Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 1:26-31
In this message we shall consider 1:26-31.
In verse 26 Paul says, “For you see your calling, brothers, that there are not many wise according to flesh, not many powerful, not many wellborn.” Here we see that among the believers there are not many wise according to flesh. In verse 27 Paul says, “God has chosen the foolish of the world that He might shame the wise.” To be wise is related to the mind, whereas to be powerful is related to the will.
In verse 27 Paul also says, “God has chosen the weak of the world that He might shame the strong.” When I read these verses many years ago, I wondered how a loving God could shame people. I wondered how He could use the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and the weak of the world to shame the strong. Nevertheless, Paul clearly says that God shames the wise and the strong.
In verse 27 Paul twice uses the word “chosen.” God’s calling (vv. 24-26) is based upon God’s choosing, God’s selection. Both are according to His purpose (Rom. 9:11; 2 Tim. 1:9). God’s choosing was ordained before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4); His calling is accomplished in time to carry out His choosing. God’s calling and choosing are the initiation of the salvation of His predestined people. We did not choose Him; He chose us. We did not call upon Him until He called us. He is the Initiator. All the glory should be to Him!
In verse 26 Paul points out that among the believers in Corinth there were not many wellborn. In verse 28 he goes on to say, “And the lowborn of the world and the despised has God chosen, things which are not, that He might bring to nought things which are.” The Greek word rendered wellborn in verse 26 means highborn, noble, that is, born of a noble or royal family. The church of God is composed not mainly of the upper class, but of the lowborn of the world and the despised. To appreciate the upper class is against God’s mind and a shame to the church.
In verse 28 the word lowborn means base, ignoble, that is, born of common people. Despised also means contemptible. The expression “things which are not” refers to the lowborn and the despised as being as good as having no existence. The lowborn and the despised are of no account in the world.
The threefold repetition of “God has chosen” in verses 27 and 28 unveils to us God’s sovereign dealing with three kinds of people of the world — the wise, the strong (the powerful), and the wellborn. Hence, “things that are” refer to the wellborn, who are counted much in the world but brought to nothing by God in His economy.
In the eyes of man, the lowborn, the despised ones, seem not to exist. They are so looked down upon that they seem to have no existence. Thus, they are “things which are not.” But God uses these very things to bring to nothing the things which are, the wellborn who are counted much in the world. God has chosen the lowborn, the low class, that He might shame the wellborn, those of the upper class.
On the one hand, in verses 26 through 28 Paul refers in a general way to everyone. On the other hand, he refers in a particular way to the Greeks. Certain of the Greeks who had been saved still regarded themselves as wise. In these verses Paul points out that such an attitude is mistaken. Paul seems to be saying, “Believers at Corinth, do not consider yourselves wise. God does not choose the wise. If you regard yourselves as wise, this means that you have not been chosen by God. Likewise, God has not chosen the powerful ones or the highborn ones.”
What do you think about yourself? Do you consider yourself wise or foolish? Strong or weak? Wellborn or lowborn? I do not believe that, deep within, we regard ourselves foolish, weak, and lowborn. We simply do not view ourselves in this way.
Once again we need to know Paul’s spirit in writing this Epistle. The emphasis in Paul’s spirit was that the Corinthian believers were not living as saved ones. Paul seemed to be telling them, “Dear saints in Corinth, you are saved ones, God’s chosen ones. But you are not living the life of chosen ones. Rather, you are living as if you had not been chosen by God. There is no indication in your living that God has chosen you, for you think of yourselves as wise, strong, and wellborn. Brothers, you must realize that God does not choose such ones. If you regard yourselves as wise, this indicates that God has not chosen you. Remember, He has chosen the foolish ones to shame the wise, the weak ones to shame the strong, and the lowborn to shame the wellborn. Thus, do not regard yourselves as wise, strong, and wellborn.”
It is easy to talk about living Christ, but it is difficult to practice living Him. As long as we consider ourselves wise, we do not live Christ. All those who truly live Christ regard themselves as foolish, weak, and lowborn. They think of themselves as nothing and realize that their existence on earth does not mean anything. They can say of themselves, “I am among the things which are not. I live in a certain locality, but my existence here does not mean anything. But although I am nothing, God has chosen me.” I repeat, God does not choose the wise, the strong, or the wellborn. If you consider yourself wise, strong, and wellborn, you reject God’s choosing. By the way you live, you renounce God’s choosing. God shames the wise, the strong, and the wellborn. We all should be able to say, “Lord, I confess that I am not wise or powerful. Instead, I truly am foolish, weak, and among the lowborn.” What was in Paul’s spirit in writing this portion of 1 Corinthians was an emphasis on this matter.
