Lessons #33 and 34
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Boasting (1 Cor 1:26-31)
26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 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. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
The message of this section we started to consider in our last study is No one should boast about salvation since it involves God’s choices, but one can boast in the Lord. We started to consider reasons no one should boast about salvation but only to boast in the Lord. The first is that the Corinthians and so nearly all believers were not wise, prominent, and well-born or of noble birth at the time of their salvation. The second is that God removed any basis of boasting through His choices and purposes. There are three choices of God with their associated purposes given in our passage that are contrary to human expectation that God used to remove any basis of boasting by a human about salvation. We have considered the first choice, which is that God chose the message of the cross and primarily those who by human standard are not wise, influential, and of noble birth or well born for salvation to shame those who are learned of this world. So, we proceed with the second choice.
The second thing God chose for a purpose that is contrary to human expectation to remove any basis of human boasting regarding salvation concerns what the world considers weak. It is this choice that is given in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 1:27 God chose the weak things of the world.
What are the things the apostle meant God chose when he used the phrase the weak things of the world? To begin with, the phrase the weak things of the world may be expanded to mean “the weak things as the world perceive them.” Thus, we should recognize that the word “world” is used here in the sense of “humanity” or “the world system” meaning the people constituting the world whose values, beliefs, and morals are in distinction and in rebellion to God’s. Of course, “humanity” in the passage we are considering refers to unbelievers who are not of the elect.
The expression “weak things” is translated from a Greek word (asthenēs) that pertains to suffering from a debilitating illness hence means “sick, ill” as it is used in Matthew 25:43:
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
It may mean “weak” in the sense of experiencing some limitation or incapacity as it is used to indicate that humans give up so quickly when it comes to temptation, as that is the meaning intended in the use of our Greek word in Jesus’ declaration recorded for us in Mark 14:38:
Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
The sentence the body is weak is literally the flesh is weak that means that we easily succumb to temptation. When the word is used with personal appearance, it may mean “unimpressive” as it is used in 2 Corinthians 10:10:
For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”
The clause but in person he is unimpressive is literally, but his bodily presence is weak. The Greek word may pertain to relative ineffectiveness, whether external or inward hence means “weak, feeble, ineffectual.” It is in this sense that Apostle Paul ironically used it to compare himself and others entrusted with preaching of the gospel to the Corinthians, as stated in 1 Corinthians 4:10:
We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!
It is in the sense of “less important” that the word “weak” is used in 1 Corinthians 12:22:
On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
The parts of the body considered to be weaker here mean those considered to be less important. It is certainly in the sense of “ineffectual” that the Greek word is used to describe the regulation of the old covenant in Hebrews 7:18:
The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless
The Greek word may mean “moral powerlessness” so it may be used to describe those who are weak in moral sense of courage or will. Thus, it is in the sense of believers being weak in their faith in that they waver in what they believe or that they are filled with doubts that the Greek word is used to describe some believers in 1 Thessalonians 5:14:
And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 1:27, the Greek word is used with the meaning “weak” in the sense of lacking moral strength, courage or will.
The meaning of weak in the sense of lacking moral strength, courage or will, enables us to interpret the phrase the weak things of the world in a comprehensive way as referring to two things of event and persons. First and foremost, it refers to the death of Christ on the cross. To the world, His death on the cross symbolized weakness since He did not refuse to be crucified and, of course, His death is described in terms of weakness in a passage, we cited in our last study, that is, in 2 Corinthians 13:4:
For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.
Second, the phrase the weak things of the world refers to the elect who, according to the standard of the world, are not considered those with courage. Unbelievers view believers as those who are not morally strong, especially as they live by the word of God. For example, when believers do not retaliate to mistreatment, we are considered weak by the world. Anyway, it is because believers were not viewed as people with moral strength and courage that probably helps to explain the astonishment of the Jewish authorities regarding the courage of the apostles, as we read in Acts 4:13:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
The point is that the phrase concerns an event and persons, that is, the death of Christ on the cross in weakness and those who are considered as lacking moral strength, courage or wil,l among the elect prior to their salvation when they then receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
That the phrase the weak things of the world concerns persons is supported by the purpose of God in choosing the weak as perceived by the world by the verbal phrase to shame the strong. One of God’s purposes is “to put to shame” or “to humiliate” the strong as the world perceived the strong.
