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WHAT CHRIST IS MADE UNTO US
"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:" I Corinthians 1:30
It has been said that this scripture addresses all of man's basic spiritual needs. Surely it includes much of Paul's revelation to the Church. This scripture is an excellent doorway into an understanding of "who we are in Christ". We have divided it into 5 segments:
1] "But of Him are; you in Christ Jesus,..."
2] "...who of God is made unto us wisdom,..."
3] "...who of God is made unto us ...righteousness,"
In each segment there will be a brief teaching, by defining what is meant by that particular phrase, followed by various translations and a confession. After this, supportive scriptures dealing with that particular segment are presented in various translations, with a confession following. This type of thorough investigation will enable us to enter into a deeper understanding of "who we are, and what we have in Christ Jesus".
We must become conscious of these great truths so that we will be able to respond to any situation or circumstance as one who is in Christ. We develop this consciousness by confessing, proclaiming, affirming these facts about who we are, daily.
PHILEMON 6: That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the ACKNOWLEDGING of every good thing which is in you in Christ.
Webster's Dictionary says to acknowledge means - "to admit as true, to recognize the authority or claims of, to respond to, to express thanks for, to state that one has received."
As we meditate, ponder, utter to ourselves these great facts about what Jesus has been made unto us, and confess, acknowledge and affirm with our lips these great realities, the Holy Spirit will bring to us a consciousness of them in our daily experience. It is especially important that you speak the Scriptures and confessions OUT LOUD. Christian Meditation is not reading nor thinking on the Word, it is rather speaking and feeding upon the Word. Jesus told us his words are "Spirit and life". They are designed to penetrate and bring nourishment to your spirit. Therefore, when you speak the scriptures and confessions, become conscious that you are planting the Word within. Speak it from your heart.
"But of Him are you in Christ Jesus,..."
The Christian is in Christ Jesus. This is the mighty phrase which Paul uses to denote our relationship with Christ. But, before we examine that, we must see how we have entered this union with Christ.
It is God the Father who put us into this relationship. It is "of" Him that we find ourselves in Christ. "Of" is a key word in our scripture. Webster's Dictionary defines "of" as - "from; specifically a. coming from <men of Ohio> b. resulting from <to die of fever> c. by <the Poems of Poe>." Different translations of 1 COR. 1:30 imply all three of these meanings:
a. [FENTON] But from him you exist in Christ Jesus,...
b. [NAS] But by his doing you are in Christ Jesus,..
c. [ADAMS] By Him you are something in Christ Jesus,..
Therefore, we can see that it is all the work of God that we find ourselves in Christ.
The truths of 1 COR 1:30 can never be attained to in human strength. Pure "wisdom" has never come to the sinner, our "righteousness" is as filthy rags, self-motivated "sanctification" only ends in pride, and those who strive for "redemption" only end up in more . It is only in Christ that we are "blessed with all spiritual blessings..." [EPH.1:3].
Finally, we must understand the significance of the phrase "in Christ". A.J. Gordon illustrates the importance of this marvelous phrase:
No words of Scripture, if we except those, "God manifest in the flesh," hold within themselves a deeper mystery than this simple formula of the Christian life, "in Christ." ....Yet, great as is the mystery of these words, they are the key to the whole system of doctrinal mysteries. Like the famous Rosetta stone, itself a partial hieroglyph, and thereby furnishing the long sought clue to the Egyptian hieroglyphics, these words, by their very mystery, unlock all the mysteries of the divine life, letting us into secrets that were hidden from ages and from generations.
"In Christ" is not just a technical theological term, speaking of just our position in the mind of God, nor is it simply a superficial title for Christians, as, 'brother in Christ'. Though these ideas are included, the true meaning lies deep within the heart of Christian experience. The word "in" speaks of our relationship to Christ; we are in His being, in His person, in His sphere of power and influence. James Stewart defined it this way:
Here then, is the key to the phrase "in Christ". Christ is the redeemed man's new environment, He has been lifted out of the cramping restrictions of his earthly lot into a totally different sphere, the sphere of Christ. He has been transplanted into a new soil and a new climate, and both soil and climate are Christ. His spirit is breathing a nobler element. He is moving on a loftier plane.
We are talking of an actual union of your spirit with Christ, as a branch is joined unto a vine [John 15:5]. Just as a branch shares the sap of the vine, so we share the very life and nature of Jesus Christ by virtue of this union. Our spirit has been literally, actually joined to Jesus, never to be severed.
I CORINTHIANS 1:30 But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus,...
[RSV] He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus,...
[NAS] But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus,...
[WUEST] But as for you, out from Him as a source are you in Christ Jesus,...
[A.S. WAY] And so, not from man, but from God do you draw your life in Messiah Jesus,...
[WADE] It is from Him that you--you, I say - derive your spiritual Life through union with Christ Jesus,...
[JOHNSON] But God himself has placed you in a relationship with Christ...
[ADAMS] By Him you are something in Christ Jesus...
[FENTON] But from Him you exist in Christ Jesus,...
[SIMPLE ENGLISH] But because of God, you are now in Christ Jesus,...
[KLEIST & LILLY] From Him comes your union in Christ Jesus,...
[BAXTER] But it is by His Power and Work that you are made Christians, united to Christ,...
