WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.940 When you study the culture of ancient Greece, 00:00:03.220 --> 00:00:07.179 which by the way is a fascinating study in light 00:00:07.179 --> 00:00:10.640 of the fact that they were one of the most advanced 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:13.720 civilizations in human history for that time, 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:16.399 when you study the Greeks you quickly see that 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:20.000 certain ideals and values in their culture rise 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.940 to the top. And this is important for us to understand 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:25.649 as we continue to study Paul's letter to the 00:00:25.649 --> 00:00:27.929 church in Corinth, because in the first century, 00:00:27.969 --> 00:00:32.270 when Paul was writing, Corinthian culture was 00:00:32.270 --> 00:00:34.710 prevalent throughout the entire Greek world. 00:00:34.969 --> 00:00:37.350 And many of their ideals and values are drawn 00:00:37.350 --> 00:00:39.770 from the works of some of the most famous Greek 00:00:39.770 --> 00:00:42.350 scholars and poets and writers that we know, 00:00:42.490 --> 00:00:47.850 Homer and... Gosh, Thucydides and Herodotus and 00:00:47.850 --> 00:00:51.090 Sophocles and Euripides. The list goes on. Demosthenes, 00:00:51.090 --> 00:00:56.439 this list of amazing authors and writers. The 00:00:56.439 --> 00:00:59.460 Greeks loved to draw inspiration from those great 00:00:59.460 --> 00:01:02.380 works, and so they talked about things like physical 00:01:02.380 --> 00:01:05.700 prowess and bravery in battle, things that were 00:01:05.700 --> 00:01:08.319 personified in their pantheon of gods and their 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:11.260 larger -than -life heroes that they loved so 00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:13.780 much. We know that the Greeks valued philosophical 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:17.659 wisdom and logic and rhetoric. They had an intellectual 00:01:17.659 --> 00:01:20.700 curiosity. about everything that was high on 00:01:20.700 --> 00:01:23.099 their list of virtues. They sought after knowledge 00:01:23.099 --> 00:01:25.640 in terms of the natural world that was around 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:28.879 them, and they longed for immortality. If you've 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:31.959 ever seen the movie Troy, and I can't necessarily 00:01:31.959 --> 00:01:37.540 recommend it, But he talks a lot about that Achilles 00:01:37.540 --> 00:01:40.340 in that book or in that movie. They long for 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:43.379 immortality, whether it was in war or was in 00:01:43.379 --> 00:01:46.180 athletic competition, the idea of becoming legendary, 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:49.959 the idea of achieving glory in this life. And 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:51.719 as you stop and think about this, as we look 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:54.280 at the background of the city of Corinth, you 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:56.060 come to realize that the Greeks are very much 00:01:56.060 --> 00:01:59.239 like Americans are today because we are seekers 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:03.280 of status. We are seekers of renown. Most of 00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:06.000 the people in our culture today idolize celebrities. 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:09.120 That is one of the most common things about us. 00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:12.860 We idolize influencers, athletic superstars, 00:02:12.939 --> 00:02:15.719 the ultra -wealthy. We want to have their lifestyle, 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:19.080 right? Or public intellectuals, even pastors 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:22.139 of megachurches. And we tend to put them on a 00:02:22.139 --> 00:02:24.539 pedestal. We wish we could have just a fraction 00:02:24.539 --> 00:02:27.620 of their lives. And so it's understandable that 00:02:27.620 --> 00:02:29.979 the world thinks and acts this way. It's not 00:02:29.979 --> 00:02:32.939 surprising to us at all, right? Because we are 00:02:32.939 --> 00:02:35.060 walking in the footsteps of all these cultures 00:02:35.060 --> 00:02:37.819 in the West that have gone before us and shaped 00:02:37.819 --> 00:02:40.199 us, whether it's the ancient Greeks or it's the 00:02:40.199 --> 00:02:44.639 Romans. But when it comes to God's people, when 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:47.219 it comes to the things of God, His thoughts and 00:02:47.219 --> 00:02:50.280 His ways, everything I just described about both 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:53.219 Greek culture and American culture, those things 00:02:53.219 --> 00:02:56.789 are completely at odds. with what he's revealed 00:02:56.789 --> 00:03:00.789 to us in his word. We know that God consistently 00:03:00.789 --> 00:03:04.310 turns the value systems of the world upside down, 00:03:04.389 --> 00:03:07.610 turns them on its head. So what is foolish and 00:03:07.610 --> 00:03:10.449 weak in the eyes of the world is actually divine 00:03:10.449 --> 00:03:14.430 wisdom and divine power. And by saving both Jews 00:03:14.430 --> 00:03:17.930 and Gentiles through a crucified savior, by drawing 00:03:17.930 --> 00:03:21.689 sinful people to himself, the creator God has 00:03:21.689 --> 00:03:24.840 confounded the wisdom. of the big wide world 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:27.780 out there. Now, in light of all that, here's 00:03:27.780 --> 00:03:30.159 the problem that Paul was faced with as he sat 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:32.560 down to write this letter that we're studying 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:34.939 in this series. The believers in Corinth were 00:03:34.939 --> 00:03:37.759 having a really hard time laying aside their 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:41.259 worldly Greek values. All those values we talked 00:03:41.259 --> 00:03:43.039 about had seeped into the church, and now they 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:46.099 were struggling to lay them aside and struggling 00:03:46.099 --> 00:03:49.000 to put on the mind of Christ instead. That's 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.539 why, as we saw a couple weeks ago, we see them 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:55.020 lining up behind certain teachers, right? Almost 00:03:55.020 --> 00:03:57.939 treating them as their new heroes. They're lining 00:03:57.939 --> 00:04:00.500 up, they're dividing the body while boasting 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:02.300 and quarreling about things that should never 00:04:02.300 --> 00:04:05.810 be present in a local church. And so Paul has 00:04:05.810 --> 00:04:08.849 some very strong words for them in today's passage. 00:04:08.949 --> 00:04:11.270 Let's look at it. Grab your Bibles and let's 00:04:11.270 --> 00:04:16.949 go to 1 Corinthians 1. And I want you to locate 00:04:16.949 --> 00:04:19.930 verse 26. That's where we'll start this morning. 00:04:23.910 --> 00:04:28.569 1 Corinthians. Chapter 1, verse 26 to 31. Last 00:04:28.569 --> 00:04:31.810 Sunday we looked at verses 18 to 25, and remember 00:04:31.810 --> 00:04:35.149 we saw how Paul essentially divided all of humanity 00:04:35.149 --> 00:04:39.189 into two groups based on one all -important thing, 00:04:39.329 --> 00:04:42.149 something he called the word of the cross. Remember? 00:04:42.870 --> 00:04:45.290 First he said there are those who are perishing, 00:04:45.310 --> 00:04:48.810 presently falling into spiritual ruin because 00:04:48.810 --> 00:04:51.689 they've rejected the word of the cross. And then 00:04:51.689 --> 00:04:53.350 he said there's a second group, those who are 00:04:53.350 --> 00:04:56.980 being saved. presently justified in God's sight, 00:04:57.100 --> 00:05:00.500 being sanctified by the Holy Spirit because they've 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:03.040 embraced and believed the word of the cross. 00:05:03.180 --> 00:05:05.040 So that's what we saw last week. And we saw the 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:07.800 reasons why so many people in the world reject 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:09.579 the message of the cross that's been offered 00:05:09.579 --> 00:05:13.120 to them. To them, it just sounds like what? Foolishness. 