ambassadors for the risen Christ ministries

by Shawn Brasseaux

Read 1 Corinthians 1:25 KJV: “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” The context of the verse is the preaching of the cross (verse 18). The lost world thinks the Gospel of the Grace of God is foolishness. But, God’s response is this, in so many words: “Even on your best day, you could never outsmart Me on my worst day!” The human mind is very powerful, but it is no match for God’s intelligence. Albert Einstein was said to have had an IQ of 160, but he was a dummy in light of all that God knows! As 1 Corinthians 1:25 says, even God’s weakness is stronger than we are—He is that powerful!

Let us consider 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 KJV:

“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.”

Basically, this passage explains to us that God often uses the weak people, the lowly people, to accomplish His will. Usually, God does not use the rich and famous, but the people of average incomes, or even people with very little to no income. He often uses shepherds such as Moses, tentmakers such as Paul, boys like David, shy men like Gideon, young women like Esther and Mary, and fishermen such as Peter and Andrew to accomplish His will.

Remember little boy David? Puny as David was, the Lord wanted him to defeat that 9-foot, 9-inch giant Goliath who was taunting Israel. God did not beckon a valiant brave warrior because He wanted that shepherd boy, little David, to slay Goliath! God chose us to serve Him because we are “nobodies,” common people; most Christians are not millionaires, and most do not have Ph.D.’s. Whatever we have accomplished as Christians, it was God that accomplished it in and through us. We were just the vessels; we cannot brag or boast. Our education and our status on the social totem pole are irrelevant.

All the “wisdom” of the intellectual community, the philosophical community, and the academic community is foolishness when compared to God’s knowledge. And one day, all of the wisdom of this world will be brought “to nought,” to nothing, as the Scriptures just said (1 Corinthians 1:28). The high and mighty self-righteous egotists will be brought low, and God will exalt the people who society calls “worthless” or “useless.” No one will boast in God’s presence.

Here is an example of God doing something contrary to what we would think of doing. Read Deuteronomy 7:6-8 KJV (which is Moses speaking to Israel):

“6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

Why did God choose the nation Israel? Were they the best nation? The largest nation? Because they were the smallest nation! As verse 7 said, Israel was the “fewest of all people.” God chose this little nation Israel to be the people through which the Messiah would come. Israel’s Saviour, Jesus Christ, is now offering salvation to everyone, too! It is because of the Jew that humanity has a Redeemer, Saviour, and Messiah.

God did all sorts of other things that we might deem as “silly.” He promised a son to Abraham and Sarah: two people well beyond the years of child-bearing (Genesis 17:1-22; Genesis 21:5); the same with Zacharias and Elisabeth (Luke 1:5-26). He saved His chief enemy at that time, Saul of Tarsus, and made Paul His apostle to the Gentiles (1 Timothy 1:12-16)! He told the Israelites to walk around Jericho, and no matter how silly it seemed, they did, and God honored their faith by defeating Jericho for them (Joshua 6:1-27)! He told the leprous Naaman to go bathe in the nasty Jordan River to be healed of his disease (2 Kings 5:1-27). As the Israelites were trapped between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptian armies, God through Moses told them to “stand still” and do nothing (Exodus 14:13)! In Judges chapters 6 and 7, God used shy Gideon to lead Israel’s army to victory!

But again, God is so much greater than we are. We are no match for Him. He is so far ahead of us that His “ignorance” is BRILLIANT!!!! If He could look into the nothingness that was, and speak creation into existence, His power cannot be overridden. If He wants to do things “in mysterious ways,” He can because He has every right!

As the old saying goes, “Little is much when God is in it.” 🙂