1 Corinthians 1:30

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus who is made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord

In Christ Jesus ... In Christ alone is there salvation; and in Christ the saved possess all things. Behold here the only true ground of justification in the eyes of God. Jesus is perfect, holy, undefiled, righteous in the superlative degree. In Christ and as Christ and as fully identified with him, it is true also that Christians are holy, righteous, etc. It is not their righteousness, of course, in the sense that they achieved it; but it is theirs in the sense that Christ achieved it and they "are Christ," being members of his spiritual body. Satan, death and hell have no claim on the one who is "in Christ." Why? Because what is true of the head is true of the entire body; and our head, which is Christ, having paid the penalty of death for sin, the whole spiritual body (the church) has likewise paid it in the person of Christ. That is what is meant by being dead to sin by the body of Christ (Romans 6:11).

There are four things mentioned by Paul in this passage which belong to the Christian by virtue of his being "in Christ."

Wisdom of God. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). The person "in Christ," by reason of having believed and having been baptized "into Christ" is thus identified with Christ, being a part of his spiritual body; and thus, as Christ he has become the possessor of the wisdom of God.

Righteousness. All that has been said of wisdom in the above paragraph pertains with equal force to righteousness, which may be acquired by the believer in no other way except through being baptized into Christ. The notion that "this righteousness is forensic,"[24] that is, an imputed righteousness, bestowed on the grounds of faith alone, is incorrect. It is not an imputed, forensic, bestowed righteousness in any sense whatever. It is a pure, perfect, genuine, and ACTUAL righteousness performed and achieved by Jesus Christ our Lord; and when the believer becomes a part of the Lord's spiritual body, that true righteousness belongs to him as being "in Christ," "of Christ," and in fact part of the spiritual body which "is Christ." And when does one become a part of that spiritual body which is Christ? "In one Spirit were we all baptized into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:13), as Paul declared a little later in this same epistle.

Sanctification. The person who is "in Christ" is sanctified, set apart for spiritual service, and through spiritual growth endowed with whatever may be needed for development in the Christian life.

Redemption. Significantly, the salvation of the soul is a reality only for those "in Christ." Although Paul gave only an abbreviated list of four blessings in this verse, as resulting from the believer's being "in Christ," it must be construed as merely a token list, despite the all-importance of the four. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul stated that "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" is "in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). It is not fair to leave this brief discussion of the salvation (inclusive of all spiritual blessings) which is "in Christ," without pointing out for those who truly desire to know the truth that in all the Holy Scriptures there is no other way revealed by which a believer might acquire the status of being "in Christ," except through being baptized "into him" (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27; 1 Corinthians 12:13). Could there be any wonder, therefore, that Jesus himself said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).

He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord ... In this concluding sentence in the paragraph, Paul quoted Jeremiah 9:23, where the meaning is that people should glory in God; and, by his application of this text to Jesus Christ, he testified to the deity and godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ. As Morris said, "No higher view could be taken of the Person of Christ."[25]

[24] S. Lewis Johnson, Jr., op. cit., p. 593.

[25] Leon Morris, op. cit., p. 51.