That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
All boasting belongs in the Lord and not in human wisdom, strength, learning, riches, status, achievement or merit, so no one has any ground for self-glory before God. God chose what the world counts as foolish, weak, base and despised to confound the wise and mighty and bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh can glory in His presence. Believers are in Christ Jesus, whom God has made to them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so salvation and every ground for confidence come from what God provides through Him. To glory in the Lord is to glory in knowing Him and in what He does, especially in understanding the God who exercises loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness, which is the highest knowledge and the proper aim of education. Looking to Jesus and contemplating the cross lays self-exaltation and human pride in the dust, so all credit for conversion and for successful work is returned to the Lord while His servants remain only instruments in His hands.
Verse Setting and Sense
All boasting belongs in the Lord, not in human wisdom, strength, status, learning, talent, riches, nobility, achievement, or merit, so no one has grounds for self-glory before God. Salvation and every ground for confidence come from what God provides, for of God believers are in Christ Jesus, who is made to them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Anyone who boasts must therefore give the glory to the Lord rather than to self or to human achievement.
God chose what the world regards as foolish, weak, base, despised, low, and things which are not, to confound the wise and mighty and bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh can glory in His presence. Not many wise after the flesh, mighty, or noble are called, for He overturns human wisdom and power by this choice. Being in Christ Jesus is of God, so boasting rests only in what the Lord has done.
The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who perish but the power of God to those who are saved, for God made foolish the wisdom of this world and will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Though Jews require a sign and Greeks seek wisdom, and Christ crucified is a stumbling block and foolishness to them, to the called Christ is the power and wisdom of God. Pride of intellect and worldly wisdom counts the gospel foolishness, as at Athens where comparatively few received it, while the grand truths refused by the proud and self-exalted are apprehended by the humble as babes. Worldly wisdom misjudges value, despises God's humble workers as inferior, exalts advocates of error, and counts the preaching of Christ crucified as foolishness, yet to those who are saved Christ crucified is true wisdom, righteousness, and worth. The preaching of the cross remains foolishness and unintelligible to the unconverted on church books who have no living connection with Jesus, are proud of their wholeness, want a dignified religion, sneer at true godliness, and think they need learn nothing, to whom God declares they are wretched and miserable and blind and naked and need gold tried in fire, white raiment, and eyesalve.
To glory in the Lord is to glory in knowing Him and in what He does, especially in understanding and knowing God who exercises loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness. The verse forbids glorying in men and dividing the church by saying I am of Paul and I am of Apollos, because Paul and Apollos are only ministers by whom belief comes, one planting and another watering while God alone gives the increase, so he that plants and he that waters are nothing in themselves. All true workers are one in object even when one emphasizes a different phase of truth or presents the Word differently, and differing methods give no ground for condemnation, fear, prejudice, withdrawing on imaginary grounds, or cherishing envy, strife, jealousy and evil surmising, which prove carnality, separate from brethren and from God, and hinder the Spirit.
Christ Given by God
Of God believers are in Christ Jesus, who has been made to them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that salvation and every ground for confidence and boasting come from what God provides through Him. All boasting therefore belongs in the Lord and not in human wisdom, strength, status, learning, talent, riches, nobility, achievement or merit, so no one has grounds for self-glory or for claiming credit before God. God chose what the world regards as foolish, weak, base, despised, low and insignificant, and things which are not, to confound the wise and mighty and to overturn human wisdom and power and bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh can boast before Him. Christ, given by God, is the source of that wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, and any ground for glory comes only from what God provides through Him.
The verse is fulfilled in Christ Himself, the Creator of all worlds and Majesty of heaven who was rich in heavenly treasure yet humbled Himself to human nature in meekness and lowliness and became poor that through His poverty believers might be made rich. The cross of Calvary gives the proper level to the human mind, and by looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of faith and contemplating the cross and the wonderful provision it has brought to every believer, all desire for self-glorification, self-exaltation, human pride and high-mindedness is laid in the dust. Seeing God in Christ and Christ in God aright levels human exaltation and produces self-abasement, lowliness, humbleness of mind and true humility with no self-exaltation, so that cherishing self-trust, self-sufficiency, self-complacency and high-mindedness dishonors the Maker and will surely be humbled.
