Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 1:27
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
27. to confound ] Literally to disgrace, bring to shame. That which is disgraced can have no ground for self-glorification.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
But God hath chosen – The fact of their being in the church at all was the result of his choice. It was owing entirely to his grace.
The foolish things – The things esteemed foolish among people. The expression here refers to those who were destitute of learning, rank, wealth, and power, and who were esteemed as fools, and were despised by the rich and the great.
To confound – To bring to shame; or that he might make them ashamed; that is, humble them by showing them how little he regarded their wisdom; and how little their wisdom contributed to the success of his cause. By thus overlooking them, and bestowing his favors on the humble and the poor; by choosing his people from the ranks which they despised, and bestowing on them the exalted privilege of being called the sons of God, he had poured dishonor on the rich and the great, and overwhelmed them, and their schemes of wisdom, with shame. It is also true, that those who are regarded as fools by the wise men of the world are able often to confound those who boast of their wisdom; and that the arguments of plain people, though unlearned except in the school of Christ; of people of sound common sense under the influence of Christian principles, have a force which the learning and talent of the people of this world cannot gainsay or resist. They have truth on their side; and truth, though dressed in a humble garb, is more mighty than error, though clothed with the brilliancy of imagination, the pomp of declamation, and the cunning of sophistry.
And the weak things – Those esteemed weak by the people of the world.
The mighty – The great; the noble; the learned.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 27. But God hath chosen the foolish things] God has chosen by means of men who are esteemed rude and illiterate to confound the greatest of the Greek philosophers, and overturn their systems; and, by means of men weak, without secular power or authority, to confound the scribes and Pharisees, and in spite of the exertions of the Jewish sanhedrin, to spread the doctrine of Christ crucified all over the land of Judea, and by such instruments as these to convert thousands of souls to the faith of the Gospel, who are ready to lay down their lives for the truth. The Jews have proverbs that express the same sense as these words of the apostle. In Shemoth Rabba, sec. 17, fol. 117, it is said: “There are certain matters which appear little to men, yet by them God points out important precepts. Thus hyssop in the sight of man is worth nothing, but in the sight of God its power is great; sometimes he equals it to the cedar, particularly in the ordinance concerning the lepers, and in the burning of the red heifer. Thus God commanded them in Egypt, Ex 12:22: And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, c. And concerning Solomon it is said, 1Kgs 4:33: And he discoursed of trees, from the cedar on Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. Whence we may learn that great and small things are equal in the eyes of the Lord, and that even by small things He can work great miracles.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
God hath even amongst you chosen persons that are in the account of the world as foolish things, to put the wise to shame; and persons of weak esteem, to confound those that are mighty in the repute of the world.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
27. the foolish thingsageneral phrase for all persons and things foolish. Even things(and those, too, foolish things) are chosen by God to confoundpersons, (and those too persons who are wise). Thisseems to me the force of the change from neuter to masculine.
to confoundThe Greekis stronger, “that He might confound (or put to shame).”God confounds the wise by effecting through His instruments, withouthuman wisdom, that the worldly wise, with it, cannot effect, namely,to bring men to salvation.
chosen . . . chosenTherepetition indicates the gracious deliberateness of God’s purpose(Jas 2:5).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world,…. So the Jews, in distinction from their wise Rabbins and doctors, call others, , “the fools of the world” p; the persons whom God made choice of from all eternity, as appears by his calling them in time, are such who with respect to the wisdom of the world are foolish; have not those natural parts and abilities, that sagacity and penetration in things natural and civil, that knowledge and learning which many others have; and are therefore esteemed foolish by the men of the world, in comparison of whom; who are the wise and prudent, they are but babes: and God’s end in his choice of them, and calling them, is
to confound the wise; who sooner or later will be brought to shame and confusion, to see such idiots, as they took them to be, wiser than they in the business of salvation; having been directed and influenced by divine grace to choose that good part, which shall never be taken from them, when they will be stripped of their nobility, wealth, and wisdom; to see these men go into the kingdom of heaven, and they themselves shut out:
and God hath chosen the weak things of the world; who cannot boast of their birth and pedigree, of their ancient and illustrious families; have no titles of honour to aggrandize them, nor estates, possessions, and worldly substance to support themselves with; and this he has done,
to confound the things which are mighty; as Haman was by the advancement of Mordecai. It will be to the utter confusion of the rich and mighty, to see persons of the lowest class in life made kings and priests by Christ, set among princes, and upon the throne of glory; and they themselves fleeing, and calling to the mountains to fall upon them, and cover them from the sight of him that sits on the throne, and the Lamb.
