First Corinthians 1:28 says that God deliberately chose what the world looks down on, the lowly, the despised, and the things that seem to count for nothing, so that he could overturn the things the world treats as important. Paul wrote this to the believers in Corinth, a busy port city where status, education and social rank mattered a great deal. He was reminding them that God’s choices do not follow the world’s ranking system.
And God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are…
1 Corinthians 1:28 (WEB)
What 1 Corinthians 1:28 Means
The verse opens with God as the one doing the choosing. The first group, “the lowly things of the world,” refers to people or circumstances of low standing, people without family prestige, money or public honor. The second group, “the things that are despised,” describes what others openly scorn or hold in contempt. The third, “the things that are not,” is the most striking phrase: it points to what the world treats as if it barely exists, the nobodies and the overlooked.
The purpose clause then explains why God chose them: “that he might bring to nothing the things that are.” The things that “are” are the things the world regards as solid and impressive, such as wealth, rank and wisdom by human measure. God’s aim is to reduce them to nothing, not by destroying people, but by showing that their supposed importance does not hold before him.
What the verse does not promise is that poverty or low standing is automatically holy, or that wealthy and educated people are shut out of God’s grace. Paul is describing a pattern in how God works in the world, and he is correcting a pride that treated status as a sign of spiritual worth.
The Context of 1 Corinthians 1:28
First Corinthians was written by Paul to a church he had founded, and it deals with division, arrogance and rivalry among its members. Some Corinthian believers were boasting about their teachers, their knowledge and their spiritual gifts, and the church had begun to sort itself by social rank. Paul pushes back against this throughout the letter.
The verses just before this one explain that the message of the cross looks like foolishness to the world, and that God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. The verses that follow say that no one should boast before God, and that anyone who boasts should boast only in the Lord. Read in that setting, verse 28 is part of a sustained argument that human status is no basis for pride, because God has chosen the very people and things that human pride overlooks.
Key Phrases in 1 Corinthians 1:28
1 Samuel 16:7
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don’t see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
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When Samuel was sent to anoint a king, he assumed the tallest and most impressive son would be chosen. God corrected him, showing that human appearance is not the measure of God’s choice. This passage shows the same pattern found in 1 Corinthians 1:28, where God passes over what looks strong to choose what the world overlooks.
James 2:5
Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?
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James reminds his readers that God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith. It widens the picture of God’s choosing, applying it to the way believers treat people of low status in their own community. It echoes Paul’s concern that the church not sort people by worldly rank.
A Short Prayer From 1 Corinthians 1:28
Lord, you chose what the world considers lowly and despised, and you did it so that no one could boast before you. I confess the ways I measure myself and others by standing, success and appearance. Forgive me for the pride that makes me look down on people, and for the shame that tells me I do not count. Help me to see people as you see them and to offer whatever I have to you, trusting that you can use what seems small. Amen.