Through Christ's mercy and abundant grace even weak disciples are made strong to serve God acceptably, for reason, affection, speech and spiritual discernment all come through Him and are to be surrendered to God, and those fully devoted and consecrated depend entirely on Him and return all credit, praise and glory to Him rather than taking it to themselves. Strength of purpose and moral courage with rest for the soul are obtained by coming to Him, taking His easy yoke and light burden, and learning from Him who is meek and lowly in heart. Through prayer and faith even the weakest sinner can grasp the Saviour's hand and become more than a conqueror in Christ.
True Knowledge and Education
To glory in the Lord is to understand and know Him who exercises loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness, and no one is to boast in human wisdom, strength, status, might, riches or noble standing. God has chosen the foolish, weak, base, despised and low things of the world, and things which are not, to confound the wise and mighty and to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh can glory before Him. To be in Christ Jesus, who is made wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, is the only ground of confidence, and knowing God in this way is the highest of all knowledge and the proper aim of education. Eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent, and education in that knowledge is of more value than gold and silver and precious stones and more to be desired than worldly honor and the empty applause of frivolous mortals. This is God's decision, as One infinite in wisdom who knows the end from the beginning, concerning education without a practical knowledge of God.
For schools this means students are to count the knowledge of God above everything else and give all honor to God rather than to human wisdom and learning, since knowledge and ability are gifts from God and Christ is the source of wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. They are to keep the Word of God as counselor and not crowd it out with book study, seeking and practicing revealed truth in order to take in light and let it shine to others in good works. Wisdom and knowledge and the fear of the Lord are stability and treasure to those who so learn. Teachers likewise are to boast in God, not in science, not in foreign languages, and not in anything else merely human. Seeking education in order to be regarded as having wonderful knowledge is to be rejected, and practicing Christianity in the life is to be made the highest ambition.
God can use what the world regards as foolish to expose human pride and bring people to truth. This was shown when the repeated words of a poor, unlearned man about the bridegroom's coming led a learned man to humble himself.
Exalting disloyal learned men dishonors God and puts man where God should be. The Lord who teaches to profit and leads in the right way makes every difference between the obedient who hearken to His commandments and receive peace as a river and righteousness as the waves of the sea, and the disobedient, so placing the circumcised and the uncircumcised on the same level fails to distinguish between the sacred and the common and between obedience and disobedience and leaves men unprepared for the battle of the great day of God. Self-esteem, self-love, love of property and love of praise eat out true godliness and exclude Christ from a heart not wholly His, and those who cherish them have nothing to boast of in themselves. The preaching of the cross remains foolishness and unintelligible to those on church books who are not truly converted, have no living personal connection with Jesus, have not fallen upon the Rock, are proud of their wholeness, want a dignified religion wide enough for their own attributes, sneer at the simplicity of true godliness, are wise in their own conceits, think they have advanced beyond weakness and think they need to learn nothing. To them God declares that He will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent, exposing them as wretched and miserable and blind and naked and in need of gold tried in the fire, white raiment and eyesalve.
Humility in Heart and Church
No flesh is to glory in God's presence, but he that glories is to glory in the Lord, and the cross of Calvary gives the proper level to the human mind. By looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith, and by contemplating the cross and the wonderful provision it has brought to every believer, all desire for self-glorification, self-exaltation, human pride and high-mindedness is laid in the dust. Seeing God in Christ and Christ in God aright levels human exaltation and pride and produces a spirit of self-abasement, lowliness, humbleness of mind, and true humility with no self-exaltation. This is fulfilled in Christ Himself, the Creator and Majesty of heaven who was rich in heavenly treasure yet humbled Himself to human nature in meekness and lowliness and became poor that through His poverty believers might be made rich, since He is made unto them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Any cherishing of high-mindedness, self-trust, self-sufficiency, and self-complacency dishonors the Maker and will surely be humbled.
No man is to take pride in his own greatness or take honor to himself, and even highly developed power to use God-given talents gives no ground for self-exaltation, for men and women have no goodness except what God gives them and all power to do good is God-given. It is unbecoming and displeasing to God to take credit for good deeds or to praise one's own aptness and wisdom, for all glory for the wise and good deeds of human agencies belongs to God. Those who glorify themselves lose His blessing, their weakness in judgment becomes as marked as their former strength, and they bring evils upon themselves that cause weeping when it is too late to escape the result. God will not excuse His blood-bought people if they neglect to use their entrusted capabilities rightly, but every person is to strive through grace to become a perfect man in Christ, since true greatness comes only from being truly good and no one can be truly good without partaking of the grace of Christ.
Believers are only God's little children, so all pomposity and all masterly effort to gain the supremacy are unbecoming, for God has chosen the foolish, weak, base and despised things of the world to confound the wise and mighty and to bring to nothing the things that are. God's church, His chosen ones, must walk in humility before God because they have nothing whereof to boast, bewailing dullness of intellectual faculties and lack of appreciation of privileges and opportunities. Harshness and unchristlike thrusts grieve the Lord Jesus Christ, and the remedy is to become complete in Him. People must abandon self-righteousness and self-esteem, self-love, love of property and praise, and trust wholly in Christ's merits, for when self is denied Christ alone is glorified and glory belongs to the Lord and not to human merit or self-effort.
All credit for a sinner's conversion belongs to the Lord, since the great change seen after conversion is not produced by human goodness or effort. Those led to repentance and brought from Satan's ranks to stand for Christ must not boast in themselves but declare that only because of the goodness of God were they led to Christ, and must give Him praise and thanksgiving because He has become their Saviour. Any goodness or righteousness credited to ourselves is not the reason God blesses us, but His mercy and loving-kindness are, so spiritual blessings should lead to giving Him the glory rather than taking credit.
The glory for successful work belongs to the Lord and not to the people who carry it out, for those who serve are instruments in His hands whose talents and work depend on Him. When people are fully devoted and consecrated to God they depend entirely on Him, keep self out of sight, lift up Jesus Christ, and return all credit and praise to Him. Christ's abundant grace makes weak disciples strong and enables them to serve God acceptably. In serving others the message must therefore plainly present Christ crucified rather than seek to please with impressive speech.
Faithful Preaching and Mission
Those engaged in God's work are to glory in the Lord and not in the wisdom of men, keeping self out of sight and lifting up Jesus Christ by plainly presenting Christ crucified rather than seeking to please people with impressive speech. Their speech and preaching is not to be with enticing words of man's wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that faith stands in the power of God and not in the wisdom of men. The wisdom to be spoken is the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom ordained before the world unto glory, which none of the princes of this world knew. It is revealed by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God, and is spoken not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The natural man does not receive these things because they are spiritually discerned, but he that is spiritual has the mind of Christ.
With the whole first chapter the verse calls workers back into right lines of work, which mean standing as sentinels for God, laboring unitedly, being willing servants of all, and following in the footsteps of Jesus the great Exemplar, while God is leading out a people and preparing them for translation. Chapters 1-3 must be read carefully and studied with care in every church, for they give reproof to ministers of the gospel and to all churches wherever located, to be received for the soul's sake. Unless hearts are humbled before God, names will not be placed in the book of life. In troublous times eyes are to stay on the Leader by denying self and taking up the cross and following Him, walking as Christ gave example, bearing much fruit by which the Father is glorified, and drawing minds that are in the darkness of error to Christ. This is grounded in that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak and base and despised things and things which are not to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence, for of God believers are in Christ Jesus, who is made unto them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
Glorying in the Lord means placing oneself in right relation to God as His property, His husbandry, His building and His temple founded on Jesus Christ, as laborers together with God building for time and for eternity. That building includes obeying the laws of health and caring for the body and mind He made. No man is to take pride in his own greatness or take honor to himself, for even highly developed power to use God-given talents gives no ground for self-exaltation. God will not excuse His blood-bought people if they neglect to use their entrusted capabilities rightly, but every person is to strive through grace to become perfect in Christ, since true greatness comes only from being truly good by partaking of the grace of Christ. Strength of purpose and moral courage for this faithful use are obtained through His grace by coming to Christ, taking His easy yoke and light burden, and learning from Him who is meek and lowly in heart to find rest for the soul.
All grounds for boasting belong to the Lord, because wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption come from God through Christ, so people are to trust God as their strength and ability, not themselves or other people, leaving no place for pride and self-reliance. Glorying in the Lord in this trust means doing one's best with entrusted faculties to enlighten the world and bless others by good works. That work is to belt the world by establishing sanitariums, schools, printing offices, hygienic restaurants, and kindred facilities in all parts of the earth. Enterprises in foreign countries and in Germany as necessary as in America are still to be begun and carried forward.
