But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world that he might put to shame the things that are strong.But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;
9 sermons cite this verse
… Look at it. 27, God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. Who would have ever thunk it? And the weak things of the world to shame the things that are strong. The base things of the world, the despised. things that are not to nullify things that are. From explanation to illustration. You know, there's a lady in our congregation from a town that no longer exists. No longer exists. Picture Oklahoma. Picture. Where are you from? Zero. Ain't even there anymore. Me, I'm from the great metropolis of El Campo. Woo! Great white way. Hmm. Right down the road from Rosenberg, Bay City, Wharton. You go further south, plashes. Plashes you can smell before you get there. Shrimp, great spot. Port Lavaca. It's B-Boy. Isn't this crazy? You know why I'll get there? That cross. That's not how I'm going to get there. I got nothing else to give. I just got the cross. I just had the Savior. He does all these things, verse 29, so that no one may boast before God. …
… That is an amazing and rare story in Hollywood, but y'all, it is standard fare in the kingdom of God. God uses ordinary people, not spiritual superstars, to build his kingdom. 1 Corinthians 1.27, Paul says it plainly, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. He chose what is low and despised in the world to bring to nothing things that are so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. God doesn't wanna use you if you think you're awesome because you're just gonna clog up the line. I remember hearing the great Southern Baptist pastor, Adrian Rogers, give an amazing illustration of this. I've never forgot it. He pastored a congregation of several thousand. They didn't meet in multi-sites back then. He just had kind of one congregation, one big service. So he asked several thousand people one Sunday morning, He said, okay, he goes out in this audience of several thousand. He said, if you were valedictorian in your high school, would you stand up? …
… Not many of you were born into high status. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no human being may boast in the presence of God. It is from God, because of God, that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it's written, if anyone boasts, let him boast in the Lord. And me, brothers and sisters, consider me. When I came to you proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with lofty words or wisdom because I resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my message, they were not with sensible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of God's spirit and power so that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. …
… were wise by the world's standards. Not many of you were influential. Not many of you were born to high status, but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no human being may boast, no one may boast in the presence of God. It is from him, it is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, righteousness, a right relationship with God, holiness, closeness to God, redemption, belonging to God. So that, as it is written, let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. In ancient Greek culture, to boast in something was to glorify it, to delight in it, to revel in it. In Greek literature, for example, characters take pride and delight in what they believe are their best character traits. The war hero Achilles, for example, boasts in his strength, his physical power, and the hero Odysseus, he boasts in his wisdom and his cleverness. Now, there was the seed of something good in boasting, in taking delight, and glorifying whatever is true, excellent, and praiseworthy. Human beings do this naturally. We love to praise what is good, a great play, moving music, a breathtaking sunset. …
… many of you were powerful. Not many of you were of noble birth or of influence, but God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the foolish and despised things, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no one would boast. When you get in the presence of a person who's been saved by grace, who's got the new life, they do not affect you like a moralistic person. A moralistic person may be very moral, but their morality is like that of a snowflake. Beautiful, intricate, and freezing. But when you get into the presence of a person with new life, you get the sense that that person knows that he or she is what he or she is by the grace of God alone and that you can be too. That person is not always standing on his own dignity. That person's approachable and has incredible hope even for the most messed up cases. …
… brothers. Not many of you are wise. Not many of you, according to worldly standards, were wise. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised, even the things that are nothing, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no human flesh can boast in his presence. Now look carefully. That is my life verse. God chose the foolish things to shame the wise. He chose the weak things to shame the strong. Now I've often said that's my life verse, and over the years when I've preached on that text, and I said, when I see that, I see myself. I've had people come up afterwards and say, that doesn't make much sense. How can you identify with being weak and foolish? You seem successful. Now, for a fleeting minute, it's wonderful to hear anybody in the world think that a minister could be making any contribution to society at all. So, I mean, you know, for the sake of my profession, I can almost be happy that they said that, but that's a fleeting second. …
… of grace, grace, not just grace. This is the doctrine of love behind love, not just love. This is the reason why my life verse in 1 Corinthians 1 is, God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things to shame the strong. God chose the foolish things and the lowly things and the despised things, even the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are. That no one will boast in his presence. Don't you see? You look at that and you realize the only thing God actually says might be a reason why he chooses some over others is he likes to play jokes. he loves to go after the weaker ones. He loves to go after the most foolish so the proud people will see that God is God. So the proud people will see that salvation is by grace and grace alone. There's been no worship in my life until I understood this. There was no security in my life until I realized this. …
… not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. And God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound those things which are mighty. I wanted to ask you a question tonight, and I want you to be honest with me. How many of you were Phi Beta Kappa's? Lift your hand. Uh-huh. How many of you, when you were in sports, were all state, all conference, or all America? Let me see your hand. Pretty good. How many of you were voted when you were in school most likely to succeed? Let me see your hand. Thank you. Be honest now. How many of you were president of your class? Let me see your hand. How many of you were multimillionaires? Don't lift your hands. How many of you ladies were Miss America, Miss Memphis, or Miss something? Guys, don't look around too much. Listen, if you lifted your hand for any of these or all of these, I've got some wonderful news for you. …
… MANY MIGHTY, NOT MANY NOBLE ARE CALLED, BUT GOD HATH CHOSEN, GOD HATH CHOSEN THE FOOLISH THINGS OF THE WORLD TO CONFOUND THE WISE. NOW THE WORD FOOLISH HERE MEANS THE NON-INTELLECTUAL, THE INTELLECTUALLY COMMON. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A PHI BETA KAPPA TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. AND GOD HATH CHOSEN, AH, THE WEAK THINGS OF THE WORLD TO CONFOUND THE THINGS THAT ARE MIGHTY. AND THE WORD HERE MEANS THINGS THAT ARE PHYSICALLY WEAK. I MEAN, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE BULGING BICEPPS AND MOUNTAINS OF MUSCLES. AND THE BIBLE SAYS HERE, AND BASE THINGS OF THE WORLD. HE'S TALKING HERE ABOUT THOSE THAT, AH, ARE IGNOBLE, FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS. HE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A, AH, AH, SOME KIND OF NOBILITY. AH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE OR YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A, AH, CLASS PRESIDENT OR YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A, AH, A, AH, SEMINARY PROFESSOR. THE BASE THINGS OF THE WORLD, AND THINGS WHICH ARE DESPISED, UH, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SOCIALLY ACCEPTED, HATH GOD CHOSEN, YEA, AND THINGS WHICH ARE NOT, THAT IS, PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT RECOGNIZED, NOBODY HEARS ABOUT THEM. THEY DON'T EVEN GET TO LEAD IN SILENT PRAYER. THEY, THEY DON'T MAKE WHO'S WHO, THEY HAVEN'T EVEN MADE WHO'S NOT. UH, THINGS WHICH ARE NOT TO BRING TO NOUGHT THINGS THAT ARE, THAT NO FLESH SHOULD GLORY IN HIS PRESENCE. …