From His riches, God has poured
out on us an amazing bounty of grace and goodness.
As an example of how God gives
gifts, let's consider Abraham, who is considered the forefather of us all.
We know very little of Abraham's
birth. We know that he came from Ur of
the Chaldeans. Although we do not
consider him a Babylonian, that is what Chaldeans were and that is where
Abraham came from. His father was Terah,
and was possibly the one who moved Abraham and his family from Ur to
Haran. The Spirit of God says:
Yes,
think about Abraham, your ancestor, and Sarah, who gave birth to your nation. Abraham was only one man when I called him. But when I blessed him, he became a great
nation. (Isaiah 51:2, NLT)
Because of the call of God,
Abraham received promises and blessings beyond measure. These blessings and promises were received by
faith. While Abraham yet lived, he did
not see all the promises and blessings we are talking about. God promised Abraham that He would make
Abraham the father of many nations.
Abraham died long before this ever happened. But, Abraham believed God and it was counted
to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) More than
earthly or physical blessings, Abraham received blessings of an eternal and
spiritual nature. We see evidence of
this in Scripture when it says:
Abraham
was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city
designed and built by God. (Hebrews 11:10, NLT)
God chose Abraham when he was far
from God in a godless nation among a godless people. God chose Abraham and made him great. He did not choose Abraham because he was
already great.
Think about when you were
called. Were you great? Were you mighty?
1 Corinthians 1:26 asks us to
consider or remember our calling.
First, consider what we receive as
a part of our calling.
We receive eternal life.
Ephesians 2:1 tells us that we
were dead in our trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2:1) We were lost
and without hope in the world. (Ephesians 2:12) Our calling
from God involves Him moving us out of the kingdom of darkness and into the
kingdom of His beloved Son. We were held
captive by the devil to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:26) We were set free. We were redeemed and made part of God's
family. We are children of God.
We are also saved from the penalty
of our sins.
Even though we freely admit that
we have sinned, we have no fear of punishment because we know that by the grace
of God our sins have been forgiven and we have been made clean and pure. This is not because of what we have
done. It is based solely on what Christ
did on the cross and it is ours because of the call or invitation of God. Without this call of God, we would be
condemned to an eternity in hell because of our sin and unrighteousness.
The Holy Spirit says:
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 Corinthians 1:26, ESV)
The call of God is not based on
our wisdom.
The call of God is not based on
our power.
The call of God is not based on
our birth.
We humans put much emphasis on
wisdom, power and birth.
Just look in the self-help section
of the bookstore. The great number of
books implies the importance of wisdom and knowledge. There are books to tell us how to overcome
numerous problems and challenges. There
are books that promise to teach us how to succeed. There are books that promise to teach us how
to be happy. These all claim to have
wisdom for our lives.
Look at how much we invest in
education and you will understand that we place a high value on wisdom and
knowledge.
We also put much emphasis on
power.
From the nations of the world to
the living rooms of our houses, power struggles never cease. Power is about control. Power determines who gets resources and who
gets their way. North Korea feels they
need nuclear weapons and the missile delivery systems to reach anywhere in the
world, and we fear they would use them if they had them. This is just one of many power struggles
currently going on in our world. I hope
that the power struggles in our houses do not involve nuclear weapons. But, sadly, some of us threaten to kill the
relationship in order to get our way.
Make no mistake; divorce is murder -- murder of the relationship, the family
and the oneness established by God. This
happens because we want control. We want
our own way.
We humans also put much emphasis
on birth - heritage.
Some are born into nobility. Unless you are born into the royal family,
you do not need to worry about ever being king or queen of England. In the same way, most of us do not need to
worry about inheriting the riches of Donald Trump or Bill Gates.
However, we are all born into
families. We are all born into
nationalities and races. We are all born
into religions. There are many who
consider themselves Christians because they were born into Christian
homes. If you are born on American soil,
you are automatically an American citizen.
If you are born to Asian parents, you are Asian. There is no choice involved in this. If your parents are not Japanese, you will
never be Japanese, even if you take Japanese citizenship. One can change their citizenship, but one
cannot change their race, or the accidents of birth.
Since wisdom, power and birth are
so important to us, we boast in these things.
If you do not have a college degree, you need not apply for some
jobs. If you are not powerful, you will
be taken advantage of. If you are not
born into the right family, religion, race or nationality, you may be blocked
from going where you want to go.
When 1 Corinthians 1:26 tells us
to consider our calling, it points out that not many of us were wise, powerful
or of noble birth.
It says, "Not many.” This would imply that some are. These are the exceptions and if you are one
of these exceptions be grateful -- grateful but not proud. The Holy Spirit says:
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; God chose what is low and despised in the world,
even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the
presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:27-29 ESV)
Our boasting and reliance on human
wisdom, power and birth is not good. The
Lord indicates how much He is displeased with our pride when he says:
This is
what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who
rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:5 NLT)
We know that the new birth, our
redemption and salvation do not rely on human strength. John 1:13 says:
...who
were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man,
but of God. (John 1:13 ESV)
Wisdom has its place. Proverbs 1:7 says:
The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and
instruction. (Proverbs 1:7 ESV)
It is foolish to despise wisdom.
Power has its place because God
has ordained government. Romans 13:1
says:
Let
every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and
those that exist have been instituted by God. (Romans 13:1 ESV)
It is foolish to despise power or
authority.
Even our parentage has its place,
for none of us would be where we are without it.
It is foolish to despise our
heritage.
It is also foolish to boast in or
put our confidence in these things. As
the passage quoted above states, "God chose what is low and despised in
the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the
presence of God.” (1 Corinthians1:28-29, NLT)
All our boasting must be in the
Lord. All our confidence must be in the
Lord. This is where 1 Corinthians 1:30
takes us. It lays out for us some of the
reason we have to boast in the Lord.
And
because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God,
righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30 ESV)
"Because of him" is
referring to God the Father who has brought to nothing the wisdom, power and
nobility of the world. It is because of
Him, because of His calling, that we are in Christ Jesus.
Verse 26 calls us to consider,
remember our calling. This is where it
has led us. We started with nothing, and
as a result of this calling we are now in Christ Jesus. Look at what it says Jesus has become to
us. He has become wisdom from God,
righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
Let's consider each of these briefly in turn.
He has become wisdom to us. He is the mystery of God hidden from ages
past. He is the Word made flesh, the
very revelation of the glory of God.
He has become righteousness to
us. He is our breastplate of righteousness;
by His wounds, we are healed. God laid
on Him the iniquity of us all.
He has become sanctification to
us. In Him, we are made holy, called
saints and set apart for the kingdom of God.
We have an inheritance that the world has not given and the world cannot
take away.
He has become redemption to
us. We were slaves to sin, but we have
been set free to live for Him and by His power.
Because of Him, we belong to Jesus and to the Father and have the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
Because of these things, we can
boast in the Lord. Long before Jesus was
born, the prophet Jeremiah wrote:
Thus
says the Lord : "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the
mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he
understands and knows me, that I am the
Lord who practices steadfast
love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the
Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV)
This series has been titled,
"God's Power in Perilous Times.” One
of the biggest perils for humanity is our pride. Pride and boasting will only yield to the
working of the Holy Spirit in our inner person.
Let's take 1 Corinthians 1:31 to heart.
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