Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification And Redemption Derived From Christ

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

(1 Corinthians 1:30)

Our text this morning is verse 30 of 1 Corinthians Chapter 1: And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

This is one of the most comprehensive texts in the Bible. It is a short, but full inventory of the invaluable blessings of the gospel; enough to make a poor sinner rich, and a miserable sinner happy. Richly blessed are those who possesses these---Would that they may be ours!

To Corinth, that great, populous, and wicked city, the Lord directed the steps of his faithful servant Paul, about the year 51. After being, in a great measure, rejected at Athens, he went to Corinth, where he found Aquila and Priscilla; worked with them at their trade of tent-making; and preached in the synagogue; but it was "in weakness and in fear and much trembling,"(1 Corinthians 2:3) on account of the unbelief of the Jews, who "opposed and reviled him:"(Acts 18:6) but his Divine Master graciously appeared to him, and encouraged him to go on, assuring him of safety and success. Thus strengthened, he continued there, and preached nearly two years; and he found that the Lord had, as he said, "many in that city who were his people."(Acts 18:10)

The inhabitants of Corinth were great admirers of human eloquence; but Paul didn't try to accommodate them in this; his constant subject was "Christ crucified;" and his manner of treating it was purposely plain: and, although such preaching was, by some, accounted "foolishness," its success, in the conversion of many, proved that it was "the wisdom of God, and the power of God;" and thus it was that the whole glory of salvation was secured to him: no flesh could have any pretense to glory in his presence; but all the blessings conveyed through this gospel to believers were from God, through Christ, even these four blessings: 1. True wisdom; 2. Perfect righteousness; 3. Gospel sanctification; and, 4. The final redemption of the body at the last day.

Let us speak of each of these briefly; and,

1. Of wisdom.

Wisdom is the power of judging rightly. It is more, and better than knowledge for it is the application of knowledge to practical purposes. Wisdom chooses the best objects, and then pursues the best means of obtaining them. A wise man disregards trifles, and sets before him something that is truly great and good. He then considers by what means he may be able to make that object his own.

With regard to the present world he judges health to be an invaluable blessing; he studies how to preserve, or to regain it. His worldly business, from which he derives his support, he keeps constantly in view, and studies daily how to promote it. If he has a family, he considers its maintenance, education, and peace, as great and important objects, and he labors uniformly to attain them. In all these things, and in a thousand more, "wisdom helps one to succeed;"(Ecclesiastes 10:10) and as Solomon says, "the wise person has his eyes in his head;"(Ecclesiastes 2:14) that is, ready to discover the dangers that should be avoided, and the advantages that should be improved.

All wisdom is from God; all the natural powers of perception and instinct in inferior creatures and especially all the superior powers of reason and judgment in men. It is he "who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens."(Job 35:11) And we see that these natural powers are capable of vast improvement by education and learning; and some men have become prodigies of science and wisdom.

But there is a peculiar kind of wisdom, far superior to every other, suited to man in his relation to God, and to his eternal destinies in a future state. This wisdom may be summed up in a word; it is Religion. We are fully warranted in asserting this, for God himself declares it, "the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding;"(Job 28:28) and the apostle Paul also writes of being "wise for salvation."(2 Timothy 3:15)

This is "the wisdom from above"(James 3:17)---Christ is "become to us wisdom."(1 Corinthians 1:30) He is the original source and fountain of wisdom. He is "Wisdom" itself (Proverbs 8:22-36) and in him "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3) so that, whatever true wisdom is found in the world, it is derived from him, even as the natural sun is the source of all the light of this world. Jesus is "the Sun of Righteousness"(Malachi 4:2)---"a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Israel."(Luke 2:32)

Accordingly, we find him, by his personal ministry, diffusing wonderful light throughout Judea and Galilee; declaring the nature and perfections of God his Father, explaining the spirituality and extent of his holy law, exposing the hidden depravity of the human heart, exhibiting the spiritual nature of his kingdom, and expressing the grand design of his coming, "to seek and save the lost,"(Luke 19:10) and to "give his life as a ransom for many,"(Mark 10:45) for captive sinners.

And when he ascended into heaven, he committed this work to the Holy Spirit, who, as "the Spirit of Christ,"(Romans 8:9) has ever since continued with the Church as its great and effectual teacher. What marvelous works were carried out on the day of Pentecost and how numerous were the early converts to Christianity! And from that period until now, he has resided on earth, accompanying the word of the gospel with divine energy. "The natural person," that is, every man by nature, "does not accept the things of the Spirit of God;" but, by his gracious help, "they are spiritually discerned,"(1 Corinthians 2:11) and believers learn "the mind of Christ."(1 Corinthians 2:16)

This is the true wisdom. Other kinds of wisdom have their value: they may be necessary for the comfort of human life; they may entertain and elevate the possessor; they may obtain wealth and fame: yet, after all, what do they amount to? "I have spent my life," said a great scholar on his dying bed, "I have spent my life in laborious trifling!"---and trifles indeed, trifles light as air, will all our pursuits prove, if "the one thing necessary"(Luke 10:42) is forgotten, or if "the great salvation"(Hebrews 2:3) is neglected. Compared with heavenly wisdom, all academic acheivement will be as a grain of sand to a mountain, or a drop of water to the ocean. If any man, then, desires this spiritual wisdom, let him ask it of the only wise God our Savior, and let him search for it daily, as for hidden treasure, in the Bible---God's holy book of true and heavenly wisdom.

II. Jesus Christ is made righteousness to us.

By righteousness, we understand perfect conformity to the will of God, as expressed in the law of the Ten Commandments. The meaning of the word is that which is full weight or measure, the standard being that holy law. That law requires perfect and supreme love to God, without any failure, in thought, word, or deed. And is there anyone righteous in this way? No; there is not a just person on earth; that is, one who does good, and does not sin.(Ecclesiastes 7:20)

Yet, without a perfect righteousness, no man can be justified---for to be justified, is to be declared righteous; and can the God of truth declare a man righteous, when he is unrighteous; that is, when he is a sinner? The fact is, "all have sinned,"(Romans 3:23) whether Gentiles or Jews: the former against the law of Nature; the latter against the revealed law of God. Every mouth, (that would plead excuse or merit) must be stopped, that all "the world may become guilty before God."(Romans 3:19) It follows, then, necessarily, that "by the deeds of the law," or what men usually call good works, "no flesh will be justified in his sight."(Romans 3:20) So the apostle Paul reasons in the second and third chapters of his epistle to the Romans.

But must we, then, despair? Yes; of making ourselves righteous; but not of becoming righteous by other means; for, according to our text, Christ has become to us righteousness. It is the principal design of the gospel to publish and proclaim the righteousness of Christ; that is, the perfect obedience of Christ to death, as the sole ground of our acceptance with God; which righteousness being imputed to the believer,(Romans 4:24) he is accounted and declared to be righteous; so that, having "passed out of death into life,"(1 John 3:14) "there is now no condemnation"(Romans 8:1) for him, for, "the law of the Spirit of life" (that is, the gospel) "has made him free from the law of sin and death."(Romans 8:2)

Thus David, in ancient times, described the blessedness of the man to whom God imputed righteousness without works, saying, "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin."(Romans 4:7-8)

But, do any object to this doctrine, and suppose that if our own goodness or works do not form the righteousness by which we are to be justified, we may therefore become careless about good works, and so make Christ "a servant of sin?"(Galatians 2:17)---let them pay attention to the third part of our discourse, which is to show that,

III. Jesus Christ is made sanctification to us.

By Sanctification, we mean the renewing of our nature in the image of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and through the mediation of Christ.

Sanctification differs from justification. Justification has to do with the state of man; sanctification has to do with his nature, his disposition, his conduct. A man may be tried in a human court for his life, and he may be acquitted and discharged; but if he suffers, at the same time, from mortal disease, he will die. The sphere of influence of a Judge and of a Physician are very different. Justification is the act of God as a Judge; Sanctification is the work of God the Spirit, as the great Physician of souls; and we find both these works united in Psalm 103---"Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases."(Psalm 103:3)

The sinner is charged with a breach of God's holy law; but when he is enabled to believe, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to him, and he is therefore acquitted and discharged; there is no longer any condemnation for him: but it is equally necessary that he be renewed and sanctified: for it is written, that without holiness no one will see the Lord.(Hebrews 12:14)

We have to be very careful to distinguish between justification and sanctification; without which, much confusion, and some dangerous mistakes, may arise. We may, therefore, notice another difference:---justification is perfect in this life:---not so our sanctification. When the perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, we are at once perfectly justified; but sanctification is a gradual work, and the remains of corruption are found even in the best of men. It is also to be observed, that our sanctification forms no part of our title to heaven; that title is founded only on the righteousness of Christ, by which we are justified; but in sanctification consists our fitness for heaven; and without it we would not be qualified to enjoy the pure pleasures, or engage in the sacred employments of that holy place.

Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit; it is begun by his power in our regeneration, whereby we become "a new creation;"(2 Corinthians 5:17) old things being done away, and all things becoming new.

By nature we are blind and foolish; by grace we are enlightened in the knowledge of Christ, and become wise for salvation. By nature the will is perverse and rebellious, opposed to the will of God, and hostile to him: by grace this rebellious disposition is subdued, and the believer cries, with converted Saul, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"(Acts 9:3 NKJV) By nature the affections of the soul are corrupted, and wholly carnal; fixed on worldly, fleshly, and sinful objects; but by grace they become spiritual; they are fixed on God and Christ; on holy and heavenly things; all of which is evidenced in its truth and power, by the correct, moral, holy, blameless, and useful conduct of the believer: the whole of this is summed up by the apostle Paul, in his prayer for the Thessalonians, "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."(1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Our text informs us how we may obtain this great benefit---the sanctification of our souls. We are told that Christ has become sanctification to us; and let us now consider how he is made such to us.

1. He is made sanctification to us, because he first relieves us, by his atoning sacrifice, from the guilt and defilement of sin, which must be taken away before we can be inwardly purified. "He has freed us from our sins by his blood;"(Revelation 1:5) and thus our justification comes before our sanctification.

2. It is by virtue of the intercession of Christ that we are sanctified. As it was the special design of Christ, in dying for us, that he might "purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works,"(Titus 2:14) so he ever lives, by his intercession, to bring this about. A delightful specimen of this is given us in the prayer which he offered for his apostles, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth: I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one;"(John 17:17, 15) and were it not for the powerful intercession of our great Advocate, our enemies would prevail, and sin would have dominion over us. Jesus prays, and therefore it is that our faith does not fail.

3. It is by the Word of Christ that we are sanctified. The doctrines, the precepts, the examples, the promises, and the threatenings of God's word, are the principal means of our sanctification. It is the gospel chiefly, not the law, which is the instrument of purifying the soul. The law is the rule of obedience, in connection with the New Testament, in which that original rule is amplified and its spirituality displayed; but the law alone will not make any man holy.

4. It is by virtue of union to Christ that we are sanctified. Christ is the head of the Church; his people are the members of his body, and it is by their union with him that they receive strength and grace for every duty. "From of his fullness," said the beloved disciple, "we have all received, grace upon grace;"(John 1:16)---grace in the believer, corresponding with the grace that was in him, our great example: and, thus also he teaches us to "abide in him,"(John 15:4) as the branches in the vine, for, separate from him, we can do nothing; but, united to him, each believer may say, as did the apostle Paul---"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."(Philippians 4:13)

5. Christ is made sanctification to us, as he is the only perfect pattern of holiness. Example is allowed to be the most effectual mode of instruction, and far more effective than precept alone. There is something powerfully persuasive in a good example; something that secretly prompts us to imitation. Now Jesus Christ was appointed for this purpose.

Angels would not have been perfect patterns, especially in that branch of sanctification which relates to the patient endurance of afflictions; but Jesus Christ is the perfect pattern, both of a cheerful activity, and of patient suffering; and he has "left us an example, so that we might follow in his steps."(1 Peter 2:21) In our Christian course, therefore, let us be constantly "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."(Hebrews 12:2) It is thus that the world is crucified to us, and we are crucified to the world;(Galatians 6:14) it is thus that "we are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another."(2 Corinthians 3:18)

6. To all those considerations we may add, "the love of Christ;"---which is, of all motives to holiness, the strongest and most effectual. It was this that animated the minds of the apostles to the utmost energy of action: it was that which fortified the hearts of the first Christians against all the terrors of persecution, and rendered them joyful and triumphant, even in the flames of martyrdom; for the love of Christ constrained them.

Would we then be holy? The way of holiness is plainly marked. We cannot obtain sanctification merely by means of our own endeavors, though these are to be diligently employed; but by looking at Jesus, and by being united to him, deriving constant virtue from him; that, according to the prophet, each of us may say, "Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength."(Isaiah 45:24)

Thus we see how Christ, is made sanctification to us; from him we derive it; but it is not so in him, that it is not also in us. Some deny that holiness is a personal thing, and affirm that we have no holiness but in Christ. But this is a great and dangerous mistake.

Holiness consists in a conformity to Christ; it is the renovation of our nature in the image of God. It is to "die to sin and live to righteousness."(1 Peter 2:24) It includes the mortification of sin(Romans 8:13) in our members. It includes "the fruit of the Spirit; as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."(Galatians 5:22-23) These are personal things; they are worked out in the hearts of believers, and produced in their characters and lives. It is absurd to say these are in Christ, and only imputed to us:---they are the effects of the Holy Spirit imparted to us, whose operations are compared by Christ himself to "a spring of water welling up to eternal life."(John 4:14)

IV. It now remains, in the last place, to show that Jesus Christ is made redemption to us.

The redemption here intended is not, likely, that of the soul, but that of the body. If Christ is made wisdom to us, we are delivered from the powers of darkness. If he is made righteousness to us, we are redeemed from the curse of the law; and if he is made sanctification to us, we are delivered from the dominion of sin. In these things consists the redemption of the soul. But the "redemption of the body" seems here to be intended; and this agrees with a passage in Romans where the apostle says, "The creation itself;" that is, the human body of the believer; "will be set free from its bondage to corruption;" namely, by the resurrection at the great day; then the whole man, body and soul, will enjoy "the freedom of the glory of the children of God;"(Romans 8:21) and for this, he observes, that redeemed believers, now burdened with pains and sorrows, "wait eagerly for adoption;"(Romans 8:23) that is, for the full "revealing of the sons of God,"(Romans 8:19) when they will be transformed, even in body, into his glorious likeness;---and this he calls "the redemption of our bodies."(Romans 8:23)

CONCLUSION.

Here then we see in what real religion (true Christianity) consists. Here are all the blessings necessary to our eternal salvation. Without these, without all of these, we perish. With these, we are safe and happy forever.

Do we see the need for wisdom, that we may be wise for salvation---of righteousness, that we may be justified?---of sanctification, that we may be holy in heart and life? And if we do see the need for all these things, do we know the only source from where they can be derived? Remember that Christ is made all these to us. He makes us wise: he constitutes us righteous; He makes us holy by the grace of his Holy Spirit.

Let us then seek all these from him by prayer; let us receive all these from him by faith. Then may we also expect the crowning blessing,---the redemption of the body. Our souls being admitted to glory immediately after death, our bodies will rest in their graves until the resurrection; and then, joyful and blessed day! both body and soul will be made completely happy in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity!

Finally. Let us take care to give to God all the glory due to him for these great and inestimable blessings. This is the principal design of the whole passage before us, as it is expressed in the verse after our text: "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."(1 Corinthians 1:31) Not in himself; as man, proud man, is prone to do; but, as all these are the free gifts of God, bestowed upon the unworthy, let him say,

"Not to me, O Lord, not to me, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness."(Psalms 115:1)