Why God Chooses the Foolish Over the Wise — 1 Corinthians 1:27-31

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Let's get right back into 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and hopefully we'll get well into maybe finish chapter 2 today. But again, we like to welcome our television audience, and we always like to let it be known that we're just an informal Bible class. We do not adhere to any particular denomination. We just want to teach the book, and we feel the Lord is blessing it with that approach. And, as I've said so often, I'm not here to criticize or chastise anyone, but the name of the game is, what does the book say? And that's almost catching on as well as my flip side and faith plus nothing, you know, some of these things are really catching on. And so, this is all we want to do is just see what the book says, and as I've also said so many times, you'd be surprised how many times people say, well, I thought this was in there. Well, they may have thought, but it isn't. So it's just as important to realize what is not in the text as what you may think is. All right, so let's pick up where we left off then in our last program, maybe verse 27. We'll run over it once more. Remember I left you off with Moses and how God had to take him out to just a lowly sheepherder, and then He could use him. All right, verse 27 then. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. You get that? In other words, when Paul came again to Mars Hill, he was just a weak vessel in the eyes of those philosophers. He was a babbler, but yet Paul shook him up, and Paul is remembered to this very day, Mars Hill, when you get over there, there's the plaque. They don't refer to those philosophers, but it was Paul, and so God was the winner once again. All right, now then verse 28, continuing on to that same thought. Now, God uses the base things of the world, and things which are even despised, things that the world ridicules, those are the very things that God uses for His glory. And He has chosen them, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nothing things that are. Now I think the average reader just reads that without getting the impact of it. What does Paul mean when God says, or when he says that God will use the things that are not to confound the things that are? Well, it's the same line of thought. The very things that the world isn't even aware of, they're nothing so far as the world is concerned. They have nothing for their credentials, and they are nothing in the eyes of the successful world, but yet those are the very things that God uses then to confound the high and the mighty. That's His way of doing it. Verse 29 is the reason for all, which seems contrary to logic. Why shouldn't God use someone who has all the talent in the world? Why shouldn't God use someone that has a tremendous IQ? Why shouldn't God use someone that has a whole background of wealth, millions and maybe even a few billion to send them on their way? Why shouldn't He? Why didn't God use Moses when he was the second man in Egypt? Well, this verse gives it all. That no flesh, that no human being will ever glory or brag in God's sight. God won't have it. And so consequently, He will not use people with seemingly all the right credentials, because then when they're successful, what would they be prone to do? Look what I did. Always have to remember the first time I was in Israel, it was clear back in 75 and 76. And Israel, of course, had just come out of the Six-Day War. That was in 67. And in that seven or eight-year period of time, they had already made tremendous headway. None of the superhighways like you see there today, but they had a lot of blacktop roads. There were a lot of new hotels going up, and the place was prospering. We came out of the hotel dining room that one evening, and this gentleman approached us, and he says, you're Americans, aren't you? Well, I suppose that was obvious, but he spoke perfect English. And so we come to find out that he had been raised and educated in Boston, but had emigrated to Israel. And so he said, what do you think of our little country? And I said, well, it's just unbelievable. Just seven days after that devastating Six-Day War, I said, oh, we can say it's amazing what God has done. You know what his answer was? God didn't have a thing to do with it. We did it. Well, you see, that's typical. That's typical. God didn't have anything to do with it. We did it. Oh, no, they didn't. They may think they did, and even Israel today, they may think they've accomplished it, but without the sovereign God, they never would. And the same way with America. America wouldn't be where we are without the grace and the blessings of God, but the point here is God does not use gifted, wealthy, intelligent human beings because they'd be to brag. Come back again to Romans chapter 4. Even Abraham, great man of faith, the great man who was able to wait years and years for the promises to come to fruition, yet it was faith plus nothing. It wasn't that Abraham had accomplished so much. It wasn't that Abraham was such a great individual, but oh, look what Romans 4 says. Verse 2, Romans 4, verse 2, for if Abraham were justified by works, what does that mean? By what he could accomplish, by what he had earned, see? Now if Abraham was justified by works, then he would have reason to glory or brag, but never before God. No one is ever going to brag to God, look what I've done. God