p Zohar in Numb. fol. 63. 3. & 65. 4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
God chose ( ). First aorist middle of , old verb to pick out, to choose, the middle for oneself. It expands the idea in (verse 26). Three times this solemn verb occurs here with the purpose stated each time. Twice the same purpose is expressed,
that he might put to shame ( , first aorist active subjunctive with of old verb , perfective use of ). The purpose in the third example is
that he might bring to naught ( , make idle, , rare in old Greek, but frequent in Paul). The contrast is complete in each paradox:
the foolish things ( ),
the wild men ( );
the weak things ( ),
the strong things ( );
the things that are not ( ),
and that are despised ( , considered nothing, perfect passive participle of ),
the things that are ( ). It is a studied piece of rhetoric and powerfully put.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Hath chosen. The threefold repetition of the word emphasizes the deliberate and free action of God ‘s gracious will.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “But God hath chosen.” (Greek alla ho theos ekseleksato) “But the God chose or hath chosen,” – – to choose indicates a power, capacity, and will of selectivity, as to select, choose, or reject. See Deu 12:21; Act 22:14.
2) “The foolish things of the world.” (ta mora tou kosmou) “The folly-like things of the world order,” such as 1) Noah’s ark, an escape from the flood, 2) Aaron’s rod, an instrument of miracles, 3) five loaves and two little fishes to feed multitudes (Genesis 7, 8; Exo 4:17; Joh 6:9).
3) “To confound the wise.” (hina kataischune tous sophous) “In order that he might shame or cause to be humiliated the wise men” (of the world, gnostics and skeptics).
4) “And God hath chosen the weak things of the world.” Paul further asserts that God has used the “weak” or sickly things of the world.” (For example 1) 5 little stones of David’s sling; 2) 7 locks of hair from Samson’s head, and 3) only two mites from a widow’s hand. 1Sa 17:40; Jdg 16:13; Jdg 16:19; Mar 12:43).
5) “To confound the things which are mighty.” (Greek hina) means “in order that” or for the purpose of – God has wisdom and design in all His choices or selections. He chose “foolish” “folly-like things”, and weak and sickly or anemic things” to confound, put to shame, or humiliate the “wise-acres” and “mighty ones” of earth’s cynics, skeptics, atheists, and infidels – He still does.
1) Joseph’s choice of “straked” cattle confounded Pharaoh, Gen 31:8-10.
2) Elijah’s pouring water on the altar before praying for fire confounded Baal’s prophets, 1Ki 18:30-40.
3) Peter and John’s, boldness to preach, after being persecuted, confounded the elders and rulers of Jerusalem, Act 5:28-29.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(27) Foolish things.The neuter is used probably for the purpose of generalising, and it expresses the qualities of the men whom God has chosenthe wise is masculine in the Greek, showing that it is still of persons the Apostle is speaking.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
27. God hath chosen It is a divine revolution; and we have the divine honour of being its instruments chosen of God. In this revolution the foolish things and the weak overthrow the wise and the mighty.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Co 1:27-28 . Expanded (see and , 1Co 1:29 ) statement of the opposite: No; the foolish things of the world were what God chose out for Himself , etc. The calling , 1Co 1:26 , was in truth just the result and the proof of the election . Comp 1Th 1:4 f.; 2Th 2:13 f.; Rom 8:30 ; Rom 9:23 f.
