Verses 1-3
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God selected us to be saints! We don't become saints by our works. Christ, by His death on the cross, made us sacred, pure, and blameless in God's sight (Colossians 1:21-22).
Verses 4-9
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Verses 4-7. The knowledge, spiritual gifts, and abilities that we have are an effect of God's grace in our lives. Everything we are, as believers, is due to God's grace.
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When it comes to spiritual gifts/abilities, God uses them to give evidence to the truth of the gospel.
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Understand that God decides how much grace He gives (James 4:6), and He chooses what spiritual gifts to give (1 Corinthians 12:11).
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God will increase His grace in your life as your faith and maturity increase (Romans 5:2). So, as you grow, your gifts will become more evident.
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As such, don't focus on gifts; focus on being more obedient to the Word.
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Verse 8. God is faithful to do His part to keep us strong until the end—until Jesus returns or until we die (whatever comes first).
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Remember that because God sees us as blameless—saints in Christ—He desires that we live blamelessly. Don't settle for any sin in your life. Repent of all sin! God is always faithful to help you repent.
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Verse 9. We've been called into a true relationship with God and with Christ (John 17:3).
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Always keep your focus on relationship with God—seeking Him out of the longing to know and love Him—as this is the point of eternal life.
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Verses 10-16
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As believers, we should be fully agreed in our doctrine—what we teach and what we understand. We should not be divided.
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When you encounter disagreement with fellow believers, don't agree to disagree. Do your best to come to agreement.
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Our faith also should not be identified by any other name than the name of Jesus. Denominations exist, but they are not biblical.
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Do not say that you are Lutheran, Methodist, Calvinist—taking on denominations or names of men to identify or categorize your faith. You are Christian—you follow Jesus Christ and the Word of God. Keep your faith simple, and follow the Word only!
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Verse 17
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Baptism is a work that's included in the gospel, but it is not the focus of the gospel nor of salvation.
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Don't emphasize a certain form of baptism. Emphasize repentance from sin and belief in Jesus Christ.
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Focus your preaching on the gospel, but don't make your preaching all about sounding eloquent or intelligent, otherwise your message will be totally ineffective. Keep your gospel simple and clear.
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It's worthless to rely on your logic or intellect to persuade people.
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Verses 18-25
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God's message—the gospel of Christ—is supposed to appear foolish or unintelligent to those who trust in their own intellect.
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Verse 21a. The human intellect is corrupted by sin (1 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:7-8), and as a result it has driven the world further away from God, not closer to Him.
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The gospel is to be simple and appear foolish so that those who trust in human wisdom will not be saved, but the humble will be saved.
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A person who does not humble themselves cannot receive the gospel. That's why Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
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Believe the Word like a child would, accepting the truth no matter how foolish it might seem.
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Verses 26-31
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The above truth is evident in the multitude of people that are saved. Most people who are saved are humble and lowly, while most highly educated and powerful people are not.
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This is so that no saved person can say that they were saved by their own intelligence or power, but only by the power of God.
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God grants salvation only to the humble because He will not share His glory with another; and someone who isn't humble will not want to give glory to God, but to take it to himself.
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Make sure that you stay humble. Don't ever think that you are wise. God has saved you by His power only, and you can't take any credit for it; so give Him all glory!