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LET THE ONE WHO BOASTS BOAST
IN THE LORD.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:26-31
In
the name + of Jesus.
Consider how St. Paul addressed the
Corinthian Christians. He wrote, “Consider
your call, brothers. Not many of you
were wise from a human point of view, not many were powerful, and not many were
born with high status” (1 Corinthians 1:26).
St. Paul said that not many had attained these things; that means
that some had. But for the most part,
the congregation was made up of people who were striving just to get by. They may have had dreams of bigger and
better. But there was no likelihood of one’s
social status changing in the first century Roman Empire. If you were poor, enslaved, or unschooled,
you would remain poor, enslaved, or unschooled.
Your fantasies remained fantasies, and fantasies produce nothing.
But those who had wealth, those who were
heralded as scholars, those who were powerful, influential, or nobility could
boast about their station in life—whether it was earned or inherited. Perhaps nothing has changed. These things are still highly regarded in our
world. Those who have not achieved them—no
matter how noble, honest, or beneficial to society they are—are often held in
low regard. This might sound insulting,
but you have been influenced to think the same way. If you don’t think so, go to the Old Granary Burying
Ground in Boston. I bet you will take photos
of the gravestones of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock, and I bet
you will not even pay attention to the other grave markers there. We admire those who have achieved wealth,
power, and fame. Those who have not
achieved such notoriety still fantasize about achieving it. The have-nots want to boast like the
haves. That is life in this worldly
kingdom.
You, however, live in another kingdom—the
kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is very
different from the kingdom of this world.
In fact, the Lord turns things upside down. The Lord values things differently. He prioritizes things differently. He rewards people differently. Since the Lord is the one who blesses people
with wealth and authority, he is not impressed when people take pride in
them. God can withdraw those blessings
just as easily as he gives them. And if
someone should be born into a family of high-standing, that is an act of God’s
grace. No one is born to a particular
time, place, or family because he has done something to deserve it. So, if a man boasts about his noble birth,
that is the height of arrogance.
There is a fascinating chapter in the book
of Daniel which highlights all of this. King
Nebuchadnezzar ruled the kingdom of Babylon, the most power kingdom in the
world up to that time. He enjoyed
wealth, power, and fame. The prophet
Daniel had warned him that his pride would be judged by the Lord if he did not
repent. About year after this warning, “the
king said, ‘Isn’t this the great Babylon that I built for a royal residence by
my mighty power and my majestic glory?’
While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice came down from
heaven. It said, ‘It is announced to
you, King Nebuchadnezzar: The kingdom has been taken away from you’” (Daniel
4:30-31). For about seven years,
Nebuchadnezzar went insane. He was
reduced to nothing. Then, after
Nebuchadnezzar had been properly humbled, the Lord was pleased to restore
him. Then he confessed, “Now, I,
Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of Heaven, because all his
works are true, and his ways are just.
All those who walk in arrogance he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37). Thanks be to God, Nebuchadnezzar learned the
lesson: Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.
Our Lord should not have to resort to that
level of judgment for you to recognize that you are nothing but dust and
breath. Our Lord should not have to
remove your wealth so you can no longer take pride in it, or to withdraw your
health so that you can no longer take pride in your strength, or make you a
victim of slander so that you can no longer find comfort in your
popularity. But sometimes he does. If he does, the God be praised! Because he is doing it for your good. God may reduce our worldly goods and glory to
nothing so that we do not remain devoted to our own earthly kingdom. If we have nothing on earth to boast about
but we still have God’s promises, we have everything of eternal value. Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.
“God chose the foolish things of the
world to put to shame those who are wise.
God chose the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that
are strong, and God chose the lowly things of the world and the despised
things, and the things that are not, to do away with the things that are,
so that no one may boast before God” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). This is especially true regarding our
salvation. Our Lord was pleased to bring
about our salvation through things that were weak, shameful, and despised.
When the Father sent his Son into the
world to redeem mankind from a sinful existence in a dying world, he did not float
down from heaven as an adult, glowing in glory and power. He entered the world through a birth
canal. Totally dependent upon Joseph and
Mary, Jesus experienced a world of cold and hunger, of splinters and callouses,
false accusations and fake friends. For
acts of mercy, Jesus was vilified. For
relieving people of demon-possession, Jesus was accused of being in league with
Satan. As Isaiah had said, “He was
despised and rejected by men, a man who knew grief, who was well acquainted
with suffering. Like someone whom people
cannot bear to look at, he was despised, and we thought nothing of him” (Isaiah
53:3).
