Presence of god no boasting

PRESENCEOF GOD-NOBOASTING
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
1 Corinthians1:28 He chosethe lowly and despised
things of the world, and the things that are not, to
nullify the things that are,
I Corinthians1:29 so that no one may boast in His
presence.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Humble Status Of The Church
1 Corinthians 1:26-29
E. Hurndall
I. THE FACT. Not many wise after the flesh, mighty, noble, numbered
amongstthe adherents of Christianity. This was true in apostolic days; it is
largely true in our own. Christianity was not establishedby world power. The
Founder and his disciples were poor and of humble socialposition, and in the
ranks of the early Christians were comparatively few possessing means,
learning, or rank. Christianity has not been preserved or promulgated by
world power. This has sometimes been calledto its aid, but the "call" has
often been of man rather than of God. The "aid" has frequently been injury.
The "arm of flesh" has hindered rather than helped. The Church should not
snatch at world power; this is not her strength. Sanctifiedlearning, influence,

and position are of greatservice;but these things in themselves, unsanctified,
whilst to carnaljudgment promising most signal advantage, oftenoperate as
an unmitigated curse. - We may require into the cause ofthe exclusionas
arising from free will. And we may be sure that no calling by God violates
human responsibility.
1. The wise after the flesh. These, like the Greeks (ver. 22), are often so filled
with human wisdom as not to care for Divine - so absorbedby seeking to
know earthly things as to have little leisure for heavenly. Pride is fostered, and
pride bars the way to Christ and to God. It is difficult for a very "wise" man
to become "as a little child" (Luke 18:17). "Heaven's gates are not so highly
arched as princes' palaces;they who enter there must go upon their knees."
The wise after the flesh are apt to have stiff legs. Whenwe seek earthly
wisdom we should have a care of its tendency. Human knowledge is good, but
it need be kept in its proper place, and that is not the first place.
2. The mighty. Often subjects of adulation; have so many at their feet that
they find it difficult to sit at the feet of Jesus. Excessive selfreliance does not
encourage Christreliance. A sense ofsufficiency is very antagonistic to "God
be merciful to me a sinner." The mighty are wont to be too mighty, so that
they can do without Christ. The mighty know their might, whereas whatmen
need is to know their weakness.
3. The noble. High places are slippery. The command of temptations is great.
Wealth, which often accompanies position, multiplies snares. Lofty station
often begets a sense ofexcellence;but to enter the kingdom we need to feel our
lack of excellence. Itis easyto be greatamong men and very little before God.
Earthly nobility and heavenly are two orders often in startling contrast, Note:
Men strive eagerlyto be wise afterthe flesh, mighty, noble, wealthy - and all
the while they way be building barriers betweenthemselves and God. How
well to commit our ways to the guidance of the unerring wisdom of God; to
ask him to "chooseourinheritance for us" (Psalm 47:4); to give or withhold
as he sees best!
II. THE PURPOSE. Regarding the Church as weak and uninfluential, we
might feel some despondency as to its future. "How is Christianity to get on?"

might escape our lips. So men are often very anxious to take care of
Christianity instead of being very anxious that Christianity should take care
of them. There is a sense in which the idea of our defending the faith is
monstrous and absurd - it is not we who defend the faith, it is the faith that
defends us. The matter is clearedby the revelation of a Divine purpose. God
designed:
1. To show his power. He would prove that feeble agencies in his hands are
infinitely more mighty than the greatestandmost influential not so placed. A
"bruised reed" in his hand is more than a swordin another's. Men think that
"things seen" are powerful; that which is unseen is much more so. The foolish
things confounded the wise, the weak things the mighty, the base and despised
things the highly esteemed, -because Godwas in the former and not in the
latter. How this was illustrated in the early Church! - the foolishness of
preaching breaking down everywhere the "wise" philosophic systems;the
weak disciples triumphing over the marshalled might of Rome; a Church,
boasting as its Founder a crucified peasant, and possessinglittle wealth,
influence, or human learning, spreading on all hands, and destroying
idolatries venerable in age and powerful in adherents. "Godmoves in a
mysterious way." It is God moving. A Church is made, not by the men who
come into it, but by the God who comes into it. The Church needs more
divinity. Here is solacefor the consciouslyweak.We cry, "Who is sufficient
for these things?" There is but one answer - God!
2. To humble human pride. "Thatno flesh should glory in his presence." The
pride of man budded at the Fall. The all successfulstratagem took this form:
"Ye shall be as gods." This pride has been the curse of man's existence - it has
separatedhim from God, and led to a fearful multiplication of transgression.
When God works in man, a first effect is the abasementof pride. The pride of
man which is altogetherof the devil, has persuaded man that he is God. God,
in the formation and continuance of his Church on earth, dealt a deadly blow
againsthuman pride, and showedhow powerless were the mightiest things of
man when confronted with Divine power working through the weakest. The
lessonis that henceforth we are not to glory in men - neither in ourselves nor
in others, but we are to glory in the Lord. When we are humbled at his feet,

we are in our right posture; when we acknowledgethat with him alone are
might and dominion and true wisdom, we are in our right minds. - H.
Biblical Illustrator
The few and the many
J. Service, D. D.
1. There is a greatdifference betweena historicalstatement and a doctrinal
one. The former tells you something which is true with reference to a
particular place or time; the latter what is always and everywhere true. It
must, therefore, often be a grave, often a most ridiculous blunder, to take the
one for the other.
2. Now, here is a statement which has been often takenas if it were doctrinal,
though it is, in fact, historical, with mischievous results; for if these classesare
always to be reckonedunchristian and unbelieving —(1) Thoughtful men of
all classeswould, on that accountalone, hesitate to embrace the gospel. If
Christianity were only fit for the mob, its prospects would be poor, especially
as the educationof the people will not suffer from having now been made a
national affair.(2) It would be a misfortune for the world if what we call
civilisation advances. Eachgenerationmore nearly than its predecessor
approaches to the condition of the privileged classesofsociety — the wise, the
mighty, the noble.
3. On the other hand, considerthe text as historical, and it is plain enough. We
still sometimes hearexplanations given of how it is that the learnedand the
greatand the noble are not Christians, but —(1) These explanations account
for what is not the fact, for there are as many Christians among cultivated
and aristocratic people as in any other class;and —(2) These explanations, as
a rule, would not accountfor the fact, if it were one. It is nonsense, e.g.,to say
that wise men in their conceitrejectChristianity because it is simple or

because it is supernatural; for there is more conceit, not with those who have
some knowledge, but with those who have none.
4. Now if we glance at Corinth, it is easyto understand why the classes
specifiedwere more reluctant than others to embrace Christianity.
I. As regards THE "WISE MEN AFTER THE FLESH."
1. By these the apostle did not mean the greatsagesofantiquity. It would
certainly not be anything to boastof if we had to suppose that Christianity
rejectedthem or they it; for one could wish that the majority of Christians
had attained to as lofty, as enlightened ideas as some in the goldenage of
Greek wisdomentertained and taught. But we have to do here with the men of
a degenerate time — smatterers, would-be wise men, pretenders to universal
knowledge, whichis often largestand loudest where ignorance and frivolity
divide betweenthem the empire of the human mind.
2. Norwere they thinkers of our modern type.(1) The principles according to
which our scientific men conduct their inquiries are modern discoveries. Our
wise men try to discoverthe facts of nature, life, and history, and construct
their theories according to the facts. But exactlythe reverse was the common
way of the wise men here spokenof.(2) Our modern thinkers are seekersafter
truth, and they are as likely to discoverthe truth of Christianity as other
people, if not more so. These ancientwise men, on the other hand, were rather
like our ignorant and superstitious masses,who take a side without candid
inquiry, and are resolute to defend their side just because it is theirs.(3) Our
literary and scientific men, as far as they are faithful to their vocation, inquire
eachman for and by himself, and own no allegiance to a party or a master,
but to truth alone. But these ancient wise men, as leaders or adherents of their
school, enjoyedwhat credit and influence they had, and were jealous of new
opinions, as possibly inimical to their authority and its repute.
II. As regards THE MIGHTY AND THE NOBLE.
1. When Christianity was new it had all the disadvantages ofnovelty.(1) So it
most repelled those who had leastto gain and most to lose by any change.
These, ofcourse, were the privileged classeshere mentioned.(2) Remember,

too, that the changes whichChristianity threatened were the most violent, and
therefore the most distasteful possible to these classes.Theywere free, and a
greatpart of the community were their slaves. It is now a maxim — thanks to
Christianity — that property has its duties as well as its rights. But that
maxim had no existence then.(3)Then it was not some magnate of their own
lofty order, or even of their own race, who told those lords of many to become
the servants of all; it was a company of artisans, fishermen, slaves,
foreigners.(4)Thenconsiderthat the gospelwas gospelin those days. It was a
plain, straightforwarddeclarationof the truth that God is love, and man's
true life is love; that to be selfishis to be damned, to love is to be saved.
2. The gospelhas no longer these disadvantages.Whensons of nobles are ill-
paid clergymen, and sovereigns andstatesmenare gratuitous defenders of the
faith, there is nothing to hinder the greatand noble, any more than the poor
and lowly, from professing Christianity. And, as regards the practice of
Christianity, the case is not different. The mighty and the noble, as a matter of
course, now accept, along with their honours and their privileges, a host of
duties, public and social, which are enjoined rather by public opinion than by
law. So much are things changed, property now has not only duties as well as
rights, but has fewer rights than duties, and there are at leastas many of these
classesas ofany other who exhibit the true spirit of Christianity in lives of
faith towards God and charity towards men.
(J. Service, D. D.)
God's strange choice
C. H. Spurgeon.
Note —
I. THE ELECTOR Some men are saved and some men are not saved. How is
this difference caused? The reasonwhy any sink to hell is their sin, and only
their sin. But how is it that others are saved? The text answers the question
three times — "Godhath chosen." This will be clearif we consider —

1. The facts. God electedfallen man, but not the fallen angels;Abraham, the
Jews, David, &c. God is a king. Men may setup a constitutional monarchy,
and they are right in so doing; but if you could find a being who was
perfection itself, an absolute form of government would be undeniably the
best. The absolute position of God as king demands that, especiallyin the
work of salvation, His will should be the greatdetermining force.
2. The figures —(1) Salvation consists in part of an adoption. Who is to have
authority in this matter? The children of wrath? Surely not. It must be God
who choosesHis own children.(2) The Church, again, is called —(a) A
building. With whom does the architecture rest? With the building? Do the
stones selectthemselves?No;the Architect alone disposes ofHis chosen
materials according to His own will.(b) Christ's bride. Would any man here
agree to have any person forcedupon him as his bride?
II. THE ELECTION ITSELF. Now observe —
1. How strange is the choice He makes. "He hath not chosenmany wise," &c.
If man had receivedthe power of choosing, these are just the persons who
would have been selected. "ButGod hath chosen," &c. If man had governed
the selection, these are the very persons who would have been left out.
2. It is directly contrary to human choice. Manchoosesthose who would be
most helpful to him; God choosesthose to whom He can be the most helpful.
We selectthose who may give us the bestreturn; God frequently selectsthose
who most need His aid. We selectthose who are most deserving; He selects
those who are leastdeserving, that so His choice may be more clearly seento
be an actof grace and not of merit.
3. It is very gracious. It is gracious evenin its exclusion. It does not say, "Not
any," it only says, "Notmany"; so that the greatare not altogethershut out.
Grace is proclaimedto the prince, and in heaven there are those who on earth
wore coronets and prayed.
4. It is very encouraging. Some ofus cannot boastof any pedigree; we have no
greatlearning, we have no wealth, but He has been pleasedto choose justsuch
foolish, despisedcreatures as ourselves.

