Lesson for March 13, 2022
The Book of I Corinthians
Chapter 1:26-31
“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
For considering your calling (salvation), you are thinking about the fact that you were not saved by human merit. Your calling is a reference to salvation by grace through faith and not by human works. It also refers to being set apart to God for a service, which is the doctrine of election. Paul is attempting to wake these believers up to the fact that they have an eternal relationship with God based on grace and not human wisdom or human merit.
That there were not many wise according to the flesh [called], not many mighty [called], not many noble [called]. Not many wise according to the flesh refers to the philosophers. Not many mighty refers to the debaters. Not many noble refers to the scribes. Those who are wise in their own eyes are blinded to the truth. This was the case in Corinth with the philosophers, the scribes, and the debaters. Humanly speaking, these men were wise, but not according to God’s standard. According to divine standards they were fools because they rejected grace.
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. Paul used a play on words calling those who approach God on a non-meritorious basis (faith), “foolish things,” which is how the world views them. Those who approach God on the basis of human merit, dishonor Him and bring shame upon themselves.
Has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong. The term “weak things” is sarcasm referring to the simplicity of the Gospel and to those who preach it. The “strong” refers to how the world views those with human wisdom, human power, human talent, or human ability attempting to be saved.
And the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are. The Greek word for base is “agenes,” which means of no reputation or no fame in the world’s view. The Greek word for despised is “exoutheneo,” meaning to make of no account, a nobody, to regard as nothing or contemptible. God uses people who the world considers to be below those who they highly esteem, to completely confound them. God’s divine wisdom invalidates (nullifies) mankind’s human wisdom.
If just one person has been saved by faith through grace, it totally discredits people who try to be saved by human merit rather than by the grace of God. God’s grace nullifies human works for salvation, and for the Christian life. If God does the work; it is grace. If mankind does the work; it is human merit. They are mutually exclusive. (Romans 11:6)
So that no man may boast before God. God chose to do things by grace so that no one could say they worked their way to Heaven. If any member of the human race could boast of gaining salvation by works, then grace would be invalidated. In God’s plan of grace, there is no place for human glory or human boasting. All glory and boasting belong to God! (Ephesians 2:8-9)
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus. The only wisdom believers need is God’s wisdom, which is based on their relationship with God and knowledge of His Word. It was God Who developed a plan whereby man could have a relationship with Him. The system of the scribes (Jewish theologians), the philosophers, and the debaters was human works for salvation, which was contrary to the plan of God and based entirely on human wisdom and human merit.
Who became to us wisdom from God. Christ is the “wisdom plan of God.” On the Cross, Christ was the greatest demonstration of God’s wisdom when He died for the sin of the world, eliminating any possibility that people could work for their salvation (He did all the work on our behalf).
And righteousness and sanctification, and redemption. The demonstration of “the wisdom of God on the Cross” resulted in Christ providing righteousness, sanctification, and redemption as a free gift for those who will accept His payment for their sin.
The word “righteousness” is translated from the Greek word “dikaiosune.” Righteousness is an attribute of God that denotes His perfect character. Originally it was spelled “rightwiseness,” which clearly expresses its meaning. It also means “right action,” which in the case of God means that He always does the right thing. At the time of the writing of the New Testament, “dikaiosune” (righteousness) no longer meant simply “being good,” but it had come to mean a principle that would lead one to the correct thought and action based on a standard. For believers it is God’s standard of integrity (holiness).
Righteousness is one half of God’s holiness and justice is the other half. Many times in Scripture, God’s righteousness and justice are interchangeable because they are so closely associated. Righteousness is the standard or principle of God’s integrity and justice is the function or action of God’s integrity. Because God is righteous, he must condemn sin wherever it is found. God’s justice carries out that condemnation. And God always does the right thing, whether condemning sin or providing salvation in the Person of Jesus Christ. Justification is the theological term for declaring the believer to be righteous before God. Christ was condemned in our place. God’s righteousness was satisfied (propitiated) on the Cross, as His justice carried out the sentence of spiritual death. (Romans 3:26-27)
Jesus Christ is the personification of God’s perfect righteousness, and the Gospel reveals this perfect righteousness. Prior to Christ coming to earth, God’s perfect standard of righteousness was also Christ, which the Law of Moses pictured. (Luke 24:44) When a person believes in Jesus Christ as Savior, God the Holy Spirit credits God’s righteousness to that person. God’s righteousness is never achieved as a result of human effort, and it is completely undeserved. God’s righteousness is a gift from God to us. (II Corinthians 5:21; Titus 3:5)
The human race lacks the righteousness necessary to enter Heaven, and no amount of human effort can produce this righteousness. God’s view of mankind’s “righteousness” is that it is not absolute righteousness. God’s view of man’s viewpoint of his own “righteousness” is that it does not measure up to the absolute righteousness of God. The Bible declares that no one is righteous, and that “mankind’s righteousness” is like filthy rags compared to God’s righteousness. (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:23) Because of the lack of absolute righteousness, a person cannot enter Heaven based on their own “righteousness.” God cannot have a relationship with those who fall short of having His righteousness. Mankind, therefore, needs God’s righteousness in order to have a relationship with Him and to live with Him forever.