00:05:14.189 --> 00:05:16.230 It's a stumbling block to them. It's foolish. 00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:19.769 They very much prefer their own brand of wisdom, 00:05:20.009 --> 00:05:22.470 their own brand of cleverness, their own emphasis 00:05:22.470 --> 00:05:25.769 on things like status and power and influence. 00:05:25.949 --> 00:05:28.990 But as we saw last week, what the world idolizes 00:05:28.990 --> 00:05:32.230 in reality, this is the key from last week, what 00:05:32.230 --> 00:05:35.389 the world idolizes in reality has absolutely 00:05:35.389 --> 00:05:39.470 no power to meet any of man's greatest needs. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:43.000 I mean, philosophy is fun to talk about, right? 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:46.519 We can go, we can grab a coffee and talk about 00:05:46.519 --> 00:05:50.579 the best players in the NBA. We can talk about 00:05:50.579 --> 00:05:52.720 wealthy. We can have all those conversations, 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:55.220 but all of that knowledge that we might pass 00:05:55.220 --> 00:05:58.399 to one another has no power to deal with our 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:02.339 greatest need. That's the reality. So no philosophy, 00:06:02.540 --> 00:06:05.759 no amount of education, no family connections. 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:09.360 No amount of followers on social media, no amount 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:11.860 of money in the bank, any of those things can 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:16.100 cleanse a man from sin. Right? None of those 00:06:16.100 --> 00:06:18.759 things can usher a man into the presence of God 00:06:18.759 --> 00:06:21.540 or grant them eternal life. So as fun as those 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:24.319 things are to talk about and even gain knowledge 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:28.560 about, they have no surpassing value. And that 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:30.819 was the contrast that Paul was making last week. 00:06:30.899 --> 00:06:34.160 Even the best of things that mankind produces 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:37.439 cannot come close to the wisdom and the power 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:40.420 of the word of the cross. Do you believe that? 00:06:41.220 --> 00:06:44.079 I hope you do. In fact, last Sunday's passage 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:46.339 we found out that God is actually in the business 00:06:46.339 --> 00:06:49.399 of destroying all that the world thinks is wise 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:52.500 and clever. And the amazing thing is he's doing 00:06:52.500 --> 00:06:54.839 it through what the world perceives as a bunch 00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:58.819 of foolish people, you all, who have with you 00:06:58.819 --> 00:07:03.120 a foolish message. So let's continue with that 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:05.759 argument here, beginning in verse 26. Here's 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:09.560 what God's word says. Paul says to them, consider 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:13.639 your calling, brethren, that there were not many 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:16.819 wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:21.000 not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish 00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:23.939 things of the world to shame the wise. And God 00:07:23.939 --> 00:07:26.300 has chosen the weak things of the world to shame 00:07:26.300 --> 00:07:28.839 the things which are strong, and the base things 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:32.120 of the world and the despised God has chosen. 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:35.360 The things that are not, so that he may nullify 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:38.360 the things that are, so that, purpose statement, 00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:43.160 so that no man may boast before God. But by his 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:45.939 doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to 00:07:45.939 --> 00:07:50.100 us wisdom from God and righteousness. and sanctification 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:53.959 and redemption so that just as it is written, 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:59.319 let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. Okay, 00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:00.899 so let's work our way through this and I want 00:08:00.899 --> 00:08:03.279 to start with the question. If both Jews and 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:06.540 Greeks are too wise and too sophisticated to 00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:09.639 accept God's offer of salvation through his son 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:12.660 crucified on a cross, what kind of people would 00:08:12.660 --> 00:08:17.300 God draw to himself? What kinds of people would 00:08:17.300 --> 00:08:19.220 God draw to himself? Draw to himself. What kinds 00:08:19.220 --> 00:08:22.720 of people are we? In verse 26, Paul essentially 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:25.579 says to the Corinthians, look around your church 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:30.180 and consider what kind of people you were before 00:08:30.180 --> 00:08:32.860 God called you. And maybe we should do that this 00:08:32.860 --> 00:08:38.539 morning. Look around. Look at each other. What 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:42.360 do you see? Or better yet, what don't you see? 00:08:43.700 --> 00:08:45.720 Here's what you don't see. Not a lot of us are 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:51.690 celebrities here. Right? Nobody here is a big 00:08:51.690 --> 00:08:55.669 -time influencer, as far as I know. None of us 00:08:55.669 --> 00:08:57.950 hold positions of power. There's not a lot of 00:08:57.950 --> 00:09:02.330 wealth or status among us. And for the most part, 00:09:02.389 --> 00:09:04.230 that's been true of the church throughout all 00:09:04.230 --> 00:09:06.850 of the ages. The church has always been filled 00:09:06.850 --> 00:09:11.169 with everyday, ordinary people like us. Now, 00:09:11.190 --> 00:09:12.730 obviously, there have been some rich and powerful 00:09:12.730 --> 00:09:15.210 people who have bowed their knee to Christ, but 00:09:15.210 --> 00:09:19.279 as Paul says here, not that many. Maybe you've 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:21.539 noticed that trend in our culture in America 00:09:21.539 --> 00:09:25.759 today. In verses 26 to 28 alone, you see four 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:28.659 specific types of people who Paul's going to 00:09:28.659 --> 00:09:32.019 highlight as everyday ordinary people who are 00:09:32.019 --> 00:09:35.360 objects of God's saving grace. Let's look at 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:38.179 them. The first one are the foolish. Anybody 00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:43.059 want to cop to this? Okay. It's okay. It's all 00:09:43.059 --> 00:09:46.059 right. The foolish. Verse 27, God has chosen 00:09:46.059 --> 00:09:48.850 the foolish things of the world. Up in verse 00:09:48.850 --> 00:09:52.490 26, there's not many wise among you. And you 00:09:52.490 --> 00:09:54.149 can see on the screen there, the Greek word for 00:09:54.149 --> 00:09:57.409 foolish is moros, which carries a meaning that, 00:09:57.409 --> 00:09:59.590 I'm just going to be honest, it's a little bit 00:09:59.590 --> 00:10:05.970 offensive. The word means a bit dull. Not that 00:10:05.970 --> 00:10:09.110 bright. It's where we get the English word, what? 00:10:10.149 --> 00:10:14.649 Moron from. Yeah. I mean, that's the reality. 00:10:14.889 --> 00:10:17.570 So look around, Paul says. Not a lot of high 00:10:17.570 --> 00:10:23.230 IQ folks here. Not a bunch of Ivy Leaguers walked 00:10:23.230 --> 00:10:25.750 in the door this morning. I was going to say, 00:10:25.789 --> 00:10:29.830 look at all the morons, but I'll just, I'll let 00:10:29.830 --> 00:10:34.690 that pass. By the way, I'm one of you, so. But 00:10:34.690 --> 00:10:38.210 we understand why this is true, right? We understand 00:10:38.210 --> 00:10:41.009 why. The vast majority of the intellectual elites 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:45.179 of our culture look down their noses at Christianity. 