II.ITS AGENCIES — are weak, yet stronger than men.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

2. The expression stirs some feeling of mystery. More is suggested than the understanding clearly grasps. But there is something here that is plain enough to common sense, and, to earnest moods at least, very welcome. How many weeks will any of us be able to live without coming to some spot where it will be felt as a rational comfort to believe that all our way was ordered for us by Him who sees the end from the beginning? If there is a "calling," there is one who calls, and who when calling has a right to be heard. It follows that there is one object in existence so pre-eminent that to accomplish that is to fulfil the great purpose of our being, and to fail of that is to miss the chief end. It is only triflers who conceive of their life as without a plan, and have never heard the call of the Master, "Go, work to-day in My vineyard." So true is this, that it has been observed of the most efficient and commanding men in the history of the world, that they were apt to represent themselves as led on by some Power beyond themselves — a demon, a genius, a destiny, or a Deity. But the apostle refers to something higher and holier than any dreamy sentiment like this. Standing on the verities of the gospel, speaking to those that have nominally assented to it, he summons them to a more solemn and searching sense of what it requires of them: "Ye see your calling, brethren." The truth is clear; you see it. It is not of men, but of God, who calls. Christ has lived, and He asks living followers.

3. It is remarkable how perseveringly the New Testament clings to this particular conception of the Christian relation. Disciples are said to be "the called of Jesus," "called out of darkness into marvellous light," "called unto liberty," "called to peace," "called to eternal life," "called" first, to be afterwards "justified and glorified," "called to inherit a blessing," "called in one body" and "one hope," "called by God's grace" to "holiness," to "His kingdom and glory," with "a holy calling," "a heavenly calling." The apostles are "called" from one place, work, suffering, joy, to another. To "walk worthy of the vocation" is made the business of a careful conscience. To make our "calling and election sure" is the victory of our warfare. The promise that subdues all anxiety as to the result is "Faithful is He which calleth you." Notice the prominent teachings of this language.

I. THAT THE BUSINESS OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL — a "calling" by itself, to be distinguished from all other occupations. A Christian character springs from its own root, grows by its own laws, and bears its own peculiar fruit. It must have a beginning, which the New Testament everywhere speaks of as being born into a new life. Then there must be a growing into greater strength and goodness, without end. Here, therefore, is a new principle of conduct. It is a Divine calling. Paul speaks as if no pursuit were to be thought of in comparison with it.

II. THAT THIS IDEA OF A "CALLING" INDIVIDUALISES NOT ONLY THE CHRISTIAN OBLIGATION, BUT THE CHRISTIAN PERSON. Paul had no conception of a social Christianity apart from the personal righteousness of the men that make up society. It is your calling. It is quite vain for us to congratulate each other on a state of general integrity and order if we tolerate depravity in ourselves or the class to which we belong. If we have a community here of a thousand people, in which we want to see the Christian graces flourishing, our only way is to go to work and turn one and another of the thousand into a Christian person, each beginning with himself. How weary and indignant God must be at hearing the Pharisaic praises of a Christian religion, legislation, literature, country, from speakers and writers who allow Christianity to conquer no one of their propensities to pleasure or to pride! The vocation is an individual matter. Ye see it, each for himself. The work is for each. "Repent," "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God," "Take up the cross and come after Me," are for each. "Ye see your calling."

III. THAT, NOTWITHSTANDING ALL THIS, CHRIST'S TRUTH IS A MATTER, NOT OF PARTIAL, BUT OF UNIVERSAL APPLICATION. The Christian spirit, revelation, privilege, and promises are not meant for a class of men culled out arbitrarily here and there; not for a few persons of special constitutional proclivities or whose circumstances happen to predispose them for a spiritual plane of being, making it easy for them to reach it. The Bible makes no such exceptions. "Whosoever will." Nor is the Christian calling a whit the less universal and impartial for the reason that it is special, requiring a personal consecration. On the contrary, its speciality is the very ground of its universality. The more definite, important, and searching you make the Christian command to be, the more will the principles of its righteousness send their pressure into every department of life, and the spirit of its charity diffuse its fragrance into every nook and corner of the household of humanity. If there were any variations excusing men from this calling, they might be expected to exist either in their nature, their place, or their time. Yet how far these things are from constituting an apology for disregarding the duty of a disciple!

1. Take the inequalities of intellectual equipment. There is not much likelihood of men's seeking a release from taking up the Christian work and cross on a plea of mental infirmity. More probably the plea of exemption will arise in the opposite quarter, and be a pretence of gifts or a culture superior to the need of faith, independent of the humiliating doctrines of the Crucified (vers. 20-24).