In his spirit Paul also sensed the need to lower down the haughty Greek believers. Certain ones among them may have been very intelligent and wise, but Paul paid no attention to that. On the contrary, he was seeking to point out that the very fact that they had been chosen by God proved that they were foolish, not wise; weak, not strong; and lowborn, not wellborn. Therefore, it was a mistake for the believers in Corinth to think that they were wise and powerful.
We have seen that in verse 28 Paul says that God will “bring to nought” the things which are. The meaning of the Greek word here, as in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 and Hebrews 2:14, is to destroy. To be brought to nought by God actually means to be destroyed by Him. If we study history, we shall see that many people of honor have been brought to nought by God. Many with a high social standing have been destroyed, made nothing, by Him. We should never consider ourselves something. If we view ourselves as something, God will bring us to nothing.
In verse 29 Paul says, “So that all flesh should not boast before God.” This declares the reason for God’s particular favor in His choosing of us. It is that no flesh, no human being, may have any boast, any glory, before Him.
Paul opens verse 30 with the words, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus.” What we believers, as the new creation, are and have in Christ is of God, not of ourselves. It is God who put us in Christ, transferring us from Adam into Christ. It is God who has made Christ wisdom to us. God has transferred us out of Adam into Christ (2 Cor. 5:17) through Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection (Gal. 2:20) and by our believing and being baptized (John 3:15; Gal. 3:26-28).
The word “but” at the beginning of verse 30 implies a strong contrast with the preceding verses. Furthermore, being in Christ implies that now, in Christ, we are wise, strong, and wellborn. However, very few believers consider themselves wise in Christ, strong in Christ, and wellborn in Christ. If the sisters realized that they were wise and strong in Christ, they would not weep so much. It is very easy for sisters to shed tears. This indicates that, as far as their experience is concerned, they are not wise or strong in Christ. According to our experience, too many times we are wise in the flesh, but foolish in Christ; strong in the flesh, but weak in Christ. This means that in our Christian life there may not be the “but” inserted by Paul into verse 30. In our experience there should be this “but.” Although we were born foolish, weak, and low, we should be able to say, “But of God we are in Christ.” Now that we are in Christ, we are wise, strong, and wellborn in Him.
Regeneration causes us to be wellborn, and it gives us a very high status, the status of a child in a royal family. Do you realize that, as one who believes in Christ, you have a divine status, that you are a child of the King of kings? We have been born into God’s family! This means that we have a status higher than that of the angels. We are members of God’s household, and the angels are our servants. In Christ, we are truly higher than the angels. How good it is that God has chosen us foolish, weak, and lowborn ones and has caused us to be in Christ! This is not our own doing or the work of any other person; it is absolutely of God that we are in Christ.
According to the context, in Christ here implies that we are wise, strong, and wellborn in Christ. It is crucial for us to realize that we are in Christ. We should also boast of the fact that we are now in Christ. Furthermore, we can testify that because we are in Christ we are no longer foolish, weak, or lowborn. Sisters, if in your experience you are strong in Christ, you will have a foretaste of the New Jerusalem and not be so quick to shed tears. In the New Jerusalem there will be no more tears. Sometimes at the Lord’s table we thank Him for the foretaste of the coming New Jerusalem. When we experience the full taste, there will not be any tears. Instead of tears, there will be the flowing of the water of life. Sisters, when you are inclined to weep, remember Paul’s words: But of God you are in Christ. In Christ you are wise and strong. Praise the Lord that in Christ we are wellborn, children of the royal family! What a marvelous status!
In 1:30 Paul says that Christ Jesus “became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” Paul does not say that Christ is wisdom to us; he says that Christ became wisdom to us. This indicates that at one time Christ was not wisdom to us, but that He later became wisdom to us. For example, to say that I am your friend is somewhat different from saying that I became your friend. To say that I became your friend implies that once I was not your friend, but now I have become a friend to you. Christ could not become wisdom to us before we were in Him. But when we believed in Christ, God put us into Him. Then Christ became wisdom to us.
Suppose that a certain young lady is in poverty. One day she marries a millionaire. On that very day she becomes rich. Formerly she was poor, but now she has become rich. In a similar way, formerly, because we were not yet in Him, Christ was not wisdom to us. But once we believed into Christ and God put us in Him, He became wisdom to us.
Notice that in verse 30 Paul does not say that Christ became our wisdom; he says that Christ became wisdom to us. For Christ to become wisdom to us is different from His becoming our wisdom. Day by day, we need Christ to be wisdom to us. We may again use electricity as an illustration. To speak of our electricity is different from speaking of electricity being to us. When electricity is to you, you receive an electrical charge. For electricity to be your electricity means that it belongs to you, but for electricity to be to you means that it is transmitted to you and that you experience it. Likewise, to say that Christ is our wisdom is rather general, not experiential. But when Christ becomes wisdom to us, we experience Him.
