“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!!
