By Todd Horne

In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Paul is in the middle of a discussion about God's wisdom. But Paul threw down the proverbial gauntlet in the previous verse saying that "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

If you are paying attention, you might think that there's not much else left to say. People who think they know more than God are sunk right then and there. Paul debunks them. Why waste any more God-given breath on the matter?

Yet, Paul does continue. Paul is not talking to non-believers. He is not trying to convert anyone here. He is talking straight to the heart of believers. Paul is attempting to sanitize believers and transform them into true disciples.

Pay attention. In these next six verses Paul teaches us one of the greatest truths of all: believers only have hope in victory if they are humble at heart because only then can they see things the way God sees them. There is no other way.

26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;

31 so that, just as it is written, " LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."

Some 2,000 years before Paul's message to the church at Corinth, the prophet Isaiah, writing in Isaiah 2, encourages believers by linking hope with humility as the key transforming power of God in the human heart. Isaiah links hope with humility because he knows that man, by nature, always uses the idol of self-advancement to stabilize ourselves. But Isaiah spends virtually his entire second chapter pointing out that in order to walk in the light of the Lord -- in order to replace our fallen nature-bred fear and pride with hope and humility we have to do more than just roll out of bed every morning and enter the fray of a world that stimulates itself with idols at every turn.

If he were writing in today's context as one of our contemporaries, Isaiah would tell us that as we come alive to God's promised future, which has nothing to do with corner offices, nice cars, and houses on hills or mountaintops, we dethrone our self-built, fleshly idols, and the Lord alone is exalted within us.

Isaiah looks from the beauty of the beginning, through the wreckage of history, all the way forward to the glory of the consummation of God's plan - the last days. Many believers in Christ think that we are living in those last days right now. One thing is certain: we are much closer to the last days now than we were when Isaiah penned his thoughts and related his vision. A case could also be made, and Paul certainly stated that this was his belief, that when Paul was writing his epistles and preaching to the Gentiles the countdown to the last days had begun in earnest. Another couple of things are also certain, too. God's plan and His ways have never changed, while man does not think, act or behave like God unless Jesus Christ resides in that heart.

When Isaiah forsees the last days, what does he see?

Isaiah sees the worship of God enthused over, while all the religions of man are humbled into nothing. In Isaiah’s day people located their shrines on hills and mountaintops, closer to Heaven. But God chose a measly little hilltop in the land of Israel to be the place where he should be worshiped. It wasn't impressive by the usual standards. And today the church is rarely impressive to man, which brings us right back to where we started -- 1 Corinthians 1:26. But in the latter days the nations will abandon their worldviews and ideologies and gladly give to the church as the world's leader in worship.

He is promising a worldwide miracle as the nations, far from being forced, gladly hurry to worship him and learn his ways. They set no preconditions. They are eager and open. This miracle has already begun. It started at Pentecost 2,000 years ago (Acts 2), it is going on today through Christian missions, and it will be consummated in the latter days with an overflowing river of conversions to Christ.

What is peace? I know you’re going to say that peace is the absence of war. I think that if you look up the word in the dictionary there is a definition there that describes what Paul was really referring to in the passage in Galatians. The best definition for the word peace and the one that fits the Galatians passage is described as being in a state of tranquility; or being serene.

This also fits the Biblical principle of peace which rests on the Hebrew root word slm which translates “to be complete” or “to be sound’. This is also the root of words like salom, which was used both in greeting a person or saying farewell. This definition fits because Paul is referring to a Spiritual peace which is a sense of being complete or sound. You see the word peace is perfectly placed after love and joy and before patience because when you have love and joy in the Spirit you have peace. You have a sense of being complete and sound in your soul.

Peace means being without fear and anxiety. Knowing no matter what the circumstances life throws at you there will come a brighter day. As Paul was writing these verses I am sure he had in mind all the trials and tribulations he had been through and knew in His heart that out of the love and the joy set before him he was at peace. You see Paul finally had a purpose in life: doing the true will of his Heavenly Father, not the so called cause he had once lived for.