will never have it. Not even with a man like Abraham would He allow him to come to the place where he could brag, God, do you realize all that I've done for you? God, do you realize that I was patient and waited and waited and waited until you finally gave me, no, no Abraham couldn't do that. In fact, while he was waiting, he failed miserably, fell flat on his face, see? All right, so Paul now the same way, even though he had accomplished a lot in Judaism, yet by the time God is ready to send him out to the Gentiles three years after his conversion, you know what he is? He's a nobody. He's no longer high up in Judaism. He is no longer held in high esteem by the Jews as the student of Gamaliel. Paul, or Saul by now, is just a nobody who has been brought down to nothing. All right, now another one, 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Here's Paul's own account, and we know that in various other verses he describes himself as his speech being contemptible. He wasn't an orator like Apollos. Evidently, he was not a big, tall, handsome fellow that just simply drew people. I remember one of the men that has meant a lot to do in my learning experience. He was a tremendous preacher. Man, he stood about six foot four, as handsome as handsome can be. He always dressed just, what shall I say, perfectly, and he had a tremendous voice. He had a tremendous delivery, and on top of all that, he had a tremendous knowledge of the Scriptures. And I'll never forget one of my first questions to him years and years ago. I think Iris and I had just recently been married, and I asked him something, and he was the first one to give me what I have passed on to you over and over, whenever you read something in the Scriptures. Always ask yourself first, to whom was this addressed? And he was one. I mean, he had everything from outward appearances going for him, and he was. He was a great servant. He, I think, just passed away this last spring, probably up in his nineties. But I've always held the man in high esteem. But he's one of the few. He's one of the few. Now look what Paul had to put up with. 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 4, for sake of time. He had an experience. He wasn't quite sure of how it all happened, but he knows it happened. And so he says, "...how that I was caught up..." Now he used the word pronoun, but he's speaking of himself. "...how that he was caught up into paradise," that is, into the heaven of the heavens, "...heard unspeakable words, which is not allowed a man to utter." In other words, he actually heard the angelic conversations. He actually saw the very throne room of heaven. And so he says, verse 5, "...of such a one would I glory." In other words, it was such a thrilling experience that it was all he could do to keep from bragging about it. He was human. And so he says, "...of such a one would I glory, yet of myself I will not glory, except in my infirmities." And then verse 6, "...for though I would desire to glory." Now what's he saying? He's human. It was all he could do to suppress that feeling of wanting to share with others what he had seen and heard. But he knew he'd dare not because God told him not to. And on top of that, God had to do something physically to the man so that he would never forget that he was not to share it. So read on. Verse 6, "...for though I would desire to glory," or to brag I guess is the word we would use, "...I'll not be a fool, for I will say the truth. But now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me." In other words, it's just like many other things concerning the Scriptures. If Noah's Ark could be discovered and laid out there for public scrutiny without any doubt, that's Noah's Ark, what would mankind do with it? They'd make it a shrine and they'd worship the silly thing, see? And the same way with many of these other things. If man could just put his finger on it, the first thing you know, the world would beat a path to its door and they'd be worshiping it. Paul's saying the same thing. He said, "...if I were permitted to share what I saw and heard in that experience, people would be falling at my feet trying to worship me." So he says, "...I dare not. I dare not." All right. All right. Now then, in order to keep him humble, in order to keep him humble, what does God do? "...and lest I should be exalted above measure." In other words, lest I should come to the place that people would try to worship me because of what I'd seen and heard. "...lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations..." See that? "...there was given to me a thorn in the flesh." Now I imagine every one of you at one time or another have had a thorn, and they just pester you. They pester you until you can finally get rid of it. All right. Paul was given a constant pestering thorn in the flesh as a constant reminder, Paul, don't you repeat these things. Don't you get puffed up. Don't you try to reveal to the world all that I've shown you. So he says, "...I was given a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan." Now you've got to stop a moment. Does God ever inflict discomfort or pain Himself? I don't think so. But who does God permit to do it for Him? The devil himself. You remember Job? God didn't inflict Job. Who did? Satan did. And God limited him. God says, "...that's all right, Satan, you can touch him, but you can't take his life. You can do this, but you can't do that." All right, now same way here. God