All boasting belongs in the Lord and not in human wisdom, strength, learning, riches, status, achievement or merit, so no one has any ground for self-glory before God. God chose what the world counts as foolish, weak, base and despised to confound the wise and mighty and bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh can glory in His presence. Believers are in Christ Jesus, whom God has made to them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so salvation and every ground for confidence come from what God provides through Him. To glory in the Lord is to glory in knowing Him and in what He does, especially in understanding the God who exercises loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness, which is the highest knowledge and the proper aim of education. Looking to Jesus and contemplating the cross lays self-exaltation and human pride in the dust, so all credit for conversion and for successful work is returned to the Lord while His servants remain only instruments in His hands.
Verse Setting and Sense
All boasting belongs in the Lord, not in human wisdom, strength, status, learning, talent, riches, nobility, achievement, or merit, so no one has grounds for self-glory before God. Salvation and every ground for confidence come from what God provides, for of God believers are in Christ Jesus, who is made to them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Anyone who boasts must therefore give the glory to the Lord rather than to self or to human achievement.
God chose what the world regards as foolish, weak, base, despised, low, and things which are not, to confound the wise and mighty and bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh can glory in His presence. Not many wise after the flesh, mighty, or noble are called, for He overturns human wisdom and power by this choice. Being in Christ Jesus is of God, so boasting rests only in what the Lord has done.
The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who perish but the power of God to those who are saved, for God made foolish the wisdom of this world and will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Though Jews require a sign and Greeks seek wisdom, and Christ crucified is a stumbling block and foolishness to them, to the called Christ is the power and wisdom of God. Pride of intellect and worldly wisdom counts the gospel foolishness, as at Athens where comparatively few received it, while the grand truths refused by the proud and self-exalted are apprehended by the humble as babes. Worldly wisdom misjudges value, despises God's humble workers as inferior, exalts advocates of error, and counts the preaching of Christ crucified as foolishness, yet to those who are saved Christ crucified is true wisdom, righteousness, and worth. The preaching of the cross remains foolishness and unintelligible to the unconverted on church books who have no living connection with Jesus, are proud of their wholeness, want a dignified religion, sneer at true godliness, and think they need learn nothing, to whom God declares they are wretched and miserable and blind and naked and need gold tried in fire, white raiment, and eyesalve.
To glory in the Lord is to glory in knowing Him and in what He does, especially in understanding and knowing God who exercises loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness. The verse forbids glorying in men and dividing the church by saying I am of Paul and I am of Apollos, because Paul and Apollos are only ministers by whom belief comes, one planting and another watering while God alone gives the increase, so he that plants and he that waters are nothing in themselves. All true workers are one in object even when one emphasizes a different phase of truth or presents the Word differently, and differing methods give no ground for condemnation, fear, prejudice, withdrawing on imaginary grounds, or cherishing envy, strife, jealousy and evil surmising, which prove carnality, separate from brethren and from God, and hinder the Spirit.
Christ Given by God
Of God believers are in Christ Jesus, who has been made to them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that salvation and every ground for confidence and boasting come from what God provides through Him. All boasting therefore belongs in the Lord and not in human wisdom, strength, status, learning, talent, riches, nobility, achievement or merit, so no one has grounds for self-glory or for claiming credit before God. God chose what the world regards as foolish, weak, base, despised, low and insignificant, and things which are not, to confound the wise and mighty and to overturn human wisdom and power and bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh can boast before Him. Christ, given by God, is the source of that wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, and any ground for glory comes only from what God provides through Him.
The verse is fulfilled in Christ Himself, the Creator of all worlds and Majesty of heaven who was rich in heavenly treasure yet humbled Himself to human nature in meekness and lowliness and became poor that through His poverty believers might be made rich. The cross of Calvary gives the proper level to the human mind, and by looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of faith and contemplating the cross and the wonderful provision it has brought to every believer, all desire for self-glorification, self-exaltation, human pride and high-mindedness is laid in the dust. Seeing God in Christ and Christ in God aright levels human exaltation and produces self-abasement, lowliness, humbleness of mind and true humility with no self-exaltation, so that cherishing self-trust, self-sufficiency, self-complacency and high-mindedness dishonors the Maker and will surely be humbled.
