#DailyDevotion If You Want To Be Exalted By God Admit Your Nothingness Before Him
1 Cor. 1:26-31 26You see what happened, fellow Christians, when God called you. Not many of you are wise as the world judges, not many in positions of power, not many born of noble parents. 27No, God chose the foolish things in the world to make wise men ashamed. God chose the weak things in the world to make strong men ashamed. 28God chose the lowly things in the world, what it despises, what is nothing, to make what is something nothing 29and to keep anyone from bragging before God. 30He gave you your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and ransom from sin, 31so that it may be as the Bible says: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Did Paul just insult me? I guess as an apostle writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he can get away with it. No, he is being real with me and the Corinthian congregation (who did needed to be taken down a peg or two as you can see by the rest of this letter to them).
When God called you to be your own what were you? When the LORD called the Israelites out of Egypt to be his people it wasn’t because they were the most mighty, most powerful, most numerous, or even most intelligent. He called them to be his people because of his promise to Abraham. So what were you when God called you? Well Paul tells us, not many were wise, or powerful, or of noble birth. Well then, what were you when God called you to faith in Jesus Christ?
Paul tells us God chose the foolish things. God chose the weak things. God chose the lowly things. God chose what is despised and worse, he chose what is not to keep us from bragging before God. Well that doesn’t sound like he is trying to boost our self-esteem now does it. You know, the world looks upon you Christians as Paul describes the Corinthians here. Just peruse social media and you will not be long till you find people insulting Christians for their faith in Jesus Christ.
God chose you though to make wise men ashamed. He chose you to make strong men ashamed. He chose you to keep everyone from bragging before God that they must be really something if God chose them. We all stand before our LORD at the judgment seat of God and the best we could ever say is, “We are poor, miserable servants. We have only done our duty.”
Instead of boasting our ourselves before God we have Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ in whom we have our eternal life. This is not of ourselves. Not only that, in Jesus we have “wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and ransom from sin.” Jesus is our wisdom before God. He is our righteousness, our holiness and our ransom from sin. We have been brought low so that Jesus and his work, his salvation for us may be magnified. At the judgment seat we point to Jesus and say to the Father, “He is our ransom from sin. He is our righteousness. Jesus is our wisdom. Jesus is our holiness.” The voice from Jesus will then say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servants. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the earth.”
Heavenly Father, may we ever and only boast about your Son Jesus Christ, our LORD and his great work of salvation for us, so we may be exalted with him in your kingdom on the day of his revelation. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.