Consider Your Calling, Brothers and Sisters (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

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. [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; [28] God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, [29] so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. [30] And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, [31] so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26–31)

I. Basketball's 'Dream Team'

Some of you may remember that the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona marked the first appearance of USA basketball's “Dream Team”. While other countries had used their best players (even professional players) prior to 1992, it was only after an International Basketball Federation vote in April of 1989 that the path was cleared for NBA players to participate on the American team. With legendary players like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton, David Robinson, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and Scottie Pippen, it was no wonder that Team USA eventually claimed the gold medal after defeating opponents by an average of 44 points. Apart from their 2004 loss to Argentina, Team USA has won ever since.

II. The Passage: “God Chose... Even Things That are Not” (1:26-31)

As we look together at God's word this morning, I want us to think about another 'dream team'. I see something like that standing behind Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 1, verses 26-31. You may remember that Paul was concerned in verse 17 of this chapter with the cross of Christ being emptied of its power. As we dug deeper into that shocking idea, we heard how Paul warned the Corinthians about obscuring the gospel message with preaching that emphasized human wisdom, or human strength, or any human category that would tempt listeners to trust in something other than the redemptive power of God revealed in the 'foolishness' and 'weakness' of Jesus' cross. As Paul wrote in 1:21, “...it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”

It was the Corinthians's emphasis on culture-centered values (like Greek wisdom and eloquence) rather than Christ-centered or cross-centered values that Paul carries into the next section, into our main passage for this morning, chapter 1, verses 26-31.

Verse 26 sets the trajectory for what is to come by first emphasizing how God chose the powerless. Though many in the Corinthian church seemed to be emphasizing the importance of things like power and position and wisdom, the simple truth was that most of them had none of those things. If according to their thinking, God's 'dream team' for the mission of Jesus has to be composed of people like that, then it seems really, really strange that he called people like them (v. 9) “into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord”. As he writes in v. 26, “...not many of you were wise according to worldly standards [lit. according to the flesh], not many [of you] were powerful, not many [of you] were of noble birth.”

If we stick with the basketball analogy, this is like saying that God chose non-athletes, maybe even people who had no real knowledge of the game, maybe even people who were clumsy and uncoordinated, in order to accomplish his victory. But why? That sounds ridiculous. Why would God choose the powerless to do something as powerful as building his church?

An answer to that question is clear from vs. 27-29. Building on that first point, in the subsequent verses we discover that God chose the powerless to humble the powerful. Did you see how Paul expresses this in three ways in verses 27-29? He speaks about shaming the wise and the strong, about bringing to nothing things that are something in the world's eyes, and finally, about removing any reason a human being might think they have for “boast[ing] in the presence of God.”

So if basketball players can (and sometimes do) boast in their speed, in their agility, in their ball handling skills or three-point shooting or passing skills, or in their height, then when a bunch of shorter non-athletes, even the clumsy and uncoordinated, enter the Olympic games and end up capturing the gold medal, then all their reasons for boasting would be removed, right?

God chooses the powerless in order to humble the powerful. The man who is wise according to the world's standards is humbled when he realizes his wisdom means nothing before the cross of Jesus Christ. The same is true for those who are strong or influential or important or famous in the world's eyes. When they see people who are none of those things experiencing the life-changing power of God, the hope is that they are truly humbled by what God has done. But that leads us to the complete idea communicated in these verses.

Third, we realize in verse 30 and 31 that God chose the powerless to humble the powerful, in order to glorify His power. If those non-athletes took home the gold, not only would the world's 'dream team' be humbled, but more importantly, it would be so abundantly clear that any victory achieved could only be explained... by the power of God. You see, at this point in this passage, the Corinthians might be thinking, “Okay. So... how exactly did people like us arrive at a place of blessing like this? If it wasn't based on our wisdom, or cleverness, or position of power, or wealth, or any other earthly thing, why are we standing on the winners' platform?

Look back with me and be humbled by what Paul revealed in verse 30. It is “because of [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, [but not only wisdom; He also became for us] righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” If there is any wisdom of eternal value, it is now ours in Jesus. If there is any righteousness of eternal value, it is now our in Jesus. If there is any sanctification (or holiness), it is now ours in Jesus. If there is ultimate redemption, then it is also ours... in Jesus. These are now ours, because Jesus Christ is ours.