00:10:46.259 --> 00:10:48.360 They look down their noses at you and I. You 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:51.620 really believe that ancient, dusty old book, 00:10:51.779 --> 00:10:55.840 they ask? You believe that God actually can become 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:59.980 a man? You believe this Jesus was actually resurrected 00:10:59.980 --> 00:11:03.620 to life? They look at that and say it's all foolishness. 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:06.279 We know obviously differently, but they say that 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.440 is foolishness. So we are the foolish. It's okay 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:12.460 to own that. Secondly, he says we're the weak, 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:16.139 right? Verse 27 again, God has chosen the weak 00:11:16.139 --> 00:11:18.740 things of the world. Verse 26, not many mighty, 00:11:18.899 --> 00:11:22.860 not many powerful among you. And the Greek word 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:25.940 there for weak is asthenes, which means not just 00:11:25.940 --> 00:11:28.379 physical weakness, but it describes somebody 00:11:28.379 --> 00:11:32.340 who is kind of feeble or sickly. And so Paul 00:11:32.340 --> 00:11:34.639 says, look, that church in Corinth, it's filled 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:38.059 with folks who are needy, folks who are struggling 00:11:38.059 --> 00:11:40.850 in life. with all kinds of trials and difficulties, 00:11:41.250 --> 00:11:43.409 folks who don't have a lot of material resources 00:11:43.409 --> 00:11:46.090 like so many others in the world. And again, 00:11:46.169 --> 00:11:48.909 we understand why this is so, because those who 00:11:48.909 --> 00:11:51.370 are rich and powerful and have access to all 00:11:51.370 --> 00:11:54.250 kinds of resources, they have a tendency to feel 00:11:54.250 --> 00:11:57.769 like, why would I need God? I have so much. Why 00:11:57.769 --> 00:12:02.289 would I need him? That's why Jesus said, it's 00:12:02.289 --> 00:12:04.009 easier for a camel to go through the eye of a 00:12:04.009 --> 00:12:06.700 needle. And for a rich man to enter into the 00:12:06.700 --> 00:12:08.820 kingdom of God because they don't see the need. 00:12:08.919 --> 00:12:13.240 They have so much. And so the weak. The third 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:15.700 is the group we refer to as the insignificant. 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:20.659 Verse 28. In the NAS it says the base. Maybe 00:12:20.659 --> 00:12:23.720 a better translation is the lowly. The lowly 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:25.879 things of the world. Up in verse 26. Not many 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:29.740 of you are of noble birth. The Greek word there 00:12:29.740 --> 00:12:33.179 is aganes. A word which commonly was used in 00:12:33.179 --> 00:12:35.419 the ancient world to describe a person's lineage. 00:12:35.700 --> 00:12:37.960 Like, where do you come from? Do you have this 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:42.240 noble family line or not? And again, Paul says, 00:12:42.340 --> 00:12:44.519 look around your church, folks. Not a lot of 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:47.399 noble families represented among you. I don't 00:12:47.399 --> 00:12:50.840 know of anybody connected to royalty here in 00:12:50.840 --> 00:12:53.360 your body. Nobody here part of the ruling class. 00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:57.320 You are the insignificant. And again, the reason 00:12:57.320 --> 00:12:59.580 is obvious, right? The nobles of Greek society, 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:02.740 the proud, the self -sufficient, why would they 00:13:02.740 --> 00:13:05.419 submit to a message about salvation based on 00:13:05.419 --> 00:13:09.059 a Jew dying on a cross? They're just not going 00:13:09.059 --> 00:13:12.139 to receive that. Finally, one last group, the 00:13:12.139 --> 00:13:16.019 despised. The despised, verse 28, the despised 00:13:16.019 --> 00:13:19.919 and the things that are not. The Greek word here 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:24.929 is exutheneo. a word which was used to describe 00:13:24.929 --> 00:13:30.429 something contemptible, despised, something of 00:13:30.429 --> 00:13:33.350 no regard whatsoever. Paul says, your church 00:13:33.350 --> 00:13:35.570 is filled with folks who are on the lower end 00:13:35.570 --> 00:13:38.070 of the social ladder. Back in my day, we'd say 00:13:38.070 --> 00:13:40.669 they're from the wrong side of the tracks, right? 00:13:40.789 --> 00:13:43.409 They're contemptible. So they're looked down 00:13:43.409 --> 00:13:45.450 upon by the upper crust of society. And Paul 00:13:45.450 --> 00:13:50.269 says, it's okay. This is who we are. And just 00:13:50.269 --> 00:13:52.070 to bolster that truth of what Paul's saying, 00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:55.529 in the second century AD, there was a very famous 00:13:55.529 --> 00:13:58.570 pagan philosopher by the name of Celsus, and 00:13:58.570 --> 00:14:01.470 his works have come down to us through the church 00:14:01.470 --> 00:14:04.090 father Origen, and he was writing around the 00:14:04.090 --> 00:14:07.529 year 175. He was what we call a middle Platonist. 00:14:08.269 --> 00:14:10.909 a middle Platonist, and he championed traditional 00:14:10.909 --> 00:14:14.149 Greek and Roman religion. When he looked at Christianity, 00:14:14.409 --> 00:14:18.309 what he saw was a superstitious foreign novel 00:14:18.309 --> 00:14:20.929 religion that undermined Greek values. He's very 00:14:20.929 --> 00:14:25.350 much a nationalist in that regard. Can I show 00:14:25.350 --> 00:14:28.409 you what he wrote about us? You're not going 00:14:28.409 --> 00:14:31.370 to like this. Here's what he wrote in the year 00:14:31.370 --> 00:14:34.610 175. He said, the following are the rules laid 00:14:34.610 --> 00:14:37.690 down by them, meaning Christians. Let no man 00:14:37.690 --> 00:14:41.149 that is learned, wise, or prudent come among 00:14:41.149 --> 00:14:44.710 us. But if they're unlearned or a child or an 00:14:44.710 --> 00:14:49.049 idiot, let him freely come. So they openly declare 00:14:49.049 --> 00:14:52.289 that none but the ignorant and those devoid of 00:14:52.289 --> 00:14:56.090 understanding, slaves, women, and children are 00:14:56.090 --> 00:14:58.429 fit disciples for the God that they worship. 00:15:00.210 --> 00:15:03.929 Ouch. He goes on. It gets worse. We see them 00:15:03.929 --> 00:15:07.059 in their houses. They're wool dressers, cobblers, 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:10.139 the worst, the most vulgar, the most uneducated 00:15:10.139 --> 00:15:13.220 persons. They're like a swarm of bats or ants 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:16.039 creeping out of their nests or frogs holding 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:19.299 a symposium around a swamp or worms convening 00:15:19.299 --> 00:15:26.120 in the mud. Yikes. That was the view of the so 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:28.620 -called high -minded members of Greek and Roman 00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:32.370 society in the first and second centuries. The 00:15:32.370 --> 00:15:34.590 Christians were stupid and lowly and contemptible, 00:15:34.649 --> 00:15:37.690 really unfit for any serious philosophical debate, 00:15:37.830 --> 00:15:40.490 and more like base creatures than rational human 00:15:40.490 --> 00:15:44.029 beings. From the high -minded, from the elites 00:15:44.029 --> 00:15:47.950 of society. Now, in light of all that, in light 00:15:47.950 --> 00:15:50.049 of this passage and what you just read, raise 00:15:50.049 --> 00:15:54.190 your hand if you're offended this morning. It'd 00:15:54.190 --> 00:15:57.870 be okay if you raise your hand. This seems offensive, 00:15:58.110 --> 00:16:00.350 but there's a key to understanding Paul's argument 00:16:00.350 --> 00:16:03.279 here. that you have to understand. And by the 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:05.379 way, let me admit to you, I remember probably, 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:07.899 must have been 35 years ago, when I really started 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:10.860 to study the Bible in depth, I remember reading 00:16:10.860 --> 00:16:14.379 this passage and being super offended. I just 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:16.740 was, because I thought, I mean, at the time I 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:18.200 was young and impulsive, and I thought I was 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:21.840 pretty smart, as most young men think they are. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:27.600 And I thought I was, Micah, yeah. I thought I 00:16:27.600 --> 00:16:29.659 was pretty smart. And so this felt like a real 00:16:29.659 --> 00:16:32.539 attack on my character to call me these things. 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:35.419 But now I know better. What you have to understand 00:16:35.419 --> 00:16:37.899 about this passage is that Paul is not speaking 00:16:37.899 --> 00:16:42.200 objectively here. He's not saying you're objectively 00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:46.539 stupid, objectively moronic, right? What he's 00:16:46.539 --> 00:16:49.559 saying is this is the perspective of the world. 00:16:50.620 --> 00:16:53.159 It's not objective. This is from the unbelieving 00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:55.629 world's perspective. In fact, it's built into 00:16:55.629 --> 00:16:58.409 the text. If you look again at verses 26 through 00:16:58.409 --> 00:17:01.830 28, count how many times Paul refers to either 00:17:01.830 --> 00:17:05.650 the world or worldly standards. Consider your 00:17:05.650 --> 00:17:07.849 calling, brethren, that there were not many wise 00:17:07.849 --> 00:17:10.210 according to the flesh. That means according 00:17:10.210 --> 00:17:13.769 to the world's standards. God has chosen the 00:17:13.769 --> 00:17:16.950 foolish things of the world to shame the wise, 00:17:17.029 --> 00:17:19.769 the weak things of the world to shame the things 00:17:19.769 --> 00:17:21.910 which are strong, and the base things of the 00:17:21.910 --> 00:17:24.960 world. This is the world's perspective. Four 00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:27.339 times he says it. This is how the unbelieving 00:17:27.339 --> 00:17:30.920 world sees us. We are in their eyes foolish and 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:33.460 weak and lowly and despised, but that's according 00:17:33.460 --> 00:17:38.259 to their standards, not God's standard. And that's 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:42.210 what matters most, right? In fact, it's the opposite 00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:44.670 of God's standard. And what Paul is doing here, 00:17:44.730 --> 00:17:46.869 we've already seen him use a number of sort of 00:17:46.869 --> 00:17:49.710 literary techniques here, appeal to absurdity, 00:17:49.769 --> 00:17:51.829 things of that nature. This is what we call divine 00:17:51.829 --> 00:17:55.150 inversion, where we see God delighting and flipping 00:17:55.150 --> 00:17:58.930 over the values of the natural man. In God's 00:17:58.930 --> 00:18:01.289 thoughts and ways, think about this, the humble 00:18:01.289 --> 00:18:06.109 are exalted, right? Divine inversion. The last 00:18:06.109 --> 00:18:21.140 will be first. God flips the values of the world 00:18:21.140 --> 00:18:23.880 completely upside down. So in that vein, while 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.700 the wise and the strong, who are perishing, by 00:18:26.700 --> 00:18:29.789 the way, While they judge the word of the cross 00:18:29.789 --> 00:18:32.710 as foolishness, the simple and the weak who are 00:18:32.710 --> 00:18:36.750 being saved, we judge that very same word as 00:18:36.750 --> 00:18:40.250 the power of God unto salvation. You see the 00:18:40.250 --> 00:18:43.230 contrast he's drawing here? It's light and darkness, 00:18:43.329 --> 00:18:47.829 isn't it? And we need to, more often we need 00:18:47.829 --> 00:18:50.210 to see the world in these terms, light and darkness. 00:18:50.690 --> 00:18:53.450 Two groups of people perishing, being saved. 00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:56.440 Because that's what Paul's saying here. Now, 00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:58.720 a quick caveat, we have to be careful that we 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:01.779 don't get arrogant ourselves. God hasn't designed 00:19:01.779 --> 00:19:04.420 his kingdom in this way because being weak and 00:19:04.420 --> 00:19:07.859 foolish is better. There is no better when it 00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:10.380 comes to humanity. We're all sinners. None of 00:19:10.380 --> 00:19:13.180 us deserves to be saved. So we have to be careful 00:19:13.180 --> 00:19:15.599 and go, well, I can now boast in my weakness 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:20.460 and boast in my foolishness and my moronic behavior, 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:24.440 right? We don't want to boast in that. God has 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:26.640 purposed to order things in this way so that 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:29.339 all glory is given to him and not to prideful 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:31.819 men and women, no matter where we are on the 00:19:31.819 --> 00:19:36.079 socioeconomic scale. Now, God is 100 % sovereign, 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:38.819 he's all -powerful, and he could accomplish his 00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:43.259 will in any number of ways, yet he chooses to 00:19:43.259 --> 00:19:46.240 do it through simple, unimpressive servants like 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:51.839 us. The question is why? Would you design it 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:55.000 that way? If you were God, would you say, you 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:57.039 know what? I'm going to pass over those really 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.759 wealthy, powerful people who in our minds think, 00:19:59.799 --> 00:20:00.920 well, those people could get a lot of things 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:04.079 done. Nope. I'm going to look at that really 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:07.599 simple person down here, and I'm going to use 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:10.670 him or her as my servant. Why? Well, Paul gives 00:20:10.670 --> 00:20:13.650 us two explicit reasons in this text. One I'm 00:20:13.650 --> 00:20:15.710 going to save for later, but the first one we 00:20:15.710 --> 00:20:17.430 need to talk about because it fits with this 00:20:17.430 --> 00:20:20.710 idea of divine inversion. In verse 28, Paul says, 00:20:20.890 --> 00:20:22.109 and I'm going to put this on the screen, I'm 00:20:22.109 --> 00:20:24.490 going to put the CSB version on the screen because 00:20:24.490 --> 00:20:27.630 it's much more understandable than the NAS. It 00:20:27.630 --> 00:20:30.470 says, God has chosen what is insignificant and 00:20:30.470 --> 00:20:34.109 despised in the world, what is viewed as nothing, 00:20:34.230 --> 00:20:37.549 to bring to nothing what is viewed as something. 00:20:40.279 --> 00:20:42.559 That's one of the purposes why he uses folks 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:46.000 like us. It's God's plan and purpose to bring 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:48.720 to nothing all of the things that the world views 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:51.740 as something and to nullify it, to shame it. 00:20:52.900 --> 00:20:56.380 In common terms, we could say to eradicate everything 00:20:56.380 --> 00:20:59.000 that the world thinks is so great and so important. 