so that no one may boast in His presence.
Parallel translations
- WEB that no flesh should boast before God.
- KJV That no flesh should glory in his presence.
- NKJV that no flesh should glory in His presence.
- NASB so that no human may boast before God.
- NLT As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God's purpose in all this is that no human being may boast before Him. Salvation by grace removes every ground for pride.
Overview
Paul states the goal of God's choosing the lowly: to silence all human boasting in His presence. Since salvation rests entirely on God's grace and not human merit, no one can claim credit. This humbling truth is meant to redirect the divided, proud Corinthians toward glorying in God alone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Rom 3:27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith.
- Eph 2:9not by works, so that no one can boast.
- Jer 9:23This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- 1 Cor 1:31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
- 1 Cor 4:7For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
- Rom 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
- Rom 15:17Therefore I exult in Christ Jesus in my service to God.
- 1 Cor 5:6Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?
- Isa 10:15Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!
- Rom 4:2If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God.
- Ps 49:6They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 1:29 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.