2. Take the excuse of unfavourable outward fortunes. What are those fortunes? Poverty and hardship? Unto the poor the gospel was first preached, and in every age it is with them that its simple and consoling truths have found their most cordial and fruitful reception. Wealth and station? But unto whom much is given, of them shall much be required. Or is it the busy and contented state of pecuniary mediocrity or a competency? Yet that is the very state which, of all others, a wise man is represented as praying for, and which common sense would pronounce most favourable to a useful and healthy piety. Indeed, the whole honest spirit of our religion disallows the evasive notion that any position can liberate the child of God from loving his Maker, serving his Saviour, and living in godly charity with his fellow-men.

3. The changing aspects of the times are just as powerless to acquit any single conscience of its accountability for a Christian walk and conversation. Principles do not change with periods. The Christ of whom it is written that He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, is not subject to fluctuation, either in the measure of His affection or in His demands for allegiance.Conclusion: Ye see your calling —

1. Families. On every domestic sanctuary Christ lays She law of a consecrated and holy economy. Set thy house in order; for these earthly tabernacles are to be dissolved. And while they last they take in no calm, no abiding light, save through invisible windows that open upward into the unshadowed and undivided heaven.

2. Parents. To exercise your trust you will have to feel that the Christian character of every child committed to your charge is immeasurably the most urgent interest of your parental office.

3. Men of action. "I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you."

(Bp. Huntington.)

I. IS OF GOD. Supreme, authoritative, irreversible. The call of wisdom and love. "Faithful is He that calleth you."

II. HIS GLORIOUS, COMPREHENSIVE BLESSINGS. Called out of darkness into marvellous light — "unto liberty," "to peace," "to eternal life," to "holiness," to "His kingdom and glory." It is "a heavenly calling," "a holy calling."

III. IS TO SPECIAL, DISTINCTIVE MODE OF LIVING.

IV. IS INTENSELY PERSONAL.

V. INCLUDES THE WHOLE MAN IN ALL HIS RELATIONS IN LIFE.

(Homiletic Monthly.)

1. Undeniable.

2. Lamentable.

3. Worthy of consideration.

II. THE REASON. Not that God despises human wisdom, &c. — it is His gift — but that these gifts are perverted —

1. By pride, in judging the things of God which are beyond human understanding.

2. By unbelief which rejects salvation.

3. By moral blindness occasioning self-sufficiency and independence.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

2. Now, here is a statement which has been often taken as if it were doctrinal, though it is, in fact, historical, with mischievous results; for if these classes are always to be reckoned unchristian and unbelieving —(1) Thoughtful men of all classes would, on that account alone, hesitate to embrace the gospel. If Christianity were only fit for the mob, its prospects would be poor, especially as the education of the people will not suffer from having now been made a national affair.(2) It would be a misfortune for the world if what we call civilisation advances. Each generation more nearly than its predecessor approaches to the condition of the privileged classes of society — the wise, the mighty, the noble.

3. On the other hand, consider the text as historical, and it is plain enough. We still sometimes hear explanations given of how it is that the learned and the great and the noble are not Christians, but —(1) These explanations account for what is not the fact, for there are as many Christians among cultivated and aristocratic people as in any other class; and —(2) These explanations, as a rule, would not account for the fact, if it were one. It is nonsense, e.g., to say that wise men in their conceit reject Christianity because it is simple or because it is supernatural; for there is more conceit, not with those who have some knowledge, but with those who have none.

4. Now if we glance at Corinth, it is easy to understand why the classes specified were more reluctant than others to embrace Christianity.

I. As regards THE "WISE MEN AFTER THE FLESH."

1. By these the apostle did not mean the great sages of antiquity. It would certainly not be anything to boast of if we had to suppose that Christianity rejected them or they it; for one could wish that the majority of Christians had attained to as lofty, as enlightened ideas as some in the golden age of Greek wisdom entertained and taught. But we have to do here with the men of a degenerate time — smatterers, would-be wise men, pretenders to universal knowledge, which is often largest and loudest where ignorance and frivolity divide between them the empire of the human mind.

2. Nor were they thinkers of our modern type.(1) The principles according to which our scientific men conduct their inquiries are modern discoveries. Our wise men try to discover the facts of nature, life, and history, and construct their theories according to the facts. But exactly the reverse was the common way of the wise men here spoken of.(2) Our modern thinkers are seekers after truth, and they are as likely to discover the truth of Christianity as other people, if not more so. These ancient wise men, on the other hand, were rather like our ignorant and superstitious masses, who take a side without candid inquiry, and are resolute to defend their side just because it is theirs.(3) Our literary and scientific men, as far as they are faithful to their vocation, inquire each man for and by himself, and own no allegiance to a party or a master, but to truth alone. But these ancient wise men, as leaders or adherents of their school, enjoyed what credit and influence they had, and were jealous of new opinions, as possibly inimical to their authority and its repute.

II. As regards THE MIGHTY AND THE NOBLE.

1. When Christianity was new it had all the disadvantages of novelty.(1) So it most repelled those who had least to gain and most to lose by any change. These, of course, were the privileged classes here mentioned.(2) Remember, too, that the changes which Christianity threatened were the most violent, and therefore the most distasteful possible to these classes. They were free, and a great part of the community were their slaves. It is now a maxim — thanks to Christianity — that property has its duties as well as its rights. But that maxim had no existence then.(3) Then it was not some magnate of their own lofty order, or even of their own race, who told those lords of many to become the servants of all; it was a company of artisans, fishermen, slaves, foreigners.(4) Then consider that the gospel was gospel in those days. It was a plain, straightforward declaration of the truth that God is love, and man's true life is love; that to be selfish is to be damned, to love is to be saved.

2. The gospel has no longer these disadvantages. When sons of nobles are ill-paid clergymen, and sovereigns and statesmen are gratuitous defenders of the faith, there is nothing to hinder the great and noble, any more than the poor and lowly, from professing Christianity. And, as regards the practice of Christianity, the case is not different. The mighty and the noble, as a matter of course, now accept, along with their honours and their privileges, a host of duties, public and social, which are enjoined rather by public opinion than by law. So much are things changed, property now has not only duties as well as rights, but has fewer rights than duties, and there are at least as many of these classes as of any other who exhibit the true spirit of Christianity in lives of faith towards God and charity towards men.

(J. Service, D. D.)

2. Should, however, the correctness of the present version be maintained, we still deny that it was written to warn us against the acquisition of human learning, for the use and abuse of knowledge are not identical, and the text thus understood could only apply to the Greeks, who preferred their wisdom to revelation, and to the Jews, who, having misinterpreted their Scriptures, required a sign to confirm that misinterpretation. The passage which was intended to apply to such as these can never be quoted to condemn that which only becomes reprehensible when it is not made subservient to the religion of our Lord. This is a conclusion worthy your attention, inasmuch as, if disproved, it would tend to cause the pious scholar to throw aside all the aids he might derive from history, criticism, and science in explaining and defending the oracles of God. That such a course would prove a serious detriment to religion the records of our race abundantly testify. Where ignorance has prevailed, there infidelity or superstition has abounded, whilst in the train of knowledge more accurate conceptions of the Deity and of social duties have ever followed. When Christianity was spreading many of the wise, indeed, rejected it, but the more obstinate were found among those whose prejudices in favour of their ancient faith remained unshaken, because their minds had not been trained by knowledge to estimate the value of those doctrines propounded for their acceptance. Note, then —

I. THE ADVANTAGES OF KNOWLEDGE TO RELIGION.

1. The annals of the Reformation speak an unmistakable language in favour of human acquirements.

2. It is from the arsenal of knowledge that the most formidable weapons have been taken wherewith to resist the assaults of infidelity.

3. The benefits of a knowledge of science, history, &c., to the missionary are simply incalculable.

4. The cultivation of learning greatly conduces to a right understanding of the Bible.

II. THE OPPOSITION TO KNOWLEDGE commenced in primitive times. Whilst and Clement recommended the study of literature, declaimed against it as the source of those heresies which disturbed the peace of the Church. Because philosophers had erred philosophy was condemned; and yet, in defiance of the experience which has proved that there is no necessary connection between philosophy and infidelity, in spite of the fact that Newton and Bacon and Pascal and Boyle have submitted their powerful minds to the teaching of the gospel, the same objection and the same plea is boldly advanced.

III. THE ABUSES TO WHICH IT IS LIABLE.

1. Prior to the promulgation of the gospel (though there then existed minds as powerful as any which have since adorned the pages of history) the grossest immorality prevailed amongst the wise ones of the earth. Hence we deduce the fact that by itself "the wisdom of the world" now, as then, is unable to reform the morals of mankind. "The world by wisdom knew not God"; and the writings of infidels have confirmed the assertion of our apostle.

2. Knowledge is fatally abused when Scripture is wrested from its obvious meaning in order to make it coincide with some cherished theory or to advance some favourite doctrine. Suppose that by an induction of facts we arrive at a conclusion opposed to a certain portion of the Bible, our duty is to extend our observation till we obtain a result in accordance with that indicated in the Word of God.

(D. H. Cotes, LL. B.)

