And yet Paul proclaims here that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is not the fellowship of the rich, powerful and beautiful. It is not a convention of the celebrities of the age. Consider what Paul says in verse 26: "Consider your calling, brethren." Similarly in verse 24, he says, "But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God." And back in verse 2, he says, "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling." Here is the doctrine of the effectual call, and it is so important for our understanding of the church, as well as of the gospel. We are the ones whom God has called. We didn't bring ourselves here. We didn't see a recruiting poster and sign up. We were called. And to those who are the called, brethren, consider your calling. There were not many wise, mighty, and noble. Not here. Not in the church.
In the Greco-Roman world, beauty, brains, and brawn were considered the ways to success. It is still pretty much that way today. It is interesting here that we have a clear reference from the apostle Paul back to the Old Testament, to Jeremiah, chapter 9, verse 23-24: "Thus says the Lord, let not a wise man boast of his wisdom and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for I delight in these things, declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 9:23-24)Jeremiah's trio here is the wise, the mighty, and the wealthy. Paul's trio is the wise, the mighty, and the noble. In Roman culture, nobility was virtually everything, even more than wealth. In fact, there were those who were able through their expertise or skill or craftsmanship to amass money, but they could not buy status. They could not get on the inside or buy a name. They could not buy a family heritage. Of course, this is still very important. We still have our dynasties. We still have names. Heredity still counts for something. An yet Paul says here, "As I look around at the church, I don't see many who are the wise, according to the flesh. I don't see many who are powerful, not many who are noble." And why? Because God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God calls the church and then says to the world, "Look at that," and for all its wisdom, might, wealth, and nobility, the world is shamed.
Of course, understanding this truth rightly does take an eschatological vision. We look forward to that day of judgment when the mighty will be told that they are not mighty after all. Those who consider themselves wise will see the emptiness of their false wisdom, and those who were noble will discover that there is no social status in heaven. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God has chosen the base things of the world, and even the despised things of the world, and even things that are not, in order to shame the things that are.
In verse 29, the reason for all this is made clear: God chooses the weak to shame the strong "so that no man may boast before God." This boasting was at least a part of the factional sin and conflict in the Corinthian church. When they said, "I am of Paul," "I am of Cephas," "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Christ," they were boasting in their brand name, in their team colors. Paul retorts that you really cannot boast in anything but the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can boast only in God. You can boast only in that which undercuts any human boasting all together.
The word boasting that is used here is unusual. In the Greek world, there are some who suggest that it should be more understood as trust, rather than as boasting in the traditional way we think of it in our English parlance. Actually, it probably means both of these. And in either case, if we boast in ourselves, that is sin, and it is obvious nonsense. But to boast in God, on the other hand, is altogether different. "Let not the rich man boast in his riches," Jeremiah said. "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast in his might, but let us boast in the one true and living God."