Of God am I in Christ Jesus, He is the source of my life in Christ. I am in Christ because of God's power and work, not from anything I have done. I am in union with Christ and it is all God's doing. He has made me something in Jesus. It's not from man but from God that I derive my spiritual life in union with Jesus. I owe it all to God that I exist in Christ Jesus. He is responsible for my relationship with Jesus. I thank you Father, for placing me in union with your Son, Jesus Christ.
JOHN 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
[WUEST] As for myself, I am the vine. As for you, you are the branches. He who maintains a living communion with me and I with him, this one is bearing much fruit, because apart from me you are not able to be doing anything.
[PHILLIPS] ...it is the man who shares my life and whose life I share who proves fruitful...
[WILLIAMS] ...Whoever remains in union with me and I in union with him will bear abundant fruit, because you cannot do anything cut off from union with me.
[KLEIST & LILLY] ...One bears abundant fruit only when he and I are mutually united; severed from me, you can do nothing.
[AMPLIFIED] ...however, apart from Me -- cut off from vital union with Me --you can do nothing.
[KNOX] ...separated from me, you have no power to do anything.Jesus is the vine, and I am the branch. In the same way that a branch is connected to a vine, so I am connected to Jesus. I am abiding in Him and He is abiding in me. I am maintaining a living communion with Jesus Christ because we are connected in the same way as a branch is to a vine. I remain in union with Jesus and He remains in union with me; therefore, my life is fruitful. I share the life of Jesus, just as a branch shares the sap of a vine, and Jesus, the vine, produces His fruit through me. Christ and I are mutually united and severed from Him I can do nothing. Apart from Jesus I have no power to do anything. I praise you Father, for you have put me in vital union with Jesus, Your Son, in the same way a branch is in union with a vine.
1 CORINTHIANS 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
[WILLIAMS] But the man who is in union with the Lord is spiritually one with Him.
[CONYBEARE] But he who joins himself to Christ, becomes one with Christ in spirit.
[BARCLAY] But, if a man joins himself to the Lord, he becomes spiritually one with Him.
[BYINGTON] But he who has a connection with the Lord is one spirit.
[LIVING] But if you give yourself to the Lord, you and Christ are joined together as one person.
I am joined unto the Lord, therefore, Jesus and I form a single spirit. I am in union with the Lord; we are spiritually one. My spirit has become one with Christ's spirit; we are spiritually one. The Word of God declares that I am in union with the Master. Because that is so, I am one with Him in my spirit. I have a connection with the Lord. My spirit is literally connected to the Lord! I thank you Father, that you have enabled me to give myself to the Lord and because of this, Christ and I are joined together as one person.
GALATIANS 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
[GOOD NEWS] you were baptized into union with Christ, and so have taken upon ourselves the qualities of Christ himself.
[WAND] for all who have been baptized into Christ have clothed themselves with His life and character.
[BARCLAY] for all those who have become one with Christ through baptism are, as it were, clothed with the life of Christ.
[A.S. WAY] Yes, all of you have by baptism passed into union with Messiah, have clothed yourselves with Messiah's personality.
[GREBER] for by baptism you have become spiritually merged with Christ, and his spiritual garment envelopes you.
[ROTHERHAM] For ye, as many as into Christ have been immersed, have put Christ on.
[WUEST] For as many as were introduced into union with Christ,...
[SIMPLE ENGLISH] You were immersed into Christ,...
I have been baptized into Christ, therefore, I have put on Christ. I was baptized [or submerged] into union with Christ, and so have taken upon myself the qualities of Christ himself. I have become one with Christ through this immersion into His being, so much so, that I am clothed with His life. I have, by this immersion into Christ, been placed into union with Him. When I was immersed into Christ I was spiritually merged with Him. His spiritual garments, His character, His life, His personality, His qualities and His very being have enveloped me. Thank you Father, for baptizing me, immersing me into all that Christ Jesus is. I am literally IN CHRIST.
"...who of God is made unto us wisdom,..."
Here we are about to embark upon one of the most needed elements in the Christian life: the Wisdom of God! We find that the Apostle Paul prayed "that we might be filled with a spirit of wisdom..." [EPH. 1:17] and again, "that we might be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom..." [COL 1:9]. We recall King Solomon of the Old Testament, how we prayed that God would give him wisdom to lead the Nation of Israel. God answered his prayer, making him the greatest political ruler the earth has ever seen. So, wisdom is essential, but it is just as essential to understand how it is ours. It is here that we must investigate the mysterious phrase, speaking of Christ Jesus, "...who of God is made unto us...".
Certainly the pre-incarnate Christ, in the form of "The Word", was full of God's Wisdom. For John, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declares: "and the Word was God" [John 1:1]. So how is it that Jesus was "made" the wisdom of God for us? Was there any time that he was not the full expression of God's wisdom? We must answer that with a resounding YES. There was a time when the very Christ of God was cut off from God, and thus, the Wisdom of God.
We find over and over again, in the New and Old Testaments, that Christ became the sin substitute; He became what we were in our sinful condition. Because of our sinfulness, we were under God's curse pronounced in the Law [Duet. 28:15-68]. One of the outstanding dilemmas of the curse pronounced in the Law was confusion and insanity. The entire dreadful picture is that of a people without direction and guidance.
GALATIANS 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
[NEW ENGLISH] Christ bought us freedom from the curse of the law by becoming for our sake an accursed thing,...
[DEAF N.T.] The law put a curse on us. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us. Christ put Himself under that curse...