I. THE ELECTOR Some men are saved and some men are not saved. How is this difference caused? The reason why any sink to hell is their sin, and only their sin. But how is it that others are saved? The text answers the question three times — "God hath chosen." This will be clear if we consider —

1. The facts. God elected fallen man, but not the fallen angels; Abraham, the Jews, David, &c. God is a king. Men may set up a constitutional monarchy, and they are right in so doing; but if you could find a being who was perfection itself, an absolute form of government would be undeniably the best. The absolute position of God as king demands that, especially in the work of salvation, His will should be the great determining force.

2. The figures —(1) Salvation consists in part of an adoption. Who is to have authority in this matter? The children of wrath? Surely not. It must be God who chooses His own children.(2) The Church, again, is called —(a) A building. With whom does the architecture rest? With the building? Do the stones select themselves? No; the Architect alone disposes of His chosen materials according to His own will.(b) Christ's bride. Would any man here agree to have any person forced upon him as his bride?

II. THE ELECTION ITSELF. Now observe —

1. How strange is the choice He makes. "He hath not chosen many wise," &c. If man had received the power of choosing, these are just the persons who would have been selected. "But God hath chosen," &c. If man had governed the selection, these are the very persons who would have been left out.

2. It is directly contrary to human choice. Man chooses those who would be most helpful to him; God chooses those to whom He can be the most helpful. We select those who may give us the best return; God frequently selects those who most need His aid. We select those who are most deserving; He selects those who are least deserving, that so His choice may be more clearly seen to be an act of grace and not of merit.

3. It is very gracious. It is gracious even in its exclusion. It does not say, "Not any," it only says, "Not many"; so that the great are not altogether shut out. Grace is proclaimed to the prince, and in heaven there are those who on earth wore coronets and prayed.

4. It is very encouraging. Some of us cannot boast of any pedigree; we have no great learning, we have no wealth, but He has been pleased to choose just such foolish, despised creatures as ourselves.

III. THE ELECTED. They are described —

1. Negatively.(1) "Not many wise men after the flesh." God has chosen truly wise men, but the sophoi — the men who pretend to wisdom, the cunning, the metaphysical, the rabbis, the doctors, the men who look down with profound scorn upon the illiterate and call them idiots, these are not chosen in any great number. Strange, is it not? and yet a good reason is given. If they were chosen, why then they would say, "Ah! how much the gospel owes to us! How our wisdom helps it!"(2) "Not many mighty." And you see why — because the mighty might have said, "Christianity spreads because of the good temper of our swords and the strength of our arm." We can all understand the progress of Mahommedanism during its first three centuries.(3) "Not many noble," for nobility might have been thought to stamp the gospel with its prestige.

2. Positively. "God hath chosen" —(1) "The foolish things"; as if the Lord's chosen were not by nature good enough to be called men, but were only "things."(2) "The weak things" — not merely weak men, but the world thought them weak things." "Ah!" said Caesar in the ball, if he said anything at all about it, "Who is King Jesus? A poor wretch who was hanged upon a tree I Who is this Paul? A tent-maker! Who are his followers? A few despised women who meet him at the water-side."(3) "The base things" — things without a father, things which cannot trace their descent.(4) "Things that are despised," sneered at, persecuted, hunted about, or treated with what is worse, with the indifference which is worse than scorn.(5) "Things that are not" hath God chosen. Nothings, nonentities.

IV. THE REASONS FOR THE ELECTION.

1. The immediate reason.(1) "To confound the wise." For one wise man to confound another wise man is remarkable; for a wise man to confound a foolish man is very easy; but for a foolish man to confound a wise man — ah! this is the finger of God.(2) "To confound the mighty." "Oh!" said Caesar, "we will soon root up this Christianity; off with their heads." The different governors hastened one after another of the disciples to death, but the more they persecuted them the more they multiplied. All the swords of the legionaries which had put to rout the armies of all nations, and had overcome the invincible Gaul and the savage Briton, could not withstand the feebleness of Christianity, for the weakness of God is mightier than men.(3) "To bring to nought the things that are." What were they in the apostle's days? Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Diana. Here comes Paul with "There is no God but God, and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent." He represents "the things that are not." So contemptible is the heresy of Christianity that if a list were made out of contemporary religions of different countries Christianity would have been left out. But where are Jupiter, &c., now? What was true in Paul's day is true to-day. Existing superstitions, though attacked by those who are things that are not, shall yet cease to be, and the truth as it is in Jesus, and the pure simple faith backed by the Spirit of God, shall bring to nought the things that are.

