

Foolish things of the world

But also, just like today, the things of God are seen as foolishness by the world.  In the darkness of our modern world, a crucified, salvific Christ is seen as foolish and mythological.  Science is elevated as a modern religion, and anything informed by the divine or supernatural is seen as undependable at best and stupid at worst.  We who have accepted Christ as our Savior are mostly marginalized, our belief system ridiculed, and heaven help you if you are a believer in the halls of the post-secondary educational system. 

Wisdom from God

Why does God call such ordinary people into His Kingdom?  After all, you might think God would choose the wise and powerful ones to spread His message.  Such ones have access to the greatest reaches of human society, have the most influence, and have the most far-reaching contacts.  Such is not the case however, because operating in the normal patterns of worldly thinking can pervert one’s Kingdom mission.  Consider, for instance, the false prophets and workers of signs and wonders who approach Jesus at the End of Days.  What was His response to them (Matthew 7:21-23)? “Be gone from me, you evildoers.  I never knew you.”

Paul’s point is this:  Godly wisdom is far, far above worldly wisdom.  The wisdom of the world is that value and importance are determined by standing in society, and that is determined by wealth, accomplishment, or birth.  But God’s wisdom says that value is determined by relationship with him through His Son.  This kind of value is of inestimable greater worth because we don’t have to prove anything.  We have value because God says we have value.  This removes all the pressure to perform or live up to some external standard of measurement.  God loves us simply because we are who we are.

What about me?

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we now have standing before God.  What was not, now is.  Believer, we are truly blessed:  God, by His own mercy and grace, has freed us from performance, artificiality, and falseness.  We can be who we are and know that God finds us acceptable.  But let us be careful not to bring our old way of thinking into our Kingdom relationships, into our church.  Whatever gifting God has given us, whether it be prophecy, hospitality, healing, or teaching, is evidence of our relationship with His Son, not because we earned it or deserved it, but simply because God caused it to be so.

We are therefore sanctified already through Christ and continue to grow in sanctification as we draw closer and closer to Him in greater intimacy.  Maranatha Father.  Make it be so!