Christ took that curse upon Himself and became "an accursed thing". He literally changed places with us when He was on the cross. Then three days later, in the mighty resurrection of our Lord, Jesus was restored to His position of Glory and Honor. It was here that He was "made" unto us, or for us, or on our behalf, the Wisdom of God. The purpose of the exchange was to come into union with us and then redeem us out from the the curse placed us under. Part of which was the lack of God's Wisdom and Guidance.
When we speak of Wisdom in the New Testament sense we mean more than just intellectual insight. Let's examine a few definitions:
[WEBSTER] Wisdom has been defined to be "the use of the best means for attaining the best ends," and in this sense implies the union of high mental and moral excellence.
[BARCLAY] Sophia {the Greek word for wisdom] is generally translated wisdom; but the wisdom it describes is that sophia is ultimate things... The commonest definition is that sophia is 'the knowledge of things both human and divine and of their causes' [Clement of Alexandria]....it is this wisdom which can see and understand the ultimate and the infinite things...
Since Christ has been "made unto us wisdom", this can only mean that God has given us, through our union with Christ, the ability or capacity to 'use the best means for attaining the best ends,' and the capability of 'knowing the things both human and divine and their causes'.
I CORINTHIANS 1:30 But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdom,...
[PHILLIPS]... and He has become for us the true wisdom,...
[BASIC ENGLISH] ... through whom God has given us wisdom,...
[LAUBACH] ... God gave us Christ to be our wisdom...
[STREET CHRISTIANS] ... and it's through our living connection with Him that we are truly wise,...
[CRESSMAN] ... Christ came from God and made us wise...
[DISTILLED] and deposited in your very beings the treasures of time and eternity.
[AUTHENTIC] ... who was begotten to be wisdom to us from God...
[PARKER] ... and He supplies to you all the wisdom you need,...
Thank you Father, for putting me into union with Christ and making Him to be Wisdom to me. I have true wisdom through my Lord Jesus Christ. God gave me Christ to be my wisdom. It is through my living connection with Him that I am truly wise. I thank You, and praise You Jesus, for You came from God and made me wise. You have deposited in my very being all the treasures of time and eternity. Because Christ was begotten to be wisdom to me from God, He supplies to me all the wisdom I need.
EPHESIANS 1:8 Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
[BECK] He poured out the riches of His love on us, giving us every kind of wisdom and understanding.
[CRESSMAN] He has given us blessing after blessing. He has made us very wise and able to understand things.
[BARCLAY] This grace He gave us in superabundance to equip us with all wisdom and with all insight.
[A.S. WAY] The grace which He made to overflow unto us, in outpourings of manifold wisdom and discernment.
[KLEIST & LILLY] With this grace He has inundated us, by imparting to us all manner of wisdom and practical knowledge.
[MacEVILLY] Which grace has been plenteously bestowed upon us in all knowledge regarding the truths of faith, and in the knowledge of our practical duties,...* Note: "Sophia" is the first word translated wisdom, meaning - the wisdom of the things of eternity, ultimate wisdom. "Phronesis" is the second word translated prudence, insight or discernment, it means - the wisdom of things in time and space; practical wisdom or common sense.
God has abounded toward me in all wisdom and prudence. He has poured out the riches of His love upon me, giving me every kind of wisdom and understanding. I have received blessing after blessing. God has make me wise in the things of eternity and has given me the ability to understand the things of time and space. I am equipped in superabundance with "sophia", the wisdom of ultimate things and "phronesis", practical wisdom and common sense. Thank you Lord, for Your grace which has overflowed to me in out-pourings of your manifold wisdom, discernment, insight, and practical knowledge. I have received plenteously all manner of wisdom; especially regarding the truths of the faith, and the knowledge of my practical duties and every day affairs. In Christ I have common sense.
COLOSSIANS 2:3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
[LIVING] In Him lie hidden all the mighty, untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
[20TH CENTURY] For all of God's treasures of wisdom and knowledge are to be found stored up in Christ.
[A.S. WAY] For in Him is all the hid treasure of divine wisdom and spiritual illumination.
[AMPLIFIED] In Him all the treasures of [divine] wisdom, [of comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God], and [all the riches of spiritual] knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden.
[PHILLIPS] For it is in Him, and in Him alone, that men will find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
[GOOD NEWS] He is the key that opens all the hidden treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge.
I am in Christ and in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am in the One with all the mighty, untapped treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Stored up in Christ are all God's treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and I live in the storehouse, God has put me there. In Christ are all these treasures and Christ is in me. So I have residing in me God's treasures of divine wisdom and spiritual illumination. In Him alone, have I found these magnificent treasures. I have divine wisdom. I have comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God. I have spiritual knowledge and enlightenment. Christ is the key that unlocks these hidden treasures for me. I am in Christ and Christ is in me.
PROVERBS 2:6-7 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: He is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
[AMPLIFIED] For the Lord gives skillful and Godly wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He hides away sound and Godly Wisdom and stores it up for the righteous - those who are upright and in right standing with Him...
[LIVING] For the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding.
[NEW ENGLISH] ...Out of his store he endows the upright with ability...
The Lord is the Giver of Wisdom. His Word imparts knowledge and understanding. He has made me righteous [see next study] and has layed up for me sound wisdom. The Lord gives to me skillful and Godly wisdom. Because He has placed me in right standing with Himself, He hides away and stores up for me sound and Godly wisdom. He has opened His Word up to me and there I have found a treasure of knowledge and understanding. God grants to me good sense and His ability. Thank you Father God, for being the giver of wisdom. Thank You for making Christ to be wisdom unto me.