00:21:01.220 --> 00:21:04.980 That's what God wants to do through us. That 00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:07.440 means all human power, all human wisdom, all 00:21:07.440 --> 00:21:10.240 human honor, every false standard that the world 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:13.519 holds to, and every reason that man has to boast 00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:19.539 in himself. God's going to obliterate it. And 00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:21.400 here's the most amazing part. God has purposed 00:21:21.400 --> 00:21:25.519 to do that, to magnify his name through the very 00:21:25.519 --> 00:21:29.940 people who are despised by the world. That's 00:21:29.940 --> 00:21:32.720 our mission, you guys. God has chosen us as simple 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:35.400 servants to carry out that mission, to nullify 00:21:35.400 --> 00:21:37.960 and to shame the things that the world thinks 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:41.099 is so great. Now, again, don't let that pump 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:44.640 you up and make you arrogant yourself. That should 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:46.799 humble you that God has chosen you to do that. 00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:49.480 Calvin put it this way. I love what he says. 00:21:49.579 --> 00:21:52.240 He says, the Lord has designed this in order 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:56.460 to bring down the glory of the flesh by preferring 00:21:56.460 --> 00:22:01.079 the contemptible over the great. That's an awesome 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:04.240 quote. Christians who are considered simple and 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.720 foolish, are you ready for this, are in reality 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:11.819 the wisest people on earth. The wisest. The poor 00:22:11.819 --> 00:22:15.839 man. The slave. The former criminal. The man 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:19.579 without any education. If that man is reconciled 00:22:19.579 --> 00:22:21.799 to God through the word of the cross and is being 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:25.420 led by the Holy Spirit, he has more wisdom than 00:22:25.420 --> 00:22:28.079 the greatest philosopher the world has ever produced. 00:22:30.579 --> 00:22:35.299 Wow, right? If he's been reconciled to God, he's 00:22:35.299 --> 00:22:37.859 being led by the Holy Spirit, he has way more 00:22:37.859 --> 00:22:41.240 wisdom than an unbeliever who talks a big game. 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:46.099 We are God's rebuke to the wisdom of the world. 00:22:46.500 --> 00:22:49.980 And it drives arrogant men like Celsus absolutely 00:22:49.980 --> 00:22:54.000 mad. It irks them to no end to see the confidence 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:56.539 that we have in the truth that God has revealed 00:22:56.539 --> 00:22:59.759 to us. It irks them beyond measure to see the 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:04.720 eternal hope that we cling to in Christ. And 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:07.079 hasn't God always worked this way from Genesis 00:23:07.079 --> 00:23:10.359 to today? When you look at the scriptures, inverting 00:23:10.359 --> 00:23:13.059 the wisdom of the world, you can trace this all 00:23:13.059 --> 00:23:14.960 the way back to the Torah, right? Back to God's 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:17.680 choice of one particular people among all the 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:20.599 nations of the ancient Near East, right? Israel. 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:23.819 What does Yahweh say about them in Deuteronomy 00:23:23.819 --> 00:23:26.680 7? He says, the Lord did not set his love on 00:23:26.680 --> 00:23:30.079 you nor choose you because you were more in number 00:23:30.079 --> 00:23:32.140 than any of the peoples for you were the fewest 00:23:32.140 --> 00:23:35.299 of all peoples. It makes no sense to us that 00:23:35.299 --> 00:23:39.019 God would pick Israel, right? Why would you pick 00:23:39.019 --> 00:23:43.119 the smallest tribe and use them? If we were God, 00:23:43.240 --> 00:23:45.759 we'd say, show me the biggest tribe with the 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:48.640 largest military because we want to dominate. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.180 Why would he do that? Because when he chooses 00:23:54.180 --> 00:23:59.579 the fewest people, who gets the glory? God does. 00:24:00.539 --> 00:24:03.420 It actually makes sense in his world, in his 00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:06.180 economy. It's always been God's pattern to choose 00:24:06.180 --> 00:24:08.740 the most unlikely people and the least impressive 00:24:08.740 --> 00:24:11.640 people by worldly standards, again, to nullify 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:15.920 and shame the wise. In the New Testament, James 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:18.359 says this as well. He says, listen, my beloved 00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:22.339 brethren, did not God choose the poor of this 00:24:22.339 --> 00:24:27.700 world to be what? Rich in faith. To be rich in 00:24:27.700 --> 00:24:29.839 faith. And heirs of the kingdom which he promised 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:32.920 to those who love him. So both Old Testament 00:24:32.920 --> 00:24:35.500 and New Testament. And then you just walk down 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:37.920 the list of characters we see in the Bible. All 00:24:37.920 --> 00:24:41.180 of the unlikely people that God chooses. Who 00:24:41.180 --> 00:24:45.279 would have chosen David? the least likely of 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:48.480 all the brothers in that family, to be king over 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:51.519 Israel and the forerunner of the Messiah, a shepherd 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:56.339 boy. This is how God operates. Think of a simple 00:24:56.339 --> 00:25:00.400 farmer, a tender of sycamore trees named Amos, 00:25:00.420 --> 00:25:04.940 who God calls to be a prophet to judge the idolatrous 00:25:04.940 --> 00:25:08.299 nation of the northern kingdom, Amos. Think of 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:11.980 an orphaned exile named Esther who comes out 00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:15.490 of nowhere. to be queen in Persia and a savior 00:25:15.490 --> 00:25:18.630 of her people. Or an old woman named Anna who's 00:25:18.630 --> 00:25:21.130 called to be a prophetess, testifying to the 00:25:21.130 --> 00:25:23.789 redemption of Jerusalem when she first sets her 00:25:23.789 --> 00:25:27.109 eyes on Jesus. And if you're not convinced by 00:25:27.109 --> 00:25:29.150 those, consider the man that Jesus describes 00:25:29.150 --> 00:25:31.910 like this. Among those born of women, there has 00:25:31.910 --> 00:25:37.430 not arisen anyone greater than who? John the 00:25:37.430 --> 00:25:41.329 Baptist. John the Baptist, not a man admired 00:25:41.329 --> 00:25:46.920 by society. Not a man who looked favorably on 00:25:46.920 --> 00:25:50.500 by the elites of the world at that time. No education 00:25:50.500 --> 00:25:53.500 that we know of, not from a noble family, no 00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:55.700 real power, just a single voice of conviction, 00:25:55.940 --> 00:25:58.900 crying out in the wilderness, and a very strange 00:25:58.900 --> 00:26:03.400 character to boot. Does not fit any of the standards 00:26:03.400 --> 00:26:06.400 of the world. But he was God's man at just the 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:08.700 right time. And so the Lord used John the Baptist 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:12.119 as a rebuke to the powerful chief priests in 00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:15.880 Jerusalem, didn't he? Absolutely unlikely. All 00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:18.440 of these folks were judged to be insignificant 00:26:18.440 --> 00:26:22.740 by the world, but not by God. So this is a very 00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:25.440 consistent trend that runs right through 1 Corinthians 00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:30.059 1. Do you see it? Now, at this point, you may 00:26:30.059 --> 00:26:32.660 hear all that and go, okay, well, that's starting 00:26:32.660 --> 00:26:35.440 to make some sense. What am I supposed to do 00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:38.259 with this? Like, what am I supposed to do with 00:26:38.259 --> 00:26:40.579 this passage? Is there a practical application 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:44.349 here? O ye of little faith. There is so much 00:26:44.349 --> 00:26:47.549 in this passage for you and I to take home this 00:26:47.549 --> 00:26:49.970 morning, not the least of which are all the ways 00:26:49.970 --> 00:26:52.730 that in the background of this text we just read, 00:26:52.769 --> 00:26:55.589 those six verses, you see multiple ways that 00:26:55.589 --> 00:26:59.839 God has loved you in unfathomable ways. It's 00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:01.420 right there. I say in the background because 00:27:01.420 --> 00:27:05.380 how many times do we rip through a passage and 00:27:05.380 --> 00:27:08.299 we don't slow down enough to see these words 00:27:08.299 --> 00:27:11.220 that are absolutely loaded with theological meaning. 