Paul had not only knowledge but also a great deal of spiritual experience. Furthermore, he knew the situation among the believers. As Christians, we may say, “We have Christ as our wisdom.” However, this does not mean very much in experience. It is similar to saying, “We have electricity as our power.” We may say this and actually not have light or heat, because electricity is not yet to us. We may also have Christ as our wisdom without having Christ being wisdom to us. We need Christ to become wisdom to us.
In verse 30 I appreciate the two phrases “to us” and “from God.” Christ became wisdom to us from God. The expression “to us from God” indicates something present, practical, and experiential in the way of transmission. Continually, Christ must become wisdom to us from God. This indicates a living, ongoing transmission. The words “to” and “from” indicate that a present, living, and practical transmission is taking place from God to us.
Paul composed verse 30 in the way he did in order to indicate to the believers in Corinth that Christ should continually become wisdom to them from God. Christ as wisdom should unceasingly flow from God to them. However, their actual situation was contrary to this. Christ may have been their wisdom, but He was not presently flowing to them from God. Once again I wish to point out that Paul does not say, “Christ is God’s wisdom,” or “Christ is your wisdom.” He says, “Christ became wisdom to us from God.” This indicates that Christ should continually flow from God to us and be our present and practical wisdom in our experience.
It is important for us to learn to apply the Bible to our experience. The Bible is not primarily a book of doctrine; it is a book of life, and life is a matter of experience. What is revealed in the Bible must be living to us and applicable to us in our experience.
In verse 30 both the punctuation and the grammar are significant. After the phrase “from God” there is a colon. This indicates that wisdom includes the three items which follow the colon, that is, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. According to Greek grammar, the word “both” is used with respect not to two items but to three. Although this is awkward in our language, the translation is accurate according to the Greek. In verse 30 Paul definitely says Christ “became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” This wisdom implies righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Christ was made wisdom to us from God as three vital things in God’s salvation: righteousness (for our past), by which we have been justified by God, that we might be reborn in our spirit to receive the divine life (Rom. 5:18); sanctification (for the present), by which we are being sanctified in our soul, that is, transformed in our mind, emotion, and will, with the divine life (Rom. 6:19, 22); and redemption (for the future), that is, the redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23), by which we will be transfigured in our body with His divine life to have His glorious likeness (Phil. 3:21). It is of God that we participate in such a complete and perfect salvation, making our entire being — spirit, soul, and body — organically one with Christ, and making Christ everything to us. It is altogether of God, not of ourselves, that we may boast and glory in Him, not in ourselves.
It is certainly correct to say that Christ is righteousness for our past, sanctification for our present, and redemption for our future. After we believe in the Lord Jesus and are justified, we need to live a holy life, a sanctified life. The subjective experience of sanctification implies transformation, a process which takes place in our soul. The redemption of our body will occur in the future. Thus, we were regenerated in our spirit when we believed in the Lord, we are in the process of being transformed, sanctified, in our soul, and, in the future, our body will be redeemed, transfigured.
Although this understanding is correct, we must point out that this is an interpretation of verse 30. Because it is an interpretation, we should not allow Paul’s meaning here to be limited by it. Yes, for a sinner to be fully saved, he must pass through three steps: regeneration in the spirit, sanctification in the soul, and transfiguration, redemption, in the body. When this process is complete, we shall be the same as the Lord Jesus. According to 1 John 3:2, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Today we are not like the Lord in our body. But when our body is transfigured, fully redeemed, we shall be wholly like Him.
Righteousness, sanctification, and redemption are not only related to our past, present, and future. Daily we need Christ as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Every day we need to be righteous, we need to be sanctified, and we need to be redeemed, not only in one matter, but in all matters. For example, in dealing with their children, some parents may still behave in an old way. Thus, these parents need to be righteous, holy, and redeemed in relation to their children.
Recently, in the Life-study of Exodus we pointed out that redemption includes three matters: termination, replacement, and being brought back to God. When God redeems us, He terminates us, replaces us with Christ, and brings us back to Himself.
With regard to everything in our daily life, we need to be terminated, replaced with Christ, and brought back to God. The way we deal with our children, if it is still the old way, needs to be terminated, replaced with Christ, and brought back to God. Then we shall be redeemed as far as the matter of dealing with our children is concerned.
In the church life we also need redemption because in many matters we are still very natural. Some may dislike a certain brother or a certain sister. Others may lack a proper care for the young people or for the older ones. Still others may have a preference for a particular elder. All these are related to the natural life and point to the need for redemption. Thus, in the church life we need to be terminated, replaced with Christ, and brought back to God. In all things we need to be righteous, sanctified, and redeemed. When Christ becomes wisdom to us from God, eventually in everything He will be our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. How deep and profound is Paul’s thought here!
In verse 31 Paul concludes, “That according as it is written, He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.” It is of God that we are in Christ, and it is Christ who became wisdom to us from God to meet all our need. Therefore, our boast should be only in Him.
