Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.
You, if you have Christ in your heart, are the church! The church is not the assembly of brick and mortar, but rather the representatives of heaven who have God’s Spirit and Presence within them. Whether in a group or individually, the children of God ARE the church. And for a specific reason, God chose us, the church, to be His instrument to reach the world with the gospel.
As you have probably learned by now, God’s ways are not our ways. His plans, His ideas, His methods, they are all so much different and better than ours. Where we might have expected God to just zap everyone with the knowledge of Himself and simplify matters, that is not what He chose to do. Verse 25 of 1 Corinthians 1 goes on to say, “This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.”
God, in His infinite wisdom chose to reach the world through a vehicle that the world itself would see as weak, frail, powerless, and foolish. And as God’s Truth is revealed to the world, over and over and over again through us, God’s church, even the wisest of secular scholars is brought to shame by the reality of God’s humble message and messengers. Verse 27 and 28 explicitly say that, “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.”
And then, to sum it all up, verse 29 gives us the reason why: “As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.” You see, God knew that reaching the world by means of an army of humanly weak, inadequate, shy, resented, persecuted, and seemingly foolish soldiers would be something that would bring glory to Him and would shut the bragging, boasting mouths of everyone who enters His presence.
God’s church, His bride, is an unstoppable force by Divine design. We have the assurance that nothing can stand against us, not even the gates of hell itself, as we go about the task of going into all the world and preaching the Good News to everyone. (Mark 16:15) If you and I had been in charge long ago when the decision needed to be made about how to spread the Word about God, we would probably have never envisioned the church as the answer. But, as always, God saw what we couldn’t have seen. He knew what we couldn’t have known. And He did what we couldn’t have done.
God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.”
1 Corinthians 1:30-31, italics added
You, as a follower of Jesus Christ, are the church. You, as His Spirit lives and dwells within you, are the hope of the world! Shine your light and let the whole world see that you are living for the sake and the purpose of the risen King!
prayer
Thank You, Father, for uniting me with Your Son. Thank You for cleansing me and making me acceptable to be a part of Your Bride, the church. Please forgive me for the times that I fail to remember that as a part of the church, I have a responsibility to live far beyond the realm of my own selfish desires. I have been commissioned by You to reach the world, along with my fellow brothers and sisters who are the church with me. Use me, Lord, as You see fit and may I always be faithful to boast only in You and Your power at work in my life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.