What 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 really means: Strength in Weakness

Why God Chooses the Overlooked

To understand why Paul says God chose the foolish and weak, we need to see the problem in Corinth: people were dividing into groups, boasting about following well-known leaders like Paul or Apollos, as if spiritual status depended on human wisdom or reputation.

Paul confronts this pride by pointing out that God’s way is different - He deliberately chose people who weren’t wise, powerful, or noble (1 Corinthians 1:26) so no one could brag about their spiritual standing. He quotes from Isaiah 29:19 and Psalm 33:10 in verses 19 - 20 to show that God has always overturned human pride, and now He’s doing it again through the cross, which the world sees as foolishness (v23) but is actually God’s power and wisdom (v24). This means the church’s strength doesn’t come from impressive leaders or eloquent speakers, but from God working through ordinary people.

Paul says God chose the weak and low to shame the strong, calling the Corinthians and us to stop measuring spiritual value by worldly standards and to see ourselves as God sees us: chosen despite our status.

God’s Upside-Down Kingdom: How Weakness Becomes Strength

This passage declares that God overturns worldly power structures by choosing those society deems worthless, not merely about personal humility.

The Greek words Paul uses carry cultural weight: μωρός (‘foolish’) meant someone socially discredited, not merely lacking knowledge, while ἀσθενής (‘weak’) described those without influence, resources, or protection in Greco-Roman society.

By saying God chose these people to ‘shame the wise’ and ‘bring to nothing’ (καταργέω) the strong, Paul shows that God isn’t reforming the system - He’s dismantling its values entirely, rendering human boasting spiritually useless.

This echoes Jeremiah 4:23, where God reduces proud human structures to ‘formless and void,’ similar to creation; God remakes His people by beginning with what the world sees as empty or broken.

So when Paul says God uses the ‘low and despised,’ he’s not making a vague moral point - He’s revealing a divine strategy: to build His kingdom not with society’s stars, but with its nobodies, so the source of the church’s power can never be mistaken.

The cross, appearing as weakness and defeat, became the ultimate act of divine strength; God’s choice of the weak reveals deeper wisdom.

This redefines what it means to be ‘called’: not because we are impressive, but because God has chosen to show His power through us.

God doesn’t just use the weak - He chooses them on purpose to show that real power comes from Him, not from human status.

Now this leads to Paul’s next point: in Christ we receive salvation along with true wisdom, righteousness, and holiness, all gifts from God.

God Still Chooses the Unexpected Today

This truth applies beyond the ancient church; God still uses everyday people who fail the world’s standards to carry out His mission.

Today, we often measure influence by popularity, education, or confidence, but God looks at faithfulness, availability, and a heart that relies on Him.

He chose the overlooked in Corinth and continues to call people regardless of status to demonstrate that His power is sufficient.

The good news about Jesus has always turned human values upside down - He came not for the spiritually elite, but for sinners, and He empowers the weak, not the self-sufficient.

This fits perfectly with the gospel: salvation is a gift, not a reward, so no one can boast (1 Corinthians 1:29). And just as God brought light out of darkness in creation, He says in 2 Corinthians 4:6, 'For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.'

God hasn’t changed His strategy - He still builds His kingdom through ordinary people so that the power clearly comes from Him, not from human strength.

This means our value and strength come from being united with Christ, not from what the world sees as important - and that truth prepares us for Paul’s next point about what we truly receive in Him.

The Upside-Down Pattern: From Hannah to the Cross

This theme of divine reversal - where God lifts the lowly and brings down the proud - is not new in 1 Corinthians, but a consistent thread woven through the whole story of Scripture, culminating in the cross.

Hannah, once mocked and barren, sings in 1 Samuel 2:1, 'My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.' She goes on to declare, 'The Lord brings low and brings high, he brings down to Sheol and raises up. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes.'

Similarly, Mary echoes this in the Magnificat (Luke 1:51-53): 'He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.' James 2:5 also reminds us, 'Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?' These are not isolated moments - they form a pattern of God favoring the overlooked to display His faithfulness.

The cross is the ultimate expression of this pattern: Jesus, though divine, took the form of a servant, was born in obscurity, rejected by leaders, and executed as a criminal. Yet in that moment of apparent weakness, God defeated sin and death. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:27-28, God chose the foolish, weak, and despised - so that no one could boast. This theology reshapes how we live.

When we grasp this, we stop chasing status in the church - no more favoring the eloquent, wealthy, or well-connected. Instead, we honor the quiet servant, the struggling single parent, the one with a past, the person who doesn’t speak up much but shows up faithfully. Church becomes a place where everyone matters because God has shown that everyone can be used.

God has always turned the world’s rankings on their head - not to confuse us, but to show that His strength shines brightest when ours runs out.

This truth humbles us personally and transforms our communities: we stop building institutions that reflect the world’s power and start building families that reflect God’s upside-down kingdom - where the last are first, and the weak become strong through Christ. And this leads to Paul’s next point: in Christ we receive salvation, as well as wisdom, holiness, and righteousness, all gifts from God.

Application