"...who of God is made unto us...righteousness,..."
Here we are to enter upon the commonly misunderstood and misapplied topic: our righteousness. The Scripture places heavy emphasis on the understanding of this very truth. So much of our Christian experience hinges upon the reception of God's righteousness into our lives. It is a terrible injustice to the Work of Jesus Christ and His blood bought Church, that even some of our most Evangelical ministers have used this truth as a stick to beat the Christian into submission. We have been told that the righteous person is that saint who has set his life in order, has accumulated a long list of good works, and successfully conquers every temptation and trial thrown his way. Too often we focus our attention upon righteous actions or a righteous lifestyle rather than the reception of a righteous nature. Certainly these are the eventual products of a person becoming righteous before God, but initially a person's conduct and lifestyle are anything but righteous when they become a Christian. It is focusing upon our right standing with God and our new righteous nature that brings our conduct and lifestyle into line.
Therefore, we must get the Bible definition of our word righteousness. First we must understand that the King James Version uses the words justification, righteousness, justify, declare righteous, just and righteous to translate the same Greek word ["dikaiosunee'] in it's various forms. Secondly we must see the two-fold usage of the word. First there is the negative sense, in the use of the words justification or justify, declare one to be righteous:
[THAYER] To declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous, or such as he ought to be,... with the negative idea predominant, to declare guiltless one accused or who may be accused, acquit of a charge or reproach.
[WUEST] Justification in the Bible sense therefore, is the act of God removing from the believing sinner his guilt and the penalty incurred by that guilt,...
In the mind of God every person on the face of the earth has already been justified or acquitted of his guilt. The death of Christ was the removal of that horrible sin penalty, which no sinful man could pay. This He did for all men, but they must receive this acquittal and it's effects by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to make it personal.
The other aspect of this word is it's use in the positive sense: we are righteous or have received the righteousness of God.
[THAYER] ... the state of him who is such as he ought to be, righteousness; the condition acceptable to God....
[WEBSTER] The quality of being righteous... The state of being right with God:...
In this aspect we are talking about being acceptable in the eyes of God. It is in the passive sense. This is not something we or God has to do, it is something that we are; it is a condition that God has already created within the spirit of the believer. We possess, as Christians, a righteous nature; we are the righteousness of God in Christ. This is speaking of the spirit of the believer. In our spirit we have this righteous nature, in other words, we are right with God. He accepts us and is pleased with us spiritually. It is this inward reality that will transform our entire outward experience.
Finally, we must realize that God was the one responsible for this new condition; it was nothing we did! Christ has been "made" unto us righteousness. When Jesus hung on the cross He took within Himself everything that stood between God and us, everything that we needed to be acquitted of. The Apostle put it bluntly, "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." [II COR 5:21]. Jesus literally became our sin. He entered into our sinfulness so that we could enter into His goodness. We have literally become the righteousness of God. He joined with us on the cross to such a degree that God could credit what He did to our account. In those three days and nights Jesus was "...wiping out the debit balance of our transgressions and setting His reconciliation to the credit of our account." [II Cor. 5:19 Wand]. Our sins are not an issue with God any longer! God has also made us acceptable in His sight and given us a righteous nature through Jesus Christ. When we become a Christian, we come into union with Jesus. What He is flows into us and all that He is, is righteous. We are "made" the righteousness of God in Christ.
I CORINTHIANS 1:30 But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us... righteousness,...
[SHUTTLEWORTH] ... who has been made to us ... a means of righteousness,...
[LAUBACH] ...It was Christ who made us right with God...
[DEAF N.T.] ... Christ is the reason we are holy and right with God...
[TRANSLATORS] ... It is God who has restored us in Him...
[GOOD NEWS] ... by Him we are put right with God,...
[AMPLIFIED] ... our Righteousness, and thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God; ...
[BAXTER] ... He is made of God our righteousness, the merits of His perfect righteousness procuring our free pardon and adoption, which our works could not do...
God has put me in Christ, who of God has been made unto me righteousness. Jesus has been made unto me a means of righteousness. I need not try to find a way or means to become righteous, for Christ is the reason I am righteous. It is Christ who has made me right with God. Thank You Father, for restoring me in Christ. By Him I have been put right with God. Jesus has been made unto me Righteousness, which makes me upright and puts me in right standing with God. The merits of Christ's perfect righteousness have procured for me a free pardon which my works could never do. I am righteous in Christ!
ROMANS 3:24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
[BRUCE] This pardon they receive freely, by His pure grace, and they receive it because of the redemptive work accomplished by Christ Jesus.
[PHILLIPS] A man who has faith is now freely acquitted in the eyes of God by His generous dealing in the redemptive act of Christ Jesus.
[WILLIAMS] but anybody may have right standing with God as a free gift of His undeserved favor, through the ransom provided in Christ Jesus.
[BARCLAY] And all can enter into a right relationship with God as a free gift by means of His grace, through the act of deliverance which happened in Jesus Christ.
[LIVING] yet now God declares us "not guilty" of offending Him if we trust in Jesus Christ,...
[CONEYBEARE] But by His free gift they are justified without payment of their debt, through the ransom which is paid in Christ Jesus.