00:27:11.420 --> 00:27:14.079 We read right past them and we sometimes miss 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:18.359 them entirely. In these six verses, 26 to 31, 00:27:18.579 --> 00:27:21.180 Paul describes at least four ways that God has 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:25.339 shown unfathomable love for you. So we're gonna 00:27:25.339 --> 00:27:26.859 walk through those. The first one is election. 00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:31.019 The first one is election. You were chosen by 00:27:31.019 --> 00:27:34.240 him. And look, I know sometimes you guys get 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.359 tired of me talking about sovereignty and election 00:27:36.359 --> 00:27:40.440 and all this. It's everywhere in the Bible. So 00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:42.359 we're going to do it again. Get used to it because 00:27:42.359 --> 00:27:46.180 Paul likes election. Look what it says, verses 00:27:46.180 --> 00:27:49.140 27 to 28. Three times he uses the word chosen. 00:27:50.339 --> 00:27:54.359 We can't just ignore that word. God has chosen 00:27:54.359 --> 00:27:56.900 the foolish things. God has chosen the weak. 00:27:57.869 --> 00:28:00.289 The despised God has chosen. And understand, 00:28:00.369 --> 00:28:03.609 that's not a throwaway verb that Paul is using 00:28:03.609 --> 00:28:07.769 here. It's the very same verb where it describes 00:28:07.769 --> 00:28:12.829 how Jesus chose the 12. Did you think that might 00:28:12.829 --> 00:28:16.789 have been random? That Jesus chose, give me 12 00:28:16.789 --> 00:28:23.009 fishermen. It's a very biologically loaded word 00:28:23.009 --> 00:28:27.640 that he uses here. In fact, It's the same verb 00:28:27.640 --> 00:28:29.900 that Jesus uses in the upper room when he says 00:28:29.900 --> 00:28:34.240 to his disciples, you did not choose me, but 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:37.539 I chose you. And then three verses later, I chose 00:28:37.539 --> 00:28:41.980 you out of the world, it says. And then famously, 00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:44.720 it's the same verb Paul uses to describe the 00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:46.779 very beginning of how any of us in this room 00:28:46.779 --> 00:28:49.559 got saved. Going back to Ephesians chapter one, 00:28:49.819 --> 00:28:54.119 he chose us in him before the foundation of the 00:28:54.119 --> 00:29:03.349 world. He chose us in Christ before a thing was 00:29:03.349 --> 00:29:09.190 made that we would be holy and blameless before 00:29:09.190 --> 00:29:11.990 him. Well, hold on a second. How can we be holy 00:29:11.990 --> 00:29:14.509 and blameless? He will make it so because he's 00:29:14.509 --> 00:29:19.329 chosen you. In love, that's the motivation, he 00:29:19.329 --> 00:29:26.049 predestined us to adoption as sons. through Jesus 00:29:26.049 --> 00:29:29.369 Christ to himself according to the kind intention 00:29:29.369 --> 00:29:33.509 of his divine will, which cannot be thwarted. 00:29:34.549 --> 00:29:38.289 That's a powerful passage, isn't it? Paul is 00:29:38.289 --> 00:29:40.210 saying here in 1 Corinthians 1 that before we 00:29:40.210 --> 00:29:43.009 even came into existence, God fully understood 00:29:43.009 --> 00:29:45.430 the depths of our sin, the depths of our rebellion, 00:29:45.690 --> 00:29:48.710 and in spite of that, he graciously marked us 00:29:48.710 --> 00:29:54.309 out to be saved. Has he loved you? It's unfathomable, 00:29:54.349 --> 00:29:57.470 isn't it? The fact that you're saved this morning 00:29:57.470 --> 00:30:00.230 originated in the divine will and purpose of 00:30:00.230 --> 00:30:03.250 God even before time began. And to me, what's 00:30:03.250 --> 00:30:05.950 most amazing about election, and we talk about 00:30:05.950 --> 00:30:09.049 this within the framework of Calvinism, it's 00:30:09.049 --> 00:30:12.670 unconditional. It's not conditioned upon your 00:30:12.670 --> 00:30:15.509 performance or my performance. God didn't say, 00:30:15.589 --> 00:30:17.970 I chose you, Jeff, because I knew you'd be good 00:30:17.970 --> 00:30:23.480 and obedient. Because I wasn't. He didn't say 00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:25.460 to me, I chose you, Jeff, based on the fact that 00:30:25.460 --> 00:30:27.279 I knew someday you would choose to believe in 00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:30.220 me. In Scripture, there's no conditions placed 00:30:30.220 --> 00:30:32.980 on God's choosing. It is simply his good and 00:30:32.980 --> 00:30:37.519 sovereign will. And I know that's a hard principle 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:39.900 to wrestle with. It's everywhere in Scripture. 00:30:41.619 --> 00:30:43.900 So that's the first thing. Second way that God's 00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:46.720 love for us is found in our passage is back to 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:52.059 verse 26, that God called us. He called us. Paul 00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:55.500 starts by saying, consider your calling, brothers 00:30:55.500 --> 00:30:59.160 and sisters. That's the Greek word klesis. It's 00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:02.140 a word that's synonymous with the idea of receiving 00:31:02.140 --> 00:31:04.660 an invitation. That's a really good practical 00:31:04.660 --> 00:31:07.579 way to think about calling. Being invited by 00:31:07.579 --> 00:31:11.740 God into a saving relationship with Christ. Okay? 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:15.319 It's the same word used in Romans 11 when Paul 00:31:15.319 --> 00:31:18.000 describes God's faithfulness to Israel, saying 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:20.819 the gifts and the calling of God to Israel are 00:31:20.819 --> 00:31:24.859 irrevocable. In other words, the covenant invitation 00:31:24.859 --> 00:31:28.599 given by Yahweh to Israel can never be taken 00:31:28.599 --> 00:31:32.299 back, can never be nullified. And the same can 00:31:32.299 --> 00:31:35.680 be said of God's calling of you and me. By the 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:39.240 way, if God can revoke his calling given to Israel, 00:31:39.400 --> 00:31:42.380 what security do we have? that he might change 00:31:42.380 --> 00:31:46.440 his mind again. It's irrevocable, he says. And 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:48.980 so the calling he's given to us, once he chooses 00:31:48.980 --> 00:31:51.539 us as part of a sovereign will and divine purpose, 00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:55.220 he will call us with a calling that is irrevocable 00:31:55.220 --> 00:31:58.519 because God doesn't make mistakes and he doesn't 00:31:58.519 --> 00:32:01.200 go back on his word. That's good news for us, 00:32:01.259 --> 00:32:03.720 right? Calling is also used powerfully in 2 Timothy 00:32:03.720 --> 00:32:06.980 1, being connected both to the basis of our salvation 00:32:06.980 --> 00:32:10.200 by faith alone and to election. Look at this 00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:15.380 verse. God has saved us and called us with a 00:32:15.380 --> 00:32:18.619 holy calling, not according to our works, but 00:32:18.619 --> 00:32:21.420 according to his own purpose and grace, which 00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:24.500 was granted us in Christ Jesus from when? From 00:32:24.500 --> 00:32:28.019 all eternity. It's not just in Ephesians 1. Here 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:31.779 it is in 2 Timothy. So completely apart from 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:34.220 any merit in us or any good works that we had 00:32:34.220 --> 00:32:37.880 done, God graciously extends to us this holy 00:32:37.880 --> 00:32:43.069 invitation to know him. by opening our eyes to 00:32:43.069 --> 00:32:47.190 see Christ for who he is, which Paul also speaks 00:32:47.190 --> 00:32:50.049 of in Ephesians 1. He says, I pray that the eyes 00:32:50.049 --> 00:32:53.210 of your heart may be enlightened so that you'll 00:32:53.210 --> 00:32:56.150 know what is the hope of his calling, what are 00:32:56.150 --> 00:32:58.309 the riches of the glory of his inheritance in 00:32:58.309 --> 00:33:00.430 the saints. What a beautiful word picture here, 00:33:00.529 --> 00:33:02.910 right? This calling of hope that brings light 00:33:02.910 --> 00:33:06.009 into our hearts, this invitation that God gives 00:33:06.009 --> 00:33:09.220 us, that enlightens us. It's an invitation that 00:33:09.220 --> 00:33:11.680 draws us out of darkness and death and brings 00:33:11.680 --> 00:33:14.980 us into light and life. It is God's irresistible, 00:33:14.980 --> 00:33:20.000 life -giving command that says, come to me. Come 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:22.819 to me. So if you're a believer this morning, 00:33:22.859 --> 00:33:25.319 that is the truth about how you got saved, with 00:33:25.319 --> 00:33:28.400 an effectual calling from God that produced in 00:33:28.400 --> 00:33:32.470 you his divine will. That your spiritual eyes 00:33:32.470 --> 00:33:35.029 would be open, that your affections for Christ 00:33:35.029 --> 00:33:37.390 would be stirred in your heart such that you 00:33:37.390 --> 00:33:42.869 would turn to him, see him, love him, and believe 00:33:42.869 --> 00:33:47.150 in him and be saved. That's part of the calling 00:33:47.150 --> 00:33:49.849 that God, sometimes the word is drawing, but 00:33:49.849 --> 00:33:52.690 this calling, this holy invitation to know God. 00:33:52.809 --> 00:33:55.190 He did the work to open your eyes so that you 00:33:55.190 --> 00:33:59.730 see him and love him. Isn't it great? Unfathomable 00:33:59.730 --> 00:34:03.250 love that God has shown us by choosing us and 00:34:03.250 --> 00:34:05.970 calling us. Third way that we see here, look 00:34:05.970 --> 00:34:08.889 again at verse 30. This is another one of those 00:34:08.889 --> 00:34:10.889 statements that you might read right past if 00:34:10.889 --> 00:34:13.230 you're not careful, but it's filled with meaning. 00:34:13.329 --> 00:34:18.630 But by his doing, it says, by his doing or because 00:34:18.630 --> 00:34:25.869 of him, you are in Christ Jesus. This is a beautiful 00:34:25.869 --> 00:34:28.489 picture of being united, being in union with 00:34:28.489 --> 00:34:32.329 Christ, meaning you get a new identity. Once 00:34:32.329 --> 00:34:34.309 you're united to Christ, you have a new identity. 00:34:34.329 --> 00:34:37.190 You're a new creation. You are reckoned as righteous 00:34:37.190 --> 00:34:40.469 in the sight of God. It means getting a new life. 00:34:41.250 --> 00:34:43.690 You're now considered to have died with Christ 00:34:43.690 --> 00:34:46.500 to sin. and to be raised to him in new life, 00:34:46.579 --> 00:34:49.480 now walking in the spirit. So a new identity 00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:51.579 and a new life, and then a new relationship. 00:34:51.619 --> 00:34:55.159 You now share an ongoing fellowship with Jesus. 00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:58.559 You are a branch connected to the vine, abiding 00:34:58.559 --> 00:35:01.579 with him and bearing spiritual fruit. All of 00:35:01.579 --> 00:35:03.599 that happens because of our union with Christ. 00:35:06.500 --> 00:35:08.920 This is why, oh, by the way, being united to 00:35:08.920 --> 00:35:11.099 Christ also means being joined to his body, right? 00:35:11.219 --> 00:35:14.590 The church. That's a part of it, being united 00:35:14.590 --> 00:35:17.789 to his body. And by being united to the body, 00:35:17.929 --> 00:35:20.849 you're united to every believer who is also spiritually 00:35:20.849 --> 00:35:23.230 connected to the vine. This is why we talk about 00:35:23.230 --> 00:35:25.010 all the time at Oak Hill that being a member 00:35:25.010 --> 00:35:28.269 of a local church is not optional. It's just 00:35:28.269 --> 00:35:30.650 not. You can try it, but you're never going to 00:35:30.650 --> 00:35:33.929 find the fullness of your union with Christ if 00:35:33.929 --> 00:35:35.710 you're not connected to others who are in the 00:35:35.710 --> 00:35:41.659 vine. That's for another sermon. Once again, 00:35:41.719 --> 00:35:44.840 we see that this unity connects both to election 00:35:44.840 --> 00:35:48.059 and calling because the only reason we're united 00:35:48.059 --> 00:35:52.219 to Jesus is because God sovereignly acted. Look 00:35:52.219 --> 00:35:54.780 at what it says in verse 30. It's by his doing, 00:35:54.900 --> 00:36:00.380 not by your choice, right? Not by, well, I believe. 00:36:00.460 --> 00:36:06.000 No, by his doing, you are in Christ Jesus. Again, 00:36:06.099 --> 00:36:08.400 I'm not trying to nullify the fact that we made 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:11.380 a real decision to love Jesus and believe in 00:36:11.380 --> 00:36:13.719 him. I always want to make this caveat because 00:36:13.719 --> 00:36:16.099 it's just that God changed our affections so 00:36:16.099 --> 00:36:18.420 that we loved him, so that we believed in him. 00:36:18.480 --> 00:36:21.619 But it's by his doing that that happened, that 00:36:21.619 --> 00:36:24.480 you are in Christ Jesus. He chose us in eternity 00:36:24.480 --> 00:36:27.840 past. Then within time and space, he called us 00:36:27.840 --> 00:36:31.239 into light and life. He granted us faith to believe, 00:36:31.340 --> 00:36:33.800 and then he brought us into union with his son. 00:36:34.989 --> 00:36:40.289 Is this not unfathomable love? This is not something 00:36:40.289 --> 00:36:42.809 that any of us could do on our own. Only God 00:36:42.809 --> 00:36:45.610 can graft you into the life of his son. Only 00:36:45.610 --> 00:36:49.329 God can keep you grafted into the life of his 00:36:49.329 --> 00:36:52.570 son. And I say amen to that. Fourth thing that 00:36:52.570 --> 00:36:54.949 we need to look at, stay there in verse 30. By 00:36:54.949 --> 00:36:57.969 his doing, it says, you are in Christ Jesus who 00:36:57.969 --> 00:37:05.380 became to us wisdom from God. Stop there. became 00:37:05.380 --> 00:37:10.920 for us wisdom from the Father. And look at these 00:37:10.920 --> 00:37:13.280 next three things, righteousness and sanctification 00:37:13.280 --> 00:37:16.760 and redemption. Now, what Paul is emphasizing 00:37:16.760 --> 00:37:19.539 here is being found in Christ in union with him. 00:37:19.619 --> 00:37:22.119 That is true wisdom that comes down from above. 00:37:23.159 --> 00:37:27.840 Being united to Christ is true wisdom, the truest 00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:31.769 of wisdom that comes down from the Father. And 00:37:31.769 --> 00:37:33.650 again, think about the contrast between this 00:37:33.650 --> 00:37:36.929 and worldly wisdom. A man could be super smart. 00:37:37.949 --> 00:37:40.449 A man could come from a wealthy background, have 00:37:40.449 --> 00:37:43.889 a big title and a powerful position. A man could 00:37:43.889 --> 00:37:47.210 understand every philosophical construct known 00:37:47.210 --> 00:37:49.909 to mankind and reject the word of the cross. 00:37:50.130 --> 00:37:52.710 And at the end of his life, he will stand before 00:37:52.710 --> 00:37:55.889 God. He will be judged for sin and cast into 00:37:55.889 --> 00:38:03.380 hell. So is that man really wise? No. I don't 00:38:03.380 --> 00:38:05.980 care what he had in this life. That man is not 00:38:05.980 --> 00:38:09.980 truly wise because true wisdom is only found 00:38:09.980 --> 00:38:12.039 in Christ. That's what Paul's saying here. It 00:38:12.039 --> 00:38:14.679 comes from God's revelation in Christ. For in 00:38:14.679 --> 00:38:17.059 him, there is first of all, what? Righteousness. 00:38:18.219 --> 00:38:23.119 Whose righteousness? His righteousness. Given 00:38:23.119 --> 00:38:27.070 to us, granted to us, right? He takes on your 00:38:27.070 --> 00:38:30.090 sin and you receive from him all of the moral 00:38:30.090 --> 00:38:32.489 perfection that he walked in during his days 00:38:32.489 --> 00:38:36.010 on the earth. His righteousness is credited to 00:38:36.010 --> 00:38:40.329 your account as a believer. That's what we get. 00:38:40.469 --> 00:38:43.050 True wisdom from God is, first of all, righteousness. 00:38:43.210 --> 00:38:47.230 The great exchange, right? Your debt that you 00:38:47.230 --> 00:38:50.889 owe to God for sin completely satisfied. That's 00:38:50.889 --> 00:38:54.230 true wisdom. Doesn't matter how simple and lowly 00:38:54.230 --> 00:38:56.949 you are on this earth. If you have that, you 00:38:56.949 --> 00:39:00.849 are truly wise. Secondly, in him, there's sanctification. 