Saturday after the Second Sunday after Epiphany
Posted on January 21, 2023 by under
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:20-31 (NKJV)
1:20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 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; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
Devotion
The wise of this world, the mighty, and the noble are enticed by the temptations of this world. They seek their wisdom, their might, and their fortune from the world, whereas we Christians, who are spiritually minded, seek these things from God. The preaching of Christ crucified is the wisdom of God because it teaches us how He loved us and sent His Son into the world, that we might live through Him. It teaches us that we are forgiven of all our sins through His holy, precious blood and by His innocent suffering and death. It makes us wise unto salvation through faith in Him.
If we are considered to be foolish for believing the Gospel of Christ crucified, if we are to be considered weak for relying upon the Lord instead of ourselves, and if we are to be considered the lowest of the low for placing our hope of salvation in a Savior who was also so despised and rejected of men, then we are not to feel ashamed for it. God has ordained the simple things to conquer the great things of this world. Just as the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will endure forever, we who have been brought to its saving knowledge and trust in its simple message will share in its ultimate victory.
Prayer: Almighty and everlasting God, Who dost govern all things in heaven and earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of Thy people and grant us Thy peace all the days of our life; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