Who are those considered the strong? Answering this question requires a consideration of the word “strong.” It is translated from a Greek word (ischyros) that may pertain to being strong physically, mentally or spiritually. Thus, it may mean “powerful” as it is used in John’s declaration concerning the One coming after him, that is, Jesus Christ, in Matthew 3:11:
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
The word may mean to be strong spiritually as it is used by Apostle John to describe younger believers in 1 John 2:14:
I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
It is in the sense of being strong physically that the word is used to describe an angel in Revelation 18:21:
Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.
The phrase a mighty angel may alternatively be translated a powerful angel. The Greek word may pertain to being high on a scale of extent as respects strength or impression that is made hence it may mean “loud” as it is used in Revelation 19:6:
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
The phrase like loud peals of thunder may literally be translated like the sound of powerful thunder. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 1:27, the word is used in sense of being strong mentally and spiritually. This understanding helps to answer the question of who the strong are in our passage.
The phrase the strong refers to persons that are not believers but who perceive themselves as either spiritually strong or mentally strong. The apostle did not elaborate on the strong but the context of what he wrote regarding responses to the message of the cross enables us to determine who the apostle had in mind in the phrase the strong. He would have had in mind first, the Jewish unbelievers who consider themselves spiritually strong because they practice some of the rituals of the Mosaic law. They are part of the group that seek miraculous signs the apostle described in verse 22 of 1 Corinthians 1. These Jewish unbelievers considered themselves to be strong spiritually that they persecuted believers in Christ. Take for example, the reaction of the religious Jewish leaders to the preaching of the gospel described in Acts 5:30–33:
30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” 33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.
The unbelieving Jews would not have reacted the way they did to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ unless they considered themselves to be spiritually strong while those who are believers in Christ are considered the weak that have erred from the truth. The apostle would have recollected his own experience when he was active in persecuting Christians because he believed they were wrong as per his own testimony recorded for us in Acts 22:4–5:
4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
The apostle would not have done what he described unless he considered himself spiritually strong while the believers were not. In fact, part of his resume he gave later in his epistle to the Philippians confirms that he considered himself spiritually strong, as we read in Philippians 3:5–6:
5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
Thus, we feel confident that when the apostle wrote the phrase the strong he would have had in mind the Jewish unbelievers who consider themselves spiritually strong. In addition, he would have also thought of the Gentile unbelievers who prided themselves in their learning so that he would have considered the learned Gentiles as those who consider themselves as mentally strong. The apostle had already described the Gentiles who are learned in verse 22 of 1 Corinthians 1 as those who are interested in knowledge and so it will make sense that when he thought of those who are strong that he would include the learned Gentile unbelievers who are not of the elect that consider themselves mentally strong. It is because these learned unbelievers consider themselves strong mentally or intellectually that they engaged in their ridicule of the apostle as referenced in Acts 17:18:
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
The Stoic philosophers disputed with the apostle because they considered themselves strong intellectually that what the apostle preached made no sense to them. Be that as it may, it is our interpretation that the phrase the strong of 1 Corinthians 1:27 should be understood as a reference to the unbelieving Jews who considered themselves religious or spiritually strong and the learned Gentiles who considered themselves mentally or intellectually strong. They are those God humiliated through His choice of the weak things – the death of Christ on the cross and those who are considered as lacking moral strength, courage or will, among the elect prior to their salvation. In any event, the second thing God chose for a purpose that is contrary to human expectation to remove any basis of human boasting concerns what the world considers weak.
The third thing God chose for a purpose that is contrary to human expectation to remove any basis of human boasting concerns what the world does not value so to speak. It is this that is given in the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 1:28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things. There is still a sense that the apostle continues to refer to back to the message of the cross because of the adjectives he used in this sentence.