Through Christ's mercy and abundant grace even weak disciples are made strong to serve God acceptably, for reason, affection, speech and spiritual discernment all come through Him and are to be surrendered to God, and those fully devoted and consecrated depend entirely on Him and return all credit, praise and glory to Him rather than taking it to themselves. Strength of purpose and moral courage with rest for the soul are obtained by coming to Him, taking His easy yoke and light burden, and learning from Him who is meek and lowly in heart. Through prayer and faith even the weakest sinner can grasp the Saviour's hand and become more than a conqueror in Christ.
True Knowledge and Education
To glory in the Lord is to understand and know Him who exercises loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness, and no one is to boast in human wisdom, strength, status, might, riches or noble standing. God has chosen the foolish, weak, base, despised and low things of the world, and things which are not, to confound the wise and mighty and to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh can glory before Him. To be in Christ Jesus, who is made wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, is the only ground of confidence, and knowing God in this way is the highest of all knowledge and the proper aim of education. Eternal life is to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent, and education in that knowledge is of more value than gold and silver and precious stones and more to be desired than worldly honor and the empty applause of frivolous mortals. This is God's decision, as One infinite in wisdom who knows the end from the beginning, concerning education without a practical knowledge of God.
For schools this means students are to count the knowledge of God above everything else and give all honor to God rather than to human wisdom and learning, since knowledge and ability are gifts from God and Christ is the source of wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. They are to keep the Word of God as counselor and not crowd it out with book study, seeking and practicing revealed truth in order to take in light and let it shine to others in good works. Wisdom and knowledge and the fear of the Lord are stability and treasure to those who so learn. Teachers likewise are to boast in God, not in science, not in foreign languages, and not in anything else merely human. Seeking education in order to be regarded as having wonderful knowledge is to be rejected, and practicing Christianity in the life is to be made the highest ambition.
God can use what the world regards as foolish to expose human pride and bring people to truth. This was shown when the repeated words of a poor, unlearned man about the bridegroom's coming led a learned man to humble himself.
Exalting disloyal learned men dishonors God and puts man where God should be. The Lord who teaches to profit and leads in the right way makes every difference between the obedient who hearken to His commandments and receive peace as a river and righteousness as the waves of the sea, and the disobedient, so placing the circumcised and the uncircumcised on the same level fails to distinguish between the sacred and the common and between obedience and disobedience and leaves men unprepared for the battle of the great day of God. Self-esteem, self-love, love of property and love of praise eat out true godliness and exclude Christ from a heart not wholly His, and those who cherish them have nothing to boast of in themselves. The preaching of the cross remains foolishness and unintelligible to those on church books who are not truly converted, have no living personal connection with Jesus, have not fallen upon the Rock, are proud of their wholeness, want a dignified religion wide enough for their own attributes, sneer at the simplicity of true godliness, are wise in their own conceits, think they have advanced beyond weakness and think they need to learn nothing. To them God declares that He will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent, exposing them as wretched and miserable and blind and naked and in need of gold tried in the fire, white raiment and eyesalve.
Humility in Heart and Church
No flesh is to glory in God's presence, but he that glories is to glory in the Lord, and the cross of Calvary gives the proper level to the human mind. By looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith, and by contemplating the cross and the wonderful provision it has brought to every believer, all desire for self-glorification, self-exaltation, human pride and high-mindedness is laid in the dust. Seeing God in Christ and Christ in God aright levels human exaltation and pride and produces a spirit of self-abasement, lowliness, humbleness of mind, and true humility with no self-exaltation. This is fulfilled in Christ Himself, the Creator and Majesty of heaven who was rich in heavenly treasure yet humbled Himself to human nature in meekness and lowliness and became poor that through His poverty believers might be made rich, since He is made unto them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Any cherishing of high-mindedness, self-trust, self-sufficiency, and self-complacency dishonors the Maker and will surely be humbled.
No man is to take pride in his own greatness or take honor to himself, and even highly developed power to use God-given talents gives no ground for self-exaltation, for men and women have no goodness except what God gives them and all power to do good is God-given. It is unbecoming and displeasing to God to take credit for good deeds or to praise one's own aptness and wisdom, for all glory for the wise and good deeds of human agencies belongs to God. Those who glorify themselves lose His blessing, their weakness in judgment becomes as marked as their former strength, and they bring evils upon themselves that cause weeping when it is too late to escape the result. God will not excuse His blood-bought people if they neglect to use their entrusted capabilities rightly, but every person is to strive through grace to become a perfect man in Christ, since true greatness comes only from being truly good and no one can be truly good without partaking of the grace of Christ.