When Jesus acted to deliver us from sin, death,
and the devil, it was not with a drawn sword and laying waste to kingdoms and
armies. Instead, God chose what appeared
to be foolish, weak, lowly, and despised.
Jesus made himself obedient to death—an unjust sentence upon an innocent
man. Jesus made himself obedient to
death on a cross—beaten, bloodied, and naked.
He was mocked by the rich and powerful who boasted that their plans had
been successful. They put Jesus to
death. They preserved their earthly kingdom. They received their reward.
It is common for a Christian church to
display a cross as a reminder of where our sin was paid for. Better still is a crucifix. It is not the cross that has taken away your
sin. Your sin was put upon Jesus and
buried with his lifeless body. When someone
sees the disfigured and dead body of Jesus suspended from a cross and asks you,
“Is that your God?” you boast, “Yes, that is my God, my Savior.” Some will mock you for trusting in one who appears
weak and wretched, but you know that the Lamb who was slain shows you the very heart
of God. It shows you how seriously God
is about sin and the penalty sin deserves—that God the Father would damn his
own Son for bearing your sin. But it
also shows you how dearly God loves you—that God the Father would curse his own
Son to grant you a full pardon for all your sin. Jesus has taken away our sin. God has no reason to punish or even to
threaten you.
The crucified Jesus Christ appears utterly
weak, shameful, and pathetic. God,
however, has chosen what appears foolish, weak, and despised to save us. All the wealth, power, and PhD’s in the world
can’t save anyone. No matter how much a
man may boast in his wisdom or wealth, he cannot buy his way out of death or
outsmart the grave. No matter how much
power one accumulates, he cannot command death to bow to him. Why? “So
that no one may boast before God. But
because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us the wisdom from God,
namely, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. God did this so that, just as it is written, ‘Let
the one who boasts boast in the Lord’” (1 Corinthians 1:29-31).
Now, understand this distinction. You live in the kingdom of God. God brought you into his kingdom through holy
baptism. To some, it seems foolish that
a splashing of water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit would have any real significance.
But God chooses the despised things of this world to bestow everlasting
value to his people. God grants his gracious
reward without regard to how much we know, how much we are known, how much we attain,
or how much we accomplish. Whether you
are an infant or an adult, whether you are at the top of your field or on the
low end of the totem pole, whether you have a perfect score on your ACT’s or
have Alzheimer’s Disease, your place in the kingdom of God has been secured by
the Lord Jesus and by him alone. So let the
one who boasts boast in the Lord.
At the same time, you live in the kingdom
of this world. If you possess wealth,
intelligence, or authority, you can do great things for many people. God grants you these gifts not so that you can
build up a kingdom for yourself in this world.
Every worldly kingdom will finally be reduced to dust, as will the
people who build them. But God gives you
gifts to use for his glory and for the good of your fellow man. St. Paul directs us, “Instruct those who
are rich in this present age not to be arrogant or to put their hope in the
uncertainty of riches, but rather in God, who richly supplies us with all
things for our enjoyment. Instruct them
to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share. In this way they are storing up for
themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may
take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
If God has chosen to not bless you with
wealth, scholarly degrees, or authority, he still provides you with opportunities
to do good and to bless your fellow man.
You do not need worldly acclaim to be honest, helpful, merciful, chaste,
decent, or to show up on time and to do the work you were given to do. And you don’t need the world’s praise for God
to be pleased with you or for your life to matter. Jesus has made you pleasing to the Lord. If the world does not think much of you and
your works, so what! God does!
Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. The Lord has made you his priority. You have infinite value to him. And he rewards you with an eternal kingdom through the mercies and merits of Jesus. Therefore, you have nothing greater to value than Jesus Christ. Now your highest priority are God’s word and sacraments. By these, the Holy Spirit preserves you in his kingdom. And we boast in the Lord Jesus as we await his return to bring us to our heavenly reward.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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