The adjective “lowly” is translated from Greek adjective (agenēs) that appears only here in the Greek NT; it pertains to being obscure or insignificant, with the possible implication of not being of noble birth hence means “low, insignificant, inferior, base.” The Greek phrase translated the lowly things is such that it could be understood as referring to events and persons. As events, the phrase may refer to various aspects of the humiliation of the Son of God. It was a humiliation for the Son of God to take on a human form as Apostle Paul mentioned in Philippians 2:6–8:
6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
The event of Christ birth is in a sense a humiliation or something that the world would consider insignificant in that He was not born into a rich family but into a poor and insignificant family so that it can be said that He was thoroughly poor as a human being without earthly possession, as indicated in Matthew 8:20:
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
Of course, it was humiliation, that the One who owns everything became poor for us as indicated in 2 Corinthians 8:9:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Certainly, His death on the cross was something insignificant as far as the world is concerned since He was not the only person that died by way of the cross. The phrase the lowly things as referencing persons may refer first to Jesus Christ as One born not into a famous family but to the one that is insignificant. The insignificance of Christ’s family is evident in His birth taking place not in an inn but in a manger, as stated in Luke 2:7:
and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The phrase the lowly things as referencing persons may refer to the elect of God who were from families that no one knows. As some have suggested, the lowly may refer also to the many slaves in the church of Corinth. Thus, we contend that the phrase the lowly things refers both to events and persons that are considered by the world standard as insignificant as that is the way to understand the phrase of this world. The point is that the adjective “lowly” is used in a way that still refers to the message of the cross.
Another adjective the apostle used that implies that he still was thinking of the message of the cross is despised. The word “despised” of the phrase 1 Corinthians 1:28 the despised things is translated from a Greek verb (exoutheneō) that may mean to regard another as of no significance and therefore worthy of maltreatment and so means “to treat with contempt” as in the way the Roman soldiers treated Jesus Christ prior to His crucifixion, according to Luke 23:11:
Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.
The sentence Herod and his soldiers ridiculed is more literally Herod with his soldiers also treated with contempt. The Greek word may mean “to disdain,” that is, to show by one’s attitude or manner of treatment that an entity has no merit or worth, as the word is used in the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul regarding attitude that should be avoided because one holds or does not hold to dietary laws, as stated in Romans 14:3:
The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.
The expression must not look down is more literally must not despise. It may mean to have no use for something as being beneath one’s consideration, that is, “to reject disdainfully” as it is used by the apostle in cautioning against an attitude that should not be found among believers with respect to prophecy, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:20:
do not treat prophecies with contempt.
The command may alternatively be translated do not despise prophecies. It is in the sense of “to disdain,” that is, to show by one’s attitude or manner of treatment that an entity is viewed as if completely worthless or despicable that the word is used in 1 Corinthians 1:28. Although our Greek word is a verb but it is used as a participle in such a way that in our passage it functions as an adjective “despised”. Anyway, the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:28 the despised things.
What does the apostle mean in the phrase the despised things? The Greek phrase that involves neuter gender used implies that the apostle was thinking of both events and persons. The events that were probably in the mind of the apostle when he wrote our phrase concerned first the death of Christ on the cross. It is an event that is despised by non-elect unbelievers – both the Jews and the Gentiles. The preaching of the message of the cross as an event is also despised by unbelievers. The apostle had already written of how the preaching of the gospel offends both the Jews and the Gentiles, so these two events would have been in the apostle’s mind when he wrote the phrase we are considering. Similarly, he would also be thinking of persons when he wrote the phrase the despised things. He would be thinking of Jesus Christ as a despised person both by the Jews and the Gentiles. The Jews despised Christ because He died on the cross since a person who dies on the cross would be despised by the Jews because of what the law states regarding a person hung on a tree as the apostle quoted in support of the fact that Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us as stated in Galatians 3:13:
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Hence, we will expect that because the Jews would despise a person who dies on the cross that they despised Jesus and so when the apostle used the phrase the despised things of 1 Corinthians 1:28 he was indeed thinking of Jesus Christ. In addition, he would be also thinking of the elect of God that comprised mostly those who are not recognized by the society or despised as being worthless. Hence, the apostle was still focusing on the message of the cross, on Jesus Christ, and on the elect, as he wrote of the lowly and despised things of the world.