III. THE ELECTED. Theyare described —
1. Negatively.(1)"Notmany wise men after the flesh." God has chosentruly
wise men, but the sophoi — the men who pretend to wisdom, the cunning, the
metaphysical, the rabbis, the doctors, the men who look down with profound
scornupon the illiterate and callthem idiots, these are not chosenin any great
number. Strange, is it not? and yet a goodreasonis given. If they were chosen,
why then they would say, "Ah! how much the gospelowes to us! How our
wisdom helps it!"(2) "Notmany mighty." And you see why — because the
mighty might have said, "Christianity spreads because ofthe goodtemper of
our swords and the strength of our arm." We can all understand the progress
of Mahommedanism during its first three centuries.(3)"Notmany noble," for
nobility might have been thought to stamp the gospelwith its prestige.
2. Positively. "Godhath chosen" —(1)"The foolish things"; as if the Lord's
chosenwere not by nature goodenough to be calledmen, but were only
"things."(2)"The weak things" — not merely weak men, but the world
thought them weak things." "Ah!" said Caesarin the ball, if he said anything
at all about it, "Who is King Jesus? A poor wretch who was hangedupon a
tree I Who is this Paul? A tent-maker! Who are his followers? A few despised
women who meet him at the water-side."(3)"The base things" — things
without a father, things which cannottrace their descent.(4)"Things that are
despised," sneeredat, persecuted, hunted about, or treated with what is
worse, with the indifference which is worse than scorn.(5)"Things that are
not" hath God chosen. Nothings, nonentities.
IV. THE REASONS FOR THE ELECTION.
1. The immediate reason.(1)"To confoundthe wise." Forone wise man to
confound another wise man is remarkable; for a wise man to confound a
foolish man is very easy;but for a foolishman to confound a wise man — ah!
this is the finger of God.(2)"To confound the mighty." "Oh!" said Caesar,
"we will soonrootup this Christianity; off with their heads." The different
governors hastenedone after another of the disciples to death, but the more
they persecutedthem the more they multiplied. All the swords of the
legionaries whichhad put to rout the armies of all nations, and had overcome

the invincible Gaul and the savageBriton, could not withstand the feebleness
of Christianity, for the weaknessofGod is mightier than men.(3) "To bring to
nought the things that are." Whatwere they in the apostle's days? Jupiter,
Saturn, Venus, Diana. Here comes Paulwith "There is no God but God, and
Jesus Christ whom He hath sent." He represents "the things that are not." So
contemptible is the heresy of Christianity that if a list were made out of
contemporary religions of different countries Christianity would have been
left out. But where are Jupiter, &c., now? What was true in Paul's day is true
to-day. Existing superstitions, though attackedby those who are things that
are not, shall yet cease to be, and the truth as it is in Jesus, and the pure
simple faith backedby the Spirit of God, shall bring to nought the things that
are.
2. The ultimate reasonis "that no flesh may glory in His presence."He does
not say"that no man"; no, the text is in no humour to please anybody; it says,
"that no flesh." What a word! Here are Solonand Socrates, the wise men.
God points at them with His finger and calls them "flesh." There is Caesar,
with his imperial purple; how the Praetorianguards shout, "Greatis the
Emperor! long may he live! Flesh," saithGod's Word. Here are men whose
sires were of royal lineage. "Flesh," says God. "Thatno flesh may glory in His
presence." Godputs this stamp upon us all, that we are nothing but flesh, and
He chooses the poorest, the most foolish, and the weakestflesh, that all the
other flesh that is only flesh and only grass may see that God pours contempt
on it, and will have no flesh glory in His presence.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Weak things chosen
Luther says:"Nextunto my just. cause the small repute and mean aspectof
my persongave the blow to the Pope;for when I beganto preach and write
the Pope scornedand contemned me. He thought, 'Tis but one poor friar;
what can he do againstme?'I have maintained and defended this doctrine in
Popedom, againstemperors, kings, and princes; what, then, shall this one man
do?" We all know what the one man did, and we often see that weak ones who

come in the name of the Lord of Hosts conquer where strongerones have
failed. The Lord often choosesweakthings in order that we may more easily
see that the victory is due to Him.
God's choice of instruments
H. Townley.
A native convertoriginally belonging to one of the lowestcastesthus delivered
himself in my hearing: "I am, by birth, of an insignificant and contemptible
caste — so low that if a Brahmin should touch me he must go and bathe in the
Ganges forpurification; and yet God has calledme, not merely to the
knowledge ofthe gospel, but to the high office of teaching it to others. My
friends, do you know the reasonof God's conduct? It is this: If God had
selectedone of you learnedBrahmins, and made you the preacher, when you
were successfulin making converts bystanders would have said it was the
amazing learning of the Brahmin and his greatweightof characterthat were
the cause;but now, when any one is convertedby my instrumentality, no one
thinks of ascribing any of the praise to me, and God, as is His due, has all the
glory."
(H. Townley.)
The gospelministry
A. J. Parry.
In proof of the superiority of the gospeloverhuman learning, the apostle
points to their own knowledge ofthe working of the Divine powerand
wisdom. Two facts are adduced in proof.
I. THE UNFAVOURABLE CONDITION IN WHICH THE GOSPEL
FOUND THEM, AND HOW IT MADE THEM THE SUBJECTSOF ITS
POWER. The apostle divides societyinto two classes —

1. The one consisting of the wise, the mighty, and the well-born — the man of
thought, the man of action, and the man of leisure. These three he further
describes as those who "are" (ver. 28) — those who are deemed somebody, the
recognisedofthe world; those for whose sole interestall things are deemed to
exist — what would now be termed "society."
2. The other class consists ofthe foolish, the weak, and the base, or despised,
&c. Those forming this class are further describedas those which "are not."
They were those who had no status, and were ignored by the world as things
utterly beneath notice. Of this class were the bulk of the Corinthian believers.
"Forye see your calling." Thus it will be seenthat the gospelchose as the
subjects of its gracious operations(l)Those whomthe so-calledwise, mighty,
and noble utterly neglected, those who in the estimationof the world "are
not."(2)Those who were incapable of helping themselves. Supposing they had
been able to help themselves, society's neglectofthem would not have
mattered so much. Their utter helplessnessis indicated by the descriptive
epithets. But to such as these came the gospel. This proves its truly benevolent
character, and sets it in direct contrastto the world's ways and methods. The
spirit of this world is always to give where it sees the prospectof a return. The
ancient gods always bestowedtheir favours upon those who brought to their
altars the costliestsacrifices. The world follows the example of its gods. But it
is the glory of the gospelthat it seeks outthe foolish, the weak, the base, and
despised(Matthew 11:4, 5). It was a new thing in the world to supply a gospel
to the poor. A gospelpreachedto the poor must be something more than
human. God alone canafford such grace as this.
II. ITS EFFECTS UPON ITS SUBJECTSFAR TRANSCENDS THE
WORLD'S HIGHEST GOOD AND MOST DESIRABLE POSSESSIONS.
The world's highestgoodare wisdom, might, and nobility, i.e., culture,
prowess, andrank. But the gospelbestows upon its subjects far higher things
(ver. 30).
1. "Things that are not," i.e., without a status in the world, obtain one in
Christ — one infinitely surpassing anything the world canboast of.

2. In Christ they are endowedwith qualities far transcending the world's best
gifts. Has the world wisdom, might, and nobility? The gospel —(1)Endues
men with a wisdom far surpassing in worth the world's highest philosophy or
culture — the wisdom that makes wise unto salvation.(2)It confers a might
far surpassing in degree and nature the might of the world — the might of
right.(3) It endows with a nobility far more glorious than that of blood, the
nobility of holiness. Nobility gives a right of entrance into the highestsociety,
holiness into the heavenly society. It requires blood to give the socialnobility
that men prize. Similarly the spiritual nobility comes of the blood of Jesus
Christ, which cleansethfrom all sin. And by virtue of this we become endowed
with rank. The blood is royal blood, and they who come under its influence
become royally related— they become kings and priests to God His Father.(4)
They who "are not" are redeemed. This state of "being not," i.e., of being
without socialstatus, implies a state of slavery. But He Who was made for
them redemption brings them freedom from the bondage and degradation of
sin, a freedom far more glorious than any socialone. From being slaves ofsin,
and ,though still slaves ofmen, they become, not merely free, but sons of the
heavenly King.
(A. J. Parry.)
But God hath chosenthe foolishthings of the world to confound the wise.
God's choice of the weak and foolishto confound the wise and mighty
Bp. Phillips Brooks.
Dr. Vinton was a scepticalphysician. A friend advised him to read "Butler's
Analogy," which satisfiedhis reason. A short time after he was calledto the
dying bed of a little girl who whisperedthat she had something to sayto him,
that she hardly had the courage, as it was about his peace with God; but she
added, "To-morrow morning, when I am stronger, I will tell you." And on to-
morrow morning she was dead. This led to Dr. Vinton's conversion, and a
grand life in the ministry was the result. Who shall deny that "Godhath

