For (Good News Bible “Now”) is omitted by some common language translations. Barrett expands the sentence somewhat: “You can see what I mean, brothers, by looking at your calling as Christians.” The English “Now,” especially at the beginning of a sentence, often indicates the beginning of a new stage in a story or argument, as it does in this verse. This may be shown by simply opening a new paragraph.
Consider can be literally “look at” (imperative) or “you look at” (indicative), with little difference of meaning. Most translations agree with Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible in choosing the imperative. Good News Bible uses the word “remember” because, as the context shows, Paul is asking his readers figuratively to look at the past event of their being called to be Christians. Consider may also be expressed as “bring to mind” or “think about.”
Your call probably means “the circumstances in which you were called” or “what you were like when God called you to follow Christ.” One may also say “Please remember what kind of people you were before God called you” or “… when God called you to follow Christ.”
On brethren, see the comments on verses 1 and 10. Good News Bible adds “my” as in verse 10.
According to worldly standards is literally “according to (the) flesh.” This phrase has the same meaning as “of the world,” repeated three times in verses 27-28, and translated there by Good News Bible as “what the world thinks” or “considers.” In some parts of Paul’s letters, the word for “flesh” means “sinful human nature,” but in this passage sin is not specially emphasized. The same is true of the word for “world,” used in verses 27-28 with the meanings “human beings” or “human society.” Men and women are included in both expressions.
There is a question whether according to worldly standards refers only to wise, as the structure of verse 26 in Greek seems to suggest, or whether it refers also to powerful and of noble birth. Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and Revised English Bible prefer the first construction; Good News Bible and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente prefer the second. The main difficulty with Good News Bible is that “from the human point of view” adds nothing to the meaning of “high social standing.” It is probably better, then, to follow Revised Standard Version. One could say, for example, “Few of you were wise from the human point of view. Not many of you were powerful or highly born,” or “Few of you were wise as humans consider wisdom; not many of you were….”
Of noble birth is literally “well-born” or “from a good family.” Paul writes for a society in which social standing was determined more by birth than by wealth.
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .