Twin City church of Christ Blog
“March 7, 2024 - Boast in the Lord”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsBoast in the Lord
Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
The cross is God’s unexpected way of shaming the “wise” of the world (1 Cor 1:19-20). By saving people through a brutal act of sacrifice, the limits of human wisdom and judgment are exposed. Yet it is not just the cross that does this, but also the people whom it attracts. “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. 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”(1 Cor 1:26-27). Paul is not insulting the Corinthians, but pointing out the reality: they are not the most impressive people by worldly standards. He has simultaneously humbled the wise and exalted the “foolish” and “weak.”
What is the point of all these reversals? “God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God”(1 Cor 1:28-29). The goal is to eliminate human arrogance and boasting. In the cross, he has begun to fulfill the promises that “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted”(Matt 23:12, Luke 18:14) and that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble”(James 4:6, 1 Pet 5:5). Meanwhile, Christians know that they are the weak, low, and foolish—yet by God’s grace they have “righteousness and sanctification and redemption”(1 Cor 1:30). They also cannot boast in themselves; their newly exalted station is God’s gift.
“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” Where do we find our meaning, value, and identity? God wants us to find it in him, not ourselves or other people. Paul is quoting Jeremiah, through whom God says, “Let not the wise man boast in wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me”(Jer 9:23-24). I bring nothing worthy of boasting, but I can boast in the goodness and mercy of my God.
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One Thing to Think About: What kinds of things do I tend to boast in?
One Thing to Pray For: The humility to acknowledge that all that I have is a gift from God