00:39:01.429 --> 00:39:03.670 We talked about this last week, this idea that 00:39:03.670 --> 00:39:06.670 you're positionally holy. You're seen as holy 00:39:06.670 --> 00:39:09.769 by God through Christ. But now also sanctification 00:39:09.769 --> 00:39:13.469 refers to this process, this progressive spiritual 00:39:13.469 --> 00:39:16.230 maturity, this idea that we're practically growing 00:39:16.230 --> 00:39:19.090 into holiness. And then finally, there's redemption. 00:39:20.679 --> 00:39:24.320 being purchased by the blood of Christ, bought 00:39:24.320 --> 00:39:29.159 back as his possession. The blood of Christ, 00:39:29.159 --> 00:39:31.539 which washes away our sins and leads us into 00:39:31.539 --> 00:39:34.260 eternal life. Guys, do you see this? Do you see 00:39:34.260 --> 00:39:37.199 this now? How easy was it to read right past 00:39:37.199 --> 00:39:41.500 all that? And this is why I love, man, I love 00:39:41.500 --> 00:39:44.000 Bible reading plans and it's great to just rip 00:39:44.000 --> 00:39:46.400 through the scriptures. There are times you just 00:39:46.400 --> 00:39:49.969 gotta slow down. And look at every single word 00:39:49.969 --> 00:39:54.630 and see the love that God has for you. Amazing. 00:39:55.170 --> 00:39:57.309 Okay, one last thing we have to touch on before 00:39:57.309 --> 00:39:59.570 we're done. Earlier I talked about two reasons 00:39:59.570 --> 00:40:02.789 why God chooses to use the simple and the unimpressive 00:40:02.789 --> 00:40:05.789 to accomplish his will. The first is to nullify 00:40:05.789 --> 00:40:07.610 the things of the world, right? To shame the 00:40:07.610 --> 00:40:11.690 wise. The second reason is found twice in our 00:40:11.690 --> 00:40:16.789 passage in verse 29 and verse 31. God has chosen. 00:40:18.670 --> 00:40:22.309 I'm going to get it. God has chosen the foolish 00:40:22.309 --> 00:40:26.610 and the weak and the despised, verse 29, so that 00:40:26.610 --> 00:40:33.190 no man or no flesh may boast before God. Let's 00:40:33.190 --> 00:40:36.730 talk about boasting. And I want you to see that 00:40:36.730 --> 00:40:39.650 this is actually another aspect of God's love 00:40:39.650 --> 00:40:43.429 for us. It's a protective kind of love. God is 00:40:43.429 --> 00:40:47.030 not going to allow us to boast before him. He's 00:40:47.030 --> 00:40:49.250 gonna protect us from ourselves. It's like a 00:40:49.250 --> 00:40:51.389 good father who says, son, I know you feel like 00:40:51.389 --> 00:40:53.369 you should be able to make a choice to go play 00:40:53.369 --> 00:40:57.210 on that freeway. I'm not gonna let you do it 00:40:57.210 --> 00:41:00.170 because I know more than you and it's not gonna 00:41:00.170 --> 00:41:03.769 end well. God loves us so much that he is gonna 00:41:03.769 --> 00:41:07.949 prevent us from diminishing his glory by allowing 00:41:07.949 --> 00:41:13.230 us to exalt ourselves in his presence. Now. The 00:41:13.230 --> 00:41:15.269 reality is I'm certain that once we pass from 00:41:15.269 --> 00:41:17.210 this life and into the presence of Christ and 00:41:17.210 --> 00:41:19.949 we see the fullness of his glory, not one of 00:41:19.949 --> 00:41:21.829 us is gonna feel like boasting on ourselves, 00:41:22.250 --> 00:41:27.170 right? But as a loving father, he's warning us 00:41:27.170 --> 00:41:30.650 in advance through Paul, you won't boast before 00:41:30.650 --> 00:41:33.750 me and here's the reason why. He's telling us, 00:41:33.789 --> 00:41:35.809 here's why you're not gonna boast before me. 00:41:36.130 --> 00:41:38.449 You're not gonna be in my presence because you 00:41:38.449 --> 00:41:41.800 were so smart. You're not going to be before 00:41:41.800 --> 00:41:44.400 me because you were so spiritual or so strong 00:41:44.400 --> 00:41:49.440 or so articulate or from some noble birth. You 00:41:49.440 --> 00:41:54.619 are in my presence because I chose you, because 00:41:54.619 --> 00:41:58.710 I marked you out in love. Because I called you 00:41:58.710 --> 00:42:02.730 to myself. Because I brought you into union with 00:42:02.730 --> 00:42:06.150 myself. Because I credited my righteousness to 00:42:06.150 --> 00:42:08.869 your account. Because I sanctified you as holy. 00:42:09.030 --> 00:42:13.530 Because I redeemed you by my own blood. That's 00:42:13.530 --> 00:42:18.329 why you're here. Any questions for that? I mean, 00:42:18.349 --> 00:42:25.659 do you see the contrast? Here's the thing. We 00:42:25.659 --> 00:42:27.900 see at the end of the passage in verse 31, boasting 00:42:27.900 --> 00:42:30.420 isn't necessarily wrong. It all depends upon 00:42:30.420 --> 00:42:33.079 the object you're boasting in, right? And so 00:42:33.079 --> 00:42:36.159 in verse 31, Paul says, go ahead, boast in the 00:42:36.159 --> 00:42:39.460 Lord because he's worthy of your boasting. And 00:42:39.460 --> 00:42:42.019 Paul is referring back. He says, see, it's written. 00:42:43.000 --> 00:42:45.320 He's referring back to Jeremiah chapter nine. 00:42:45.380 --> 00:42:47.539 We read it this morning. Kenny read it as part 00:42:47.539 --> 00:42:49.860 of our call to worship. Here, I'll put it on 00:42:49.860 --> 00:42:52.530 the screen because it's so worth knowing. Jeremiah 00:42:52.530 --> 00:42:57.130 9, 23 and 24, thus says the Lord, let not a wise 00:42:57.130 --> 00:43:00.510 man boast of his wisdom, let not the mighty man 00:43:00.510 --> 00:43:03.510 boast of his might, let not a rich man boast 00:43:03.510 --> 00:43:07.150 of his riches, but let him who boasts, boast 00:43:07.150 --> 00:43:10.489 of this. Here it is, boast of this, friends, 00:43:10.590 --> 00:43:15.789 that he understands and knows me, that I am the 00:43:15.789 --> 00:43:20.280 Lord. who exercises loving kindness, justice, 00:43:20.380 --> 00:43:23.780 and righteousness on earth, for I delight in 00:43:23.780 --> 00:43:30.079 these things, says the Lord. So go for it, Christian. 00:43:30.480 --> 00:43:34.539 Boast away, right? Boast in who your God is. 00:43:35.280 --> 00:43:37.940 Boast to the world. Proclaim it from the rooftops, 00:43:37.960 --> 00:43:42.440 in your conversations during the week, at work, 00:43:42.460 --> 00:43:46.090 wherever. Boast in the Lord. Father, Son, and 00:43:46.090 --> 00:43:48.230 Holy Spirit, the goodness, the grace, the mercy 00:43:48.230 --> 00:43:52.150 of the Lord. Boast in the cross of Christ, in 00:43:52.150 --> 00:43:54.190 what happened there, the work that was accomplished 00:43:54.190 --> 00:43:57.829 for you. Boast in the fact that as a nobody in 00:43:57.829 --> 00:44:01.429 this world, you are somebody precious to God. 00:44:02.949 --> 00:44:06.210 Boast in that. Oh, but you're a foolish, simple 00:44:06.210 --> 00:44:10.449 person. Not to God. Boast in that. God sees me 00:44:10.449 --> 00:44:12.929 as precious and important, and his opinion is 00:44:12.929 --> 00:44:17.210 all that matters. That's true wisdom. Boast in 00:44:17.210 --> 00:44:19.409 the fact that his weakness became your strength, 00:44:19.510 --> 00:44:22.050 that his suffering and death became your salvation. 00:44:22.230 --> 00:44:26.030 And those things boast away. And friends, listen, 00:44:26.130 --> 00:44:27.989 this is gonna be our joy forever. We are gonna 00:44:27.989 --> 00:44:30.889 spend all of eternity boasting in our God and 00:44:30.889 --> 00:44:35.409 praising his name. So in a practical sense, here's 00:44:35.409 --> 00:44:37.289 what I want you to walk away with this morning. 00:44:38.409 --> 00:44:40.449 I want you to know just how much the Lord has 00:44:40.449 --> 00:44:43.019 loved you. And hopefully you know more about 00:44:43.019 --> 00:44:44.639 it than you did when you walked in this morning. 00:44:44.699 --> 00:44:46.579 Or maybe you forgot it. In the stress of life, 00:44:46.699 --> 00:44:49.679 it kind of has disappeared from your mind. Let 00:44:49.679 --> 00:44:52.880 it come back. Meditate on that truth. How much 00:44:52.880 --> 00:44:55.179 God has loved you. And I want you to walk into 00:44:55.179 --> 00:44:58.539 the world tomorrow. It doesn't matter where it 00:44:58.539 --> 00:45:00.599 is, right? Whether it's at work or in the home 00:45:00.599 --> 00:45:03.480 or at school, wherever you are. And I want you 00:45:03.480 --> 00:45:07.940 to walk confidently. Knowing what true power 00:45:07.940 --> 00:45:11.539 really is. I want you to walk with boldness, 00:45:11.659 --> 00:45:15.659 knowing what true strength looks like. And I 00:45:15.659 --> 00:45:17.900 want you to walk into the world with contentment 00:45:17.900 --> 00:45:21.480 and joy, knowing what true wisdom is according 00:45:21.480 --> 00:45:24.179 to God's word, because all of those things are 00:45:24.179 --> 00:45:29.139 yours in Christ. Amen? Let's bow our heads.