] the foolish elements of the world (mankind), i.e. those to whom earthly wisdom was a quite foreign thing, so that they were the simple among men. Comp Mat 11:25 . Many exegetes (including Theodoret, Luther, Grotius, Estius, Rosenmller, Flatt, and Billroth) take the genitive as: according to the judgment of the world . Against this may he urged, partly, the very fact that when God chose to Himself the persons referred to, they too had not yet the higher wisdom, and consequently were not unwise merely in the eyes of the world ; and partly, as deciding the point, the following . and ., for they were, it is plain, really (and not merely in the eyes of the world) weak and of mean origin.
The neuters (comp on the plural , Gal 3:22 ) indicate the category generally, it being evident from the context that what is meant is the persons included under that category. See generally, Winer, p. 167 [E. T. 222], and the same usage among classical writers in Blomfield, a [273] Aesch. Pers. Gloss. 101.
. . . ] design . The nothingness and worthlessness of their wisdom were, to their shame, to be brought practically to light (by God’s choosing not them, but the unwise, for honour), no matter whether they themselves were conscious of this putting of them to shame or not.
The thrice-repeated . , beside the three contrasts of , , and (1Co 1:26 ), carries with it a triumphant emphasis.
] The contrast to is brought out by three steps forming a climax. This third phrase is the strongest of all, and sums up powerfully the two foregoing ones by way of apposition (hence without ): the non-existent, i.e. what was as utterly worth nothing as if it had not existed at all (Winer, p. 451 [E. T. 608]). Comp Eur. Hec. 284: , . Dem. 248. 25; Plat. Crit. p. 50 B; and Stallbaum thereon. The subjective negation is quite according to rule (Baeumlein, Partik. p. 296), since the participle with the article expresses a generic notion; and there is no need of importing the idea of an untrue although actual existence (Hofmann). We are not therefore to supply to (as if had been used before), but to explain it: the existent , what through repute, fortune, etc., is regarded as that which is ( ). Comp Pflugk, a [276] Hec. l.c [277] : “ipsum verbum eam vim habet, ut significet in aliquo numero esse, rebus secundis florere. ”
.] Not . again, because the notions and required a stronger word to correspond to them; one which would convey the idea of bringing to nought (i.e. making worthless , Rom 3:31 ).
[273] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.
[276] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.
[277] .c. loco citato or laudato .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
Ver. 27. But God hath chosen ] In our Church assemblies the meaner usually, like little fishes, bite more than the greater. The poor are gospelized, Mat 11:5 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
27, 28 .] , neut. for more generalization, but = . This is shewn by following, in that case it being necessary to use the masculine.
., of (belonging to) the world : not in the eyes of the world , as Theodoret, Luth., Grot., Est., al., which would not fit . ., nor the sense : for they were not only seemingly but really foolish, when God chose them.
, by shewing to the wise and the strong, the foolish and the weak entering the kingdom of heaven before them.
, matter of fact the low-born :
, matter of estimation , the despised .
Without the , which is certainly the true reading, may belong to all four, the , , , and ., but more probably it has reference only to the last two. Nothing (as e.g. ) must be supplied after : it means as good as having no existence : being subjective, and implying that the non-existence is not absolute but estimative . Were it absolute matter of fact , it would be expressed by , as in 1Pe 2:10 , , . See Hartung, Partikellehre, ii. p. 131; Winer, edn. 6, 55. 5; and Phi 3:3 ; Eph 5:4 . Olshausen refines on the expression too much, when he explains it of those who have lost their old carnal life and have not yet acquired their new spiritual one: it more probably means, things (persons) of absolutely no account in the world, unassignable among men, which the and are.
Meyer remarks that the threefold repetition of . , with the three contrasts to , , and , announces the fact with a triumphant emphasis.