didn't put the thorn in His flesh. He caused Satan or a messenger of Satan to buffet me. And here again is the reason. "...lest I should be exalted..." What? "...above measure." In other words, Paul is saying, "...this was all done to me to remind me that I'm not who I'd like to think I am. I'm still a nobody." See? And that's what every one of us are. In ourselves, we are a nobody. But, flip side is, in Christ, then what? We become somebody. Absolutely. Okay, come back to 1 Corinthians, verse 30. But Paul says, "...of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption." What else could any man hope for, or any woman? Now here again, the world thinks this is foolishness. The world thinks to have the assurance of redemption is just so much foolishness. The world certainly doesn't want any part of sanctification and holiness. That's just not their bag. Always have to remember a dear lady that started asking her neighbors to come to a Bible study, and they just said, "...hey, now wait a minute, we're not into that stuff." Well, that's typical. And I told her, I said, "...don't be shocked." I said, "...I could have told you before you ever asked that that's what you're going to get." All right. But verse 31, "...that according as it is written..." And again, he goes back to the Old Testament. In Jeremiah, I think it is, "...according as it is written, he that glorieth..." Now remember what word I'm using for glory? Bragging. See? Boasting is the word Paul uses. "...that according as it is written, he that boasteth, or braggeth, or glorieth, let him only glory in one area." And what is it? The Lord. "...without him were nothing." Absolutely nothing. None of us are. But in Him, in His power, none of us have any idea what we can accomplish. We can shake this old world to its bootstraps if we would just step out by faith and do it. All right, now let's move on into chapter 2 and here we come to this concept which I told you one commentator mentioned concerning the Corinthians, that it was based on the various wisdoms. The wisdom of this world set up against the wisdom of God. All right? Now Paul again is using himself as an example because he is the prime example. "...and I, brethren, when I came to you..." Now watch this. "...I didn't come with excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God, for I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified." In other words, Paul didn't come to Corinth and come there to the Bema Seat which in Corinth was sort of like the town square and where all the philosophers would get up on the stage and begin their philosophy. Paul didn't come with all the knowledge of the Greek classics, Homer and Plato and all that stuff. Uh-uh. That didn't count anything with Paul. He didn't even... I don't think he even rehearsed all his knowledge in the Old Testament. Oh, he could have. But I don't think at Corinth this wild, wicked, Gentile city, God even permitted Paul to use his Jewish background. But he comes on and he only has one message and it's the message that's almost forgotten today. Very seldom do you hear it plain and simple that the gospel is that Christ died for the sins of the world. That He died for me and that He died for you. We don't hear that much anymore. Oh, it's circumvented. They come close. I remember years ago I went to a funeral of a neighbor lady and the only reason I wanted to go was I had heard that this particular church had a tremendous preacher and I wanted to hear it for myself. And he was. Had a tremendous sermon. And he brought that whole huge church full of people many of whom I'm sure had never heard the gospel and with a tremendous opportunity of letting hundreds of people hear the simple message of salvation and after that great what shall I call it eloquent sermon just as he came to the threshold of the plan of salvation what do you suppose he did? He dropped the ball. Just simply dropped it. And I just came away crestfallen and I thought now how in the world could a man as eloquent and known to be a great preacher bring a great crowd of people to the place where all he had to do was now preach Christ crucified and he blew it. And listen, that's happening all too often. I don't say all but I say all too often. And here is where the apostle is making it so plain that even though he was in a city that was all hung up on philosophy oh if he could have come in there, yes, and quoted Plato and all the other ancient Greek classical writers he would have had a crowd pushing around him. But he didn't. I'll never forget years ago a gentleman that I was instrumental in bringing out of almost the same kind of a background he came up one day and he said if you could just heal people you'd have thousands coming to your meetings. I know that. I know that. But you see that's not what Paul did. Paul didn't come announcing a great healing meeting. Paul didn't come saying hey we're going to philosophize we're going to deal in the classics today. Uh-uh. What'd he do? He just pointed the finger at him and he said you're sinners. Christ died for you. He loves you. Believe it. And what happened? Hey, an assembly of believers. All carnal. They had a long ways to go. But he calls them my brethren. I don't care what anybody says, he calls them my brethren. And as we saw in the first program when you got to verse 7 and 8 if the Lord should have come that day they would have all gone. Not just part of them, they would have all gone. Alright, now