chosenthe weak things of the world to confound the things which are
mighty"?
(Bp. Phillips Brooks.)
God destroying the conventionally greatby the conventionally contemptible
D. Thomas, D. D.
I. EVILS EXIST UNDER CONVENTIONALLYRESPECTABLE FORMS.
In Corinth dangerous errors wore the costume of wisdom. Powerwas also on
their side. Statesmen, wealth, and influence stoodby them, and they appeared
"mighty." Here, as in Corinth, evils wearfine clothing, and pass under great
names.
1. Infidelity writes and speaks in the statelyformularies of philosophy and
science. Itis a "wise" thing of the world.
2. Licentiousness passesunder the grand name of liberty. The vaunted
religious liberty of England's population means often only powerto neglect
sacredordinances.
3. Socialinjustice does most of its fiendish work in the name of law.
4. Selfishness goes under the taking name of prudence.
5. Bigotry, superstition, fanaticism, wearthe sacredname of religion.
6. War is calledglory. Could we take from sin the mantle of respectabilitythat
societyhas thrown over it, we should do much towards its annihilation.
II. GOD IS DETERMINEDTO OVERTHROW EVIL BY
CONVENTIONALLYCONTEMPTIBLE MEANS.
1. Negatively. This language does not mean —(1) That the gospelis an inferior
thing. The gospelis not "foolish," "weak," or"base."As a history of facts, as
a system of thought, as a code of laws, it is incomparably the grandestthing

within the whole range of human thought. What light it throws on man, the
universe, God! What influence it has exerted, and what changes it has
wrought!(2) That the men appointed as its ministers are to be inferior. This
passagehas been abusedto support the claims of an ignorant ministry, than
which few things have tended more to degrade Christianity. There are several
things to show that the gospelministry requires the highest order of mind.(a)
The characterofthe work:"Teaching men in all wisdom."(b)The character
of the system. What a system it is to learn! What mines of truth lie beneath the
surface of the letter! What digging is required to reachthe golden ore!
Simpletons call the gospelsimple, but intelligence has ever found it of all
subjects the most profound and difficult. The greatestthinkers of all ages have
found the work no easytask.(c)The characterofsociety. Who exerts the most
influence upon the real life of the men and women around him? The man of
capacity, thought, sound judgment. If the gospelministry is to influence men,
it must be employed by men of the highest type of culture and ability.(d) The
spirit of the work. Humble, charitable, forbearing, reverent. Such a spirit as
this comes only from deep thought and extensive knowledge. Ignorance
generates a spirit of pride, bigotry, intolerance, and irreverence.(e)The
characterof the apostles. Where canyou find greaterforce of soul than
Peter's, a more searching sagacitythan James's, a more royal intellect than
Paul's, a finer intuitional nature than John's? They were men of talent and
men of thought. And more, they all understood Hebrew and Greek. We
require a long college courseforthis, and then only very partially reach their
linguistical attainments.
2. Positively. It means —(1) That the gospelwas conventionallymean. It was
so in the estimation of the age. The schools,religions, institutions, and great
men of the day regarded it with contempt. It was a "foolish" thing to the
Greek, a "weak"thing to the Jew, and a "base" and "contemptible" thing
more or less to all.(2) The first ministers were conventionally mean. They
were not selectedfrom chairs of philosophy, or seats ofcivil power, or homes
of opulence. They were fishermen. The system and its ministers, however, are
merely conventionally contemptible, nothing more. But these, like many other
things that erring man regardas insignificant and mean, shalt do a great
work. The flake of snow is insignificant, but it is commissionedto build up a

mountain that shall overwhelm widespreaddistricts. The coralinsectis
insignificant, but it builds up vastislands, beautiful as paradise. The
insignificant things do the work of the world. They clothe the earth with
verdure, and provide subsistence for man and beast; they rear majestic
forests, and provide materials for building our cities and our fleets. Even so
the gospel. Whatwork it has already done! What systems it has shattered!
What towering institutions it has levelled to the dust! It has "brought to
nought" a vast world of things; and so it shall proceeduntil all the "things
that are" greatin the estimationof man, but bad in themselves, are for ever
brought to "nought." The little pebble shall smite the giant and send him
reeling to the grave; the little stone shall shiver the colossus andscatterits
particles to the winds.Conclusion:From this subject we may infer —
1. That so long as evils exist in the world greatcommotions are to be expected.
God hath chosenthis system to confound, to put to shame, and bring to
nought things that are. "It will overturn, overturn, overturn," the whole
system of human things. The gospel, when it first enters a soul, confounds it.
When it enters a country and begins its work it is revolutionary in its action.
In the first ages it confounded the JewishSanhedrin, and the heathen
priesthood, and the Gentile philosophy.
2. That the removal of evil from the world is, under God, to be effected
through man as man. The gospelis to make its way, not by men invested with
political power, scientific attainments, or brilliant oratory, but by men as men,
endowedwith the common powers of human nature, inspired and directed by
the living gospel. Let no one sayhe is too poor or too obscure, too destitute of
artificial endowments to minister the gospelto others; all that is wanted is the
common sense, the common affection, and the common speechof man.
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
Yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.
The "things which are not"
B. S. Storrs, D. D.

This clause is the last of a series ofclauses, ofwhich eachthat precedes it
prepares the way for it, and by natural progress leads the mind toward it. The
foolish and the weak, the base and the despised things — it is only natural that
from the lastand lowestof these the apostle should step to the things which
are not; that is, which have no existence that is recognisedby mankind; which
arrestno thought, excite no fear, and are not prominent enough to be scorned.
And these things, he says, the Lord hath chosen, to bring to nought the things
that are; the greatinstitutions, establishments, forces, whichmark or mould
the constitution of society. He hath chosenthem for this purpose, to the end
that His name may be magnified by their agency, and His glory be revealedin
their ultimate triumph. That the "things which are," at any time, in human
society, howevervenerable, are always liable to be displacedby others which
were not in existence, orwere not of recognisedimportance when the former
were established. These are facts familiar as any fact of nature, which impress
immediately the most carelessobserver. "Things whichare not," so far as
men's earlier knowledge is concerned, whichexist but in embryo, and are only
to be developedby a keenerobservation, are yet usually superior to the things
which precede them, and more replete with a vitalising energy; that thus each
industrious community is likely to surpass in its later years the attainments of
its earlier, and the race itself to be gradually enriched and elevatedas the
centuries proceed;these also are facts which modern history clearly
illustrates. But these things of which the age knows notand dreams not are all
the time present to the mind of the MostHigh; they are indeed His
preordained instruments, not only for working the changes whichshall come
in the aspects orin the life of society, but for the grander purpose of
establishing supremely His kingdom in the world. So here, as everywhere,
does Christianity vindicate its origin in God's mind, by placing us at once
upon the highestlevels of truth, and opening to our minds the widest range for
reflection. Let us review the scenes amid which the text was written, and then
the events which became its immediate and complete vindication. It was
written from that delightful and populous city planted by the Ionian colony on
the hills overlooking "the Asian meadows," along the Cayster. In this city of
Ephesus, important and peculiar, partly Greek but still more Oriental in its
manners and spirit, the metropolis of a province, and with a commerce that
drew to its wharves the representatives of all nations, in which schools of

philosophy seemso much to have abounded that one of them was opened to
Paul for his labours, yet in which the Easternsuperstitions and magic
haughtily confronted philosophy, and still had a power which they had not
either at Athens or at Rome. In this city, where the Eastand the West were
commingled, and within whose spacious walls and harbour was assembledso
busy and so various a life, the apostle, coming westwardfrom Antioch, abode
for more than two years, and from thence wrote this Epistle. It was written to
Corinth, that wealthier, more brilliant, and more luxurious town planted
upon the celebratedGreek Isthmus, and by its position attracting the trade
not only of Greece,but of all the countries whose shores were washedby
either of the seas betweenwhose almostmeeting waves it fortunately stood. It
is evident, then, at once, what were the institutions which Paul describes as
"things that are";the great establishedpowers in society, which withstood, or
at leastdid not harmonise with, the extension of Christianity. Foremost
amongstthem we must reckon, ofcourse, that haughty Judaism, dogmatic
and secular, into which the religion given by God to the people of His election
had by degrees beentransformed, and which now had the seatof its dominion
in Palestine, but the outposts of its influence in many, cities of the empire.
Ennobled and vitalised as it had been at the beginning, by the supreme truth
of the being of God, eternal and holy, almighty and wise. the Creator, moral
Governor, and Judge of the universe, it receiveda practicalimpressiveness
from the discoveries whichit made of His presence and providence, and of His
perfect law. Yet from this religion the nation had early and persistently swung
awayinto grossestidolatries, reproducing in gold the Egyptian Apis beneath
the very pavement of sapphire on which the feetof God were treading above
the mount; in their subsequent history, polluting the hills which lookedout
upon Jerusalemwith the fury and lust of sacrilegiousobservances. Secondin
order of these "things that are" — these powerful institutes of the day of the
apostle, opposedto Christianity — must be reckonedofcourse the heathenism
which prevailed outside of the Jews among all nations; which confronted Paul
everywhere, ancientas man, but still vigorous in strength, imperial in place,
and arrayed in universal opposition to the gospel. Firstof all it is to be
recognisedby us that this heathenism which so withstoodChristianity was not
an altogetherartificial system in any nation; that it grew out of real and even
deep motions in the generalmind, and was not in its substance a matter of

chance or a creature of contrivance, leastof all an arbitrary and fabricated
arrangementeither of statecraftor of priestcraft; nay, that it had a certain
real moral life in it, and was related not to depraved desire alone, to the lust
and the pride which it never denied and too often deified, but related also,
howeverinsufficiently, to needs which the soul always feels to be inmost and
knows to be abiding. Its answerwas a vain one, but it soughtto give an
answer, to questions which never since the exile from Eden have ceased
profoundly to agitate the race. Unconscious prophecies ofbetter things lurked
in many of its forms and in some of its traditions. Its sacrificeswere efforts to
staunch the flow from bleeding hearts. And while the popular mind
acknowledgedchieflythe hold of its ceremonies and shows, the thoughtful
found also some solace orstimulus in its sublimated legends. Thenfurther it
must be noticed that as existing in any nation it took the form most germane
to that people, to its genius and spirit, to its circumstances andhabits; and
that everywhere it allied itself with whateverwas strongest, whatevermost
attractedmen's minds. Thus in Greece, from the first, it enshrined itself in
art; made eloquence its advocate;was indebted for the memorable form
which it assumed to the noble poetry in which its mythologies were
melodiously uttered. In Rome the same powerallied itself with politics, and
became a military force. Still further we must remember that in no land was
this recent;in none was it devoid of that dignity and authority which were
derived from a high antiquity; while to all the peoples, in proportion to their
advancement, it was associatedwith whateverwas to them most renowned
and inspiring in their history. It was dear to them as the bond which
connectedtheir life with heroic ages.There remains a third thing to be
recognisedas standing among the "things that are" — the powerful institutes
and establishments of society, opposedto Christianity — when Paul was
writing from Ephesus to Corinth. But this was also the most powerful of all;
the most dangerous to assail, to human view the most inaccessible to change
or decay; supreme over every force that could touch it, and comparing with
them all as the Mediterraneanwith the restless streams whichsought and
sank into it. It was, ofcourse, the authority and power of imperial Rome. It
was hardly as yet at its uttermost height, this imperial power; for scores of
years still slowlypassed before that age of Trajan and the Antonines which
marked its consummate might and splendour; while it was later even than this

