5/17/13. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. REMEMBER WHAT YOU WERE – my devotional

1 Corinthians 1:26-31                                                              Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verses: 1:27,30                                                                 5/17/13

“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; … And because of himyou are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,” (ESV)

      Dear Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for giving meaning to all things in our lives. There is a reason for everything. Nowadays, I feel like shepherd who has very few sheep to care for; a mentor with few mentees. But I came to realize that you have opened my life up and my schedule so that I could function as an off site coordinator for the sending of missionaries to NW Ontario.

Part 1: God Chose Foolish Things (26-29)

In this passage we learn the kind of people that God chooses to work through and why. Verses 26-29 reads, ^“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 beingmight boast in the presence of God.”

God chose weak and humble people to bring the gospel to the world. The people whom God called were not some ultra smart “Mensa” people with jobs nestled at the top of society. No. Most of the early believers were very poor. They were slaves and former slaves. Yes, there were some rich people and the wives of rich people. But the majority was struggling to survive at the bottom of society, just as many believers are today. Think about the first disciples. They were fishermen, a tax collector. Jesus was a carpenter from a poor family. Mary was a poor widow. They were all very ordinary and probably undereducated. But it is amazing that God called such people and worked in them and through them. He chose foolish people so that the humanly wise and powerful and “beautiful” people might be shamed for holding onto false human pride. He also chose the underdogs, so that His power and glory and compassion may be revealed to the fullest extent.

Jesus still works the same today. Anyone is eligible to be part of God’s family. You don’t need so many credentials. You simply need to repent of unbelief and believe in Jesus. And then Jesus forgives your sins. He comes to dwell in your heart and guides your life. He heals you and strengthens you and begins to bear great fruit in your life. He lifts a person of faith out of the muck and the mire of sin and stands them on solid ground and helps them to stand as members of God’s holy nation.  When you think that is all that can be done, we then realize that Jesus has granted each of them eternal life, with Jesus forever in the everlasting Kingdom of God. Jesus does all this for weak people who were formerly lost in the darkness. Jesus is truly glorified through their lives.

I was not wise according to any standard. I was not powerful and really had no influence in this world. (I could only influence people to party). I was not of noble birth. Actually I was from a long line of immigrant farmers. My immediate family is from middle class Canadian suburbia. I was actually very foolish, following the sinful desires of my heart. I was hedonistic person, seeking to live for pleasure. I didn’t know any different. I never sought after Jesus. I was totally lost in my sin and headed towards eternal condemnation.

But the great thing is that Jesus sought me out when I was lost. Jesus forgave me and established my marriage, my family and my career. He introduced me to Christian mission. He fills my heart with hope and meaning. I can make “a difference” in this world. I can be used by God. God is now using me and my family at KBC and is also working to get through us to get missionaries to NW Ontario, to the Native people. When I remember what I was when God called me, I realize the greatness of his grace and mercy. Praise the Lord. Jesus has chosen the weak people, like my self, to reveal his glory in this fallen world.

God has been working in my life and my family at least since 1986 when I was first saved. He has accomplished so much. How easy to forget what God has done and become proud thinking that it all about me and my accomplishments. I must always remember that I am who I am because of Jesus Christ and Christ alone. If Jesus would remove his presence from my heart, I would quickly descend into a meaningless existence once again, simply struggling to survive and hoping for the best on judgment day. Really, if I let pride rule my heart, then what in the world would I become? I must never fool myself by thinking that I am somebody outside of Jesus.

Pride is not just a personal matter, ruining our relationship with God. Spiritual pride destroys the unity of believers. And so God attacks the problem of human pride at its roots. There needs to be humility in the church. There needs to be humility among believers. There needs to be humility among missionaries. How can a church function unless all members see others as better than themselves? How can missionaries come together and make a team without holding onto humility that Jesus brings. False pride will tear the fellowship of believer asunder. The fertile soil in which Koininia, (Christian fellowship) can grow is humility. I pray that God may raise up many humble missionaries who can form team and be able to love and serve the Native people of Northwestern Ontario.

