1 Corinthians 1:30 - Exposition

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus. Ye do not belong to the wise and noble. Your strength will consist in acknowledged weakness; for it is solely derived from your fellowship with God by your unity with Christ. Who was made unto us, etc. These words rather mean, "Who was made unto us wisdom from God—both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.'' The text is a singularly full statement of the whole result of the work of Christ. as the source of "all spiritual blessings in things heavenly" ( Ephesians 1:3 ), in whom we are complete ( Colossians 2:10 ). Righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 5:21 ). "Jehovah-tsidkenu—the Lord our Righteousness" ( Jeremiah 23:1-40 . 5). This is the theme of Romans 3:7 . Sanctification (see especially 1 Corinthians 6:11 and Ephesians 5:25 , Ephesians 5:26 ). Redemption . One of the four main metaphors by which the atonement is described is this of ransom ( λύτρον ἀπολύτρωσις ) . The meaning and nature of the act, as regards God, lie in regions above our comprehension; so that all speculations as to the person to whom the ransom was paid, and the reason why it was indispensable, have only led to centuries of mistaken theology. But the meaning and nature of it, as regards man , is our deliverance from bondage, and the payment of the debt which we had incurred ( Titus 2:14 ; 1 Peter 1:18 ; Matthew 20:28 ; Romans 8:21-23 ). In all these cases, as Stanley well observes, the words have a double meaning—both of an inward act and of an outward result.