God's Call: That No Flesh Should Glory

A church of ordinary people. Corinth was a busy, wealthy city on the sea. People there looked up to clever speakers and powerful leaders. Paul started the church there (Acts 18:1-11), and most of the believers were plain, everyday people. Look at your calling. Paul wrote, “For you see your calling, brethren” (1:26). He wanted them to remember who they were when God called them. Not many. “Not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1:26). According to the flesh means by the world’s way of measuring people. Noble means born into an important family. Not many, but some. Paul said not many, not none. Crispus had been a leader of the synagogue, and he believed too (Acts 18:8). God calls rich and poor alike. The same problem. People from Chloe’s family told Paul about arguments in the church (1:11). The believers were arguing about which teacher was best (1:12). Some were proud of following Paul, and others were proud of Apollos or Peter. Paul reminded them that none of them had anything to brag about. What we learn. God did not call you because you were the smartest, strongest or most popular. He called you because He loves you. His invitation is for everyone: “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Calling (1:26). The Greek word is klesis (say: KLAY-sis), God’s call that brings a person to Himself. Paul had just said God is faithful, “by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son” (1:9). Their calling began with God, not with them. Three measuring sticks. Corinth measured people by three things: how wise they were, how powerful they were and what family they came from. Noble means born into an important family. Paul says “not many” of the believers had any of them. According to the flesh. This phrase means by human standards. It does not mean the believers were worthless. The world’s scale simply could not see what God saw. The setting. Corinth was a rich trading city with two harbors. People from Chloe’s household had told Paul about quarrels in the church (1:11). Speakers competed for crowds, and people picked favorite teachers the way fans pick teams. That habit had come into the church: “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos” (1:12). Not many is not none. Crispus, a synagogue ruler, believed (Acts 18:8), and Erastus was the city treasurer (Romans 16:23). God saves people from every level of society, but He never saves them because of their level. 1 Samuel 16:7. God has always worked this way: “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” For you. If you feel ordinary, you are exactly the kind of person God loves to call. His invitation goes out to everyone who will come: “Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

Corinth was a big, rich city by the sea. People there loved smart talkers and important people. But the church in Corinth was different. Most of the believers were not famous at all. Some were workers, and some were servants. Paul told them to look at their calling. That means to remember who they were when God called them. God knew each of their names. God did not pick them because they were great. He called them because He loves people. Being important does not get anyone into God’s family. God’s love is a gift for everyone. That includes you!

God called ordinary people to Himself. Most of them were not rich or famous. God loved them just the same. God loves you too!

God’s choice. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise” (1:27). God did the choosing, not people. Weak and strong. God also chose “the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty” (1:27). Put to shame means shown to be wrong and empty. Low and looked down on. God chose “the base things of the world and the things which are despised” (1:28). Base means low and common. Despised means looked down on. Things which are not. God even chose “the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are” (1:28). People who seem like nobodies to the world matter to God. Like the cross. God saves through a message that sounds foolish to many: “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1:18). Wiser and stronger. “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1:25). God’s weakest-looking plan is stronger than our best. What we learn. You do not have to be the best at anything for God to use you. Trust Him, and He will work through you so that people see His power.

Chosen (1:27-28). God did the choosing. He picked out for Himself the people the world would pass over, and He did it on purpose. Foolish (1:27). Foolish here means the people the world thought were slow or silly. Through them God put the clever to shame. Put to shame. To put to shame means to disgrace, to show up as empty. Human pride is exposed when God does great things through small people. Base (1:28). Base is the opposite of noble in 1:26. It means low-born, from no important family at all. Despised. Despised means treated as nothing. Isaiah said the same of the coming Savior: “He is despised and rejected by men” (Isaiah 53:3). God chose despised people, and He sent a Savior who was despised. Things which are not. These are the things that do not count in the world’s eyes. Through them God brings to nothing, or cancels out, the things that seem to count. The pattern of the cross. “We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness” (1:23). God saved the world through what looked like defeat. 2 Corinthians 4:7. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” Earthen vessels are plain clay jars. God puts His treasure in ordinary containers so that the power is clearly His.

Paul said God chose the foolish things of the world. Foolish things are things people laugh at. God also chose the weak things. He even chose things the world thinks are nothing. Why would God do that? He wanted to show that His way is best. Proud people think they are wise and strong. God’s choice puts their pride to shame. The cross looked weak and foolish to many people. But the cross is God’s power to save us! God can use anyone who trusts Him. Even a small child can serve God. He can use you.