.] ‘reduce to the state of .’ All the , the realities , of the world, are of absolutely no account , unassignable, in God’s spiritual kingdom.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Co 1:27-28 . “Nay, but ( , the but of exclusion) the foolish the weak the base-born things of the world God did choose out (when He chose you).” ( selected, picked out for Himself ) is equivalent to ( 1Co 1:2 ; 1Co 1:9 ; 1Co 1:26 ), (1Co 1:21 ), . . (1Co 1:4 ); this word indicates the relation in which the saved are put both to God and to the world , out of ( ) which they were taken (see parls.); nothing here suggests, as in Eph 1:4 , the idea of eternal election. : the astonishing fact thrice repeated, with solemn emphasis of assurance. The objects of God’s saving choice and the means of their salvation match each other; by His and (1Co 1:25 ) He saves and : “the world laughs at our beggarly selves, as it laughs at our beggarly Gospell” The neut. adj [249] of 1Co 1:27 f. mark the category to which the selected belong; their very foolishness, weakness, ignobility determine God’s choice ( cf. Mat 9:13 , Luk 10:21 , etc.). is partitive gen [250] : out of all the world contained, God chose its (actually) foolish, weak, base things making “fx urbis lux orbis!” In this God acted deliberately, pursuing the course maintained through previous ages, (see note, 1Co 1:21 ): He “selected the foolish things of the world, that He might shame its wise men ( ) the weak things of the world, that He might shame its strong things ( ), and the base-born things of the world and the things made absolutely nothing of the things nonexistent, that He might bring the things existent to naught”. In the first instance a class of persons , immediately present to Paul’s mind ( cf. 1Co 1:20 ), is to be “put to shame”; in the two latter P. thinks, more at large, of worldly forces and institutions ( cf. 1Co 7:31 , 2Co 10:4-6 ). The pride of the cultured and ruling classes of paganism was to be confounded by the powers which Christianity conferred upon its social outcasts; as, e.g. , Hindoo Brahminism is shamed by the moral and intellectual superiority acquired by Christian Pariahs. , third of the categories of disparagement, is reinforced by (from and , pf. pass [251] : things set down as of no account whatever ), then capped by the abruptly apposed , to which is attached the crowning final clause, . For ( ut enervaret , Bz [252] ), see note on (1Co 1:17 ), and parls.; the scornful world-powers are not merely to be robbed of their glory (as in the two former predictions), but of their power and being , as indeed befell in the end the existing social and political fabric. In , “ implies that the non-existence is not absolute but estimative ” (Al [253] ); the classes to which Christianity appealed were non-entities for philosophers and statesmen, cyphers in their reckoning: contrast , of objective matter of fact, in Joh 10:12 , Act 7:5 ; also Eurip., Troad. , 600. connotes more than bare existence; “ipsum verbum eam vim habet ut significet in aliquo numero esse, rebus secundis florere” (Pflugk, on Eurip., Hecuba , 284, quoted by Mr [254] ); it is : cf. the adv [255] in 1Ti 6:19 .
[249] adjective.
[250] genitive case.
[251] passive voice.
[252] Beza’s Nov. Testamentum: Interpretatio et Annotationes (Cantab., 1642).
[253] Alford’s Greek Testament .
[254] Meyer’s Critical and Exegetical Commentary (Eng. Trans.).
[255] adverb
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
hath chosen = chose. Greek. eklegomai. See Act 1:2.
to = in order to. Greek. hina. confound = put to shame. Greek. kataischuno. See Rom 5:5.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
27, 28.] , neut. for more generalization, but = . This is shewn by following, in that case it being necessary to use the masculine.
., of (belonging to) the world: not in the eyes of the world, as Theodoret, Luth., Grot., Est., al.,-which would not fit . ., nor the sense: for they were not only seemingly but really foolish, when God chose them.
, by shewing to the wise and the strong, the foolish and the weak entering the kingdom of heaven before them.
, matter of fact-the low-born:
, matter of estimation, the despised.
Without the , which is certainly the true reading, may belong to all four, the , , , and .,-but more probably it has reference only to the last two. Nothing (as e.g. ) must be supplied after : it means as good as having no existence: being subjective, and implying that the non-existence is not absolute but estimative. Were it absolute matter of fact, it would be expressed by , as in 1Pe 2:10, , . See Hartung, Partikellehre, ii. p. 131; Winer, edn. 6, 55. 5; and Php 3:3; Eph 5:4. Olshausen refines on the expression too much, when he explains it of those who have lost their old carnal life and have not yet acquired their new spiritual one: it more probably means, things (persons) of absolutely no account in the world, unassignable among men, which the and are.