[LAUBACH] But God shows His for toward them and considers them just. In order to do this, He made them a free gift. That free gift was Jesus Christ. He gave His life to pay the price of their sin.
[RICHERT] God generously offers us full pardon, something we ourselves could never have merited. The only way pardon could be obtained was by the special intercession of His Chief Minister Jesus, and He has already obtained this pardon for us.
I have been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is mine in Christ Jesus. I have been pardoned of my sins through God's pure grace. God has been generous with me and has freely acquitted me in the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has paid the ransom which freely justifies me without any payment of debt on my part. God has declared me "not guilty" of offending Him because I have trusted in Jesus Christ. I have been justified, pardoned, acquitted, declared righteous, considered just, put in right standing, given a right relationship and declared not guilty by God through the free gift of Jesus Christ. Jesus gave His life to pay the price for my sin. I am grateful Father God, for Your generous offer of full pardon. I receive it gladly for I could have never merited it or have paid the debt due. I have been justified and am now in right standing with God.
ROMANS 3:21-22 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe;
[WILLIAMS] But now God's way of giving men right standing with Himself has come to light; a way without connection with the law, .... God's own way of giving men right standing with Himself is through faith in Jesus Christ. It is for everybody who has faith, for no distinction at all is made.
[BARCLAY] The world has been shown a way of being put into a right relationship with God apart from any kind of law. ... It is a way of being put into a right relationship with himself which God has provided. That right relationship is reached through faith in Jesus Christ, and is offered to all who have faith.
[STEVENS] We have seen that in the line of legal works there is no possibility of attaining acceptance with God. But there is another way of securing it, -- the very way which the Old Testament teaches, -- that is, by an act of trust in God's mercy as now revealed in Christ, and this way is open to all without distinction of race or privilege.
[JOHNSON] But now a way to have a right relationship with God that has nothing to do with the rules has been shown to us...
[NEW LIFE] But now God has made another way to make men right with Himself. It is not by Jewish Law...
[PHILLIPS] ...it is a right relationship given to, and operating in, all who have faith in Jesus Christ.
[SANDAY & HEADLAM] ...This new method of acquiring righteousness does not turn upon works but upon faith, i.e. on ardent attachment and devotion to Jesus the Messiah. And it is therefore no longer confined to any particular people like the Jews, but is thrown open without distinction to all, on the sole condition of believing, whether they be Jews of Gentiles.
The righteousness of God has been manifested to me. My right standing with God has come to light; it is a standing that has no connection with keeping the law. I could never have been good enough to keep the law in order to gain acceptance with God. Therefore, God has made another way of securing my acceptance with Himself. This right relationship has nothing to do with keeping a set of rules. God is not looking at my past performance. This righteousness has come to me and upon me only because I place my faith in Christ Jesus. Thank You Father, for making a way to receive righteousness through faith in Your Son. I have a right relationship with God because I have trusted Christ. It has been given to me and is operating in me this very moment. I have received right standing, acceptance with God, a right relationship, the righteousness of God through my ardent attachment and devotion to Jesus the Messiah. Righteousness is mine regardless of my race, intelligence, legal performance, nationality, gender, or any other outward distinction. I am righteous on the sole condition of believing in Jesus.
II CORINTHIANS 5:21 For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
[A.S. WAY] Jesus knew not sin; yet God made Him to be the world's sin, for our sakes, that we, whose sin He had thus assumed, might become, by our union with Him, the very righteousness of God.
[BLACKWELDER] Although Christ never experienced any sin whatsoever, in our behalf God identified Him with everything in the whole realm of sin in order that by trusting in Him we might become [recipients of] God's kind of righteousness.
[WADE] Him who had no acquaintance with sin, God for our sakes treated as an embodiment of Sin, in order that we, on our part, might become, through union with Him, an embodiment of the Righteousness that God desires.
[GOOD NEWS] ...in order that we, in union with Him, might share the righteousness of God.
[LAUBACH] ... so that now we might be counted right in the sight of God.
[AMPLIFIED] ... so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as in and examples of ] the righteousness of God - what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness.
God made Christ to be my sin that I might be made the righteousness of God in Christ. Jesus never was acquainted with sin; He never knew it or experienced it. Yet for my sake, on my behalf, He became an embodiment of sin. Jesus identified with everything in the whole realm of sin so that I could become a recipient of God's kind of righteousness. I am righteous with God's kind of righteousness through my union with Christ. In union with Christ I am an embodiment of the righteousness that God desires. I thank You and praise You Lord Jesus, for you assumed my sin and came into union with me so that I might share God's righteousness and that I might be counted right in the sight of God! In and through Christ I have become, been endued with, viewed as in and am an example of the righteousness of God. This means I am what I ought to be. I am approved and acceptable and in right relationship with God. I am, by my union with Christ Jesus, the very righteousness of God.
"...who of God is made unto us...sanctification,..."
The topic of sanctification in the Christian Church has been veiled in a confused flurry of controversy. Yet again we find that it hasn't been defined clearly enough in most Christian circles. Some say we are as sanctified as we will ever be. Others say it is an experience we receive all at once, like a baptism. Still others say we will never achieve entire sanctification. So again we must return to the Scriptures and to good definable terms.
First, we must understand that the words sanctification, holy and saint, are all translated from the same Greek word [hagiasmos] in it's various forms. When the Bible refers to us as saints, it is actually saying sanctified ones. Thayers Lexicon tells us that sanctification means "consecration, purification" and Vines Dictionary of N.T. words says, "sanctification is used of separation to God,...". This separation is out from the sinfulness and degradation of this world system and into the Kingdom and service of a Holy God.
