Paul
the apostle shared how “God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise: and God
has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty”,
and in chapter one and verse twenty-eight
of First Corinthians, Paul the apostle continued his letter by
sharing how God has also chosen “base things
of the world, and things which are despised”
where we read:
And
base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God
chosen,
The
verse begins, “And
base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God
chosen, ...” Paul
began with the words, “And base
things”
which means “the ignoble, coward, mean, base and low born” “of
the world”
which refers to “the circle of the world, the inhabitants of the
earth with all the endowments, riches, advantages and pleasures”,
“and things which are despised”
or “things made of no account, contemptible, least esteemed and set
at naught”, “has God”
which refers to “the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised
of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “chosen”
or “picked out and selected”. In addition to the “foolish”
and “weak things of the world”,
God “chose” “ignoble” and “contemptible” things for His
purposes.
The
verse continues, “...yes,
and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are:”.
Paul added
the words, “yes and” or
“also, even and indeed”, “things
which are not”
or “things which are low regarded, weak, base or foolish”, “to
bring to nothing”
which means “to render idle, unemployed, inactive and inoperative”
“things that are”
or “things that are present, have come and that be”. God also
elected to use “lowly regarded” things to “render idle and
inactive” things which are already in place.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see how God does not choose
according the way people of the world choose. Because His “wisdom”
is greater, God is able to use things that are “rendered base and
weak” to fulfill his purposes. The crucifixion of Jesus seemed
“base” and “weak” to the world for salvation, but God used
this to be the means by which people could have a kinship with Him.
Eternal salvation was not available until Jesus died for our sins,
and when He did, we now have a way to have a relationship with
Almighty God. Let us praise the the Lord for His ability to use what
seems “contemptible” to fulfill His plan.
Next
time Paul shares the reason God chose these “base”
and “despised things”
-“that no flesh should glory
in his presence”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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