that Severus carriedhis victorious arms to Ctesiphonand Seleucia,
transferred the entire legislative powerfrom the senate to himself, and
scatteredthe profuse. memorial of his reign over Africa and the East. And so
was this empire now exhibited to Paul, encircling the sea which was the centre
of his thoughts, from Carthage to Alexandria, from Alexandria to Ephesus,
and on to the very pillars of Hercules, with no sign of weakness.Considering
its history, its growth, it seemedhardly so much a construction of man, this
empire of Rome, as one of the preordained elements of nature; reaching in its
exhaustive roots to the centres of history, and draining the earth to give it
nutriment. So it stoodbefore Paul, as at Ephesus he saw it, as everywhere he
met it, as he knew and felt it environing the earth. And Paul knew that this
mightiest establishment of government on the earth, this impregnable
despotism which was touched by no fear, againstwhich human powerseemed
vain, that this should also, in God's own time, be wreckedand "brought to
nought." But how should it be done? By what agencies should. eachof these
prophesied victories over Judaism, heathenism, and the terrible iron-limbed
empire of Rome, be brought to pass? Not, he affirms, by the forces which
already are at work in the world, and which may be still further multiplied,
and made to bear on this new issue;not by armies revolting, or statesmen
conspiring, or philosophers projecting new answers to heathenism; not by
nations reclaiming their ravagedrights, or the still existing senate combining
with the people to bury the haughty imperial prerogative in a cataclysmof
revolution. The forces which God shall employ for this work, and to which He
shall give a might irresistible, are simply thus far the "things which are not";
the things which He alone can bring out of the secrets ofthought and life, and
make triumphant on their mission. How utterly insignificant was Christianity
in the beginnings before one temple had sprung toward heaven; before one
treatise had wrought its principles into scientific statement, or clothed them in
the grace and the majesty of letters; before any government had sought to
incorporate its rules into statutes;before any one of all the great names now
associatedwith it had become its bulwark in the popular confidence. In the
simply spiritual elements it involved, it was setagainstthis array which
opposedit; and of all the auxiliaries which it afterward gained, not one had as
yet appearedon the earth. How utterly insignificant seemedthen its force!
How incredibly inadequate to the end to be accomplished!The truths which

had been taught the apostles, andafterward recalledto them and unfolded
more fully by the witness of the Spirit, and which were to be enshrined in
evangelicalnarratives, not one of which had yet been written — these were
the primary instruments to be used, with the oral proclamation of their
principles and laws, for the spread of God's kingdom, and the overthrow of
whateverwithstood its advance. And these! — it seemedlike binding the
lightning in the meshes and knots of metaphysical argument. Epistles and
talks in the synagogue againstarmies!The might that lay on letters and lips
againstthe might that ruled from thrones! The publication of doctrines
againstestablishments of poweras rooted-as the hills! And yet these were the
very agencies — these "things which were not" in every sense — which were
not regarded, and which hitherto existedonly in germ, these Gospels and
Epistles which were still to be written, these teachings and preachings which
had scarcelycommenced, these Christianforces in life and characterwhich
hardly thus far had appearedon the earth — these were the forces which God
had chosento bring to nought the "things that were" — the ancient, immense,
and impregnable institutions that stoodin all their augustmight and
tremendous effectiveness fronting the gospel. Notwith energyonly, but with
an exact precisionof speech, had Paul then describedthem. The philosopher
thought of them, if he thought of them at all, with a contempt only greater
than that which he gave to the most absurd or childish of fables. The soldier
regardedthem less than the mists which had hovered last year around the
crests of the hills. To the Jew, in comparisonof his august forms and world-
challenging miracles, they seemedas frail and shadowy as dreams. The whole:
wisdom of the world anticipated as little an impressionfrom them as we that
the tiny animalculae in the ocean, streaking its waves with phosphorescent
glow, will arrest the revolution of shaft and wheel, and stay the steamship on
its march. Those secondaryforces, too, whichwere in time to be evolved by
God's plans, and confederatedin effective alliance with these, although, of
course, existing in embryo, they were, if possible, still more unrecognised, and
even unrealised, when Paul was writing. The awakening spiritual longings
under Judaism, at which his ministry to so large an extent was
sympathetically aimed; the awakening moral instincts within heathenism,
whose premonitions he must have felt, of which Plutarch soonafterward
became so illustrious an example; the gradual progress ofmoral decline in all

the systems that were rooted in error and maintained by force — all these
were things which one by one came into development, eachin its time, as the
truths and the spirit of the gospelwentforward, but which were as latent,
when Paul lookedforth from Ephesus on the sea, as were the germs of modern
oaks. And those still additional procedures and events, also auxiliary to these
more silent forces, alreadywere purposed in the mind of the Most High;
already He saw their seeds unfolding; but how vaguely, if at all, were they
thus far foreshowneven to Paul; how entirely unsuspectedwere they yet by
the world! The destruction of Jerusalemby the arms of Titus, who seems to
have felt himself but the instrument of a powerwhich he could not
comprehend and could not contravene, in his overthrow of the city; the
consequentextinction of the Jewishnationality, the final obliteration of all
distinctions betweenthe tribes, and the scattering of their impoverished
remnant to the ends of the earth — this was a factlying still as hidden among
God's plans. Judaism was surpassedand terminated in a higher religion, more
adequate to man's wants, more illustrative of God's glory. Heathenism was
not only brokendown, but it was made, thenceforth and for ever, the veriest
outcastof civilisation. The Roman Empire was as finally extinguished as if the
crust of the globe had been opened to swallow it up. And all was wrought
within a few centuries by what; at the outsethad appeared so unreal or so
ineffectual.
(B. S. Storrs, D. D.)
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
And base things - and things which are despised - It is very likely that the
apostle refers here to the Gentiles and to the Gentile converts, who were
consideredbase and despicable in the eyes of the Jews, who countedthem no

better than dogs, and who are repeatedly calledthe things that are not. By
these very people, converted to Christianity, God has brought to nought all
the Jewishpretensions;and by means of the Gentiles themselves, he has
annihilated the whole Jewishpolity; so that even Jerusalemitself was soon
after this, trodden under foot of the Gentiles.
Albert Barnes'Notes onthe Whole Bible
And base things of the world - Those things which by the world are esteemed
ignoble. Literally, those which are not of noble, or illustrious birth τὰ ἀγειῆ ta
ageiēThingswhich are despised - Those which the world regards as objects of
contempt; compare Mark 9:12; Luke 18:19; Acts 4:11.
Yea - The introduction of this word by the translators does nothing to
illustrate the sense, but rather enfeebles it. The language here is a striking
instance of Paul‘s manner of expressing himself with greatstrength. He
desires to convey in the strongestterms, the fact, that God had illustrated his
plan by choosing the objects of leastesteemamong people. He is willing to
admit all that could be said on this point. He says, therefore, that he had
chosenthe things of ignoble birth and rank - the base things of the world; but
this did not fully express his meaning. He had chosenobjects of contempt
among people;but this was not strong enoughto express his idea. He adds,
therefore, that he had chosenthose things which were absolutelynothing,
which had no existence;which could not be supposedto influence him in his
choice.
And things which are not - τὰ μὴ ὄντα ta mē ontaThatwhich is nothing;
which is worthless;which has no existence;those flyings which were below
contempt itself; and which, in the estimation of the world, were passedby as
having no existence;as not having sufficient importance to be esteemed
worthy even of the slight notice which is implied in contempt. Fora man who
despises a thing must at leastnotice it, and esteemit worth some attention.
But the apostle here speaks ofthings beneath even that slight notice; as
completely and totally disregarded, as having no existence. The language here
is evidently that of hyperbole (compare the note at John 21:25). It was a figure

of speechcommon in the East, and not unusual in the sacredwritings;
compare Isaiah 40:17.
All nations before him are as nothing.
And they are counted to him less than nothing and vanity.
See also Romans 4:17, “God, who - calleththose things which be not, as
though they were.” This language was stronglyexpressive of the estimate
which the Jews fixed on the Gentiles, as being a despisedpeople, as being in
fact no people; a people without laws, and organization, and religion, and
privileges; see Hosea 1:10;Hosea 2:23;Romans 9:25; 1 Peter 2:10. “When a
man of rank among the Hindus speaks oflow-caste persons,ofnotorious
profligates, or of those whom he despises, he calls them “alla-tha-varkalthat
is, “those who are not.” The term does not refer to life or existence, but to a
quality or disposition, and is applied to those who are vile and abominable in
all things. “Myson, my son, go not among them ‹who are not.‘” “Alas!alas!
those people are all alla-tha-varkalWhenwickedmen prosper, it is said, “this
is the time for those ‹who are not.‘” “Have you heard that those ‹who are not‘
are now acting righteously?” Vulgar and indecent expressions are also called,
“words that are not.” “To address men in the phrase ‹are not,‘ is provoking
beyond measure” - Roberts, as quoted in Bush‘s Illustrations of Scripture.
To bring to naught - To humble and subdue. To show them how vain and
impotent they were.
Things that are - Those who on accountof their noble birth, high attainments,
wealth, and rank placed a high estimate on themselves and despisedothers.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
And the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God
choose, yea and the things that are not, that he might bring to naught the
things that are.
This verse takenin conjunction with 1 Corinthians 1:27 gives five designations
to Christians (as they were esteemedby the world of that period). The foolish,

