I Corinthians 1:26-30

I Corinthians 1:26-30 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 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; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. What kind of a person is God looking for to do His work? Smart people? Super talented people? Brave people? Well, actually, none of these. Our verses remind us that God uses ordinary people to do His work. God actually looks for simple people and people who are below average to do His work. And then God uses these simple people to do extraordinary things. And when they do, God alone gets the glory for what is done. Brave people do brave things. Smart people do clever things. Strong people do great things. But they are praised for what they do. But when God calls timid people to do brave things, God gets the glory for what is done. When God asks simple people to do tremendous things, God gets the glory for what they do. And when weak people do powerful things, God gets the glory for what is done. God uses ordinary people so that He will get the glory when they do extraordinary things. That is because God alone is worthy of praise! Let God use you and give Him the glory! Praise the Lord!

I Corinthians 1:25

I Corinthians 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. To compare the brains of God to the brains of a human is crazy! And to compare the strength of God to the strength of a man is crazy too. God is so far above mankind that any comparison is useless. So Paul is saying that if we are smart and if we want to be protected, we had better stay with God. That’s what I am going to do. How about you?!

I Corinthians 1:23,24

I Corinthians 1:23,24 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Paul uses two groups of people in our verse for today. The Greeks were intellectual and the Jews were religious. But both groups rejected the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross – but for different reasons. The Jews thought that they had done many good deeds to please God and had earned God’s favor. So the cross was unnecessary. They didn’t understand why Jesus had to die. And the Greeks were logical and thought that for someone to die for another’s sins was craziness. But neither the Greeks nor the Jews accepted Jesus Christ. But, to those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, His death on the cross is the power of God unto salvation. The death of Jesus Christ is life-changing and powerful!. It is the power of God!

I Corinthians 1:18

I Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. Everything in life depends on your point of view. For example: a farmer is praying for rain for his crops while a family is going to the zoo for the day and is praying for dry, sunny weather. If it rains, someone is happy, but if it doesn’t rain, someone else is happy. It all depends on your point of view. And in our verse for today, some one looks at preaching about Jesus and His death on the cross as a waste of time. But to someone whose life has been changed by the Lord, theat same preaching is powerful and life-changing. It all depends on your point of view. So, how do you look at the cross of Jesus? A waste or life-changing?

I Corinthians 1:12,13

I Corinthians 1:12,13 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? Paul is being very clear about the unity that is needed in the church in Corinth. It seems that the church had several little groups that stuck to themselves and looked down their noses at the other groups. And that’s too bad in a church. Paul reminded them that Jesus Christ was not divided. If you are followers of Jesus, you get along with each other. If you fuss and fight, you are not really a follower of Jesus. It’s just that simple. Paul asked if he died for their sins. Of course the answer was, No. Well then, did Peter die for their sins? And again, the answer was, No. So may be Apollos died for their sins. Once again, the answer was, No. Only Jesus died for their sins and we all follow Jesus. All of us. So if Jesus isn’t divided, we shouldn’t be divided. Pretty simple, isn’t it?! Let’s all just work together as best as we can.

I Corinthians 1:10

I Corinthians 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. The Apostle Paul is begging the church at Corinth to be unified – that there should be no divisions in the church. Paul reminds the church in Corinth to speak the same thing, to be of the same mind, and to be of the same judgement. That is a pretty tall order. But Paul would not have told them to be this focused together unless it were possible for them to be that unified. God never asks us to do something that we are not capable of doing. God knows us and knows what we are able to do. And God knows that we are able to love one another and be of one mind. And what was good for the church in Corinth is good for the church in Chattanooga and in Coopertown and in Springfield and in Greenbriar and . . . well, you get the picture. We all should work together to be of the same mind. And that mind is unified in Jesus Christ.