Insignificance
June 27
Paul begins his first letter to the church at Corinth with his standard greeting, blessing his readers with reminders of how often he prays for them.
Similarly to how he quickly launched into his rebuke in Galatians, Paul turns to the Corinthian church and rebukes them for their many divisions and rivalries. He even names the factions: “I belong to Paul.” “I belong to Apollos.” “I belong to Cephas.” “I belong to Christ.” There may have been more. He reminds them that the only name that matters is Jesus. Jesus is the only person who died for them.
Paul continues to emphasize the superiority of Jesus. In contrast to others who may have tried to impress people with their knowledge, eloquence, or lofty speech, Paul says he came with no notoriety. No significance. He takes aim at the pride of the Corinthians and says, God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast in His presence. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
(1 Corinthians 1:27–31, BSB)
Application
There was a lot of pride in the church at Corinth. In fact, pride was at the center of the many conflicts in the church. Many people wanted to be recognized by who they followed and which spiritual gift they possessed. Paul says these things have no significance compared to Jesus.
Many people today proudly proclaim their own divisions, such as Baptist, Methodist, Charismatic, or Non-denominational. Others proudly proclaim what division they are not because of the baggage associated with various groups. Still, others proudly proclaim which famous Bible teachers and preachers they follow. But as Paul said to the Corinthian church, all of these things are insignificant in light of the significance of Jesus.