Believers are only God's little children, so all pomposity and all masterly effort to gain the supremacy are unbecoming, for God has chosen the foolish, weak, base and despised things of the world to confound the wise and mighty and to bring to nothing the things that are. God's church, His chosen ones, must walk in humility before God because they have nothing whereof to boast, bewailing dullness of intellectual faculties and lack of appreciation of privileges and opportunities. Harshness and unchristlike thrusts grieve the Lord Jesus Christ, and the remedy is to become complete in Him. People must abandon self-righteousness and self-esteem, self-love, love of property and praise, and trust wholly in Christ's merits, for when self is denied Christ alone is glorified and glory belongs to the Lord and not to human merit or self-effort.
All credit for a sinner's conversion belongs to the Lord, since the great change seen after conversion is not produced by human goodness or effort. Those led to repentance and brought from Satan's ranks to stand for Christ must not boast in themselves but declare that only because of the goodness of God were they led to Christ, and must give Him praise and thanksgiving because He has become their Saviour. Any goodness or righteousness credited to ourselves is not the reason God blesses us, but His mercy and loving-kindness are, so spiritual blessings should lead to giving Him the glory rather than taking credit.
The glory for successful work belongs to the Lord and not to the people who carry it out, for those who serve are instruments in His hands whose talents and work depend on Him. When people are fully devoted and consecrated to God they depend entirely on Him, keep self out of sight, lift up Jesus Christ, and return all credit and praise to Him. Christ's abundant grace makes weak disciples strong and enables them to serve God acceptably. In serving others the message must therefore plainly present Christ crucified rather than seek to please with impressive speech.
Faithful Preaching and Mission
Those engaged in God's work are to glory in the Lord and not in the wisdom of men, keeping self out of sight and lifting up Jesus Christ by plainly presenting Christ crucified rather than seeking to please people with impressive speech. Their speech and preaching is not to be with enticing words of man's wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that faith stands in the power of God and not in the wisdom of men. The wisdom to be spoken is the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom ordained before the world unto glory, which none of the princes of this world knew. It is revealed by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God, and is spoken not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The natural man does not receive these things because they are spiritually discerned, but he that is spiritual has the mind of Christ.
With the whole first chapter the verse calls workers back into right lines of work, which mean standing as sentinels for God, laboring unitedly, being willing servants of all, and following in the footsteps of Jesus the great Exemplar, while God is leading out a people and preparing them for translation. Chapters 1-3 must be read carefully and studied with care in every church, for they give reproof to ministers of the gospel and to all churches wherever located, to be received for the soul's sake. Unless hearts are humbled before God, names will not be placed in the book of life. In troublous times eyes are to stay on the Leader by denying self and taking up the cross and following Him, walking as Christ gave example, bearing much fruit by which the Father is glorified, and drawing minds that are in the darkness of error to Christ. This is grounded in that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak and base and despised things and things which are not to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence, for of God believers are in Christ Jesus, who is made unto them wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
Glorying in the Lord means placing oneself in right relation to God as His property, His husbandry, His building and His temple founded on Jesus Christ, as laborers together with God building for time and for eternity. That building includes obeying the laws of health and caring for the body and mind He made. No man is to take pride in his own greatness or take honor to himself, for even highly developed power to use God-given talents gives no ground for self-exaltation. God will not excuse His blood-bought people if they neglect to use their entrusted capabilities rightly, but every person is to strive through grace to become perfect in Christ, since true greatness comes only from being truly good by partaking of the grace of Christ. Strength of purpose and moral courage for this faithful use are obtained through His grace by coming to Christ, taking His easy yoke and light burden, and learning from Him who is meek and lowly in heart to find rest for the soul.
All grounds for boasting belong to the Lord, because wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption come from God through Christ, so people are to trust God as their strength and ability, not themselves or other people, leaving no place for pride and self-reliance. Glorying in the Lord in this trust means doing one's best with entrusted faculties to enlighten the world and bless others by good works. That work is to belt the world by establishing sanitariums, schools, printing offices, hygienic restaurants, and kindred facilities in all parts of the earth. Enterprises in foreign countries and in Germany as necessary as in America are still to be begun and carried forward.