HOW GOD SAVES SINNERS AND WHY: Corinthians 1:26-29

I. WHY DOES GOD SAVE SINNERS? (vv. 26-27a)

I) God does not save sinners because they are wise (v. 26a)
II) God does not save sinners because they are powerful (v. 26b)
III) God does not save sinners because of their lineage or family (v. 26c)
IV) God saves sinners according to His own sovereign choice (v. 27a)

Believer, God chose to save you even though you were part of the worst family—Adam’s family (1 Corinthians 15:22); He chose to save you even though you were weak and helpless (Romans 5:6); He chose to send His only Son in order to trade places with you on the cross (Isaiah 53:10); and God chose to regenerate your dead spiritually self by His Spirit despite the fact that you were foolish (Titus 3:3-7).

II. WHY DOES GOD SAVE SINNERS ACCORDING TO HIS OWN SOVEREIGN CHOICE? (vv. 27-29)

I) God saves sinners according to His own sovereign choice in order to shame the wise, strong, and noble (vv. 27-28)
II) God saves sinners according to His own sovereign choice so that not even one person would boast in His presence (v. 29)

QUESTIONS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION

1. What does Paul mean by “calling” in verse 26? How does verse 24 help clarify? What does Paul say the Corinthians were not? Why should your “calling,” Christian, cause you to rejoice and praise God?

2. According to verses 27 and 28, what did God choose and why? What exactly is Paul getting at here?

3. According to verse 29, why did God do what Paul describes in verses 27-28? Is boasting in the presence of God a good thing or a bad thing for a human being to do? Rephrase the meaning of verse 29 in your own words. Do you “boast in the presence of God”?

Ekklesia Muskogee is a reformed baptist church that gathers for worship in Muskogee, Oklahoma. We confess the 1689 second London baptist confession of faith. We affirm the five solas of the Reformation as well as the doctrines of grace (otherwise known as the five points of Calvinism), and each of our pastors would not be ashamed to be called a Calvinist. We are a church led by elders, of which there is a plurality (also called pastors and overseers in the Scriptures). Our mission is to make disciples, love cities, and plant churches.