the weak, the base, the despised, the things that "are not" (in other words, the
"nobodies");but the greatapostle's words on behalf of those who were
despisedby the world are to the effectthat the triumph, the success,the
honor, and the glory belong to them. In the last three designations, as in this
verse, the Jewishattitude of despising all Gentiles and actually speaking of
them as "dogs" appears to be in Paul's thinking (see Matthew 15:26).
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
And base things of the world,.... Who are reckonedthe filth of the world, and
the offscouring of all things; men of mean birth, education, and business of
life:
and things that are despised;and setat nought, as poor persons generallyare;
yet God
hath chosenthem; even the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of a
kingdom:
yea, and things which are not; some think the Gentiles are here intended, who
by the Jews are called"things that are not": as in the apocryphal books:
"O Lord, give not thy sceptre unto "them that be nothing", and let them not
laugh at our fall; but turn their device upon themselves, and make him an
example, that hath begun this againstus.' Esther14:11
"56 As for the other people, which also come of Adam, thou hast said that
"they are nothing", but be like unto spittle: and hast likened the abundance of
them unto a drop that falleth from a vessel. 57 And now, O Lord, behold,
these heathen, which have ever been "reputed as nothing", have begun to be
lords over us, and to devour us.' (2 Esdras 6)
See Gill on Romans 4:17 for note on non-entities, or such who are not in
being, are meant; but who are not accountedof, or are reckonedas nothing;
and these the Lord calls by his grace, as a fruit and evidence of electing love:

to bring to nought things that are; who, on the accountof their noble birth,
large possessions, andhigh attainments in knowledge andlearning, thought
themselves something; all which will one day be abolished, and will stand
them in no steadwith regardto future happiness and glory. The JewsF17
have a saying quite contrary to all this, that "the Shekinah, or presence of
God, does not dwell on any but upon a wise man, a mighty man, and a rich
man.
Geneva Study Bible
And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God
chosen, [yea], and things which x are not, to bring to y nought things that are:
(x) Which in man's judgment are almostnothing.
(y) To show that they are vain and unprofitable, and worth nothing. {See
(Romans 3:31) }
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
yea, and things which are not — Yea is not in the Greek. Also some of the
oldestmanuscripts omit “and.” Thus the clause, “things which are not” (are
regardedas naught), is in appositionwith “foolish… weak … base (that is,
lowborn) and despisedthings.” God has chosenall four, though regardedas
things that are not, to bring to naught things that are.
Vincent's Word Studies
Base ( ὠγενῆ )

Of no family. The reverse of εὐγενεῖς nobleDespised( ἐξουθενημένα )
Lit., setat nought. Not merely despised, but expresslybranded with contempt.
See Luke 23:11.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
Things that are not — The Jews frequently calledthe gentiles, "Them that are
not," 2Esdras vi56,57. In so supreme contempt did they hold them.
The things that are — In high esteem.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
28.Things that are not He makes use of similar terms in Romans 4:17, but in a
different sense. Forin that passage, whendescribing the universal call of the
pious, he says, that we are nothing previously to our being called, which must
be understood as referring to reality in the sight of God, howeverwe may
appear to be something in the eyes of men. Here, the nothingness ( οὐδενεια)
of which he speaks must be viewed as referring to the opinion of men, as is
manifest from the corresponding clause, in which he says that this is done in
order that the things that are may be brought to naught Forthere is nothing
exceptin appearance, because in reality we are all nothing. Things that are,
therefore, you must explain to mean things that appear, so that this passage
corresponds with such statements as these: —
He raiseth up the poor out of the dunghill, (Psalms 113:7.)
He raiseth up them that are castdown, (Psalms 146:8,)

and the like. Hence we may clearlysee how greatis the folly of those who
imagine that there is in mankind some degree ofmerit or worthiness, which
would hold a place antecedentto God’s choice.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God
Ver. 28. Things which are not] i.e. That are nought setby, 1 Samuel 25:10.
Thus shall ye sayto him that liveth, that is, to him that is rich; for poor men
are reputed as dead men. They have but prisoners’ pittances, which will keep
them alive, and that is all. Arrian upon Epictetus hath observed, that in a
tragedy there is no place for a poor man, but only to dance.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
1 Corinthians 1:28. And base things— And mean things. In this and the
preceding verse, though the Apostle makes use of the neuter gender, which
occasionedourtranslators to insert the word things, yet it is evident from the
context, that he means persons;and if the word things were omitted, the sense
would be more plain. By the things which are not, may be understood the
Gentiles, who were not the visible people of God, and were counted as nothing
by the Jews. Bythe foolishand weak things, that is, by simple, illiterate, and
mean men, God would make ashamed the learned philosophers and greatmen
of the age;and by the things which are not, he would abolish the things that
are, as in effecthe did abolish the Jewishchurch by the Christian; taking in
the Gentiles to be his visible people, in the place of the rejectedJews, who till

then were his visible people. St. Paul mentions this here, notby chance, but
pursuant to his main design, to stop their glorying in their false apostle, who
was a Jew;by shewing that whateverthat head of the faction might claim
under that pretence, as it is plain he did stand upon it, (see 2 Corinthians
11:21-22.)he had not the leasttitle to any esteemor respectupon that
account;since the Jewishnation were laid aside, and God had chosenthe
Gentiles to take their place, and to be his church and people instead of them.
See on ch. 1 Corinthians 2:6, Deuteronomy 32:21, Isaiah40:17 and Whitby.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
1 Corinthians 1:28. τὰ μὴ ὄντα, the things that are not) A genus, under which
are included things base and despised, as also things foolish and weak. There
is therefore an apposition, to the whole of which is opposedthis one phrase,
which are.— τὰ ὄντα) which are something.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
Things which are not in the world’s account, to bring to nought things which
are in high esteem.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
28. ἀγενῆ. Low born. Men of no family, as we should say.
ἐξουθενημένα. The perfect participle intensifies the contempt.
τἀ μὴ ὄντα, i.e. ‘things which by comparisonare non-existent’—things which
by the side of other things of higher importance in our human eyes appear to
us as nothing. Yet these, in the counsels of God, are to change places, and
more than change places, with things that are highly regarded in the sight of
men. It we omit καί (see Critical Note)we make these words not the climax of
the sentence, but merely a clause in apposition to the rest. Thus internal
evidence is in favour of the retention of καί.

καταργήσῃ. This wordis frequently used by St Paul. But except in his Epistles
it only occurs twice in the N. T., and this, it is worthy of remark, in writers
under his influence. See Luke 13:7; Hebrews 2:14. The first of these passages
gives the exactsense ofthe word. Derived from α privative and ἔργον (κατὰ
denoting completeness)it means to render useless, to make of none effect. It is
variously translated in the A.V. Here the idea is of reducing to insignificance
things which hitherto were in high regard. Cf. ἄργην φιλίαν Arist. Nic. Eth.
IX. 5.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
28. Things which are not—Nothings and nobodies. So are they viewed by the
world; so in themselves they are. Yet, through the divine gift which they have
received, they are intrinsically and truly the realities, and their opponents are
the shams. Nero, the Roman empire, Jove, paganism, paganphilosophy, are
all the transient; God, Christ, Christianity, the Church, are alone the
permanent and the eternal.
The overthrow of paganismand the establishment of Christianity as the
religion of the Romanempire were, however, but the outward verification of
the apostle’s words. His was a more profound meaning. What he recognised
was, the infinitely surpassing spiritual power of Christ and his religion in the
work of the soul’s regeneration;in the saving it from death and hell and the
raising it to immortality and heaven.
William Godbey's Commentary on the New Testament
28. “And the base-bornof the world, and those who are despised, Godelected
out.” This is signally verified this day in many of God’s most efficient soul
savers. We are informed that the greatGeorge Whitfield belonged to this
class, first appearing a little raggedshoeblack serving the students of Oxford
University. Incidentally recognizing the wonderful brilliancy of his mental
acumen and paradoxicalsusceptibility of learning, the students taught him his
letters and gave him his first start in literature by way of sheer amusement,

astounded at the wonderful quickness and perspicacity with which he would
catchup and retain every little item they taught him. When preaching at
Lowell, Mass., a few days ago I learned that the dust of this wonderful saint
rests in the cemeteryof a country church at the mouth of the Merrimac River.
Oh, what a mighty man was George Whitfield in his day! — unparalleled
since the apostolic age. Itwas nothing uncommon for fifty thousand people to
gather, not in a building, as England had none sufficiently capacious,but in
an open field, while this champion orator, standing on a scaffoldin the center,
held them spellbound two solid hours, penitential tears coursing down their
cheeks like rivers. He crossedthe Atlantic seventeentimes, using the English-
speaking world in both hemispheres as his field of labor. We cite him and
could give others innumerable, literally illustrative of this Scripture. “Things
which are not” (i. e., nobodies), “in order that he may confound the things
which are” (i. e., the somebodies). Therefore,if you are actually no account
and nobody, look out, you are on shouting ground; you are the one whom God
delights to use. You are in the most available and auspicious environments.
Hence look out for the hand of the Almighty to reston you, His mighty
providence pick you up, and His grace transform you into a world’s wonder. I
could write a volume giving brief notices of personalverifications of this
Scripture. RevelationStephen Merritt is accostedby a beggarin New York
City asking him for a contribution. The man of God, flooded with the Holy
Spirit, at once interviews him in the interest of his soul. The beggarresponds:
“I am the most unfortunate man you ever saw, just out of eleven years service
in the Sing Sing Penitentiary; meanwhile all of my old chums and
acquaintances have gottenaway, so I am here alone without a friend on the
face of the earth; have walkedthe city two days and nights hunting work in
vain, and am starving.” “Oh,” says the man of God, “I am glad I met you. You
are actually in the best fix of any man I ever saw. You are nobody, and
nothing but a bundle of meanness and shame, having nothing on the face of
the earth, no hope for time nor eternity; so you are in the bestfix of any man I
ever saw, for you are the very man Godwants to bless, lift up and honor, thus
verifying His glorious redeeming grace, magnifying His mercy and exalting
His greatname in the earth.” With this introduction the conversation
continues, the beggarstating that he had never heard anything about religion
or salvation in all his life, born at the bottom of slumdom, brought up in

