1 Cor. 1:25 "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
1 Cor. 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.
1 Cor. 1:27 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;
1 Cor. 1:28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
1 Cor. 1:29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
1 Cor. 1:30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,
1 Cor. 1:31 so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"
(ESV)
This next set of verses is one of my favorite passages. The reason being that it shows that God chooses to show His power and majesty through sinners, through the weak, the foolish, and the lowly.
1 Cor. 1:25 "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
To get a better understanding of this verse, let's look at the ISV translation: 1 Cor. 1:25 "For God's nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength." (ISV)
The reason I like this translation of this verse is the word "nonsense" which basically means it doesn't make sense. Paul is saying: "What God does, even if it doesn't make sense to us, is still wiser than we are. If what God does looks weak, it's still stronger than we are. Whatever God does, He does for a purpose. His purpose, even though it may not seem reasonable, smart, or anything but foolishness, it will be the wisest thing possible." For example: when Christ was on the cross, He could have called legions of angels to His side, yet He didn't. He died without a fight. Was Christ weak? No, He was strong for NOT calling the angels. He could have forsaken us all to our sins so He didn't have to die; but He suffered and died and took all of our sins so we could have salvation.
1 Cor. 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."
When you look at Jesus's disciples and what they were before they met him, they weren't rich, nor were they of a higher class. Peter, Andrew, John, and James were all fishermen -definitely not the pinnacle of society at the time. Levi was a tax collector. Tax collectors were hated due to their dishonest practice of exacting money from people. (Who wants their money taken away?) Christ also says this in Mark 10:25: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Paul was one of the few Apostles who was "wise" according to worldly standards before he was saved. He was a zealot for Judaism; he was a Pharisee; he was the "Hebrew of Hebrews." "As to righteousness under the law, blameless" (Philippians 3:5-6). Yet, the true church, (not just those who call themselves Christians, but those actually following Christ) is mainly made up of the weak, the odd, and the foolish (according to the world).
1 Cor. 1:27 "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;"
The foolish in the world, made wise. The weak in the world, made strong. Sounds to me like the world's best transformation program. What do you think? I'd say it is. When we get the Holy Spirit, and He works in and through us, we can do things that we thought were impossible. The reason that God does this goes back to verse 21: "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe." The foolish are more easily saved than the wise, the poor and the weak are more easily saved than the rich and the strong. Why? Because of these words in Proverbs 29:23: "One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor." Those who are rich, wise, and strong have a lot to be prideful about. They can rely on their human status or abilities to get what they want in life (or so they think), and the only way for them to be saved is when they realize that they aren't enough. The most common way this happens is for them to have their money taken away, or have somebody prove they are dumb, or something take away their strength. It takes a low spot in anybody's life for them to realize that the only way for them to have true peace and joy is through Christ. People who are poor, people who aren't "wise" (by worldly standards), and those who are weak have an easier time realizing that they need work than do those who have power, those who are strong, those who are rich, or those who are wise (again, according to worldly standards).
1 Cor. 1:28 "God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,"
The best example of this is David and Goliath. David, a little short guy, with a staff and a rock, defeated the best fighter of the time. He was laughed at by the troops, laughed at by the Giant, and he was spoken down to by his brother: 1 Sam. 17:28 "Now Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, 'Why have you come down? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.'" Yet, he destroyed the Giant, became king even though he was the youngest brother, and God showed that he can use anybody who trusts Him. If you trust Him, He can make you strong and He can make you wise. He will use you to show His power to those who have power. He will use you to show His wisdom to those who are wise. He will use you to show His strength to those who are strong. So the point of this is that it doesn't matter what or who you are, you can be saved and God will use you. If you are the poorest poor, or the richest rich, God can and will use you, should you believe.
1 Cor. 1:29 "so that no human being might boast in the presence of God."
The reason God uses the lowly, weak, and foolish is so that they can't boast before Him. They can't say they did the things they did by their own power, but can ONLY point toward God. So, if you're being prideful, God won't be able to use you at full potential.
1 Cor. 1:30 "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,"
Because of God, we are in Christ. He gave us Christ; He outlined the salvation plan, etc. Christ IS wisdom given to us from God, and Christ is our righteousness, sanctification and redemption. It sounds pretty simple, but really think about what this is saying. We are not righteous nor are we wise. So, in order for us to become righteous, in order to be sanctified and redeemed, we must have something that is righteous for us. Christ is the one Who is righteous for us, the one Whom God sees when He looks at us. He is also our wisdom, because we are foolish; He is our strength because we are weak; He is what we aren't, so that we may become what we need to become in Christ.
1 Cor. 1:31 "so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"
When you do anything that is good, you need to point to God and not yourself. If you get a good grade on a test, that wasn't you, that was God. He gave you the brain-power and the drive to do well. If you make a smart choice, it was God who gave you the wisdom. If you are able to bench 500 lbs., it was God who gave you that ability. If you speak the salvation message and somebody believes because of it, it wasn't you that saved them. God worked in their heart, and God gave you the words to say.
The point of this whole passage is that God is wise, He is strong, and we are not. Plain and simple. The concept that piggybacks on this one is that those who are weak, foolish, and lowly are the people who are most open to the truth; they are the ones who are most useful to God in most circumstances because He can then show His power. However, if you are humble and realize how much of what you've done is because of God, you will be useful for him regardless of your status in life.