Meyer remarks that the threefold repetition of . , with the three contrasts to , , and , announces the fact with a triumphant emphasis.
.] reduce to the state of . All the , the realities, of the world, are of absolutely no account, unassignable, in Gods spiritual kingdom.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 1:27. ) The article has this force: those things in particular and especially, which are foolish, etc.-, hath chosen [viz., in great numbers]) Act 18:10-V. g.] (I have much people in this city, i.e., Corinth). This word is put thrice; election [choosing] and calling, 1Co 1:26, are joined in one; Eze 20:5. The latter is a proof of the former. Election is the judgment of Divine grace exempting in Christ from the common destruction of men, those who accept their calling by faith. Every one who is called, is elected from the first moment of his faith; and so long as he continues in his calling and faith, he continues to be elected; if at any time he loses calling and faith, he ceases to be elected; when he brings forth fruit in faith, he confirms that calling and election in his own case: if he returns to faith, and believing falls asleep, he returns to his state of election, and as one elected falls asleep. And these , pre-eminently, are the men who are elected and foreknown. Election relates either to peoples or individuals. The question here and in Eze 20:5 : also Act 18:10; 1Th 1:4 : is concerning the election of a people; and this species of election in a greater degree falls under the distinct perceptions of men that are believers, than the election of individuals; for some individuals of the people may fall away, and yet the breadth of calling and election [i.e. the calling viewed in its comprehension of the whole people as such] may be equally preserved. The election of some outside of the church is a Thing Reserved for God Himself, and must not be tried by the rule of the preaching of the Gospel.[14]- , the wise) In the masculine to express a very beautiful idea;[15] the rest are neuter, as all standing in opposition to , yea even foolish things.-, might put to shame [confound]) This word is twice repeated; we have afterwards, might bring to nought [1Co 1:28]. By both of these words glorying [1Co 1:29; 1Co 1:31] is taken away, whether the subject of boasting be more or less voluntary.
[14] Which restricts salvation to them that believe.-ED.
[15] Viz., That even things (and, those too, foolish things) are chosen by God to confound persons (and, those too, persons who are wise).-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 1:27
1Co 1:27
but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise;-God to show his power and presence, and to manifest the folly of mans wisdom, and the weakness of his greatest inventions, chose the things that to human wisdom appear foolish to confound or confuse the wisdom of the great ones.
and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;-Jesus himself came as a helpless babe among the poorer classes of the people and without human power or greatness, and undertook the rescue of the world from the dominion of the evil one. All the appointments of God correspond to the character of Jesus and his condition, lack worldly wisdom. When man uses means fitted to the end sought, he is prone to attribute the result to the means used, to his wisdom in choosing the means. But when the conditions are inadequate to produce the end, then he who ordains the means is looked upon as the source of the power. Of such character was the separating the waters of the Red Sea, the throwing down the walls of Jericho, and the healing of Naaman of leprosy, and this is characteristic of Gods work generally. The things that seem foolish and weak to the wisdom of man are chosen by God to overturn the works of man, and to effect what his wisdom chooses to accomplish.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
world
kosmos = mankind. (See Scofield “Mat 4:8”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Psa 8:2, Isa 26:5, Isa 26:6, Isa 29:14, Isa 29:19, Zep 3:12, Mat 4:18-22, Mat 9:9, Mat 11:25, Mat 21:16, Luk 19:39, Luk 19:40, Luk 21:15, Act 4:11-21, Act 6:9, Act 6:10, Act 7:35, Act 7:54, Act 17:18, Act 24:24, Act 24:25, 2Co 4:7, 2Co 10:4, 2Co 10:5, 2Co 10:10