thievery, never having earnedan honestdollar; and all the time in the
penitentiary, when a Catholic priest came round, playing Protestant, and
when the preachers calledon him playing Catholic, so he had dodged between
them and never in all his life been interviewed in the interest of his soul.
Brother Merritt was then in his glory. Oh! how he preachedJesus to him —
the sinner’s Friend and the sinners Savior. Down on his knees the preacher
prays, the beggarprays, both forgetting the contribution solicited. Brother
Merritt goes onhis wayleaving the beggarin awful agony, like wrestling
Jacob, crying to God. As the night watchers treadon their still and dreary
march, the bottom of Heaven drops out, flooding his soul with grace and
glory. He leaps and runs over the city till day dawns, and, seeing a man
coming out to his work, he is again reminded of hunting a job. Therefore,
accosting the man: “Ho! ho! don’t you want to hire a hand?” “Where is your
recommendation?” “Ihave none.”
“Then I won’t take you.” “I was elevenyears —” “Ho! ho! if you have
followedany business elevenyears, I will take you in.” So the beggargets a
goodjob, now full of religion and shouting happy; his new boss turning out to
be a goodChristian, they are mutually delighted. Weeks and months go by.
They labor, talk and pray together, and fall much in love, like David and
Jonathan. Ere long the beggarventures to explain what he meant by the
elevenyears, — that he was going to say elevenyears in the penitentiary.
“Oh,” says the man, “the Holy Ghostmoved me that moment to stopyou so
that you could geta job; for if I had known that you were just out of eleven
years in the penitentiary, I would not have touched you with a forty-foot pole;
but now I want you to staywith me elevenyears.”
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
1 Corinthians 1:28. and the base things of the world, and the things that are
despised, did God choose, yes, and the things that are not,—or as we might
say, ‘the nothings,’—to bring to nought the things that are. Five times in
successionis the neuter gender purposely used here—the foolishthings, the
weak things, the base things, the despised things, the no-things,—emphatically

to hold forth and reiterate the mean condition of the generality of converts, as
persons of no culture, of no weight, of no accountin any respect—infact,
mere nobodies. And is not this the history of all the early triumphs of
Christianity? And with what design?
Mark Dunagan Commentary on the Bible
1 Corinthians 1:28 and the base things of the world, and the things that are
despised, did God choose, {yea}and the things that are not, that he might
bring to nought the things that are:
"things"-apparently refer to groups of people, categoriesofpeople. Categories
that the world looks downupon. The things which the world "considers"
foolish. The things in the gospel(the cross, a suffering Messiah)matches the
type of people that often acceptit, i.e. the world despises both.
"What God did in the cross and in calling "lowly" Corinthians not only
exhibits his own character, that he is gracious, but also illustrates that he is
not beholden to the world..Thus he is not accountable to the "wise" ofthis
world." (Fee p. 83)
"put to shame"-eternalshame is reservedfor those that rejectthe gospel.
"base"-36. agenes{ag-en-ace"};from 1 (as negative particle) and 1085;
properly, without kin, i.e. (of unknown descent, and by implication) ignoble: -
base things. "Of no family, the reverse of noble" (Vincent p. 194)
"that are despised"-"Notmerely despised, but expresslybranded with
contempt" (Vincent p. 194)"Godhas chosenwhat the world holds base and
contemptible" (Knox)
"the things that are not"-"andwhat it thinks does not exist" (Wms); "things
that to it are unreal" (TCNT)This could also refer to people that the world
considers to be nobodies. (Matthew 11:25-26)
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

base. Greek. agenes.Literally without family, or descent. Only here. The
opposite of eugenes, v. 26.
despised. Greek. exoutheneo. Literally counted as nothing. See Acts 4:11.
not. App-105.
bring to nought. Greek. katargeo.See Romans 3:3.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
Yea, and things which are not. "Yea" is not in the Greek. A C Delta G f g omit
"and." Thus, the clause, "things which are not" (are regarded as nought), is
in apposition with "foolish... weak ... base (i:e., low-born) and despised
things." God has chosenall four (as the only realities), though regardedas
things that are not (nonentities) to bring to nought things that are. 'Aleph (')
B, Vulgate, read 'and.'
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(28) And things which are not.—This climax loses somewhatofits force by the
insertion of the word “and,” which is not in some of the bestMSS., and “yea,”
which is not in any MS. Omitting the word “and,” the sentence is not an
addition to the things already mentioned, but a generaland emphatic
summary of all the things which have been already contrastedwith their
opposites. After the words “hath Godchosen” there is a slight pause, and then
the Apostle describes all those things which he has declaredto be God’s
choice, as things which “are not”—i.e., do not in men’s estimation even exist
(Romans 4:17; Romans 9:25; see also Job34:19;Job 34:24).
Hodge's Commentary on Romans, Ephesians and First Corintians

chosen, (yea)and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are;
The base things, i.e. the base, the ignoble ( ‫בפ‬ ̀ ‫ב‬ ̓ ‫ד‬ ̓‫ח‬ ͂), those without family,
as opposedto the noble. Things which are despised, i.e. men in low condition,
whom the rich and noble look upon with contempt. Things which are not, ( ‫ד‬ ̓‫ח‬
̓‫בח‬ ‫ב‬ ̓ ‫ד‬ ‫)בפ‬those who are entirely overlookedas though they had no existence.
There is a climax here. God has chosennot only plebeians, but of the
plebeians those who were objects of contempt, and even those below contempt,
too insignificant to be noticed at all. These, and such as these, does Godchoose
to make kings and priests unto himself. To bring to nought, ( ‫בפ‬ ‫̀פ‬ ̓‫ח̓ח‬ ͅ),
literally, that he might bring to nought. This is a strongerterm than that used
in the preceding verse, and here speciallyappropriate. God brings to nothing
the things that are ( ̓‫בח‬ ‫ב‬ ̓ ‫ד‬ ̓‫,)ח‬ i.e. those who make their existence knownand
felt, as opposedto those who are nothing. It is apparent from the
dispensations of grace, that knowledge,rank, and power do not attract the
favor of God, or secure for their possessorsany pre-eminence or preference
before him. This should render the exaltedhumble, and the humble content.
The Bible Study New Testament
He chose. Compare 1 John 2:15-17. Through the "weakness" ofthe gospel,
the religions, governments, and even civilizations of the world were to be
overturned! Not through armed violence, but by changing people (Romans
12:2; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
STUDYLIGHT VERSE 29
Adam Clarke Commentary

That no flesh should glory - God does his mighty works in such a way as
proves that though he may condescendto employ men as instruments, yet they
have no part either in the contrivance or energyby which such works are
performed.
Albert Barnes'Notes on the Whole Bible
That no flesh - That no person; no class ofpeople. The word “flesh” is often
thus used to denote human beings. Matthew 24:22;Luke 3:6; John 17:2; Acts
2:17; 1 Peter1:24; etc.
Should glory - Should boast;Romans 3:27.
In his presence - Before him. That man should really have nothing of which to
boast;but that the whole scheme should be adapted to humble and subdue
him. On these verses we may observe:
(1) That it is to be expectedthat the greatmass of Christian converts will be
found among those who are of humble life - and it may be observed also, that
true virtue and excellence;sincerity and amiableness;honesty and sincerity,
are usually found there also.
(2) that while the mass of Christians are found there, there are also those of
noble birth, and rank, and wealth, who become Christians. The aggregateof
those who from elevatedranks and distinguished talents have become
Christians, has not been small. It is sufficient to refer to such names as Pascal,
and Bacon, and Boyle, and Newton, and Locke, and Hale, and Wilberforce, to
show that religion can command the homage of the most illustrious genius and
rank.
(3) the reasons why those of rank and wealth do not become Christians, are
many and obvious:
(a)They are besetwith specialtemptations.
(b)They are usually satisfiedwith rank, and wealth, and do not feel their need
of a hope of heaven.

(c)They are surrounded with objects which flatter their vanity, which minister
to their pride, and which throw them into the circle of alluring and tempting
pleasures.
(d)They are drawn awayfrom the means of grace and the places of prayer, by
fashion, by business, by temptation.
(e)There is something about the pride of learning and philosophy, which
usually makes those who possessit unwilling to sit at the feet of Christ; to
acknowledge theirdependence on any power;and to confess that they are
poor, and needy, and blind, and nakedbefore God.
(4) the gospelis designedto produce humility, and to place all people on a
level in regard to salvation. There is no royal way to the favor of God. No
monarch is saved because he is a monarch; no philosopher because he is a
philosopher; no rich man because he is rich; no poor man because he is poor.
All are placed on a level. All are to be saved in the same way. All are to
become willing to give the entire glory to God. All are to acknowledgehim as
providing the plan, and as furnishing the grace that is needful for salvation.
God‘s design is to bring down the pride of man, and to produce everywhere a
willingness to acknowledgehim as the fountain of blessings and the God of all.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
That no flesh should glory before God.
How incredible it is that a man, a creature of flesh and blood, createdof the
dust and to the dust certain to return, whose gloryat its zenith is only for a
moment, whose days are spent in frustration, whose tears flow incessantly,
whose very righteousness is filthy rags - how unbelievable is it that such a
creature as man should glory before God! Such is the wretched state of
Adam's race that only Godcan give salvationand even God could do so only
at the extravagantcostof the blood shed on Calvary. God desires that man
should recognize and confess his sin and unworthiness, and, like those poor
mortals of Corinth, turn to the heavenly Fatherthrough Jesus Christ the
Lord. If the first converts to Christianity had been the wealthy rulers of earth,

there would inevitably have prevailed an impression that such persons had
earned eternallife. However, no man, but no man, was ever capable of
earning one secondofeternal life; and Paul's thought here stressesthe
wisdom of God in saving the outcasts of Corinth in order that no flesh should
glory before God. Those former debauchees ofunspeakable Corinth deserved
salvationas much as the wisestand greatestofearth, which is not at all; and
fortunate is every man who comprehends this basic truth of salvation in
Christ.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
That no flesh should glory in his presence. Thatis, "in the presence ofGod",
as some copies, and the Arabic and Ethiopic versions read; not in their blood,
birth, families, lineage, and natural descent;nor in their might, power, and
dominion; nor in their riches, wealth, and substance;nor in their wisdom,
learning, and parts: for however these may be gloried in before men, yet not
before God. These are of no accountwith him, nor will they be regardedby
him, or men on accountof them; and he has taken a method in choosing and
calling the reverse of these, to stain the glory of all flesh, that no man may
attribute his salvationto any thing of the creature, but wholly to the sovereign
grace and goodpleasure of God.
Geneva Study Bible
That no z flesh should glory in his presence.
(z) "Flesh" is often, as we see, takenfor the whole man: and he uses this word
"flesh" very well, to contrastthe weak and miserable condition of man with
the majestyof God.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