And Jesus is ours because, as the passage repeats, God “chose” us to be his. This idea couldn't be clearer from chapter 1, where the word “call” (or “called” or “calling”) is used six times, the word “chose” is used three times, and the ideas of divinely-initiated action are scattered through-out (“given”, 'enriched”, “sustained”). Moreover, Paul couldn't be clearer than he is in v. 30: “And because of him [because of God] you are in Christ Jesus”. Therefore, if there's going to be any boasting in the presence of God, it can only be boasting about God. God chose the powerless... to humble the powerful... in order to glorify His power.

And isn't that the whole point, not only of this last half of chapter 1, but also of the entire Bible... of the entire work of redemption? That God might be glorified. That He might be seen as great, as awesome, as worthy of all praise, in every way.

III. Why and How We Can Boast

So what can you and I do with these amazing ideas? What should we do with truths like these? Let me encourage you to begin exactly where Paul begins in our main text: (v. 26) “...consider your calling, brothers and sisters.” If Paul were to write this letter to Way of Grace Church, how might you, you personally, respond to that opening statement? “...Consider your calling...” Think back to when God called you to himself through the gospel; through his Spirit. How old were you? Where were you? What was happening? Now, consider how you would respond to the next part of v. 26... “not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many [of you] were influential, not many [of you] were from important or well-to-do families”? Okay...

Now go to verse 27, and listen again to what Paul says about you, “...God chose what is foolish in the world... God chose what is weak in the world... God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not...”. What comes to mind when you hear that about... you?

I think some of us would hear that statement, and be quick to agree... maybe too quick. What I mean is that we might say, “Yep, that's me. Foolish. Weak. Low and despised. And... not really anything.” Then we might go on to list all of the ways in which we are a screw-up, a failure, a disappointment. You see, even though the Apostle is speaking here about how the world sees us, such people would agree with Paul only because they have a low view of their own value.

But others would hear that statement, and while also agreeing with it, they would want to qualify what Paul wrote. What I mean is that they would say, “Yes, I certainly wasn't a power player or a worldly intellectual when God called me... although... I mean... I did graduate near the top of my class... and I do have a fairly important job... and I've been told I'm very good with people... and I just helped land a big deal at work... and my child is an honor roll student... so that's some-thing, right?” Some people would agree in one sense with what Paul wrote, but in reality, they would still feel uncomfortable with being called “foolish” or “weak” or “low and despised”.

Brothers and sisters, please consider your calling. If we were only looking at these two options, and maybe neither describes you completely (I get that), consider toward which one you would tend to lean. Being as honest as you can, do you tend to have a lower view of yourself, or a higher view of yourself? What is really interesting, but also really problematic, about both of these positions, is that they strangely end up leading to the same outcomes: to either personal inaction, or self-condemnation. Someone can have such a low estimation of themselves that they feel it's pointless to really follow Christ, since they firmly believe they will screw it up. But someone with a high estimation of themselves can also fail to follow Jesus in practice, simply because... they believe they already have it all together. On the other side, when the low-view person does try to live for Christ, but then struggles, they're quick to believe the struggle simply confirms their worthlessness. But in the same way, when the high-view person who actually sees themselves as good addition to God's 'dream team', when they struggle to really live up to their standards, it can also lead to severe bouts of self-condemnation.

Though some Christians seem to believe God called us to himself because he'd rather die than live without someone like me on his team, the truth is, we were not chosen because we were special in some particular way. That's Paul's point here. What's special here is that, by grace, you are now a wise person, a righteous person, a sanctified person, and a redeemed person. But you're only these things in Jesus Christ. If deep down you believe that either God made a mistake in adding you to his team, or... that he made a good decision by adding you to his team, then it's time to look back to Christ. Friends, the extremes of personal inaction and self-condem-nation are avoided when we can regularly boast that, before both God and men, Jesus is our everything. That truth inspires the half-hearted, but also humbles the person who's full of them-selves. And that truth comforts the man or woman who is just beating themselves up, regardless of how they got there. So please hear God: stop trying to prove you're wise (or maybe wallowing in your foolishness). Stop trying to establish (or being anxious about) your own righteousness. Stop trying to manufacture your own sanctification (or lack thereof). Stop trying to redeem your-self. Today, and as soon as you wake up this week, reaffirm these staggering truths before God: “Jesus is my wisdom. Jesus is my righteousness. Jesus is my sanctification. Jesus is my redemption.” Brothers and sisters, consider your calling. You and I brought nothing to the table, but we were given everything when we arrived. So by faith, feast and be full. Called from nothing, but called to everything... in Christ. “...As it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'” Take a moment to praise God for this, and then pray for this kind of boastful heart.