Sanctification is the Greek word “hagiasmos” and means separation unto God or to be set apart to God. It is the same word used for saint and holy. Therefore, all believers are saints, and all believers are holy. However, sanctification is in three stages, and these stages must always be distinguished in order to accurately interpret the Word of God. The first stage is positional sanctification, the second stage is experiential sanctification, and the third stage is ultimate sanctification. Each is a separate and a distinct stage in a believer’s life.
Positional sanctification is when God the Holy Spirit places a believer into union with Jesus Christ at salvation. This is accomplished by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:13) The baptism of the Holy Spirit is neither seen nor felt. It is a fact stated in the Word of God for us to believe. (Hebrews 10:10)
We must always distinguish between the indwelling, the baptism, and the filling of the Holy Spirit. These are all separate and distinct ministries of the Holy Spirit. None of these ministries is seen nor felt. The indwelling is God the Holy Spirit permanently residing in believers. The baptism of God the Holy Spirit is placing believers into permanent union with Christ. And the filling of God the Holy Spirit is His control and guidance of believers.
Our position in Christ and our walk with Christ are different and must always be distinguished in order to avoid confusion and inaccurate interpretation. When the Bible says that we are dead to sin, this is positional truth. When the Bible says to walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust (desire) of the flesh (sin nature), it is not referring to positional truth, but to experiential truth.
Experiential sanctification is our daily walk with the Lord. The Greek word for walk is “stoicheo,” which means to walk in a straight line or row. If we are “walking in the Spirit,” our steps will align with His. In other words, we will allow the Holy Spirit to guide “our steps.” Please remember that God is not an ogre waiting for us to fail so He can zap us. God loves us and wants only the best for us. Therefore, we should learn to love ourselves, which entails self-worth and self-respect. God in His grace is always there for us, even in times of our failure. Since God has compassion on us, we should have compassion on ourselves. Evaluate yourself, make the necessary corrections and move forward, one step at a time. But don’t spend time beating yourself up or condemning yourself because of some failure. (I John 1:6-10)
Ultimate sanctification is when we receive a glorified body. We still reside here in our earthly body, but our true home is Heaven. We are just passing though this life, but our real citizenship is in Heaven. When Christ returns for us at the Rapture, we will realize ultimate sanctification. All the truth of our position in Christ and all the potential of experiential sanctification that we fulfilled (divine production) will be a reality when Christ returns for us. (Philippians 3:20-21)
Redemption means to be purchased from “the slave market of sin.” We are said to be born inside of the slave market of sin, and one slave cannot free another slave. The only person who can free a slave is a free man, and Jesus Christ through the Virgin Birth came into the world a free man, born outside of “the slave market of sin.”
In the history of the human race, Jesus Christ is the only one Who was born outside of the slave market of sin. The Virgin Birth guaranteed that Christ came into the world without a sin nature, without the imputation of Adam’s sin, and He was able to live a sinless life, which qualified Him to “free the slaves.” So, Christ purchased the freedom of the human race, who are born into “the slave market of sin.” However, a person must accept this freedom by believing in Jesus Christ as their Savior, and then they are free from the penalty of sin. (I Peter 1:18-19)
So that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” In God’s plan, Jesus Christ is glorified. In man’s plan, man is glorified. When God does the work; God receives the glory. There is no place in the plan of God for man’s glory. God does the work; God receives all of the glory!!
Jeremiah 9:23-24, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Let no wise man boast of his wisdom, nor let the mighty man boast of his might, nor a rich man boast of his riches; but let the one who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises mercy, justice, and righteousness on the earth; for I delight in these things, declares the Lord.’”