October, 2003

“But, ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’”
II Cor. 10:17

Paul devoted half of this chapter talking about one common flaw of men—boasting. It seemed that the church of Corinth continued to have this unresolved issue because Paul mentioned the same message to them more than once. The first mentioning was in I Cor. 1:31. The context was a little different. In that verse, the emphasis was that no one could boast of his salvation. No one can “out-smart” God, who chose the seemingly foolish cross to reveal His infinite wisdom and power. Who would have thought of the humiliating cross as a tool of Salvation? Christ, therefore, has become for us wisdom. From Him, we graciously received our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Since these are given by the grace of God, what can we boast about? Absolutely nothing! Therefore, if there were to be boasting, let him who boasts boast in the Lord.

It might be true that no Christian could boast about being saved. All of them know within their hearts that Salvation belongs to the Lord, and that there is nothing they can do that will contribute to them being saved. But similarly to the believers in the church of Corinth , Christians boast about everything else, especially being holier than others.

This brings us to this verse in II Corinthians 10:17. The context allows us to see that boasting is a way to compare ourselves to others. It has to do with the pride of our achievements because boasting has to do with self-promoting. Make no mistake about it: Paul wasn’t trying to commend himself to the church of Corinth . He wanted to silently work for the Lord in places where no one had plowed the field before. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to share the glory; it was that he didn’t want people to compare “his” work with others. He thoroughly realized that all he did wasn’t his achievement. It was all God’s. To him, boasting is illegitimate, whether it be of one’s own accomplishments or status.

For Christians, only “boasting in the Lord” is legitimate. What it means is that we “boast” of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us, or through us, or can do through us. There is only a “fine-line” difference between drawing people to admire us and causing people to adore Christ. Are you bridging people to God? You can say a lot of things about God, and all those things could be doctrinally sound, but can people around you see God? Boasting is not needed for that!

---