2. The ultimate reason is "that no flesh may glory in His presence." He does not say "that no man"; no, the text is in no humour to please anybody; it says, "that no flesh." What a word! Here are Solon and Socrates, the wise men. God points at them with His finger and calls them "flesh." There is Caesar, with his imperial purple; how the Praetorian guards shout, "Great is the Emperor! long may he live! Flesh," saith God's Word. Here are men whose sires were of royal lineage. "Flesh," says God. "That no flesh may glory in His presence." God puts this stamp upon us all, that we are nothing but flesh, and He chooses the poorest, the most foolish, and the weakest flesh, that all the other flesh that is only flesh and only grass may see that God pours contempt on it, and will have no flesh glory in His presence.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

(H. Townley.)

I. THE UNFAVOURABLE CONDITION IN WHICH THE GOSPEL FOUND THEM, AND HOW IT MADE THEM THE SUBJECTS OF ITS POWER. The apostle divides society into two classes —

1. The one consisting of the wise, the mighty, and the well-born — the man of thought, the man of action, and the man of leisure. These three he further describes as those who "are" (ver. 28) — those who are deemed somebody, the recognised of the world; those for whose sole interest all things are deemed to exist — what would now be termed "society."

2. The other class consists of the foolish, the weak, and the base, or despised, &c. Those forming this class are further described as those which "are not." They were those who had no status, and were ignored by the world as things utterly beneath notice. Of this class were the bulk of the Corinthian believers. "For ye see your calling." Thus it will be seen that the gospel chose as the subjects of its gracious operations(l) Those whom the so-called wise, mighty, and noble utterly neglected, those who in the estimation of the world "are not."(2) Those who were incapable of helping themselves. Supposing they had been able to help themselves, society's neglect of them would not have mattered so much. Their utter helplessness is indicated by the descriptive epithets. But to such as these came the gospel. This proves its truly benevolent character, and sets it in direct contrast to the world's ways and methods. The spirit of this world is always to give where it sees the prospect of a return. The ancient gods always bestowed their favours upon those who brought to their altars the costliest sacrifices. The world follows the example of its gods. But it is the glory of the gospel that it seeks out the foolish, the weak, the base, and despised (Matthew 11:4, 5). It was a new thing in the world to supply a gospel to the poor. A gospel preached to the poor must be something more than human. God alone can afford such grace as this.

II. ITS EFFECTS UPON ITS SUBJECTS FAR TRANSCENDS THE WORLD'S HIGHEST GOOD AND MOST DESIRABLE POSSESSIONS. The world's highest good are wisdom, might, and nobility, i.e., culture, prowess, and rank. But the gospel bestows upon its subjects far higher things (ver. 30).

1. "Things that are not," i.e., without a status in the world, obtain one in Christ — one infinitely surpassing anything the world can boast of.

2. In Christ they are endowed with qualities far transcending the world's best gifts. Has the world wisdom, might, and nobility? The gospel —(1) Endues men with a wisdom far surpassing in worth the world's highest philosophy or culture — the wisdom that makes wise unto salvation.(2) It confers a might far surpassing in degree and nature the might of the world — the might of right.(3) It endows with a nobility far more glorious than that of blood, the nobility of holiness. Nobility gives a right of entrance into the highest society, holiness into the heavenly society. It requires blood to give the social nobility that men prize. Similarly the spiritual nobility comes of the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanseth from all sin. And by virtue of this we become endowed with rank. The blood is royal blood, and they who come under its influence become royally related — they become kings and priests to God His Father.(4) They who "are not" are redeemed. This state of "being not," i.e., of being without social status, implies a state of slavery. But He Who was made for them redemption brings them freedom from the bondage and degradation of sin, a freedom far more glorious than any social one. From being slaves of sin, and ,though still slaves of men, they become, not merely free, but sons of the heavenly King.

(A. J. Parry.)

(Bp. Phillips Brooks.)

1. God has chosen feeble agencies.

2. Has by them confounded the mighty.

II. THE IMPORTANCE OF IT. It shows that Christianity —

1. Regards all men alike.

2. Is independent of human help.

3. Is sustained only by the power of God.

III. THE LESSON.

1. The humble should be thankful.

2. The proud humble.

(J. Lyth, D. D.)

1. Infidelity writes and speaks in the stately formularies of philosophy and science. It is a "wise" thing of the world.

2. Licentiousness passes under the grand name of liberty. The vaunted religious liberty of England's population means often only power to neglect sacred ordinances.

3. Social injustice does most of its fiendish work in the name of law.

4. Selfishness goes under the taking name of prudence.

5. Bigotry, superstition, fanaticism, wear the sacred name of religion.

6. War is called glory. Could we take from sin the mantle of respectability that society has thrown over it, we should do much towards its annihilation.

