The Boast of the Humble, Part 2

By Robb Brunansky

Published July 24, 2025

By almost every measure, King Hezekiah was an upright and godly king. Hezekiah, however, had a fatal flaw. In an interaction with messengers from Babylon, Hezekiah fell prey to pride, leading to boasting about his accomplishments and wealth. This pride would cost him and his nation dearly.

While it’s easy to see this sin in the life of King Hezekiah, we are not much different. Of course, we don’t have kingdoms or treasuries to show off. Whatever we do have, though, we use to impress others, or to increase our status before the watching world – or even others in the church. We, like Hezekiah, take what God has done for us to promote ourselves.

This problem of pride is precisely what Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. The Corinthians were delivered by the gospel from their idolatrous ways, and from God’s wrath. Rather than growing in humility, they increased in pride. Paul needed to correct this ungodly way of thinking and living.

There is a cure for prideful boasting, and Paul reminds the Corinthians that the remedy for this spiritual sickness is not to cease boasting but to transform boasting. We should boast – but not in ourselves, our gifts, our accomplishments, or our associates so we might be exalted. We must instead learn to boast only in the Lord so He alone is exalted.

The first step in verse 26 is to remember our earthly position. For the Corinthians to turn the Christian life into a contest to see who had the greatest status or who was the most significant was contrary to who they were when God called them to Himself. Remembering our lowly state in the world’s eyes helps temper our fleshly desire to exalt ourselves.

The second step is to understand God’s electing purpose, which we see unfolded in verses 27-29.

We must recognize the reality of divine election, which tends to make some people rather uncomfortable. Many are not open to the idea that God has sovereignly chosen to save some and not others. We cannot escape this fact, though – especially in a text like this where Paul repeats the phrase “God has chosen” three times!

The issue at hand in 1 Corinthians 1 is not the fact of divine election, but the reasons for God choosing those whom He saved. In these verses, Paul gives three reasons why God chose individuals to save, primarily the foolish, weak, and detestable people the world despises.

First, God has chosen to save whom He has to dishonor the honorable.

God does not call many wise or mighty to be saved because His design in election is to shame them. For us, the idea of shame is often a subjective and negative emotional experience. In Greco-Roman society, this idea had a greater significance. To be dishonored meant people were regarded as lowly, insignificant, base, or contemptible in the eyes of society; the emphasis was on the objective position, rather than the emotional experience.

In Scripture, however, the idea of honor or shame being positional is included, but it goes much deeper than what others think of someone; instead, to be put to shame in Scripture means to fall under God’s condemnation. We see this concept in Isaiah 41:11, where those who oppose God, His servant, and His people will be put to shame by the Lord, resulting in everlasting condemnation. On the flip side, we have Isaiah 28:16, where those who believe that Jesus is the Messiah; and that He came, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for sinners, and rose from the dead, will never be put to shame before God’s judgement seat.

The problem with the wise and mighty is not that they are smart or powerful, but that they trust and boast in their wisdom and power. God chose to save whom He does because He is expressly intent on showing the folly and weakness of human strength and wisdom. He intends to dishonor those who exalt their own honor rather than the glory of God.

There’s a remarkably clear picture of this concept in Luke 13:10-17, where, in Jesus’ ministry, we see a preview of the final judgment. Jesus comes into the synagogue, picks one of the most unimportant people there, and delivers her from sickness. When this woman is healed, an objection immediately follows from the wise and mighty. Jesus condemns the synagogue official because he refused to recognize the Lord’s messianic credentials. On the other hand, God’s people rejoice because they see the Messiah’s glorious power.

Second, God’s electing purpose is to make nothing of the somethings.

God has chosen the contemptible, deplorable, and rejected of the world to make nothing of the somethings, which again points to the final judgment. All the somethings, and their kingdoms, authority, power, nobility, and majesty, will be brought to nothing when Christ reigns as king. Even death itself will die.

Sometimes, though, God does save people who are important in the world’s eyes. Whenever God does this work in someone who is among the ‘somethings’ of the world, He brings that person to a realization that everything highly regarded by men is despised in God’s sight.

Finally, God’s electing purpose is to abolish all human arrogance.

The doctrine of election has been called the most humbling doctrine in all Scripture because it is designed to humble us! God makes nothing out of somethings, and God dishonors the honorable so no one may boast before Him of anything about themselves.

One possible error that could result from skipping too quickly over this passage is to conclude that what God prizes is poverty, foolishness, and weakness; and so those who are foolish have something to boast of. Many wrongheaded liberation or social justice theologies go wrong at precisely this point. God is not seeking to reverse the boasting so the poor or weak can boast about themselves. No one is better than anyone else in God’s eyes; all are dependent upon divine grace.

That is why the divisions and boasting in Corinth were so contrary to the gospel message. When we divide up the church or boast about ourselves, we essentially assert, probably unintentionally, but still sinfully, that some are better or more dependent upon divine grace than others. This is contradictory to God’s electing purpose, which is designed to show that everyone is totally dependent upon divine grace, and that no one brings anything to the table about which they can boast. God’s electing purpose, then, is to abolish all human arrogance, and to ensure that salvation is designed so no one may boast before Him.

There is a very practical question that always arises when we discuss God’s election, and that is, “How do I know if God has chosen me?” The question we need to answer is not, “Has God chosen me?” but simply, “Do I believe the gospel?” No one can get into the eternal counsels of God, and God has not made known His choice except through faith in Christ. No one should ever sit and agonize over whether God has chosen them. Everyone should be certain, however, that they have trusted in Christ, because God has promised that He will save all those who believe in His Son. And God saves sinners so our only boast might be in Him.