No Flesh Should Glory
My youngest son, when he was a little boy, had had a dream that seemed real to him. He spoke of having been at his mother’s and my wedding. We laughed about it and then helped him to understand that he had seen pictures of our wedding and dreamed of such a thing, but it was impossible that he could have been at our wedding.
Sometimes, our minds can imagine things so vividly that they are perceived as real. Not every perception can be trusted.
What would you think if I were to tell a story that claimed that before I was conceived, I willed to be born? I would be worried about you if you didn’t think that claim was absurd.
If I were to try to take credit for my natural birth in any way, you would be justified in thinking of me as being deceived.
This statement of no flesh should glory can trip someone up if they do not understand the point of it. It is a statement dealing with something similar to what I have already been discussing. Perceptions that seem real to someone but just cannot be.
The statement is found in the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 1:29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
It is positioned in such a way as to diminish the idea that anyone should even attempt to think they had anything to do with their salvation.
1 Corinthians 1:26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
God did the choosing in this case, not us. We did not choose ourselves for this amazingly wonderful gift. We did not qualify ourselves for it either. God chose us on purpose for a reason. He did not choose us because we were all that and a bag of chips. He chose us when we were nothing, spiritually dead in our sins and trespasses. He did this to bring to nothing the things that are. In other words, to end any boasting on anyone’s part of having merited being selected. If we read further the Scripture about this, we discover why.
1 Corinthians 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”
The point is to take out of the way any boasting in ourselves and instead replace it with giving glory and honor to Jesus! It is designed to spotlight Christ in our lives so that He might receive the glory, honor, and praise for our salvation, acceptance, redemption, and life change.
My belonging to Jesus had nothing to do with me being smart enough to choose Him. I was not wise. It had nothing to do with my pedigree in the natural. I did not have one to start with. By bringing someone foolish like me to Christ, he shames the wise in this world who trust in their wisdom and cannot seem to get it. By choosing a weak-willed person such as myself, he shames the strong-willed, self-made people who think they can get it done with their strength and willpower. He chose me! He saved me! It was all by grace; even the faith I employed to turn to Christ was His gift. I can only boast in Jesus and the love of the Father!
All glory to Jesus! All praise to the Father! Thank You, Holy Spirit, for opening my eyes, heart, and understanding when You made me alive in Christ! I have nothing for which to boast in, in myself, and I glory in Christ, who has placed me continually in Your presence, Father.