II. GOD IS DETERMINED TO OVERTHROW EVIL BY CONVENTIONALLY CONTEMPTIBLE MEANS.

1. Negatively. This language does not mean —(1) That the gospel is an inferior thing. The gospel is not "foolish," "weak," or "base." As a history of facts, as a system of thought, as a code of laws, it is incomparably the grandest thing within the whole range of human thought. What light it throws on man, the universe, God! What influence it has exerted, and what changes it has wrought!(2) That the men appointed as its ministers are to be inferior. This passage has been abused to support the claims of an ignorant ministry, than which few things have tended more to degrade Christianity. There are several things to show that the gospel ministry requires the highest order of mind.(a) The character of the work: "Teaching men in all wisdom."(b) The character of the system. What a system it is to learn! What mines of truth lie beneath the surface of the letter! What digging is required to reach the golden ore! Simpletons call the gospel simple, but intelligence has ever found it of all subjects the most profound and difficult. The greatest thinkers of all ages have found the work no easy task.(c) The character of society. Who exerts the most influence upon the real life of the men and women around him? The man of capacity, thought, sound judgment. If the gospel ministry is to influence men, it must be employed by men of the highest type of culture and ability.(d) The spirit of the work. Humble, charitable, forbearing, reverent. Such a spirit as this comes only from deep thought and extensive knowledge. Ignorance generates a spirit of pride, bigotry, intolerance, and irreverence.(e) The character of the apostles. Where can you find greater force of soul than Peter's, a more searching sagacity than James's, a more royal intellect than Paul's, a finer intuitional nature than John's? They were men of talent and men of thought. And more, they all understood Hebrew and Greek. We require a long college course for this, and then only very partially reach their linguistical attainments.

2. Positively. It means —(1) That the gospel was conventionally mean. It was so in the estimation of the age. The schools, religions, institutions, and great men of the day regarded it with contempt. It was a "foolish" thing to the Greek, a "weak" thing to the Jew, and a "base" and "contemptible" thing more or less to all.(2) The first ministers were conventionally mean. They were not selected from chairs of philosophy, or seats of civil power, or homes of opulence. They were fishermen. The system and its ministers, however, are merely conventionally contemptible, nothing more. But these, like many other things that erring man regard as insignificant and mean, shalt do a great work. The flake of snow is insignificant, but it is commissioned to build up a mountain that shall overwhelm widespread districts. The coral insect is insignificant, but it builds up vast islands, beautiful as paradise. The insignificant things do the work of the world. They clothe the earth with verdure, and provide subsistence for man and beast; they rear majestic forests, and provide materials for building our cities and our fleets. Even so the gospel. What work it has already done! What systems it has shattered! What towering institutions it has levelled to the dust! It has "brought to nought" a vast world of things; and so it shall proceed until all the "things that are" great in the estimation of man, but bad in themselves, are for ever brought to "nought." The little pebble shall smite the giant and send him reeling to the grave; the little stone shall shiver the colossus and scatter its particles to the winds.Conclusion: From this subject we may infer —

1. That so long as evils exist in the world great commotions are to be expected. God hath chosen this system to confound, to put to shame, and bring to nought things that are. "It will overturn, overturn, overturn," the whole system of human things. The gospel, when it first enters a soul, confounds it. When it enters a country and begins its work it is revolutionary in its action. In the first ages it confounded the Jewish Sanhedrin, and the heathen priesthood, and the Gentile philosophy.

2. That the removal of evil from the world is, under God, to be effected through man as man. The gospel is to make its way, not by men invested with political power, scientific attainments, or brilliant oratory, but by men as men, endowed with the common powers of human nature, inspired and directed by the living gospel. Let no one say he is too poor or too obscure, too destitute of artificial endowments to minister the gospel to others; all that is wanted is the common sense, the common affection, and the common speech of man.

(D. Thomas, D. D.)

(B. S. Storrs, D. D.)

     4027   world, fallen
     5956   strength, human
     5973   unreliability
     8358   weakness, physical

1 Corinthians 1:17-25

     7703   apologetics
     7757   preaching, effects

1 Corinthians 1:17-27

     8366   wisdom, source of

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

     1445   revelation, responses
     5441   philosophy
     7756   preaching, content

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

     5050   reason

1 Corinthians 1:20-25

     5003   human race, and God
     5961   superiority
     8756   folly, examples

1 Corinthians 1:20-31

     8760   fools, characteristics

1 Corinthians 1:21-25

     7755   preaching, importance

1 Corinthians 1:23-25

     7512   Gentiles, in NT

1 Corinthians 1:24-25

     1105   God, power of

1 Corinthians 1:24-29

     6620   calling

1 Corinthians 1:25-27

     5955   strength, divine

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity Treasure Christians have in the Gospel.
Text: 1 Corinthians 1, 4-9. 4 I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus; 5 that in everything ye were enriched in him, in all utterance and all knowledge; 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8 who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye be unreprovable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom ye were called …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Second Day. God's Provision for Holiness.
To those that are made holy in Christ Jesus, called to be holy.'--1 Cor. i. 2. 'To all the holy ones in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi. Salute every holy one in Christ Jesus.'[1]--Phil. i. 1, iv. 21. HOLY! IN CHRIST! In these two expressions we have perhaps the most wonderful words of all the Bible. HOLY! the word of unfathomable meaning, which the Seraphs utter with veiled faces. HOLY! the word in which all God's perfections centre, and of which His glory is but the streaming forth. …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

