📖WEB · 1 Corinthians 1:27
What does 1 Corinthians 1:27 mean?
"but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;"
— 1 Corinthians 1:27 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is 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.
For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble;
but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;
and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are:
that no flesh should boast before God.
Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
Explanation
1 Corinthians 1:27 says that God deliberately selects what the world dismisses as foolish and weak in order to accomplish his purposes, and in doing so he embarrasses or exposes the inadequacy of those the world regards as wise and powerful. Paul is describing a pattern in how God works: he does not typically choose the impressive, the credentialed, or the influential to be his instruments. Instead, he chooses the overlooked, the ordinary, and the seemingly insignificant, and through them he accomplishes things that leave the "wise" and "strong" unable to take credit or claim superiority.
The context is Paul's letter to the church in Corinth, a city known for its love of rhetoric, philosophy, and social status. The Corinthian believers were dividing themselves into factions, some boasting in which teacher they followed (Paul, Apollos, or Cephas), essentially competing over whose associations made them more sophisticated or respectable. In the verses leading up to this one (1 Corinthians 1:18-25), Paul contrasts the "wisdom of the world" with the message of the cross, which strikes worldly wisdom as foolishness yet is actually the power and wisdom of God. He then turns to the Corinthians themselves in verse 26, reminding them that not many of them were wise, powerful, or of noble birth by human standards when God called them. Verse 27 explains why: God intentionally works this way.
Theologically, this verse underscores that salvation and God's work in the world are not achievements of human merit, intellect, or status. If God only used
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