I Corinthians 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27  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;
28  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:
29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30  But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

The word “calling” here is another word that the Calvinists like to distort and claim that not everyone is called and thus they use this to support their heresy that there are those who cannot be saved. The calling of God involves the reception of the call. The Bible is clear that God is not willing that any should perish. He wants all to come to repentance.
There are people who get a phone call, but they do not answer it. They were called, but because they did not answer the call, the next step cannot be completed. They may even claim they were never called. In the human world, they might get away with that lie.
In the spiritual realm, we know that the Holy Spirit is working in the heart of every person to convince them of the need to repent and be saved.

John 16:7  Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
8  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9  Of sin, because they believe not on me;
10  Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
11  Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

As we have already seen in our opening text, there are people who think they are too good to need to be saved. They are fools. They assume they are wise but they demonstrate the fact that they are fools. They reject the greatest offer ever given to man. They reject God’s gift of salvation.
Paul declares that not many wise men after the flesh are called. The professor with his PhD is far too sophisticated to think he could be a lost sinner. He has earned his degrees and has his friends and has a good paying job. How could he not be a good person?
The same holds true for the mighty. History tells us that Alexander the Great was a mighty warrior. He was able to lead his troops into battle and be successful in overthrowing the Medo/Persian empire. He expanded his territory. However, he was a wicked man and died young due to his ungodly lifestyle. The Greek empire was split into four parts after his death and did not have the strength it had under Alexander. It eventually fell to the Roman empire. Alexander the Great had the opportunity to know the truth, but he was far too proud to believe he needed to know the true God. He knows better now, but it is too late for him.
The noble also generally think they have all they need. They were born into the right family and they are invincible. Look at our P.M. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He does not seem to know it, but he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He assumes that this country could not possibly prosper without him. He is leading a movement to run this country into the ground, but somehow he thinks he will come out on top. He is a fool.
In verse 27 we are again reminded that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. The wise person gets all wrapped up in his pride and thinks he is smarter than God. He thinks his ability to reason is of greater significance than what God has declared. God’s salvation is real and it is explained in the Scriptures. Submitting oneself to Someone who came to this earth and died on the cross and shed His blood there, then rose again and then ascended back up to heaven, just does not compute to the “wise”. They want to put their own spin on truth. Those who are saved know that trusting in God is the right thing to do, but many worldly wise people just refuse to get past themselves.
The same goes for the mighty. The true preacher does not need to be a weight lifter. Some of those reading this may have seen the leader of the NDP confront some hecklers this past week. Apparently he is a well trained fighter. We do not know if he would actually have hit anyone. We know there were security guards there and they probably would have stepped in right away. He tried to prove that he was tough. He does not know which end is up but there are some people who obviously see things otherwise. If he does not repent and get saved, he will have all of eternity in the lake of fire and his turban will not help him at all.
In verse 28 we see further that the base things (things that are of low value) are chosen by God. God does not need side-shows. He needs people who are humbled and repentant and who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. He changes the sinner and makes him a saint. He equips His children for the work He has called them to. Yes, the saved person needs to study and be led by God to learn the Word of God. Without God’s salvation a person is nothing.
God can take things that are not, and use them for His glory. The people that the world despises and rejects as being worthless, can be of great service to the Lord. God can take a person who is a nobody and through salvation can raise that person up to be a preacher, an evangelist, a Sunday School teacher or any number of other things. He is seeking the person who is humble and willing to trust in the true Lord Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.
In verse 29 we see the purpose of this. No person can glory in God’s presence. We have already seen that the Corinthians had developed a ranking for a few men. They were splitting into camps based on which man they assumed to be better. They were wrong in what they were doing.
The apostle Paul had nothing to brag about. He was saved by God’s grace. He was previously a persecutor, and he could have died in that position and he would have gone to hell. Peter was also nothing in and of himself. He was a chosen man of God to be an apostle. An apostle was one sent out by another. In Biblical terms, it was a saved man that was specifically chosen and sent out by God for a very specific task.
II Corinthians 12 tells us of the thorn that the apostle Paul had in his side to keep him humble. God put that thorn there and He was not going to remove it. He needed that thorn to keep him humble. He came to understand God’s purpose for that thorn and he accepted that with praise to God.
In verse 30 we are reminded that those who are saved are brought into the family of God through the work of Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is made wisdom, righteousness and sanctification and redemption to those who are saved. Verse 31 tells us that this is the fact so that no person can glory in what they are or can do. Without God’s mercy and grace, no one would be saved and without His salvation we are nothing. We would be a part of the worldly crowd that is striving to get the front row in hell. What a foolish thing to do, but that is what the lost are doing.
The saved person can only glory in the Lord. He understands he is nothing without God’s grace in saving him. He knows that his ability after salvation is a gift from God that he needs to develop in humility before the Lord. His goal is to glorify God. He has nothing else to glory in. God makes sure of that.
I read of another prominent preacher who was removed from his duties as pastor of his church, because he admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with a woman. No further details have been given except that they have suggested that at this time he is unrepentant. Obviously he ignored who he truly is in Christ if he is a saved man. God knows how to deal with him and He will do all things for His glory.
Today is the first day of the week. It is another opportunity to attend a true local, Bible-believing church where you can learn of the true God. Don’t miss that great opportunity that He has granted you.
Pastor Bartel