God Chose Simple Things

October 21st, 2026
by Lance Waldie

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God.

Paul now turns the argument back to the Corinthian Christians, telling them to “consider your calling,” that is, your conversion to Christ. Since “calling” is synonymous with salvation (cf. 1:9, 24), Paul is saying, “…consider your salvation.” The “called” are contrasted with those to whom the gospel is preached yet who reject it. Both hear the gospel, but “the called” are summoned to faith in Christ by the grace of God. As with all who believe, there were many who were called, yet not because they were “wise according to the flesh… mighty… [or] noble” (v. 26). Paul is thus telling the Corinthian believers to look back on their lives prior to salvation. Few, if any, had the outward, typical human traits that caused them to stand out from their peers.

But God, in His grace, “has chosen the foolish things of the world…” (27a). The “foolish things” in this context are the foolish Corinthian Christians who were once lost in worldly wisdom and immoral living (cf. 6:9-10). Not only that, “God has chosen the weak things of the world… and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen…” (vv. 27-28). Three times Paul uses the word “chosen” in vv. 27-28 with respect to the salvation of the Corinthian Christians, solidifying that “called” in v. 26 is synonymous with salvation. This further confirms that God’s call on the life of one of His elect children is an effective call to salvation.

God therefore did not send the gospel to Corinth through the Apostle Paul to save wise, wealthy socialites. On the contrary, God sent Paul to call out His elect from Corinth—unwise nobodies with little to no pedigree, in order to give them the greatest grace one can receive through faith in Jesus Christ. These elect, found all over the planet, chosen from before time began (Eph. 1:4-5), were the ones God spoke of when He spoke to Paul in Acts 18:10, telling him, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will lay a hand on you to harm you, for I have many people in this city” (italics mine).

God’s purpose for calling the not-so-wise is also revealed in vv. 27-28. It was “to shame” (kataischynō), or disgrace, all who claim to be wise and powerful. This “shame,” however, was not meant to exist in the present, for the wise and cultured who rejected the gospel were not shamed by their rejection. They in fact shamed those who actually listened to and followed Paul. No, their shame is eschatological disgrace (cf. Rom. 9:33; 10:11)—shame they will endure in the future and for eternity in hell following the return of Christ. This being the case, Paul rebukes the Corinthian Christians for admiring or even mildly seeking such worldly wisdom.

The second part of God’s purpose in exalting lowly things and despising highly regarded things is in v. 28 where the verb is not “shame” but “nullify” (katargeō), meaning “to render inoperative.” The things “that are” God will “nullify.” Having depicted the lower classes as foolish, weak, and despised, this was how they were when God called them to salvation. In so doing, God nullified what the world believed was worthy, namely wealth, pedigree, and worldly wisdom. But in choosing the base things of the world and rejecting what the world considers worthy of God, God rendered the worldly notion ineffective and inoperative. Here Paul has the future in mind, when Christ returns. On that day God will nullify the wisdom of the world, bringing to nothing those the world counts as socially esteemed. Why does God do all of this? So that “no man will boast before God” (v. 29). God, and God alone, will be glorified for salvation.

Food For Thought
God shows no favor to the wise over simpletons. In fact, God loves the simpletons of this world! This doesn’t mean that He favors slackers over hard workers; it means that the learned are not above the not-so-wise of this world. How do we know? Luke tells us that Jesus “…rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, ‘I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight’ ” (Luke 10:21). Of course “these things” God the Father had hidden in Luke’s context were the things related to the simple message Christ came to announce, namely that His kingdom had come, for He was the Messiah.