Next, it is imperative that we see the two-fold usage of the word in the Scripture. The New Testament teaches that we were sanctified, made holy when we received the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and were born again: Acts 26:18, I Cor. 1:2, I Pet.1:2 The Apostle stated it clearly:
II THESSALONIANS 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
[KNOX] ...by sanctifying your spirits and convincing you of His truth.
When a person receives salvation, their spirit, by the work of the Holy Spirit [Tit 3:5], is instantly regenerated and made holy. In other words, they are sanctified. This is the marvelous reality of the New Birth: truly, "old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. And all things are of God,..." [II Cor. 5:17-18]. It is this aspect of sanctification that we will focus our meditation on, for this is this focus of I Cor. 1:30.
The other usage of this Word in the New Testament is Sanctification as a process. When believers come to Christ there are still areas in their experience that have hung over from their pre-Christian life. It is these attitudes, habits, sinful tendencies that the Christian is separated from. These are replaced with the actions and attitudes of the new person they have become in Christ. This process is accomplished through illumination of God's Word and obedience to it: James 1:21-22, Eph. 4:22-24, Rom. 12:2, I Thess. 4:1-7. An important part of this process is finding out what the Scriptures declare about who we are in Christ. Then we are able to act like the people God has made us to be through the New Birth.
Last but not least, we must realize that the initial sanctification that takes place in our spirits when we are born again is not our own doing. So often Christians struggle for holiness and neglect the fact God has made them holy through what Christ has done for us (again, we are talking of the initial sanctification of the new birth). Christ has been "made unto us ... sanctification". He had to be made sanctification or holiness because on the cross He became what we were so that God could do away with our old selves there on the cross. Christ identified Himself so totally with us in our sinfulness that the Scripture declares it was our "old man" who was crucified on that cross; Rom. 6:6. The Apostle Paul said in another place:
GALATIANS 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
[PHILLIPS] ... which means that the world is a dead thing to me and I am a dead man to the world.
Christ took us, what we were in our sinfulness, into Himself there on the cross and died. Then in the resurrection He raised us up as new men in Himself. "If ye then been risen with Christ seek those things which are above..." Col. 3:1. Our spirits have been separated out from this world through the death of Christ. We are now raised to a new and higher Kingdom through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must understand that the work of Christ on the cross was for more than just forgiveness of sins. It was for the sanctification, the purification of our spirits. It is something that God chose to do in us through the sacrifice of His Beloved Son!
I CORINTHIANS 1:30 But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us...sanctification,...
[JERUSALEM] ...He has become our...holiness,...
[NEW ENGLISH] ...; in Him we are consecrated ...
[LAUBACH] ... It was Christ who made us holy...
[NEW LIFE] ... God gave us Christ to ...set us apart for God and made us holy...
[BAXTER] ... He is made our sanctification, we being purified by virtue of His sacrifice and by His Spirit, and by Him separated as a peculiar people of God...
[AMPLIFIED] ...; and our Consecration -- making us pure and holy...
I am in Christ. God has put me in Christ Jesus and has made Him to be my sanctification. Jesus has become my holiness. He lives within my spirit and it is Christ who has made me holy. God gave Christ to me. He did this to set me apart for God and to make me holy. I have been purified by virtue of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit of God has made me pure. Jesus paid a terrible price to make me pure and holy in His sight. By Him I have been separated to God as one of His peculiar people. Jesus was made to be my consecration, therefore I am pure and holy. I thank and praise You Lord Jesus, for Your sacrifice on my behalf; that I can stand before God pure and holy in Spirit.
I CORINTHIANS 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
[PHILLIPS] ...to those whom Christ Jesus has made holy, who are called to be God's men and women to all true believers in Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours,
[BARCLAY] ... those whose union with Christ has consecrated their lives to God, those whom God has called to be His own,...
[BLACKWELDER] ... to those who are in the state of having been sanctified in Christ Jesus,...
[TRENCHES] We speak to you who have also been sharers in this divine calling, whose lives have been enlarged and purified in Christ Jesus, who have received the holiness that comes from faith --...
[STREET CHRISTIANS] ... set apart from this messed up world system by Jesus Christ Himself --...
I have been sanctified in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus has made me holy. It is through my union with Christ that my life has been consecrated to God. I am in a state of having been sanctified. My spirit was purified when God put me in Christ. I have received the holiness that comes through faith in what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for me. Jesus Christ Himself has set me apart from this world system. In Christ Jesus I am called a saint. This means that God has called me to be His own. Thank You Father God, for doing so much for me through Jesus Christ. You call me a saint, You purify my life and set me apart to be Your very own. I have been sanctified in Christ Jesus.
I CORINTHIANS 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
[20TH CENTURY] ... but you washed yourselves clean, you became separate from the world, you were pardoned in the name of Jesus Christ,...
[WEYMOUTH] ... But now you have had every stain washed off: now you have been set apart as holy: now you have been pronounced free from guilt...
[REVISED BERKLEY] ... and you were made holy and you were made righteous by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
[JOHNSON] ...-- but you have been cleaned up, you have been made whole,...
[PHILLIPS] ... you have been made whole in spirit,...
[STREET CHRISTIANS] ... But you have been washed clean from all this trash, set apart, and made right with God; not by anything you have done but by Jesus and His Spirit in you.