then. Verse 3 And he says I was in with you in weakness and in what? Remember the lady I told you about a little while ago? She'd go up to the door and knock she said my knees were shaking and I was shaking with fear. That's typical. I said don't be alarmed. That's typical. So was the apostle. He lived in constant fear of how would he be received? What will they do with my preaching? What are they going to do with me? Oh and he lived to find out what a lot of times they did to him. They beat him. They threw him in prison. They dragged him out as dead. They stoned him. But he never quit preaching that simple gospel, see? Verse 4 My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom but what he did speak was in the demonstration of the spirit and of power. Like I said a little while ago, in one other place we won't take time to look it up. Speaking of himself, he said they say his speech is contemptible. In other words maybe he didn't use the most perfect Greek grammar. I don't know. But there was something about it that he was not a polished orator like Apollos or like some of the other Greek philosophers. And he had to overcome that. No he didn't. The spirit of God did. And it's the same way with every one of this. You may drop a word to someone and you may think it'll never amount to anything. But you don't always have to think it's B.C., isn't it? When he puts a little message in the bottle and he throws it out in the ocean and the whole thing goes away and pretty soon here it comes back. Hey listen, that's us. That's us. All we have to do is plant a seed once in a while. And just like old B.C.'s bottle, it's going to go out it's going to accomplish something and one day it'll come back. Maybe not in this life but you're going to find out about it someday. All right? Verse 5 That your what? Faith Not all their works yet. He wasn't too proud of that. But he was proud of their faith. And you know, I think I can identify with that. Oh, I meet people now that have heard our program they've become believers I don't know how far they've advanced in their Christian walk but just to hear them give the testimony that one dear lady just again, not too long ago came second hand but a friend told me, she said I watched 15 minutes of that program and she said the Lord spoke to my heart and saved me out of a life that was anything but. But you see this is what God will do if we'll just what? Stick our neck out? That's what we have to do. You've got to kind of put your neck out there on the chopping block. And that's what the Apostle is referring to here, see? That He came not with enticing words but in the power of the Spirit verse 5 now, here's where we are that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men. Why am I emphasizing that? Because this is where too much of it is today. People are willing to listen to someone who has seemingly got all the answers to world's problems or maybe they've got all the answers to science and religion listen, that's not where we put our faith we put our faith in the Gospel, in the Word of God, see? And from that then God will begin of course to expand our knowledge, alright? That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Now, again going back to our opening remarks in this book of Corinthians when these immoral grossly immoral people were saved out of that wicked lifestyle they were given all the grace of God that they'll ever have but what was still ahead of them? Growth, see? Growth they began as just almost little fledglings but they were under the grace of God and in that grace they're going to grow, see? And I'm sure that Paul finally saw the day when the Corinthian church had grown along, a long ways but at this point in time they're still down there embryonic they are still just fledgling and so now in the next verse and I guess it'll be time to stop verse 6 How be it we speak wisdom now you remember what I said, one commentator said this book of Corinthians is so hung up on wisdom the wisdom of men versus the wisdom of God, I hope you're seeing it now the word just keeps popping up but Paul says we speak wisdom among them that are perfect now you remember what the word perfect means in your Bible mature, not perfect or sinless but they had reached maturity now here again that almost flies in the face of what the man has been saying why does he call these carnal weak Corinthian believers perfect well I've already told you they were under the grace of God they'd ever have and that grace was sufficient and so he says we speak this kind of wisdom amongst them who are mature yet it's not the wisdom of this world and again he's coming back to the philosophers it's not the wisdom of this world nor of the princes and the rulers of this world that come to naught but the flip side again we speak the wisdom of God in a secret remember Paul is always revealing secrets even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world to our glory that none of the princes of this world thank you for watching through the Bible with Les Feldick a weekly Bible study if you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries a Bible study in your area or about this program write to Les Feldick Ministries Route 1 Box 760 Kinta Oklahoma 74552 that's Route 1 Box 760 Kinta Oklahoma 74552 through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported and your gift is appreciated thank you and be sure to tune in next time for through the Bible with Les Feldick