Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

For you see your calling, brethren, that not
many wise according to the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, are called. 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; 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, that no flesh should glory in His
presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus,
who became for us wisdom from God -- and
righteousness and sanctification and
redemption -- that, as it is written, “He who
glories, let him glory in the Lord”
(1Co. 1:26-31).
God’s people glory in Him, not in themselves. Their witness to others should never
point to themselves, but to God and to His perfection, who alone is worthy of praise and
worship. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power
may be of God and not of us” (2Co. 4:7). God alone is sovereign over all, and His own
are called to obediently and proactively engage in Missio Dei -- God’s redeeming mission
to the world. Yet, it is always and only God who saves, not man. Redeemed, justified,
and filled with the Spirit, God’s people endeavour, with His help, to be as He is. Yet, at
our best, we are mere reflections of His inestimable glory -- even as the moon reflects the
power and magnificence of the sun.
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be
sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace
that is to be brought to you at the revelation of
Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not
conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as
in your ignorance; but as He who called you is
holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy”
(1Pe. 1:13-16; cf., Exo. 19:6; Lev. 19:2).
The world wants the church to be as it is, because the world does not want to change
(cf., 2Pe. 2:22). At the root of this is the spirit of the anti-Christ at work, denying in many
subversive ways, God’s rightful place in all things. The humanists do not want people to
124
University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa