Christ Was
Made Our Wisdom
“…by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who
became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and
redemption.” -- 1 Corinthians
As the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”, Jesus Christ has, through the gift of the Grace of God (Ephesians 2:8) during this present Gospel Age, provided abundant blessings to all who come to him in full faith and dedication; presenting their “...bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, (which is) your spiritual service of worship” (Rom. 12:1). The Apostle Paul in our theme verse boldly states this dedication. He begins his first letter to the Corinthians by contrasting the wisdom of those who are new creatures in Christ Jesus with those who have worldly wisdom, identifying his readers with those who have become God’s children in Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 1:2, 23-25; see also Rom. 11:33-36).
Ours is a living, spiritual oneness
with -- and in -- Christ. Jesus has
said, “My kingdom is not of this world…”
(John 18:36). In this verse, Paul
addresses those who have already become new creatures in Christ Jesus. He had
just told them that, “…the base things of
the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He
might make void the things that are, that no man should boast before God” (1
Corinthians 1:28-29).
God’s Son, Jesus Christ, was sent by God
as, “...the propitiation for our sins;
and not for ours only, but also for (those of) the whole world” (1 John 2:2
NAS). Now through faith, one may accept
Jesus’ sacrifice as his ransom (1 Timothy 2:6). Paul states that Jesus, by His sacrifice,
becomes the God-directed wisdom for all who receive Him by faith. An interesting aspect of our theme verse is
the action that is indicated in the
Greek grammar. Because by use of the aorist tense for the verb translated, “is made,” or “become,” a once and for all
action has been accomplished. (See Jamieson, Fausset and Brown.) Jesus was the one and only ransom/sacrifice
for the world. He was “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of
the world,” once for all. Paul tells us here that His sacrifice has
thus provided for wisdom from above, once for all. During the present Gospel Age, this spiritual
wisdom is available for all who come to God by faith in Jesus Christ. It is the
wisdom that will be available for all of the world in
the Millennial Age (John 1:29; 1 Timothy 2:6; Hebrews
Following in Jesus’ footsteps now, in
union with him, makes possible that, “our
hearts may be encouraged, having been
knit together in love, and (attaining) to all the wealth that comes from the
full assurance of understanding, (resulting) in a true knowledge of God's
mystery, (that is), Christ (Himself) in whom are hidden all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3, NAS). We can come to say with the Master that God’s
“... wisdom is better than jewels; and
all things can not compare with her” (Proverbs
The full realization that we have been
brought into the righteousness of God in Christ is, perhaps, the first blessing
received as wisdom from above. The
certainty is that we have been made right with God by His grace by the
justification received through Jesus.
Justification (Strong’s #1347) is the act of God that frees one from
guilt or sin: “He made Him who knew no sin (to be) sin on our behalf that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor.
However, this only establishes our position and begins our new life in Christ Jesus.
We have been bought with a price -- the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of
God, our Savior. Our first steps have
been placed on the narrow path. Paul
speaks of more resulting for those in
Christ. Our path is one that is
dedicated to seeking and doing God’s will. Sanctification means being made
holy, purified or consecrated (Cf. Strong’s #37 and #38). Jesus himself prayed
to His Heavenly Father for His followers, "Sanctify
them in the truth; Thy word is truth. As
you did send me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that
they themselves also may be sanctified in truth” (John
Paul opened his letter to the Corinthians
-- and also to us -- who, “... have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling,
with all who in every place call upon the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, their (Lord) and ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2,). Jesus’ sanctification is the source of our
sanctification and is, as the blessings of wisdom and justification, a once
for all result of Jesus’
ransom sacrifice. Jesus was without blemish and His
resurrection proved His faithfulness in doing the will of God. For Jesus’ footstep followers, however, we
should remember that Jesus prayed for our sanctification (John
Justification and sanctification go together. In this present world, sanctification cannot be realized without justification. Interestingly enough, the grammatical construction in the Greek manuscript actually pairs the two words, making a unity of justification and sanctification. This particular construction then links, through Justification and Sanctification, the Wisdom established in the beginning of the verse with the Redemption or Deliverance that concludes the thought given in 1 Corinthians 1:30.
In other words, one might paraphrase the
thought of Paul’s statement in this verse by stating that for those in Christ Jesus, the grace of God has
made possible a righteousness in His sight so that we
may do and live the will of God. This
will result in the full deliverance of His children to the reality of His
Kingdom. Redemption (or deliverance) is
thus the conclusion of God’s plan. It is
the mystery of His will, that Christ was “...
given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of (God’s
own) possession, to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians
Herb Snyder
Naught of merit or of price remains to
justice due;
Jesus died, and paid it all, yes, all that I
did owe.
When He from His lofty throne stooped down to
do and die,
Everything was fully done; ‘Tis finished’ was His cry!
Jesus paid it all, all the debt I owed;
Jesus died and paid it all, Yes, all the debt I owed.
Hymns of Dawn