I was a sinner, but I have been washed, I have been sanctified, I have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God. I have been washed clean and separated from the world. I have been pronounced free from guilt; yes, I have had every stain of sin washed off. In Christ I have been set apart as holy. I was made holy by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God. I have been cleaned up; I have been made whole in my spirit. I praise God, for He has washed me clean from all the trash of my sinful life, and He has set me apart and made me right with Himself. I have been sanctified in my spirit, not by anything I have done, but by Jesus and His Spirit within me.
EPHESIANS 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
[KNOX] you must be clothed in the new self, which is created in God's image, justified and sanctified through the truth.
[A.S. WAY] and that you must clothe yourselves in the new humanity that has been created in God's image, in a state of righteousness and holiness born of the Truth.
[LAUBACH] And you must put on the fresh dress of your new nature which is fashioned right and holy like God Himself.
[AMPLIFIED] And put on the new nature [the regenerate self] created in God's image [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.
[WADE] ... which is created after the Divine pattern, with the righteousness and saintliness of Him who is the Truth.
[REVISED BERKLEY] ...created in God's likeness in genuine righteousness and holiness.
I put on the new man that God has made me to be in Christ. The new man that I am in Christ is created in righteousness and holiness. My new self is created in God's image, in the image of His holiness. God has stamped His image upon my spirit and it has been sanctified through the truth of the Gospel. I clothe my outward life with the new man that has been created in God's image, in a state of holiness. My new spiritual nature is holy like God Himself. I thank You Lord Jesus, for giving me a new birth; creating my regenerate self to be Godlike in true holiness. My spirit is made in the Divine pattern, with the saintliness of Jesus Christ, who is the Truth. My new nature is created to be like God in genuine holiness. I have been sanctified in Christ.
"...who of God is made unto us ....redemption:"
Here we come to our final topic: our redemption in Christ. It is last but it's certainly not the least in importance. It is from a thorough understanding of this truth that we find the totality of our freedom from sin and the binding forces of this world. So often Christians go to extreme lengths to obtain deliverance [redemption] from a particular habit or problem; they travel thousands of miles to get the anointed minister to pray for their freedom. It is not uncommon for a believer to pray years and years for deliverance from some hold Satan may have on them. But the Word of God is plain, our redemption has already been accomplished in Christ.
As in our previous topics we find that without a proper definition of our term we cannot receive the fullest understanding of the related scriptures:
[THAYER] a releasing effected by payment of ransom; redemption, deliverance, liberation, procured by the payment of ransom.
[RICHARDSON'S THEOLOGICAL WORD BOOK] It is derived from the practice of buying back something which formerly belonged to the purchaser, but has for some reason passed out of his possession...
The word is used of paying the price required to free a slave. Foremost in all of this, we see the paying of a ransom price. Also we must see that it is the purchase of something which at one time belonged to the purchaser but now for some reason must be bought back.
It is not difficult to see why the New Testament uses this word. Our Lord Jesus Christ declared Himself to be the supreme ransom price for sinful mankind:
MATTHEW 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
[PHILLIPS] ... and to give his life to set many others free.
[GOOD NEWS] ... and to give his life to redeem many people.
There was nothing that could have been more costly than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and yet nothing else was adequate to deliver mankind from the grip of sin and death. When we consider the price God paid to bring us back, it can only make one wonder at the worth of mankind to the heart of the Father. For we were truly the possession of God before Adam fell in the garden. It was there that we were stolen away into slavery of sin and death, with it's task-master, the devil, himself. God truly paid the price to bring us out of slavery and to deliver us from the of that cruel task-master. Redemption also implies deliverance, and if we have redemption, we have deliverance. It is not something that we must have done for us, it is something that has already been done in us. Christ is in us, therefore our deliverance is in us, for Christ is the Deliverer. That brings us to the final point, which is, Christ was "made" unto us redemption. As in our previous studies, we've seen that the principle of substitution was the key to understanding how God purchased for us these great and mighty spiritual realities. On the Cross our Lord Jesus submitted Himself to our . The Scripture declares: He was made sin so that we could be righteous [II COR. 5:21], He was made sick so that we could be healed [MATH. 8:17]; He was made the curse so that we could receive the blessing [GAL. 3:13-14]; He was made poor so that we could be rich [II COR. 8:9]. Jesus went to the extent of taking within Himself the root cause of all our ; He submitted to spiritual death so that we could have spiritual life [HEB. 2:9, ROM. 6:7, ACTS 2:24]. It was when Jesus was made alive that He was "made unto us redemption." So much so that Ephesians 2:5 declares that when Jesus was made alive we were made alive. God took all our and poured them into the Lord Jesus Christ and literally destroyed them in the person of His Son! All that we were in our old selves was crucified with Christ [ROM. 6:6]. And God made Christ to be all the deliverance we will ever need in the resurrection!
I CORINTHIANS 1:30 But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us ....redemption.
[JERUSALEM] ...And by God's doing He has become our .... freedom
[NEW LIFE] ... Christ bought us with His blood and made us free from our sins.
[AMPLIFIED] ...and our Redemption -- providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin.
[WEYMOUTH] ... He became for us .... deliverance:
[BAXTER] And by Him it is, we have redemption and deliverance from sin and Satan and the Law and death and hell:
[PARKER] ... and He supplies to you all the ....past, present, and future salvation which you need.