God chose people who seemed weak. God makes weak people strong in Him. Then everyone can see how great God is.

The reason. God chose this way “that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1:29). Glory means boast. To glory in something means to brag about it or be proud of it. Flesh means people, with all our human weakness. In His presence. One day everyone will stand before God. No one will be able to say they earned their place. A gift. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Nothing to brag about. “And what do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Your mind, your body and your talents all came from God. The proud and the humble. “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Grace means God’s kindness we do not deserve. The Corinthians’ problem. They were bragging about their favorite teachers (1:12). Paul’s answer was simple: nobody gets the credit but God. What we learn. When you do well, thank God. When you fail, remember that God’s love never depended on you being the best.

No flesh (1:29). Flesh here means human beings in all their weakness. Not one person will stand before God and boast. Glory. The Greek verb kauchaomai (say: kow-KAH-oh-my) means to boast, to take pride in, to rest your confidence on something. It answers a simple question: what am I trusting in? In His presence. The phrase pictures standing before God’s face. Wisdom, power and family rank all disappear there. Only Christ remains. Boasting shut out. “For by grace you have been saved through faith… not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). If salvation were earned, the saved could brag. Because it is a gift, they cannot. Received, not earned. Paul asks the same church, “Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). The Corinthian quarrel. Their slogans, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos” (1:12), were a way of boasting through someone else. Paul asked, “Was Paul crucified for you?” (1:13). No teacher shares the credit for our salvation. The humble welcomed. “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Pride shuts the door that grace opens. Freedom. If salvation depended on your wisdom or rank, you would always wonder whether you had enough. Because it depends on God, you can rest.

Why did God choose this way? Paul gave the reason. God did it so no one can brag before Him. Bragging means telling everyone how great you are. Nobody can stand in front of God and brag. We did not save ourselves. We cannot be good enough to earn heaven. Jesus did all the hard work for us. Getting into God’s family is a free gift. A gift is something you do not earn. All we can do is thank God. That keeps our hearts humble and happy.

God did it so no one can brag. We cannot save ourselves. God saves us because He is kind. We say thank you to God.

God’s doing. “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus” (1:30). Of Him means because of God. God is the One who joined us to Jesus. Wisdom. Jesus “became for us wisdom from God” (1:30). The Corinthians wanted clever speakers, but the wisest thing in the world is to know Jesus. Righteousness. Jesus makes us right with God. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Sanctification. This long word means being made holy, set apart to belong to God. Jesus keeps changing us to be more like Him. Redemption. Redemption means being bought back and set free. “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14). So boast in the Lord. “That, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the Lord’” (1:31). Paul is quoting the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 9:24). What we learn. Everything we need comes from Jesus. So when you talk about your life, point to Him. Tell others what God has done, not just what you have done.

Of Him (1:30). “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus.” Of Him means out of Him, from God as the source. Being in Christ is God’s work from start to finish. Wisdom from God. Corinth prized wisdom above almost everything. Paul says the true wisdom is a Person, “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1:24). Righteousness. Righteousness is being right with God. We are declared not guilty because Jesus took our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Sanctification. Sanctification is being made holy. Paul called these same believers “sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1:2), even while he corrected them. Redemption. Apolytrosis (say: ah-poh-LOO-troh-sis) is release by the payment of a price, the word used for setting a slave free. Jesus paid that price with His blood (Colossians 1:14). Jeremiah 9:23-24. Paul’s quotation sums up Jeremiah’s words. The wise must not boast in wisdom, the mighty in might, or the rich in riches. A person who boasts should boast that he understands and knows the Lord. Two lists. Jeremiah names the wise, the mighty and the rich. Paul names the wise, the mighty and the noble (1:26). The very things the world boasts in are the things God set aside. Glory in the Lord. To boast in the Lord is to make Him the reason for your confidence, your joy and your praise.

God is the One who brought us to Jesus. Paul said Jesus became four gifts for us. Jesus is our wisdom from God. He makes us right with God. Jesus makes us holy, which means set apart for God. Jesus sets us free from sin, like paying to free a prisoner. We do not have to earn any of these gifts. Jesus gives them to everyone who trusts Him. So what should we brag about? We should brag only about the Lord! We can tell our friends how good Jesus is. Jesus is the best gift of all.

God gave us Jesus. Jesus makes us right with God. So we brag about the Lord!