Another thing God chose for specified purposes that the apostle mentioned in our passage concern things that are non-existent or of relatively insignificant, as implied in the next clause of 1 Corinthians 1:28 and the things that are not. There is a textual variation relating this clause. Some Greek manuscripts contain a Greek conjunction translated “and” as reflected in the NIV and many other English versions, but the older Greek manuscripts suggests that it was not in the original. This notwithstanding, it is probably that the apostle intended that the clause the things that are not should be considered an addition to the things God chose instead of perhaps a summary of the things God chose that may be implied by the omission of the conjunction. That aside, this clause is concerned with either things that are non-existent or of relatively insignificant as we will demonstrate by considering the meanings of the Greek verb used.
And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
The clause If we had lived in the days of our forefathers is more literally If we had been in the days of our forefathers. The word may mean “to be, to come from somewhere” as it is used in questioning if anything good could originate from Nazareth in John 1:46:
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
The question Nazareth! Can anything good come from there? is literally Out of Nazareth is any good thing able to be? The meaning “to be” may mean to exist, as it is used by Apostle Paul to state the existence of many gods and lords in 1 Corinthians 8:5:
For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”),
Of course, it is used in this sense of existence to describe the absolute existence of the true God in Hebrews 11:6:
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
The Greek word may mean to exist in the sense of “to be present, available, provided” as it is used in Acts 7:12:
When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit.
The clause there was grain in Egypt may be fully translated as that grain was available. The meaning “provided” probably fits the use of our Greek verb in John 7:39:
By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
The sentence the Spirit had not been given is more literally the Spirit was not yet since the word “given” is probably not in the original although some few Greek manuscripts have it but it is supplied in many of our English versions to avoid creating the impression that the Spirit did not exist prior to the point in view in the passage. The problem of it appearing that the Spirit was not in existence at the time involved may be avoided if the Greek word is translated “provided” so that the sentence will read the Spirit not provide yet in the sense of living in the believer as today. In some usages, the Greek word may have the sense of “to be of relative significance, be of moment or importance, amount to something” as in Galatians 2:6:
As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message.
The verbal phrase to be important is more literally to be something. There are other possible meanings of the Greek word, but we have provided sample meanings to indicate the Greek word has several meanings. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 1:28, the meaning is that of “to exist” or “to be of relative significance.”
Be that as it may, the apostle wrote that God chose the things that are not and so our concern is to understand what the apostle meant in this clause. It is difficult to understand what the apostle had in mind in this clause since the Greek expression that is translated as our clause the things that are not appears only one other time in the Greek NT in the apostle’s epistle, specifically his epistle to the Romans in Romans 4:17:
As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
The context of the clause things that are not in Romans 4:17 leads to interpreting the clause in several ways. One interpretation is to take the clause as referring to the nations promised to Abraham or children promised to him that were not in existence when God made His promise. Another interpretation takes the clause as a reference to Gentiles who would eventually be saved but were not in existence when the Lord made the promise to Abraham. Still another interpretation takes the clause to refer to spiritual life that does not yet exist among people that will exist in the future. Hence, it is difficult even in this context to know exactly what the apostle meant. However, if we consider the fact that the apostle’s mind was focused on the message of the cross he preached and the fact he described most of the Corinthians as not being influential or of noble birth then it is probably the case that he did not use our Greek word with the meaning “to exist” but with the meaning of “to be of relatively importance or significance.” Consequently, with the use of the negative “not” it will mean that instead of the clause things that are not we could translate the Greek as things not of relatively important/significant. This translation will indicate that the apostle was still hammering on the message of the cross to convey the point that no one has any right to boast regarding salvation but only in the Lord. Again, the Greek phrase helps us to consider the things viewed as not important or significant in the estimation of the world as consisting of events and persons. The events include the birth of Christ in a humble state. The Jews were not impressed with the fact that Jesus was born in a humble state that is one of the reasons they found it offensive that He should be the Messiah as implied in the declaration stated Mark 6:3:
Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Of course, we have already alluded to the fact that the Jews did not expect anything good to come from Nazareth, the birth place of the Lord Jesus, as per the passage we cited previously, that is, John 1:46:
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
Thus, the birth status of Jesus was an event that was certainly considered insignificant or unimportant. Another event that was certainly viewed both by Jews and Gentiles as unimportant or insignificant is the preaching of the message of the cross. These two events lead to persons that were also considered insignificant or unimportant. The Lord Jesus was considered insignificant or unimportant both by the Jews and the Gentiles. Believers, especially, those who preached the message of the cross were also considered unimportant and uneducated by the Jews and scholars. Hence, we contend that the apostle is continuing to emphasize that God chose events and persons related to the message of the cross and the Lord Jesus and those who believe in Him for His purposes that we will get to next.