An aside note is that we need to see the potential in people. There are usually 20% of the population that seems to have it all together.  The other 80% are lost in the darkness of this world. We tend to want to seek out and accept the 20% and ignore the 80% thinking the 80% are too hard to reach. We tend to think that the 20% has more potential as leaders. But actually God is at work among all people and it is the 80% who generally respond to the Gospel. They know their need for the Savior. They humbly confess their sins and come to Jesus for salvation. These redeemed make up the church in any generation and in any culture. I repent of reaching out to the 20% and not reaching out to the 80%. I repent of looking to ready made, potential leaders and not the diamonds in the rough. May I see the great potential that God sees in those who are spiritually lost in this world.

Craig Smith, in his book Whiteman’s Gospel, thought about the 72 disciples. They were very ordinary men. It was Jesus’ intent to do this. “That is the principle of God using underdogs to do his greatest and most effective work.” (p. 26. Whiteman’s Gospel.) The 72 had faithfulness and a deep sense of inadequacy and a complete dependence on the empowerment of God. These 72 paved the way for Jesus to enter into many different communities. Through faith and dependence on Jesus they were defeating evil forces in these communities. They were not preoccupied with attaining high status in life. They were focused on Jesus and serving God’s purpose in their generation. Jesus still works through the underdogs. “He (Jesus) seems to delight in reserving special revelations of His ways and means to those whom the rest of the world views as ‘second class’ citizens.” (p. 27) Craig realizes that God does not exclude anyone from salvation. The Gospel is for all people. Jesus uses heavenly standards and not human standards when he calls and works through people. God chooses the people according their faith, not their standing in the eyes of the world. Jesus also delights in the choosing and working through the underdog. Why? According to Craig, God does not want to share his glory with mankind. He is God. All glory honor and praise must go to him.

Craig makes a connection between God calling and working through the Natives as God called and worked through the 72. Many have a sense of inadequacy when facing the dominant culture. But when we think about whom God chooses and works through, the Native people can see that they are just the people whom God delights in and chooses to work through. They are the ones whom God wants to unfold his Gospel history and reveal his glory though. Craig ends this discussion with, what seems to be, a victory shout, “Couldn’t you just imagine what might happen if a few more underdogs were willing to stand up and be counted!” (p. 40)

Part 2: Christ Is Our Wisdom And Righteousness (30-31)

As a nurse I always see the end of my days as I take care of other people. There are people dying of cancer in their 40’s and 50’s. There are people debilitated by a stroke and chronic pain issues. There are people leaving this world in their 70’s and 80’s. I hear people praying for God to take their lives. “Oh God, why can’t I die?” was the prayer of one lady this last week.

Our lives are fleeting. We are a puff of smoke… a vapor that dissipates quickly. We are one of the 108 billion people who have walked the earth. Who are we? What is our family? I am not going to answer that. But I will say that Jesus is everything to us who believe. Look at verses 1 Corinthians 1: 30-31, “And because of himyou 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.”

It is because of God’s grace and mercy that we are in Christ. We have done nothing to deserve such mercy. Furthermore, there is no goodness or righteousness in us. But we are in Christ, and he is our righteousness, holiness and redemption. This is the pure grace of Jesus Christ.

The older I get the more I realize that Jesus is everything to me. Sure, I can learn of the news, go and see movies, travel and read books and exercise and spend time with friends and family, etc. Yes…these are important parts of life. But these are like the branches in a tree. The trunk of the tree is Christ and the Gospel. It is coming to know Jesus and maturing in faith and in our relationship with God. I used to be too focused on the branches of life and not thinking about the trunk. But the trunk is where the branches get their life source. The trunk is where the branches are attached. A branch can bear a beautiful blossom and fruit, if it attached to the trunk of the tree. By only focusing on the branches, I was not able to produce the fruit of life that my heart yearned for. But by focusing on the trunk of the tree, Christ, the branches begin to bear fruit naturally, or shall I say, with God’s help. Lord, thank you for helping me to have the right focus.

If I am so compelled to boast, I need to boast in the Lord, not in anything about myself. Actually anything of worth in me is a direct result of Jesus in me. If I do boast about something that is not of Christ, it is actually an empty, and if not empty a very short lived boast. I pray that I may have boast of Christ and his wonderful work.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for saving me when I was totally lost in sin. Thank you for Jesus my righteousness and my all.

One Word: Jesus is my everything, I will boast in him.