Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, 28 and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, 29 so that no human being might boast before God. 30 It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”
The city of Corinth in Paul’s time had been rebuilt by the Romans to be an outpost of Roman influence and only Roman citizens could be citizens of Corinth. There were Jews living in Corinth and Paul spent about 18 months there (AD 50 – AD 51) gaining converts from among both Jews and Greeks. Most of the converts were not Roman citizens or from the aristocracy but were of humble origin. Despite the societal norms valuing wisdom, power, and noble lineage, the majority of the believers did not possess these attributes. Paul asked the Corinthians to reflect on their stations in life and social statuses before they became followers of Christ. By ordinary human standards, most of them were of humble origin since not many of them were wise, influential, or of noble birth.
Instead of selecting the esteemed and powerful, God often chooses the humble and those whom society disregards as insignificant to accomplish His plan of salvation (Jas. 2:5). God showed his sovereignty, power, and wisdom by choosing the humble, the weak, the lowly, and the despised, to shame the wise and the strong. By using the weak and lowly, God prevents anyone from boasting that they were saved by their own wisdom, strength, resources, or actions. All blessings, including wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, come from God through Christ Jesus. It is only through God’s mercy and grace that we have been redeemed in Christ Jesus who became the wisdom of God for all. Jesus is the source of all righteousness and sanctification so true boasting should be in the Lord alone (Jer. 9:23-24).
Almighty God, we thank you for the blessings of wisdom and righteousness that lead to sanctification and redemption through Jesus Christ in whom alone we should boast. Help us to hold fast to the Gospel in which our salvation lies. This we pray through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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