Twenty-Second Day. In Christ Our Sanctification.
'Of God are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, both righteousness and sanctification and redemption; that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.'--1 Cor. i. 30, 31. These words lead us on now to the very centre of God's revelation of the way of holiness. We know the steps of the road leading hither. He is holy, and holiness is His. He makes holy by coming near. His presence is holiness. In Christ's life, the holiness that had only been revealed …
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

Perishing or Being Saved
For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.'--1 COR. i. 18. The starting-point of my remarks is the observation that a slight variation of rendering, which will be found in the Revised Version, brings out the true meaning of these words. Instead of reading 'them that perish' and 'us which are saved,' we ought to read 'them that are perishing,' and 'us which are being saved.' That is to say, the Apostle represents the …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

Corinthians. Calling on the Name
'All that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.'--1 COR. i. 2. There are some difficulties, with which I need not trouble you, about both the translation and the connection of these words. One thing is quite clear, that in them the Apostle associates the church at Corinth with the whole mass of Christian believers in the world. The question may arise whether he does so in the sense that he addresses his letter both to the church at Corinth and to the whole …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Wisdom of God in the Means Used to Propagate the Gospel.
"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; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, and things which are not, to bring to nought things which are." * * The two discourses on this text were originally one, and preached before Windham Association, at Thompson, October Session, 1798. Probably some of the ideas which they contain, may have been …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

Christ Crucified
Wisdom had had its time, and time enough; it had done its all, and that was little enough; it had made the world worse than it was before it stepped upon it, and "now," says God, "Foolishness shall overcome wisdom; now ignorance, as ye call it, shall sweep away science; now, humble, child-like faith shall crumble to the dust all the colossal systems your hands have piled." He calls his armies. Christ puts his trumpet to his mouth, and up come the warriors, clad in fishermen's garb, with the brogue …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

The Fourfold Treasure
To-night we have before us a text which is extraordinarily comprehensive, and contains infinitely more of meaning than mind shall grasp, or tongue shall utter at this hour. Considering it carefully, let us observe, first, that the apostle here attributes the fact that we are in Christ Jesus to the Lord alone. He shows that there is a connection between our very being as Christians, and the love and grace of God in Christ. "Of him" (that is of God) "are ye in Christ Jesus." So we will first speak …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Christ --The Power and Wisdom of God
Now, this morning, we shall try to bring out these two thoughts of the gospel; and it may be that God shall bless what we shall say to the removing of the objection of either Jew or Greek; that the one requiring a sign may see it in the power of God in Christ, and that he who requireth wisdom may behold it in the wisdom of God in Christ. We shall understand our text in a threefold manner: Christ, that is, Christ personally, is "the power of God and the wisdom of God;" Christ, that is, Christ's gospel, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Firm to the End.
(Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.) 1 COR. i. 8. "Who also shall confirm you unto the end." Steadfastness is one of the most important characteristics of a Christian. Perhaps you will tell me that love, and self-denial, and patience, and faith are the chief marks of Christ's followers. And I answer that these things are useless without steadfastness. It will not avail us to be very loving, and self-sacrificing, and patient, and trustful for a little while, and then to fall away, and be selfish, …
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

The National Preacher.
Go ... Teach all Nations.... Matt. xxviii. 19. VOL. II. NEW-YORK, DECEMBER, 1827. NO. 7. SERMON XXVI. By AARON W. LELAND, D.D. CHARLESTON, S. CAROLINA. THE PURE GOSPEL REJECTED BY THE PERISHING. 1 COR. I. 18.--For the preaching of the cross is, to them that perish, foolishness. In the Christian revelation, there is an evident purpose of infinite wisdom, that in all the provisions for man's salvation, his moral agency should be left free and uncontrolled. Instead of accommodation to human …
Aaron W. Leland—The National Preacher, Vol. 2 No. 7 Dec. 1827

Good Friday, 1860
(Good Friday, 1860.) 1 Corinthians i. 23-25. But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. The foolishness of God? The weakness of God? These are strange words. But they are St. Paul's words, not mine. If he had not said them first, I should not …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