On a Damascus road Paul met Love, Paul received that love joyfully and now Paul was at peace. At the time Paul did not know that his life externally was going to be anything but peaceful, but as the Holy Spirit worked in and through him, Paul knew that all was well with his soul, that brought him peace.

It is interesting to note that if you read Isaiah 9:6, which is about Jesus and His birth, the last words of the verse are "The Prince of Peace," and in the New Testament Jesus is the Prince of Peace!

I think as Paul knew, and you and I should realize, that the peace that is referred to in Isaiah 9:6, and that would come with Jesus' arrival the first time, is a peace in our hearts. Sure someday He will restore true peace to this earth, but for now He gives us His peace through the Holy Spirit. If our hearts truly seek Him, and you have the ultimate in love living inside of you, how can you not be peace full?

But don’t take my word for it. Jesus said Himself in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”. My friends Jesus is talking about the same kind of peace Paul is referring to in Galatians, a peace in our hearts.

• God is the source of our peace
• God is the truth of our peace
• God is the love that brings peace
• God is the joy through which we have peace

In short God is peace.

No matter what this world throws at us when we have a right relationship “salom” with Yahweh (God) we will have peace.

Key Verses: (NRSV)

* 1: “In the year that King Uzziah died.” – King Uzziah’s reign had been a prosperous one for Israel but many people had turned from God and ominous things lay ahead. His death from leprosy, a sign of God’s disfavor, was caused by not listening to his priests and for allowing practices of idol worship to flourish. The Assyrian armies were massing on the borders and Israel was about to feel the full vengeance of God for their sins.

* 1b: “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty.” – Isaiah’s image of God was one of royalty, greatness and power; a ruler sitting on a majestic throne ready to serve justice and administer punishment.

* 5: “And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips…” – Through the praise of the angels proclaiming God’s holiness, Isaiah realized that he was unworthy to be in His presence.

* 7: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” – In order to be worthy and holy so that we can stand before God, our sins need to be forgiven and forgotten…Christ has become the “living coal” that touches our lips and erases our sins.

* 8: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord say, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’” – Notice how Isaiah’s call into ministry was not a command from God; rather it was a plea of woe and sadness filled with worry and fear.

* 8b: “And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’” – Isaiah steps forward and answers the call with no hesitation.

Points to Contemplate:

* What is your image of God? How does your concept of the greatness of God measure up to Isaiah’s? Does He sit on a throne “high and lofty,” ready to administer and judge? Do you see Him more as a fatherly image, loving and caring, where you can sit on His lap and feel His arms around you? Or has He become “domesticated” into a god of your own making? Do you see the danger of creating a god to suit your needs and your image? How can we relate to God on one hand if He is too holy and unreachable and yet, how can we respect Him if He becomes too average and normal? Are you able to keep the holy and majestic nature of God alive in your image of Him?

* Are you unworthy? Sinful? Unclean? Do you see how important it is in our relationship with God to come to a clear understanding of our sinfulness? It was the first thing that came to mind for Isaiah as he viewed His Lord. Do you see that the acts of repentance and forgiveness must take place before we can truly grow close to God? Does this reveal to you the importance of Christ in our lives? How His atonement for our sins has paved a pathway to the Holy Presence of God?

* Do you hear God’s call for you? Do you see that He is simply asking each of us to answer that call? “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah did not ask where or what. He did not involve himself with the specifics. He did not offer advice. He stepped forward and said: “Here am I; send me!” Can you respond in the same way?

* What does it mean to you "to be called?" Do you need clarification? "Where am I going?" is an important question; a question of planning, direction, and goals, but it is a question Isaiah never asked. Isaiah just said, 'Send me. It doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter when. Here am I, send me.'

Promises of the Gospel:

Isaiah had a “God-moment” and through that experience his life was changed forever. Isaiah’s experience outlines and details the important steps that need to be taken by each of us in order to fully experience the Holiness of God. First we need to believe that God is present in our lives. The next step is the need to come into terms with our sins and repent. Through Christ’s love and with our repentance those sins are forgiven and “blotted out.” Finally, because we have been sanctified, we learn to recognize God’s call and, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, are able to boldly step forward and say: “Here am I, Lord; send me!”