1 Corinthians 1:30

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(30) But.—So far from boasting in His presence, we all owe all to Him. He is the author of the spiritual life of us who are in union with Christ, “who was (not “is”) made wisdom unto us from God.” The past tense here refers us back to the fact of the Incarnation; in it Christ became to us God’s revelation of Himself, thus giving us a wisdom from the source of all wisdom, which surpasses utterly any wisdom we could have derived from nature or from man. Not only is Christ the source of whatever true wisdom we have, but also (so adds the Apostle) of whatever “righteousness” and “holiness” we have—spiritual gifts, as well as gifts of knowledge, come all from Him—and beyond all that, He is also our redemption, the “ransom” paid for us, by which we are redeemed from the bondage and slavery of sin. (See John 8:34; Romans 6:18; Romans 6:20; Romans 8:21; Romans 8:23; 1Peter 1:18-19.)

Benson Commentary

1 Corinthians 1:30-31. But of him — Of his free mercy and grace; are ye in Christ Jesus — Ingrafted into him, and therefore possessed of an interest in him, and union with him; who of God — The original source of our salvation in all its parts, and of all the gifts and graces we possess; is made unto us who now believe — But were formerly ignorant and foolish; wisdom — Teaching us by his word and Spirit, and making us wise unto salvation; righteousness — The procuring cause of justification through his obedience unto death, to us who were before under guilt, condemnation, and wrath; sanctification — The principle and example, source and author of universal holiness to us, whereas before we were altogether polluted and dead in sin; and redemption — Complete deliverance from all the consequences of sin, and especially from death, the punishment of it, by a glorious resurrection, (termed the redemption of our body, Romans 8:23,) and eternal bliss both of soul and body. That, as it is written, (see on Jeremiah 9:23-24,) He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord — Not in himself, not in the flesh, not in the world, not in any creature, nor in any endowment or qualification, mental or bodily.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:26-31 God did not choose philosophers, nor orators, nor statesmen, nor men of wealth, and power, and interest in the world, to publish the gospel of grace and peace. He best judges what men and what measures serve the purposes of his glory. Though not many noble are usually called by Divine grace, there have been some such in every age, who have not been ashamed of the gospel of Christ; and persons of every rank stand in need of pardoning grace. Often, a humble Christian, though poor as to this world, has more true knowledge of the gospel, than those who have made the letter of Scripture the study of their lives, but who have studied it rather as the witness of men, than as the word of God. And even young children have gained such knowledge of Divine truth as to silence infidels. The reason is, they are taught of God; the design is, that no flesh should glory in his presence. That distinction, in which alone they might glory, was not of themselves. It was by the sovereign choice and regenerating grace of God, that they were in Jesus Christ by faith. He is made of God to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; all we need, or can desire. And he is made wisdom to us, that by his word and Spirit, and from his fulness and treasures of wisdom and knowledge, we may receive all that will make us wise unto salvation, and fit for every service to which we are called. We are guilty, liable to just punishment; and he is made righteousness, our great atonement and sacrifice. We are depraved and corrupt, and he is made sanctification, that he may in the end be made complete redemption; may free the soul from the being of sin, and loose the body from the bonds of the grave. And this is, that all flesh, according to the prophecy by Jeremiah, Jer 9:23-24, may glory in the special favour, all-sufficient grace, and precious salvation of Jehovah.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But of him - That is, by his agency and power. It is not by philosophy; not from ourselves; but by his mercy. The apostle keeps it prominently in view, that it was not of their philosophy, wealth, or rank that they had been raised to these privileges, but of God as the author.

Are ye - Ye are what you are by the mercy of God. 1 Corinthians 15:10. You owe your hopes to him. The emphasis in this verse is to he placed on this expression, "are ye." You are Christians, not by the agency of man, but by the agency of God.

(See the supplementary note at Romans 8:10.)

In Christ Jesus - See the note at 1 Corinthians 1:4. By the medium, or through the work of Christ, this mercy has been conferred on you.

Who of God - From God ἀπὸ θεοῦ apo theou. Christ is given to us by God, or appointed by him to be our wisdom, etc. God originated the scheme, and God gave him for this end.

Wisdom - That is, he is to us the source of wisdom; it is by him that we are made wise. This cannot mean that his wisdom becomes strictly and properly ours; that it is set over to us, and reckoned as our own, for that is not true. But it must mean simply, that Christians have become "truly wise" by the agency, the teaching, and the work of Christ. Philosophers had attempted to become wise by their own investigations and inquiries. But Christians had become wise by the work of Christ; that is, it had been by his instructions that they had been made acquainted with the true character of God; with his law; with their own condition; and with the great truth that there was a glorious immortality beyond the grave. None of these truths had been obtained by the investigations of philosophers, but by the instructions of Christ. In like manner it was that through him they had been made practically wise unto salvation. Compare Colossians 2:3, "In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." He is the great agent by whom we become truly wise. Christ is often represented as eminently wise, and as the source of all true wisdom to his people. Isaiah 11:1; Matthew 13:54; Luke 2:40, Luke 2:52; 1 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 3:10. "Ye are wise in Christ." Many commentators have supposed that the beautiful description of wisdom, in Proverbs 8 is applicable to the Messiah. Christ may be said to be made wisdom to us, or to communicate wisdom:

(1) Because he has in his own ministry instructed us in the true knowledge of God, and of those great truths which pertain to our salvation.