Reciprocal: Exo 4:17 – General Exo 39:21 – as the Lord Lev 14:32 – whose hand Num 22:23 – the ass saw Num 22:30 – upon which thou hast ridden Jdg 4:21 – took Jdg 7:2 – too many Jdg 7:13 – a cake Jdg 11:5 – to fetch Jdg 15:15 – slew 1Sa 13:22 – there was neither 1Sa 17:40 – staff 1Sa 17:49 – smote 1Ki 20:14 – young men 2Ki 5:4 – and told his lord 2Ki 5:13 – how much rather Neh 4:2 – feeble Job 32:9 – Great Job 32:13 – We Isa 33:23 – the lame Jer 9:23 – wise Jer 49:20 – Surely Eze 17:24 – have brought Dan 2:25 – captives of Judah Amo 1:1 – who Amo 7:14 – an herdman Mic 5:2 – yet Mat 3:9 – God Luk 10:21 – revealed Luk 18:24 – How Act 4:13 – were Act 9:22 – confounded 1Co 1:25 – the foolishness Jam 3:15 – but
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Co 1:27. In all of these verses Paul uses such terms as foolish and wise in the sense attached to them by the so-called leaders of thought among the people of Greece especially, and of the world in general. To confound means to confuse and baffle. The unpretentious proclaimers of the Gospel were able to put their adversaries to shame. The case of Stephen in Act 6:10 is an outstanding one which states: “And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Co 1:27. but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame them that are wise. There is here a significant transition from the neuter of the one class to the masculine of the other, to express a passage from the contemptible to the esteemed.and God chose the weak things of the world that he might put to shame the things that are strong.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
1Co 1:27-29. But God hath chosen the foolish things Or, supplying the word , the foolish persons of the world. Such persons as are of little esteem in the world, for want of learning, parts, eloquence, and such other endowments as some have attained, and who are judged altogether unfit to teach others, especially the Greeks and Romans. To confound the wise To shame those who account themselves, and are accounted wise; and of whom the world is most ready to boast. In this passage the apostle imitates the contemptuous language in which the Greek philosophers, and men of learning, affected to speak of the Christian preachers: yet, as he does it in irony, he aggrandizes them. The first preachers of the gospel, as Bishop Newton observes, were chiefly a few poor fishermen, of low parentage, of no learning or eloquence, of no reputation or authority, despised as Jews by the rest of mankind, and by the Jews as the meanest and worst of themselves. What improper instruments were these to contend with the prejudices of the world, the superstition of the people, the interests of the priests, the vanity of the philosophers, the pride of the rulers, the malice of the Jews, the learning of the Greeks, and the power of Rome! But the weaker the instruments who converted the world, the greater was the display of the power of God by which they acted. See on 2Co 4:7. And the weak things of the world Persons who pretend to no extraordinary abilities or endowments; to confound Or shame; the things which are mighty Which, with all their boasted powers and qualifications, have never been able to work such a reformation among men, as these despised disciples of Jesus have been the means of effecting. And base things of the world Things accounted vile and despised, , set at naught; and things which are not Which are as little regarded, or as much overlooked, as if they had no being, and were below contempt itself; hath God chosen To be his instruments in renewing and saving mankind; to bring to naught To annihilate; things that are In the highest esteem, and that make the most illustrious figures among mankind. That no flesh A fit appellation; flesh is fair, but withering as grass; should glory in his presence That no human being might boast of any advantages or distinctions, or of any excellence in himself, as the cause of his being appointed an apostle, evangelist, or minister of Christ, and employed in preaching the gospel: and that none who are converted by the preaching of such, should consider their conversion as the effect of any human abilities, natural or acquired, but should be compelled to ascribe the glory of all to God.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 27-29. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28. and base things of the world, and things which are despised, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are; 29. that no flesh should glory before God.
