Last night’s Bible study looked at 1 Cor 1:26-31, where Paul elaborates on his previous teaching that God’s ways are so completely different to ours that the message he brought (Christ crucified as the means of salvation) was incredible and rejected by both Jews and Greeks alike (if for different reasons!)
Paul reminds the Corinthians (and us!) of the amazing truth that Christians are called and chosen by God. This is not because of our wisdom, strength or riches, as these verses make clear, but is a sign of His immense generosity, grace and favour. Whilst we cannot fully understand the connection between God’s calling and choosing and our free will, the Bible is unashamedly frank in proclaiming that salvation is God’s idea, carried out by God’s means! God calls whom He wills (see Gen 12:1-3, Ex 3:4, 1 Sam 3:1-21) and chooses as He wishes (see Gen 25:19-34, Rom 9:6-18, John 15:16). The fact that He seems to take delight in the misfit and the person whom no one else wants simply illustrates His sovereignty and the fact that He is not willing to share His glory with another (1 Cor 1:27, Is 42:8).
It is a sad fact that few of us fully realise that all we need is found in Christ. He is our wisdom, our salvation, our righteousness, holiness and redemption (1 Cor 1:30). Wiersbe comments that “we see the three tenses of salvation here. We have been saved from the penalty of sin (righteousness); we are being saved from the power of sin (sanctification) and we shall be saved from the presence of sin (redemption.) Every believer has all of these blessings in Christ!” (Commentary, ‘Be Wise!’, P 29) The work God is doing in us far outweighs the material blessings of fame, riches or strength which the world so prizes. As Jeremiah reminded the people (Jer 9:23-24), our boasting should be all about the relationship we have with God, rather than in the temporal things of the world which will only fade away. Only as our eyes are opened to God’s ways and means are we able to embrace all He has for us and understand the power of the message of the gospel.