The Introduction, with Some General Observations from the Cohesion.
Doubtless it is always useful, yea, necessary, for the children of God to know the right way of making use of Christ, who is made all things to them which they need, even "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption," 1 Cor. i. 30. But it is never more necessary for believers to be clear and distinct in this matter, than when Satan, by all means, is seeking to pervert the right ways of the Lord, and, one way or other, to lead souls away, and draw them off Christ; knowing that, if he prevail …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

How Christ is to be Made Use Of, as the Way, for Sanctification in General.
Having shown how a poor soul, lying under the burden of sin and wrath, is to make use of Jesus Christ for righteousness and justification, and so to make use of him, go out to him, and apply him, as "he is made of God to us righteousness," 1 Cor. i. 30, and that but briefly. This whole great business being more fully and satisfactorily handled, in that forementioned great, though small treatise, viz. "The Christian's Great Interest," we shall now come and show, how a believer or a justified soul …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

With How Great Reverence Christ must be Received
The Voice of the Disciple These are Thy words, O Christ, Eternal Truth; though not uttered at one time nor written together in one place of Scripture. Because therefore they are Thy words and true, I must gratefully and faithfully receive them all. They are Thine, and Thou hast uttered them; and they are mine also, because Thou didst speak them for my salvation. Gladly I receive them from Thy mouth, that they may be more deeply implanted in my heart. Words of such great grace arouse me, for they …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Of the Effects of those Prerogatives.
From these prerogatives there will arise to the elect in heaven, five notable effects:-- 1. They shall know God with a perfect knowledge (1 Cor. i. 10), so far as creatures can possibly comprehend the Creator. For there we shall see the Word, the Creator; and in the Word, all creatures that by the Word were created; so that we shall not need to learn (of the things which were made) the knowledge of him by whom all things were made. The most excellent creatures in this life, are but as a dark veil …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Sanctification.
"Of Him ye are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."--1 Cor. i. 30. Sanctification is one of the most glorious gifts which, by the Covenant of Grace, the Mediator bestows upon the saint. It covers his entire mental, spiritual, and physical nature. We should, therefore, thoroughly understand it, and learn how to obtain it, and every believer, whatever the measure of his faith, should be fully aware of his attitude toward it; for …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Christ Our Sanctification.
"Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us...sanctification."--1 Cor. i. 30. The redeemed soul possesses all things in Christ. He is a complete Savior. He lacks nothing. Having Him we are saved to the uttermost; without Him we are utterly lost and undone. We must earnestly maintain this point, especially with reference to sanctification; and repeat with increasing clearness that Christ is given us of God not only for wisdom and righteousness, but also for sanctification. It reads distinctly that Christ …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Joyful Sound
C. P. C. I Cor. i. 23, 24 O that Thy Name may be sounded Afar over earth and sea, Till the dead awaken and praise Thee, And the dumb lips sing to Thee! Sound forth as a song of triumph Wherever man's foot has trod, The despised, the derided message, The foolishness of God. Jesus, dishonoured and dying, A felon on either side-- Jesus, the song of the drunkards, Jesus the Crucified! Name of God's tender comfort, Name of His glorious power, Name that is song and sweetness, The strong everlasting tower. …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Christian Churches.
The large number of churches in Rome.--The six classes of the earliest of these.--I. Private oratories.--The houses of Pudens and Prisca.--The evolution of the church from the private house.--II. Scholae.--The memorial services and banquets of the pagans.--Two extant specimens of early Christian scholae.--That in the Cemetery of Callixtus.--III. Oratories and churches built over the tombs of martyrs and confessors.--How they came to be built.--These the originals of the greatest sanctuaries of modern …
Rodolfo Lanciani—Pagan and Christian Rome

St. Augustine (Ad 354-430)
PART I The church in the north of Africa has hardly been mentioned since the time of St. Cyprian (Chapter VIII). But we must now look towards it again, since in the days of St. Chrysostom it produced a man who was perhaps the greatest of all the old Christian fathers--St. Augustine. Augustine was born at Thagaste, a city of Numidia, in the year 354. His mother, Monica, was a pious Christian, but his father, Patricius, was a heathen, and a man of no very good character. Monica was resolved to bring …
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Additional Introduction.
Towards the close of 1875, at Constantinople, Philotheus Bryennius, Metropolitan of Serræ, published the first complete edition of the epistles ascribed to Clement. This he was enabled to do by the discovery of a ms. in the library of the Holy Sepulchre at Fanari in Constantinople. This ms., of vellum, consists of one hundred and twenty leaves in small octavo, nearly seven and a half inches in length and six in breadth. The ms. bears the date 1056, and was written by one Leo. Its contents …
Rev. John Keith, D.D.—The Epistles of Clement