Why People See Christians As Weak Series

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

Paul has us focusing on the cross prior as we prepare our hearts for Easter. Last week we looked at verses 18-25 and we saw that the cross of Christ divides all of human race into two. And the words just before the text we’ve read this morning are important for us here. I want to call your attention to them. Last week we dealt with “Why People see the Cross as Useless” and this is still an idea in front of us – is there power of the cross of Christ. The cross’ power is not that of sheer force or a big battalions that forces itself upon you. Instead, the power of Christ’s cross is effective for transforming lives by God’s grace. God has chosen to use the cross as a tool to transform people. And it’s an unexpected tool for the majority of the human race.

The cross is full of irony. Irony expresses meaning by using what normally means the opposite of what is actually being said. The cross is ironic because the King who is mocked as King is the King. On the cross, people hail Him as the King of the Jews (Matthew 27:27-31). The cross is ironic because the Man who is Utterly powerless is ultimately Powerful. The practice of Roman crucifixion was to leave the vertical beam in the ground – usually near a public crossroads so that many people as possible could witness the torment and learn to fear Rome.

Christ carried the horizontal beam (as was the custom) with Him to the cross. Yet, He was so weak that He could not even manage to carry this chunk of wood on His shoulders to the place of execution. They mocked Him because He told others He could have destroyed the Temple (Matthew 27:39-40).

Where was His power when He needed it? The irony of the cross doesn’t escape the Apostle Paul either. The power of Christ’s cross is folly to those who have the tapped into today’s wisdom. Few people see the cross as effective in our day or in any day for that matter. They may see the cross as a fairy tale… or they may even see the cross as historically true… but Christ’s cross is still seen as ineffective to deal with the hard realities of life. What many see as a tool of transformation much of the world sees the cross as utterly useless. Last week, the focus was on God’s tool to save – the cross of Christ and the majority of people who reject it. This week, the focus is on God’s people who embrace the cross of Christ. The text turns its attention away from those who reject the message to those who accept the message of the cross

1. God is Not a Snob

A wife worried for half an hour that her husband and her wouldn’t get on an overbooked flight. Eventually, they were summoned were summoned to the check-in desk. A smiling agent whispered that this was their lucky day. In order to get them on the plane the agent bumped them up to first class. This was the first and only time they had been so pampered on an airplane. They enjoyed good food, hot coffee, plenty of elbowroom. The husband and wife played a little game, trying to guess who else didn’t belong in first class. One man stuck out. He padded around the cabin in his socks, restlessly sampling magazines, playing with but never actually using the in-flight phones. And when the attendant brought linen tablecloths for our breakfast trays, he tucked his into his collar as a bib. We see misfits all around us — people who obviously don’t belong, people who embarrass us and cause us to feel superior.

“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” (1 Corinthians 1:26)

Paul is writing to the church he had started. He knows these people. He had spent eighteen months diligently working to see the Gospel take off in Roman city of Corinth. Paul reminds his readers of the facts. Paul uses the word “calling” as we would refer to the time when a person was saved or converted. The word calling underscores God’s summons to faith. God’s calling is much like a subpoena to come not to court but to faith in Christ. So, he reminds them of who they were when they were converted. In verse twenty-six, he speaks of their social status. He says that most (but not all) were social nothings: “not many were powerful…” The power Paul has in mind is not the power of weight lifting but the influential power a person with clout.: “not many of you were wise according to worldly standards…” and “not many were of noble birth.” The “rich man” becomes the man of noble birth in the days prior to industry and factories. Historically, the rich largely sprang from upper classes.