The apostle having mentioned the third things God chose, provides two purposes for His third choice of events and persons. The first purpose is to invalidate things the world considered important. It is this purpose that is given in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 1:28 to nullify the things that are. A careful English reader will recognize this clause as providing purpose or reason because of the use of the infinitive to nullify in the NIV. However, a literal translation of the clause from the Greek makes it easier to perceive that the apostle provided a purpose since the literal Greek reads in order that He might invalidate the things being. This is because the Greek clause begins with a Greek conjunction (hina) with several usages. For example, it may be used as a marker of emphasis that indicates that the words that come after it are emphasized when it is not placed at the usual position at the beginning of its clause and so may mean “that.” Most often, the conjunction is used either as a marker of purpose or result. However, it is not easy to differentiate clearly purpose from result so that the conjunction may be interpreted as the result that follows according to the purpose of the subject. This is probably the sense of the conjunction in our passage. This is because what is stated as purpose here is also that which has already started to be accomplished by God so that purpose and result run together although the emphasis is probably on purpose because of what is stated in verse 29.
The purpose of God’s choice is given in the NIV in the verbal phrase to nullify. The word “nullify” is translated from a Greek verb (katargeō) that has several meanings. It may mean “to use up, to waste” as it is used to describe the uselessness of the unproductive fig tree in Luke 13:7:
So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
The Greek word may mean to cause the release of someone from an obligation hence “to be released, to be discharged” as in the release of a woman from marriage bond at the death of the husband in Romans 7:2:
For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
It may mean to cause something to lose its power or effectiveness, that is, “to invalidate, make powerless” as it is used to indicate that the law did not invalidate God’s covenant with Abraham in Galatians 3:17:
What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
The expression does not set aside may be translated does not invalidate. The Greek word may mean “to abolish, wipe out, set aside” as in Galatians 5:11:
Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 1:28 the sense of the word is to cause something to lose its power or effectiveness hence “to invalidate, make powerless, inactivate.”
In any case, God’s purpose is stated as in the NIV as to nullify the things that are. The word “are” is translated from the same Greek verb that literally means “to be” that we argued in its first usage in the clause the things that are not means “to be of relatively importance or significance.” It is this meaning that applies in its second usage in the clause to nullify the things that are. Again, the Greek construction implies that the word “things” should be interpreted to mean events and persons that are invalidated or nullified. Unbelievers value the event of preaching human philosophy as a kind of wisdom that will enable a person to be in right relationship with God hence the warning against human philosophy in Colossians 2:8:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
The religious Jews value the preaching of the law as a way of salvation, but God invalidated both the preaching of philosophy and the law as way to attain right relationship with God. Instead, right relationship with Him is through the preaching of the message of the cross. The world values persons of noble birth or high status but God invalidated such estimation first and foremost through the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ in such a humble state. Such act of God invalidated the world’s view of high status or noble birth. Furthermore, God chose primarily those who were not of noble birth or of high class of the society to preach the message of the cross which is contrary to the expectation of the world. Hence, the Holy Spirit through the apostle informed us that God turned things upside down to bring about His purpose. The world expects that those who are of importance and influential are to be those important in the message of the cross, but they are mistaken because they are not the ones God chose to advance the message of the cross. In fact, the influential are not the center stage when it comes to preaching of the gospel but quite often those who are not considered important by the world. Hence, we see God’s grace being displayed and His being sovereign at work. He does what pleases Him and not what the world expects. In any event, let me end by reminding you of the message we are considering which is: No one can boast about salvation since it involves God’s choices, but one can boast in the Lord.
03/23/18