Answering God’s Call

I. THE NATURE OF THE CALLING

A. Two Callings Identified

1. A call to salvation (Romans 1:7)
2. A call to service (Acts 13:2; Acts 16:10; Romans 1:1)

B. Two Callings in Context

1. “Called to be saints”—a call to salvation (1 Corinthians 1:2)
2. “Called unto the fellowship”—a call to service (1 Corinthians 1:9)

II. THE CHARACTER OF THE CALLING (1 Corinthians 1:17-28)

A. Unusual Men (1 Corinthians 1:19-20, 26)

1. As described in context
a. Not many wise men after the flesh
b. Not many mighty
c. Not many noble
2. As demonstrated in history
a. In the Old Testament
1.) Rahab—a harlot from Jericho (Joshua 6:17)
2.) Gideon—a fearful farmer (Judges 6:11-12)
3.) Ruth—a pagan Moabitess (Deuteronomy 23:3; Ruth 4:13-22)
4.) David—a shepherd boy (1 Samuel 16:1-13)
5.) Elisha—a plowman (1 Kings 19:16-21)
6.) Nehemiah—a cupbearer in Shushan (Nehemiah 1:1-4)
7.) Esther—one maiden (Jewess) among many (Esther 2:7-20)
8.) Amos—a herdman and gatherer of sycamore fruit (Amos 7:14)
b. In the New Testament
1.) Simon, Andrew, James, & John—fishermen (Matthew 4:18-22)
2.) Matthew—a publican (Matthew 10:3)
3.) Luke—a physician (Colossians 4:14)

B. Unconventional Methods (1 Corinthians 1:17-25)

1. Preaching the gospel: not with wisdom of words (1 Corinthians 1:17)
2. The preaching of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18)
3. The foolishness of preaching (1 Corinthians 1:21)
4. We preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23)

C. Uncomfortable Means (1 Corinthians 1:27-28)

1. Described in the context (1 Corinthians 1:27-28)
a. The foolish things of the world confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27).
b. The weak things of the world cofound the things which are mighty (1 Corinthians 1:27).
c. Base things confound things that are (not base) (1 Corinthians 1:28).
2. Depicted in history
a. Gideon, a farmer, was called to war and had troops sent home to increase the difficulty (Judges 7:7).
b. Nehemiah, a cupbearer, was called to build a wall (Nehemiah 1:1-4).
c. Paul was called to preach to Gentiles (Romans 11:13).

III. THE PURPOSE OF THE CALLING (1 Corinthians 1:29-31)

A. Man’s Inability to Glory (1 Corinthians 1:29)

1. No flesh should glory (see Jeremiah 9:23)
a. The wise man cannot glory in his wisdom.
b. The mighty man cannot glory in his might.
c. The rich man cannot glory in his riches.
2. In His presence
a. Man may and does glory in the presence of other men
b. However, man has no right or claim to glory in the presence of God

B. Man’s Sufficiency (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

1. Christ is man’s wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30)
2. Man can only glory in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31)