THE PURPOSE OF THE MESSAGE, v.26-31: that God alone is glorified

THE PURPOSE OF THE MESSAGE, v.26-31: that God alone is glorified. v. 26. God uses ordinary people. v. 27-29. To confound the foolish (not intelligentsia), weak (not influential), base (slaves), despised (contemptible), are not (non-entities). To give the proper perspective, man is nothing, and God is everything. v. 30. Wisdom – let us know His purposes; righteousness – our standing, immediate; sanctification – set apart; redemption – final aspect. v. 31. God’s work aims to glorify Him and His grace.

God’s plan of salvation does not seek to make worldly people “comfortable.” Despite what people may say or how they respond to the Gospel, eternal salvation remains the most important thing. Jesus said, “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

In any gathering of the Lord's people, we notice a variety of backgrounds, educational levels, and financial and intellectual differences, yet we come together for a shared purpose. What causes this phenomenon? Our calling is not based on who we are or on any of our achievements. We are united in purpose and faith because of the One who called us. We are called "brethren," "saints," and "believers" because of God's grace. Our calling through the Gospel is solely a work of God's grace, leaving no room for us to boast about the wisdom we have gained through our educational advantages. While some well-educated and knowledgeable individuals understand the ways of the world, among the saints who gather around Christ alone, they are few.

Occasionally, by God's mercy, He rescues someone from the realm of influential people. It is very rare to find a political leader, head of a major public office, CEO, or owner of large businesses who is willing to gather with God's saints in a scriptural assembly. Such instances may occur, but they are usually exceptions rather than the norm. The social costs are high, and the humility required to submit to the leadership of those considered less important in the eyes of the world is not easily accepted. Business, politics, and public leadership demand the time, energy, and commitment of the whole person, leaving little room or desire for the things of God.

High society, whether consisting of royalty by birth or individuals of high standing due to family ties, is quite exclusive from the rest of the community. In most places, they resemble a caste system. They live apart and only associate with the common people if they are servants or employees. These three classes— the wise, the mighty, and the noble—usually are not interested in or inclined to seek salvation from sin by coming as lost, guilty sinners to the cross and receiving Christ alone as their personal Savior. They are often quite self-sufficient, self-satisfied, self-centered, and unwilling to acknowledge themselves as lost before God.

The word used by the Spirit of God is that "not many" wise, mighty, or noble are called. But that does not exclude them from the blessings of God's call because there are some who are wise, mighty, and noble, yet they are gentle, kind, gracious, and humble. The work of God's grace in their souls is revealed. These are called despite what their position in life was.

It is unlikely that most believers in the Corinthian assembly came from the upper classes. God’s salvation reaches across all social barriers to the “foolish and weak,” who had nothing they could do to earn anything from God. They would have been hopeless in the world. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation makes it available to all ages and social stations. No one can ever claim credit for their own salvation.

There are five groups of people listed who typically respond to God's grace. They are all needy individuals who do not reject the benefit of His mercy. They recognize they cannot meet their needs on their own. They need grace and admit it. Some have barely learned to read and have never had the opportunity for formal education, yet we have seen them worship in "spirit and in truth." Some have been inspired by the Spirit of God to learn to read the Bible, even if they've never read a word before and aren't interested in reading anything else. But God chose them to demonstrate their need and the blessings of grace. Even the apostles were looked down upon as "unlearned and ignorant" men by some.

"Weak things" truly don’t mean being physically unable to do regular work, although it often reflects God's grace working through such people. The blind hymn writer, Fanny Crosby, was weak in one area but was used by God to bless many others. Usually, those who respond to the Gospel aren't influential figures shaping nations or leading society, but God chooses them to reveal His grace. Slaves were saved in Corinth and other places while Paul preached. The humble or those from the streets of our cities are more likely to come and hear the Gospel than those who are well-off on their own. Some are even looked at with contempt because of who they are or what they have done, considered social rejects. God works in prisons as well as pulpits; in streets just as much as in dedicated church buildings.

God calls us when pride is humbled. When a person has been brought so low that the only way to go is up, God steps in and, perhaps through a tract, testimony, preacher, or a newly saved acquaintance, brings someone considered foolish, insignificant, and even despised into the blessings of His grace and seats them with Christ in heavenly places. In the gatherings of God's people, there are those who find their glory only in the Lord. They do not speak of their achievements or skills. You won't hear them boast of their successes. They are not there as celebrities or heroes, but as simple people who have personally experienced God's wisdom.

That divine wisdom is not something we boast about - it is God's wisdom. From it, our righteousness has come — our standing before God as those who have been "justified freely by His grace." We have nothing to boast in but are thankful that God called us. Connected to that is our sanctification. The Lord prayed we would be "sanctified through Thy truth. Thy word is truth." The God who called us, sanctified us, and set us apart from everything around us to Himself desires us to be a holy people.

Those believers in Corinth, and we now, remember that in this called-out company of saints, it is God who has brought us to this place. "Redemption" involves the price paid on our behalf by the Lord Jesus Christ. He has freed us from the bondage of sin and its consequences. We will ultimately be complete in Christ, to go to heaven with a body that truly glorifies the Lord. These "foolish things" have access to God as worshipers and servants and are gathered by Him into a local assembly temporarily to prepare for divine purposes in the future. This truth removes the tendency to boast in ourselves and to be divisive for any reason but to unite in grateful worship around the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ Jesus crucified for us is the wisdom of God. Because of Him as our perfect substitute, we receive His perfect righteousness imputed to us personally. That puts us in a relationship with God in which, to Him, we have been sanctified, made holy, cleansed of all sin, and given a new heart and a new nature. Therefore, we “glory in the Lord.”

One man held a high position, but he lost it one day. He faced the reality of sin leading him to hell despite what others thought. He was humbled before the Lord, and his pride was shattered like tiny pieces as he heard about the grace of God. Another person taught him what he had learned and needed others to hear. He thought he knew everything until he was confronted with his sin. Then he called on God for mercy, and God saved him. Now, he doesn't boast about great intellect, only about Christ, by whom he was saved by grace. The message he shares now is the Gospel of salvation by grace alone.

Another man seeking to satisfy the needs of his soul traveled from place to place, searching. He couldn't remember where he had been, nor could he trace the path he followed, but one thing he knew—God led him to the place of repentance and there revealed His grace to a lost soul.

In a company of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we come from different walks of life. The common bond of fellowship goes beyond just life and into the light. When we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we share fellowship together. We look different, act different, and are different, yet we are sisters and brothers in Christ. We are not high and mighty people but simply plain folks with this One Person in common. Our Lord and Savior is our gathering center. Each of us knows Him personally by faith. We have all experienced His grace firsthand, though each story is different. Everything we claim for ourselves is nothing when we give God all the glory.

Jack Hunter of Scotland: “Let us learn the folly of internal division; the futility of human wisdom in its inability to save a soul; the power of the cross to accomplish salvation; the preeminence of Christ as God’s power and wisdom; the glory of divine sovereignty in His choice of us; and finally that our message and preaching can be in the demonstration of the Spirit and power.”