“That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Corinthians 1:31 Mean?
Paul quotes Jeremiah 9:24 and applies it to the Corinthian context: "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." The verse is the summary of Paul's argument against the Corinthians' boasting in human wisdom, eloquence, and status. If you're going to boast—and humans will boast—boast in the Lord. Make God the subject of your bragging, not yourself.
The Corinthian church was fractured by personality cults: some followed Paul, some Apollos, some Cephas, some Christ. The divisions were based on human preference and pride. Paul's response is to redirect all boasting toward the only legitimate object: God. You want to be proud? Be proud of what God has done. You want to brag? Brag about God's wisdom, power, and choice—not about which human teacher you follow.
The command doesn't eliminate boasting. It redirects it. Paul understands human nature well enough to know that people will glory in something. The question isn't whether you'll boast but what you'll boast about. The redirected boast—glorying in the Lord—transforms pride from a divisive vice into a unifying worship. When everyone boasts in the Lord, nobody boasts against each other.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What are you currently boasting about—even privately? Is it the Lord or something else?
- 2.If boasting in the Lord unifies while boasting in people divides, what divisions in your community could be healed by redirected boasting?
- 3.Paul doesn't eliminate pride—he redirects it. How do you redirect your natural tendency to promote yourself toward promoting God?
- 4.What would it look like to make God the subject of your bragging in everyday conversations?
Devotional
"He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." You're going to boast. Humans always do. The question isn't whether you'll be proud of something—it's what you'll be proud of. Paul doesn't eliminate boasting. He redirects it. Take the energy you've been putting into promoting yourself and aim it at God.
The Corinthians were bragging about their teachers, their spiritual gifts, their wisdom, their status. The church was a contest of egos, each faction promoting their favorite leader. Paul's solution isn't humility campaigns or self-deprecation workshops. It's redirection: if you must glory, glory in the Lord. Make God the subject of your boasting and every other division dissolves.
The genius of the redirect is that it unifies: when everyone boasts in the Lord, nobody boasts against each other. The Paul faction can't boast against the Apollos faction because both are boasting in the same God. The energy that was dividing the church—my teacher is better, my gift is greater—is channeled into a single direction that produces unity instead of competition.
What are you boasting about? Not publicly—privately. What do you take pride in? Your achievements? Your intelligence? Your spiritual growth? Your moral record? Your kids? Your taste? Paul's question isn't whether you should feel good about those things. It's whether they've become the subject of your glory. Only one subject is worthy of your boast. Everything else—however good, however legitimate—is a lesser glory being treated as ultimate. He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
That, according as it is written,.... Jer 9:23.
He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord; not in his own wisdom,…
As it is written - This is evidently a quotation made from Jer 9:23-24. It is not made literally; but the apostle has…
According as it is written - In Jer 9:23, Jer 9:24 : Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,…
We have here,
I. The manner in which Paul preached the gospel, and the cross of Christ: Not with the wisdom of words…
He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord The whole work of salvation is of God. The Corinthians, like many others…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture