What does “Until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him” mean?

Question

I came across the following passage in Dan Brown’s fiction, “Inferno”: > [...] their physical being and cosmic importance shrinking to the size of a mere speck in the face of God … an atom in the hands of the Creator. > **Until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him**. Martin Luther had spoken those words in the sixteenth century, but the concept had been part of the mind-set of builders since the earliest examples of religious architecture. _{p. 52} I’m not clear with the meaning of “Until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him.” Does it mean until a man recognizes himself as a being no more than nothing, God cannot help him? Would you put this line in plain English so that I can understand the gist of the quote?

Answer 1

In my interpretation, it's just the opposite of yours. I might agree if the quote had been "Until a man is nothing, God can make something out of him." but how I see the original meaning is that man has inherent worth and until that is completely gone, God can still make use of him.