"But God Has Chosen the Foolish Things..." (Part 2)

“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…” (1 Corinthians 1:27 NKJV)

    God chose lowly things, “foolish” things so that anyone who believes can be saved. To those of us who do believ,e we see the power and wisdom of God, but to all others, particularly those “who are perishing”, those who mock God and the very idea of God, it is only “foolishness.”

    The message of the cross, the simple way in which Jesus came and conducted Himself (even sacrificing Himself), was contrary to the expectations of the Jews who were looking for a great and powerful Saviour Messiah, so they rejected Jesus and in so doing rejected their hope of salvation (Acts 13:46). The Gentiles on the other hand sought after astonishing wisdom, thoughts that would confound the common people and ideas that would give the great philosophers of the day much to discuss and consider, but Jesus came with simple “stories” about seed sowers and farmers, women who swept their houses, and people who bought small plots of land – to them His teaching was “foolishness”, mere stories to amuse children (1 Corinthians 1:21-23). 

    Let’s not fall prey to that type of thinking. God’s word is not out of reach. Jesus’ humble nature welcomes us all to come near and approach God, the Father, through Him (John 14:6). God has always chosen the simple things He has made and provided to all, so that no one is hindered from seeking and finding Him (Acts 17:26-27).

Consider these “lowly” things in our worship:

• ·       Simple, quiet, respectful gatherings where “all things done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40) so that we may worship God in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). There are no complicated rituals, nor pompous ceremonial processions, but only common men leading our thoughts as we observe the Lord’s Supper, leading us as we sing together, and teaching and preaching a Bible lesson for our benefit, so that our attention is focused on honouring God, not man.
• ·       No ornate clothing worn by the men leading, no robes or cassocks, no special vestments of any sort, simply respectful clothing (even we in attendance are given instruction to keep our clothing simple, see 1 Timothy 2:9-10, 1 Peter 3:3-4).  Again, so our focus stays on God and not on people.
• ·        No foreign languages, no Latin, but only what is understandable to the congregation (1 Corinthians 14:10-17). Lessons simply from God’s word, the Bible, from which every man may be made “complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So that no one elevates himself above the congregation because of his learning or ability, but that God and His word are elevated and held in high esteem.
• ·       No musicians or choir members atop a stage. No man-made instruments required for worship, only what God made, common to all people: our hearts, our spirit, and our voices, as we join together in song “singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). Our attention is to be on God, not on a singer or a musician. We are not at a concert to be entertained, we are to humbly gather together before God, approach His throne, and exalt Him with our praise and attention (Philippians 2:1-11).
• ·       No names that raise people above others. No titles like “father”, “reverend”, or “pope” – these are all man-made titles that were made to encourage respect and reverence, but God is to have the respect and reverence, not men. Jesus, Himself, commanded, “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:9). We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, all children of God (Romans 8:15-17, 1 John 3:1-3), and that, I think, is honour enough!
• ·      Unleavened bread and fruit of the vine. Simple, basic elements: flour, water, juice from grapes – all made and provided by God Himself. We know the fruit of the vine was not wine (something invented by man), because there was no leavening to be in the house during the observation of the Passover (Exodus 12:12-15), nothing fermented, only fresh, unleavened ingredients just as God provided them. Why did God choose these simple elements for the Lord’s Supper? So that when we partake of it each week our focus is on Jesus and not on a meal (1 Corinthians 11:22) or highfalutin man-made drink.

·             God chose basic men, not scholars who went to seminaries to learn how to preach, but “uneducated and untrained” fishermen (Acts 4:13) and a tentmaker “untrained in speech” (2 Corinthians 11:6) to preach and teach the gospel message to both Jews and Gentiles (Mark 16:15-16, Acts 26:15-18). Today is no different. The men who preach are just like the rest of the brethren except that they have chosen to spend their lives studying God’s word, and preaching/teaching the gospel. They should be encouraged in their pursuit as they encourage us to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18)! They do not teach their own ideas and imaginings, they speak only what God has provided through His holy and divine word (1 Peter 4:11, Galatians 1:8-10)!

    God chose the simple things so that all could hear, believe, and obey. God chose the things He made, the things He provided to mankind so that man could not puff himself up and say “Look what I did!” or “Look what I can do!” God simply asks us to come together to think on all that He did and praise Him for all that He continues to do!

    We don’t need to have an expensive education to understand the gospel, only sincere love for God and His word. We don’t need to be wealthy to worship Him, we don’t need to have a musical skill or even ability to sing in tune, we only need our God-made heart and soul, bound together in sincere belief and humble obedience, to join with others in praise and worship of our hallowed Father in heaven!

    God chose the lowly things. God chose us. Let us worship Him and reverence Him as He desires, using only the things He has given us to honour and reverence Him for all He has given us!!

You can do it! So can I!!