God's Elect or World's Elite? III

Character Traits of the Elect

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." (Col. 3: 12-14)

It is the Lord’s purpose to develop character within us. That involves making believers into the image and likeness of Christ, and of God himself. 

Of Christ it is written:

"Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." (Isa. 42: 1)

The incarnate Son of God, "the man Christ Jesus," is God's elect, his perfect or ideal man. For the elect, who are "taken out" from among fallen men, they must become like him, or "be conformed into the image" of Christ. (Rom. 8: 29) The character traits enumerated above are seen in their fullness in Christ Jesus. God's elect are they who become God's servants, people in whom he delights. 

If one compares the character traits of God's elect, as described above (and elsewhere too in the bible), he will see how different they are from the world's list of character qualities. Take for instance the Nazi description of the ideal man and woman. Or Stalin's. Is it not far different from that of God's description of his elect, or of his ideal person? But, more on this as we look at the opening words of the apostle in his first letter to the Corinthians.

The Worldly Elite

"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." (18-21)

Who are the elites "of this world," or "of this present evil age"? Who is the apostle describing when he refers to the "disputer of this world," "the wise of this world," "the prudent," "the scribe of this world"? They are surely contrasted with "the saints," with believers in the gospel and in Christ, with those who God has "set apart" by his choice and work of salvation. The world's elite are contrasted with those who are the truly elite, or elect, with those who have received Christ and the evangel. 

God's elect are certainly not judged as being heaven's choice human beings by the world. The world's elite have contempt for the Christian or gospel believer, especially seeing how believers are mostly made up of the poor and uneducated, among the common people. So Paul would expand on this and write:

"Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day." (4: 8-13) 

This is clearly berating sarcasm. Many of the Corinthian Christians still sought and highly valued lofty status in the world, to be one of the world's elite, to be esteemed as being the ones who are judged by lost men as being "strong," and as being "honorable," and as being "well educated" or "wise." Yet, the apostle was not so esteemed by the world. To the world Paul was "weak" (or impotent), dishonored, unwise, "defamed," and among the poorer class. Yea, they are esteemed by the worldly elite as "the filth of the world," and as "the offscouring" of all things. The word translated "offscouring" is from the Greek word "peripsēma" and means "what is wiped off," or "dirt rubbed off." It denotes "off scouring, scrapings." (Strong; Being another word of singular use) The world, we might say, judges the believer in the gospel as "scum." They are judged as "fools" by the worldly wise. Yea, the world's elite "despise" the believer. 

Though, of course, this was the judgment of the world's elite, it is not a right judgment, but totally false. God's judgment of Paul and of believers is that they are the truly elect, his elite, the ones who will rule the world in "the age to come." Paul was not really a "fool," or "weak," or "filth." In actuality, as we will see, Paul and believers are the really wise, strong, noble, and pure; And the world's elite are the weak, the fools, and the "common and unclean." (See Acts 10: 28) Further, the believer is not yet as elite or superior as he will be when he is glorified in the resurrection. 

The Psalmist said long ago: "verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity." (Psa. 39: 5) This fact is being fully demonstrated in the opening chapters of I Corinthians. The believer, the one chosen and called, is better even now than the most refined and educated Christ-less man. But, he is not destined to rule the world now, "in this world," but will do so in "the world to come." Just what is man's "best state"? How would the world's elite answer? How would a Christian answer? The "best state" for man is to be one of God's servants, yea, one of his children. 

Notice too the contrast, not only between two different characters, but of two different time periods. There is "this age or world," and this obviously in contrast with "the age or world to come." God's elect are now mostly "on bottom" as respects the world's hierarchy or "pecking order." The world's elite heroes or chosen ones are now "on top." But, not so in the age to come, for in that time things will be reversed and those worldly ones who now are on top will be on bottom and believers, who are now mostly at the bottom, will be on top. The world says of Christ, "we will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke 19: 14); And, they also say the same of Christians.

By God's standard Christians are God's elect, his elite; Not because they have made themselves such, but because of God's grace. They were different because they had been made different by God's work of salvation and transformation, having received all from God's benevolence. 

In the next post we will continue our analysis of Paul's opening words to the Corinthian believers.