Christ has been made unto me redemption. It was God's doing that Christ became my freedom. I have all the freedom I will ever need because I have Jesus within me. Jesus has bought me with His blood and has freed me from all my sin. I don't need to get free, I am free from all that would bind my life. Jesus is my redemption. He has provided for me the ransom necessary to deliver me from the eternal penalty that my sin deserves. Jesus was made my deliverance. I affirm my deliverance from all , from all sin, from all the works of darkness right now in the mighty name of Jesus! I thank You Father God, that by the Lord Jesus Christ You have given me redemption and deliverance from all sin, from Satan, from legalism, from death and from hell. I have all the past, present, future salvation and redemption that I will ever need through my union with Jesus Christ.
EPHESIANS 1:7 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace:
[NEW ENGLISH] For in Christ our release is secured and our sins are forgiven through the shedding of His blood. Therein lies the richness of God's free grace lavished upon us.
[BARCLAY] It is in and through Christ and the sacrifice of His life that we have been liberated, a liberation which means the forgiveness of sins...
[20TH CENTURY] For by union with Christ, and through His sacrifice of Himself, we have found redemption in the pardon of our offenses.
[HAMMOND] Having by that precious ransom paid for us, the blood of that dear Son of His, afforded us captives to sin a way of Freedom, viz., a free pardon for all our past sins,...
[JORDON] For it was by this One's supreme sacrifice that we got our emancipation,...
[DODDRIDGE] And in whom we have redemption from the power of sin, the tyranny of Satan, and the final wrath and displeasure of God,...In Christ I have my redemption through His precious blood. My sins have been forgiven according to the riches of God's grace. In Christ my release has been secured. I don't have to strive for my release. Jesus has already secured it through the shedding of His blood. God in His grace has lavished it upon me. My liberation from sin and is not a result of any of my striving; my freedom and liberation is a direct result of the sacrifice of the life of Christ. For by my union with Christ and through the sacrifice of Himself, I have found redemption and the pardon of my sins. Jesus paid the ransom of the spilling of His own blood. This was necessary to give me the freedom from captivity of sin through a free pardon for all my past sins. I have been emancipated from slavery to sin, from tyranny of Satan, and from the final wrath and displeasure of God. I thank You Jesus for Your grace was so rich that You gave Yourself as the ransom payment for my redemption. I have been redeemed, delivered, given freedom, emancipated, liberated and given a free pardon through what Jesus did for me.
COLOSSIANS 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
[AMPLIFIED] [The Father] has delivered us and drawn us to Himself out of the control and dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
[WADE] For God has rescued us from the dominance exercised by the Powers of Spiritual Darkness, and transferred us to the Dominion of His Son -- the Object of His love.
[LIVING] For he has rescued us out of the darkness and gloom of Satan's kingdom and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son,
[BASIC ENGLISH] who has made us free from the power of evil and given us a place in the kingdom of the Son of his love;
[WUEST] who delivered us out of the tyrannical rule of the darkness...
[JORDON] It was the Father who sprang us from the jailhouse of darkness, and turned us loose in the new world of his beloved Son,God has delivered me from the power of darkness, and He has translated me into the kingdom of his dear Son. The Father has delivered me out of the control and dominion of darkness. I need not strive and struggle for something that God has already done; I have been delivered. I was held in to the dominance exercised by the Powers of Spiritual Darkness, but God has rescued me. He transferred me to the Kingdom and Dominion of His Son. God has rescued me out of the darkness and gloom of Satan's kingdom and He has given me a place in the Kingdom of His Son. I am free from the power of evil. I am delivered from the tyrannical rule of darkness. I give You praise, Almighty God, for you sprang me from the jailhouse of darkness, and You have turned me loose in the new world of Your beloved Son!
GALATIANS 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree:
[NEW ENGLISH] Christ bought us freedom from the curse of the law by becoming for our sake an accursed thing...
[WUEST] Christ delivered us by the payment of ransom from the curse of the law by becoming a curse on behalf of us,...
[DEAF N.T.] The law put a curse on us. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us. Christ put himself under that curse...
[WADE] Christ, at His own cost, delivered us from the curse of the Law, having for our sake submitted to it's curse,...
[LIVING] But Christ has brought us out from under the doom of that impossible system by taking the curse of our wrongdoing upon himself...
[JOHNSON] But Christ has freed us from the condemnation which is the inevitable outcome of trying and failing to keep rules as a way of life.
[JORDON] Christ liberated us from the damning effects of the customs by letting them fall on him instead of on us,...
Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law. He did this by being made that curse on the cross. He bought me total freedom from that curse at the price of becoming an accursed thing for my sake. I was delivered from all that is contained in the curse by the payment of ransom. The ransom price to take away the curse was Jesus. He changed places with me and put Himself under that curse. I am delivered from all that is pronounced in the curse written in the Law (Duet. 28:15-68). I am free from all manner of disease and sickness, drought, lack, poverty, depression. I am free from social rejection, madness, insanity, fruitlessness, rebellion, sorrow, hopelessness, condemnation. Christ has brought me out from under the doom of that impossible system. He did this at His own cost; He submitted to that curse Himself. I am so grateful to You, Jesus, for You have freed me from the condemnation and damning effects of that curse upon my life. You purchased my liberation by letting that condemnation fall on You at the cross instead of on me. I have been redeemed through my Lord Jesus Christ!
The End