glory — Forthey who try to glory (boast) because ofhuman greatness and
wisdom, are “confounded” or put to shame (1 Corinthians 1:27). Flesh, like
“the flowerof the field,” is beautiful, but frail (Isaiah40:6).
in his presence — We are to glory not before Him, but in Him [Bengel].
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
That no flesh should glory before God (οπως μη καυχησηται πασα σαρχ
ενωπιον του τεου — hopōs mē kauchēsētaipāsa sarxenōpion tou theou). This
is the further purpose expressedby οπως — hopōs for variety and appeals to
God‘s ultimate choice in all three instances. The first aorist middle of the old
verb καυχαομαι — kauchaomaito boast, brings out sharply that not a single
boastis to be made. The papyri give numerous examples of ενωπιον —
enōpion as a preposition in the vernacular, from adjective ενωπιος — eṅōpios
in the eye of God. One should turn to 2 Corinthians 4:7 for Paul‘s further
statementabout our having this treasure in earthen vessels thatthe excellency
of the powermay be of God and not of us.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
That no flesh should glory in his presence.
That no flesh — A fit appellation. Fleshis fair, but withering as grass.
May glory before God — In God we ought to glory.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
29.Thatno flesh should glory Though the term flesh here, and in many
passagesofScripture, denotes all mankind, yet in this passageit carries with it
a particular idea; for the Spirit, by speaking of mankind in terms of contempt,
beats down their pride, as in Isaiah 31:3 — The Egyptian is flesh and not

spirit It is a sentiment that is worthy to be kept in remembrance — that there
is nothing left us in which we may justly glory. With this view he adds the
expressionin God’s presence Forin the presence ofthe world many delight
themselves for the moment in a false glorying, which, however, quickly
vanishes like smoke. At the same time, by this expressionall mankind are put
to silence when they come into the presence of God; as Habakkuk says —
Let all flesh keepsilence before God, (Habakkuk 2:20.)
Let every thing, therefore, that is at all deserving of praise, be recognizedas
proceeding from God.
Vv. 29. ῞οπως, that thus. This conjunction denotes the final end with a view to
which all the preceding ἵνα, that, indicated only means. The negative μή,
according to a well-knownHebraism, applies to the verb only, and not at the
same time to the subject all flesh; for Paul does not mean to saythat some
flesh at leastshould be able to glory. The word flesh is taken in the sense
pointed out, 1 Corinthians 1:26. No man, consideredin himself and in what he
is by his own nature, can glory before God, who knows so well the nothingness
of His creature. The words, all flesh, seemto go beyond the idea of the
preceding propositions, where the question was merely of the humiliation of
the wise and mighty. But is it not enough that these last be stripped of the
right of glorying that the whole world may be so along with them, the weak
and ignorant being already abasedby their natural condition? As Hofmann
says:The one party are humiliated because with all their wisdom and might,
they have not obtained what it concernedthem to reach, salvation;the other,
because if they have obtained it, it is impossible for them to imagine that it is
by their own natural resources thatthey have come to it.
The mode of the Divine calling, to which the apostle pointed the attention of
his readers, 1 Corinthians 1:26, had two aspects:the first, the rejectionof
things wise and mighty; the second, the choice which had been made of things

foolish and weak. The first of these two sides has been expounded, 1
Corinthians 1:26-29;the apostle now presents the second.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
Ver. 29. That no flesh] Proud flesh will soonswell, if it have but anything to
fastenon. The devil will also easilyblow up such a blab.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
29.]That all flesh may have no ground of boasting before God. The negative
in these clauses goeswith the verb, not with the adjective; so that eachword
retains its proper meaning.
Heinrich Meyer's Critical and ExegeticalCommentaryon the New Testament
1 Corinthians 1:29. Final aim, to which is subordinated the mediate aim
expressedby the thrice-repeatedἵνα κ. τ. λ(278)
ὅπως μὴ καυχ. πᾶσα σάρξ] Hebraistic way of saying: that no man may boast
himself. Its explanation lies in the fact that the negation belongs to the verb,
not to πᾶσα σ. ( ‫כ‬ ָּ‫ל‬ ָּ‫רָּבָּב‬ ): that every man may abstain from boasting himself.
Comp Fritzsche, Diss. in 2 Cor. II. p. 24 f. Regarding σάρξ as a designationof
man in his weaknessand imperfection as contrastedwith God, see on Acts
3:17.
ἐνώπ. τ. θεοῦ] Romans 3:20; Luke 16:15, al(280)No one is to come forth
before God and boast, I am wise, etc.;on this accountGodhas, by choosing
the unwise, etc., brought to nought the wisdom and loftiness of men, so that

the ground for the assertionof human excellences before Godhas been cut
away.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
1 Corinthians 1:29. ὅπως μὴ, that not) The antithesis to, that, 1 Corinthians
1:31.— πᾶσα σὰρξ, all flesh) a suitable appellation; flesh is beautiful and yet
frail, Isaiah40:6.— ἐνώπιον, before) We may not glory before Him, but in
Him.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
And God doth this in infinite wisdom, consulting his own honour and glory,
that none might say, that God hath chosenthem because they were nobler
born, or in higher repute and esteemin the world, than others, but that the
freeness ofDivine grace might be seenin all God’s acts of grace.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament
Should glory; in any man or system of doctrine of man’s invention. The
dealings of God in selecting ministers of the gospeland subjects of his
renewing grace, are calculatedto humble the pride of men and lead them to
feel, that for every thing wise, great, or good, and for all their successin doing
good, they are indebted to his grace.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
29. ὅπως. God’s purpose in all this is here distinctly pointed out. It was to
remove all possibility of self-glorificationfrom mankind.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

29. Fleshshould glory—Or, as it is in the more forcible Greek, that all flesh
should glory not in his presence. Fortruly it is God on one side and all flesh
on the other, arrayed in eachother’s presence. It is the infinite Reality in
comparisonwith the finite unreality. What, indeed, are the greatmen, great
things, and greatevents of this world, but a phantasmagoria, gorgeous fora
moment to the eye of sense, fleeting and false to the eye of the spirit?
William Godbey's Commentary on the New Testament
29. “In order that no flesh may boastbefore God.” God is jealous of His
power, grace and glory, and is certain never to let the devil have it. Men in all
ages, manipulated by Satan through human learning, native genius, noble
birth, respectability, and money power, have done their utmost to usurp and
appropriate the Church of God. They have girdled the globe with their mighty
ecclesiasticisms, and resortedto every conceivable stratagemto take the
Church of God and run it their own way. They have succeededto a charm in
their own estimation; but in every instance, just about the time of their
triumph, God the Holy Ghost retreats awayand leaves them the poor old
ecclesiasticalcorpse, now an awful dead expense on their hands, as they have
to keepit alive by electricity, and pour out a bushel of money for aromatics to
keepdown the intolerable fetid effluvia, and expend a princely fortune on
plug hats, pigeon-tailcoats, silk dresses,flowers, feathers, toothpick shoes,
donkey socials,grab-bags, broomdrills, ice-creamsuppers, strawberry
festivals, and Satanic fandangos ad captandum vulgus. Meanwhile they are
thus sweeping along amid climacteric successin their own estimation; they are
actually laughing-stocksfor devils in Hell, who, as in the case ofDives, delight
to lash them with firebrands while their carnal pastoris delivering over their
coffins his eloquent and complimentary sermon, preaching them up to Heaven
while devils in Hell are kicking them for footballs around the black walls of
the pandemonium. While the devil thus girdles the globe with his fallen
churches, passes himselffor God and sweeps the proud, rich devotees into
Hell in platoons, God the Holy Ghost, having quietly retreatedawayfrom the
great, popular churches, is still carrying on His work among the meek and

lowly, “the foolish,” “the weak,” “the base-born,” “the despised,” and the
“nobodies.” Hallelujah!
Expository Notes ofDr. Thomas Constable
God has chosenthis method so the glory might be His and His alone. How
wrong then to glorify His messengers!Glorying here has the idea of putting
one"s full confidence in some inappropriate objectto secure ourselves.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
1 Corinthians 1:29. that no flesh should glory before God. This has been all
along the designof Godin the erectionand growth of His kingdom of grace
(Jeremiah 9:23; Romans 3:27; Ephesians 2:8-9); and in the first conquests of
the GospelHe kept this end speciallyin view. No doubt, when once gainedto
Christ, the rich, the mighty, and the noble were quite as ready to casttheir
crowns at His feetas the poorest, weakest, rudestof this world; and in doing
so, they made a sacrifice proportionably nobler. But had the early converts
been chiefly drawn from such influential classes,would not the triumphs of
Christianity have been set down rather to the rank, power, and culture which
it had contrived to draw within its pale than to the Divine powerresiding in
and going along with the messageitself? Now it was to preclude all such
surmises that, by a Divine ordination, the bulk of the converts in every church
and for a long time consistedof the despisedclasses, thatnone might have
even a pretext for glorying before God.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
1 Corinthians 1:29. God’s purposes in choosing the refuse of societyare
gatheredup into the generaland salutary design, revealedin Scripture (see

parls.), “that so no flesh may glory in God’s presence” (a condens quotation) =
πάντα εἰς δόξαν θεοῦ (1 Corinthians 10:31). Forὅπως, which carries to larger
issue the intentions stated in the previous clauses,cf. 2 Corinthians 8:14, 2
Thessalonians 1:12. Two Hebraisms, characteristic ofthe LXX, here: μὴ …
πᾶσα (khôl … lo’), for μηδεμία;and σάρξ (bâsâr), for humanity in its
mortality or sinfulness. Cf., for this rule of Divine action, 2 Corinthians 12:9
f.; also Plato, Ion, 534 E, ἵνα μὴ διστάζωμενὅτι οὐκ ἀνθρώπινά ἐστι τὰ καλὰ
ταῦτα ποιήματαοὐδὲ ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ θεῖα καὶ θεῶν … ὁ θεὸς ἐξεπίτηδες διὰ
τοῦ φαυλοτάτουποιητοῦ τὸ κάλλιστονμέλος ᾖσεν.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
Glory in his sight. God wishedit to be known, that the establishmentof his
Church was not the work of human wisdom or power, but of the omnipotent
powerof his divinity. (Calmet)
Mark Dunagan Commentary on the Bible
1 Corinthians 1:29 that no flesh should glory before God.
"And so there is no place for human pride in the presence ofGod" (NEB);
"So that in his presence no human being might have anything to boastof."
(Gspd)
"that"-the purpose why Godset it up this way. In the GospelMessage is there
is room for "I did it my way". Everything that the world places it"s
confidence in, that it boast"s about, that it takes pride in, God rejects.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged

No flesh should glory. For they who glory (boast)because ofhuman greatness
and wisdom are "put to shame" (1 Corinthians 1:27; Isaiah40:6).
In his presence. So Vulgate, 'Aleph (') A B C Delta G f g, read 'in God's
presence.'Glorynot before Him, but in Him (Bengel). Here Paul turns to his
aim, to warn them that the preachers in whom they gloried had no ground for
glorying in themselves;so the hearers ought to glory not in them, but in the
Lord (1 Corinthians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 4:6).
The Bible Study New Testament
That no one can boast. Compare Romans 3:27-28;Ephesians 2:8-10. "The
source of your salvation is God's actin Christ, not your own wisdom and
strength."
Treasuryof Scripture Knowledge
31; 4:7; 5:6; Psalms 49:6; Isaiah10:15; Jeremiah9:23; Romans 3:19,27;4:2;
15:17;Ephesians 2:9
Hodge's Commentary on Romans, Ephesians and First Corintians
The designof Godin thus dealing with men, calling the ignorant rather man
the wise, the lowly instead of the great, is that no man should boastbefore
him. No one canstand in his sight and attribute his conversionor salvationto
his ownwisdom, or birth, or station, or to any thing else by which he is
favorably distinguished from his fellow-men.
END OF STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES

Forerunner Commentary
I Corinthians 1:26-29 resounds through our minds as a constantreminder
that we are the foolish, weak, base anddespisedof this world. In these verses
God formally states that He has sought no particular advantage in carrying
out His purpose by calling us.
This is humbling in both a present and future sense. We seemto fall short
when we compare ourselves to those who have accomplishedgreatthings or
seemto have strong and goodcharacterin today's world. When we consider
the World Tomorrow and the daunting challengesthat will face those
reconstructing a world out of the chaos ofthe Tribulation and the Day of the
Lord, it is enough to make us feelcompletely inadequate.
Vanity keeps telling us we are intelligent, beautiful, clever, talented, cultured,
and unappreciated, but these verses should pull us back to reality. God's
assessmentis accurate becausewhenwe compare our accomplishments with
people in the world, ours fade into near nothingness!
John W. Ritenbaugh
Nobody will ever come before God and say, "I did it by the strength of my
own hands." Though this person may have faith and a strong will, he is
certainly not perfect. Many times, when the Israelites'faith broke down, God
had to intervene in some way to save them. Whether it is Israelat the Red Sea
or Israel out in the wilderness, time and againHe had to intervene and spare
them, even in times when they showeda measure of faith.

Since man's creation, humans have been exalting themselves againstGod by
choosing to do things their own way. However, there is only one way that
works eternally, and every human being will be led to see his weaknessesand
know that it is by grace that we are saved. This realizationdoes wonders to a
person's feelings about himself, making humility possible. This, in turn, makes
it possible for him to yield to God, which makes it possible for him to deal
with other human beings, not with a high hand or as a master to a slave, but
as a friend—as an understanding brother or sister who has gone through
similar experiences andseentheir own failures, and who can commiserate,
sympathize, show compassionand mercy, encourage,and inspire the one who
has failed.
God will work in eachperson and will do it in such a way that he will come to
realize that merely knowing the truth—and even believing the truth and
acting on it—are not enough. Godmust save them by grace.
This is not to say that works are unimportant. They are vital to maintaining
and developing a relationship with God. They are important in building
character, and in this sense, without works we will have a difficult time being
saved. If nothing else, doing goodworks shows thata relationship exists
betweena person and God. So works are important to earning rewards, to
building character, to providing a witness for God, but they still will not save
us of and by themselves because,since we are imperfect, they are also terribly
flawed.
John W. Ritenbaugh
This passage, a New Testamentparallelof Deuteronomy 7:7, removes any
doubt about the qualifications of those God has chosento call. Twice in verse
27 and once in verse 28 Paul says, "Godhas chosen." We did not volunteer.
He did not choose us for any skill, ability, or socialquality we had. Even those
who are "wise," "mighty," and "noble" are not that way through godly
spirituality.

Instead, God, with deliberate forethought, chose those who were foolish, base,
despised, and nothing. What a rag-tag outfit we are! God certainly has not
surrounded Himself with the elite to give Himself an advantage in His battle
againstSatan!He has given Himself, it seems, a greatdisadvantage in dealing
with us when better people may be readily available.
John W. Ritenbaugh
God has setup a system to call, convert, and educate a people for Himself.
They are a minority, very few in number. They are not mighty, noble, and
learned, but the weak ofthe world. God calls them and gives them His Spirit
and teachers to help them understand. Of all people on earth, only they have a
chance to understand the Bible.
Grace eliminates for us the possibility of any boasting or any self-glory.
Regardlessofour material accomplishments—no matterhow many doctorate
degrees we may have, how much money we may have accumulated, or how
many gooddeeds we may have done—no one can boastbefore Godbecause,
as verse 30 says, we are "of Him." Here is the keyto understanding this. In
spiritual terms, all that we have accomplishedhas been done only because of
what He gave.
If we want to go back that far, it all beganwhen He gave us life. In terms of
spiritual life, we have to go back only as far as His calling. We would not have
accomplishedanything that we have accomplishedspiritually—for instance,
kept the Sabbath and the holy days—exceptthat God calledus and made us
understand His truth. He led us to repentance. He impressed the importance
of doing what He revealedon our minds so that we would do them, and so
forth. The unilateral acts of God begin to pile up—grace upon grace. Godis
with us in this entire process.
What we have spiritually is only possible because we are "of Him," that is,
because ofwhat we have been given. This particular phrase—we are "of
Him"—is describing a personalattachment. It is as if we are part of a living

body, which we are, since the church is a living, spiritual organism. The
picture that is in the apostle Paul's mind is that we are directly connectedto
Him, even as the toe is attachedto the foot, which is in turn connectedto the
ankle and then to the leg. All of this is connected, and it receives its strength,
life, existence, growth, repair, etc. because it is part of the body. So are we
connectedto God and receive all these things.
What does the toe have to boastfor playing its role in the body? Even so,
nobody can boastbefore God because ofgrace. We have what we have
spiritually only because He has given it.
Further, if our spiritual lives and growth are going to continue, we can do this
only within this same environment. If the toe is cut from the body, it begins to
die immediately. A degenerationbegins to occurimmediately. We can apply
the same analogyto our spiritual life.
So, there is no bragging, no boasting, before God for anything that we have
spiritually. We have it because ofour personalattachment to the living Jesus
Christ.
Why is this important? Becauseit puts the relationship with God and fellow
man into its proper perspective. Many theologians insistthat what they derive
from the Bible and from their own experiences in life, is that carnally, the
underlying drive or motivation in all relationships is self-assertion, thatis, the
desire for recognition, pride. We want to be knownfor what we have done. "I
have accomplishedthis." "I built that." "This is my place." "This is my
spouse." The selfbasks in the glow of the fact that he exists and has and does
things. It is a drive to be recognized, noticed, praised, rewarded, and even
submitted to, because of who one is and what he feels he has done.
This has horrible ramifications for the relationship with God. Jesus'own
counselto His apostles—andHis advice extends to us—is to go in the exact
opposite direction and make ourselves of no reputation (as He did; Philippians
2:5-8). He says, "Whoeverhumbles himself as this little child is the greatestin
the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:4). A child is of no value to society
because he produces nothing, cannot do anything of value, and in a way, is
nothing more than a parasite, as some cultures see children.

Notice, though, that Jesus says that becoming like a little child is the way to
real power—inthe Kingdom of God. It is the way to gain the right kind of
recognitionand promotion—the kind that God would give us by grace, not
what we have earnedon our own.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Grace Upon Grace
God has purposely chosenthis means to put proud and stiff-neckedman
totally in debt to Him for the most important achievementin all of life. Men
have accomplishedmuch and will continue to do many great things. However,
verses 19-21 expose whythe wise of this world will not submit to God. The
reasonbecomes clearin the phrase, "the foolishness ofpreaching" (verse 21,
King James Version[KJV]). This translation is somewhatmisleading in the
King James;it should read "the foolishness ofthe messagepreached," as in
the New King James Version(NKJV). Paul is not saying that the wise of this
world reject the act of preaching but that they considerthe contentof the
messagepreachedto be foolish. In other words, the wise will not believe the
gospel, mostspecificallythat God in the flesh has died for the sins of the
world.
It cannot be overestimatedhow important humility expressedby faith before
God is to the overallspiritual purpose of God for eachindividual! Each
person must know as fully as possible that Christ died for him, that his own
works do not provide forgiveness, and that he has not createdhimself in
Christ Jesus. Nobodyevolves into a godly person on the strength of his own
will. It is God who works in us both to will and to do (Philippians 2:13). No
new creationcreates itself. So, by and large, God calls the undignified, base,
weak, and foolishof this world, people whom the unbelieving wise considerto
be insignificant and of no account. He does this so that no human will glory in
His presence. Onthis, a German commentator, Johann Albrecht Bengel,
clarifies, "We have permissionto glory, not before God, but in God."

The term "in Christ Jesus" (I Corinthians 1:30) indicates that we are in an
intimate relationship with Him. Paul then details—throughthe terms
"wisdom," "righteousness," "sanctification," and"redemption"—that God,
using our believing, humble, submissive cooperation, will be responsible for
all things accomplishedin and through us. Some modern commentators
believe that, because "wise"and"wisdom" appear so many times earlierin
this chapter, the terms "righteousness,""sanctification,"and "redemption"
should be in parentheses because Paulintends them to define what he means
by true wisdom in this context.
God, then, is pleasedto save those who believe and to do a mighty work in
them. This setAbel apart from, as far as we know, every other person living
on earth at that time. What he did by faith pictures what everyone who
receives salvationmust also do to begin his walk towardthe Kingdom of God.
Everyone must be calledof God; believe enough of His Word to know that he
is a sinner who needs the blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness ofhis sins;
repent, that is, undergo a change of mind toward God; and be justified, made
legally righteous by having Jesus Christ's righteousness imputed to him. This
enables a relationship with God to begin, and sanctificationunto glorification
can proceed.
John W. Ritenbaugh
My Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You that we have nothing to boast about.. except
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Thank You that it is by grace through faith in
the finished work of Christ alone that I have been redeemed and have
receivedthe forgiveness ofsins and life everlasting. Thank You that you have
chosenthe foolish things of this world to confound the wise - and thank You
that by grace through faith I have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ
- in Whose name I pray, AMEN.

Presence of god no boasting

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