The emotion with which the apostle signalizes this providential fact is betrayed by the threefold repetition of the words God has chosen, by the thrice expressed contrast between the two opposite terms, God and the world, and by the emphatic position of the object (thrice repeated) at the beginning of the proposition. The neuter form of the three adjectives, foolish, weak, and vile, contrasted as it is with the masculines preceding, the wise, the mighty, the noble, is not used accidentally; these neuters indicate a mass in which the individuals have so little value that they are not counted as distinct personalities. So the word , the domestic [thing], is used for slaves. The term does not here denote a decree of eternal predestination, but the energetic action whereby God has taken to Him (the Middle ) from the midst of the world () those individuals whom no one judged worthy of attention, and made them the bearers of His kingdom. The strong, the wise, etc., are thus covered with shame, because the weak, etc., are not only equal to them, but preferred. In the phrase, things which are despised, is concentrated all that disdain with which the ignorant and weak and poor were overwhelmed in the society of heathendom; and the final term, things which are not, expresses the last step of that scale of abasement on which those beings vegetated. The subjective negative before does not deny real existence, as would be done by , but the recognition of any value whatever in public opinion; all those beings were to it as non-existent. The , which in the received text precedes the last participle, is omitted by most of the Mjj. The meaning even would be the only suitable. But how could we explain this , if it were authentic, otherwise than the previous ones? It is better therefore to reject it. The asyndeton is perfectly in place; it makes this last word the summary, and, so to speak, the accumulation of all the preceding. There is a corresponding gradation in the verb , to annul (bring to nought), to reduce to absolute powerlessness, which takes the place of the preceding and less strong term , to cover with confusion. Already the wise and mighty were humiliated by the call addressed to their social inferiors; now they disappear from the scene. And for what end does God act thus? The apostle answers in the following sentence:
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world [Psa 8:2; Joh 2:5], that he might put to shame the things that are strong;
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
27. But God elected out the foolish things of the world that he may confound the wise. We see this Scripture verified in our Saviors apostles, unlearned and ignorant men (Act 4:13). He could equally conveniently have put His hand on the champions of Rabbinical and Grecian lore. Why did He select the heralds of salvation from the illiterate and uninfluential rabble? He wanted blank paper on which to write the message of salvation. The learned clergy would have been under great temptation to mix their human dogmata with the pure message of gospel grace, and thus adulterate it. Again, the popular mind would intuitively attribute the power to the gifted and cultured dispenser of the gospel benefactions, and fail to see the real Divinity in the plan of salvation. Hence Divine wisdom has in all ages utilized the elements regarded as foolish in worldly estimation to bear the message of redeeming grace and dying love to earths perishing millions. And the weak things of the world God elected out that he may confound the strong. When a church becomes strong numerically, financially and influentially, God lets her slide away. He has no more use for her. The Holy Ghost retreats away and leaves her to enjoy her worldly power and glory. You must remember that the Holy Ghost is God in the Church. What an awful evacuation of the Protestant churches by the Holy Ghost in the last twenty years. He that rejecteth sanctification rejecteth not man but God, who giveth unto you his Holy Spirit. God gives His Holy Spirit to all His people to sanctify them. When they reject the work, in so doing they reject the worker, and fall into the hands of Satan, who then delights to play off on them, robed as an angel of light, passing himself for God, inflating them with wonderful enthusiasm in church work, thus employing and comforting them in the absence of the Holy Ghost. The churches are apostatizing fearfully in the trend of human power and worldly influence, and equally rapidly forsaken by the Holy Ghost and given over to the delusions of the devil. Consequently God the Holy Ghost is everywhere raising up an army of blood-washed and fire-baptized evangelists, male and female, from hovels of poverty, retreats of ignorance, slums and jungles of iniquity, and sending them out to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ with the Holy Ghost sent down from Heaven, thus rapidly laying in the shade the cultured clergy, who depend on their intellect and education, instead of the omnipotent Galilean.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
The Old Testament is full of illustrations of God choosing less than promising material as His instruments. In the Book of Judges, for example, we see Him using an ox goad (Jdg 3:31), a nail (1Co 4:21), trumpets, pitchers, and lamps (Jdg 7:20), a millstone (Jdg 9:53), and the jawbone of an ass (Jdg 15:15). His method did not change with the coming of Christ nor has it changed since then.
"Things that are not" are things that are nothing. They are non-entities in the eyes of the world. The "things that are" are those things and individuals that the world values highly. Paul did not mean that God cannot or will not save the affluent, but the glory of the gospel is that God’s mercy extends to those whom the affluent tend to write off.