(2) because he has by his word and spirit led us to see our true situation, and made us "wise unto salvation." He has turned us from the ways of folly, and inclined us to walk in the path of true wisdom.

(3) because he is to his people now the source of wisdom. He enlightens their mind in the time of perplexity; guides them in the way of truth; and leads them in the path of real knowledge. It often happens that obscure and ignorant people, who have been taught in the school of Christ, have more true and real knowledge of that which concerns their welfare, and evince more real practical wisdom, than can be learned in all the schools of philosophy and learning on the earth. It is wise for a sinful and dying creature to prepare for eternity. But none but those who are instructed by the Son of God, become thus wise.

And righteousness - By whom we become righteous in the sight of God. This declaration simply affirms that we become righteous through him, as it is affirmed that we become wise, sanctified, and redeemed through him. But neither of the expressions determine anything as to the mode by which it is done. The leading idea of the apostle, which should never be lost sight of, is that the Greeks by their philosophy did not become truly wise, righteous, sanctified, and redeemed; but that this was accomplished through Jesus Christ. But "in what way" this was done, or by what process or mode, is not here stated; and it should be no more assumed from this text that we became righteous by the imputation of Christ's righteousness, than it should be that we became wise by the imputation of his wisdom, and sanctified by the imputation of his holiness. If this passage would prove one of these points, it would prove all. But as it is absurd to say that we became wise by the imputation of the personal wisdom of Christ, so this passage should not be brought to prove that we became righteous by the imputation of his righteousness. Whatever may be the truth of that doctrine, this passage does not prove it.

By turning to other parts of the New Testament to learn in what way we are made righteous through Christ, or in what way he is made unto us righteousness; we learn that it is in two modes:

(1) Because it is by his merits alone that our sins are pardoned, and we are justified, and treated as righteous (see the note at Romans 3:26-27); and,

(2) Because by his influence, and work, and Spirit, and truth, we are made personally holy in the sight of God.

The former is doubtless the thing intended here, as sanctification is specified after. The apostle here refers simply to the fact, without specifying the mode in which it is done. That is to be learned from other parts of the New Testament. Compare the note at Romans 4:25. The doctrine of justification is, that God regards and treats those as righteous who believe on his Son, and who are pardoned on account of what he has done and suffered. The several steps in the process may be thus stated:

continued...

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

30. But … ye—in contrast to them that "glory" in worldly wisdom and greatness.

of him are—not of yourselves (Eph 2:8), but of Him (Ro 11:36). From Him ye are (that is, have spiritual life, who once were spiritually among the "things which are not." 1Co 1:28).

in Christ—by living union with Him. Not "in the flesh" (1Co 1:26, 29).

of God—from God; emanating from Him and sent by Him.

is made unto us—has been made to us, to our eternal gain.

wisdom—unattainable by the worldly mode of seeking it (1Co 1:19, 20; contrast Col 2:3; Pr 8:1-36; Isa 9:6). By it we become "wise unto salvation," owing to His wisdom in originating and executing the plan, whereas once we were "fools."

righteousness—the ground of our justification (Jer 23:5, 6; Ro 4:25; 2Co 5:21); whereas once we were "weak" (Ro 5:6). Isa 42:21; 45:24.

sanctification—by His Spirit; whereas formerly we were "base." Hereafter our righteousness and sanctification alike shall be both perfect and inherent. Now the righteousness wherewith we are justified is perfect, but not inherent; that wherewith we are sanctified is inherent, but not perfect [Hooker]. Now sanctification is perfect in principle, but not in attainment. These two are joined in the Greek as forming essentially but one thing, as distinguished from the "wisdom" in devising and executing the plan for us ("abounded toward us in all wisdom," Eph 1:8), and "redemption," the final completion of the scheme in the deliverance of the body (the position of "redemption" last shows that this limited sense is the one intended here). Lu 21:28; Ro 8:23; Eph 1:14; 4:30.

redemption—whereas once we were "despised."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus; of his grace ye are implanted into Christ, and believe in him. You are of him, not by creation only, as all creatures are, but by redemption and regeneration, which is in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom; the principal means by which we come to the knowledge of God, and an acquaintance with his will; for he is the image of the invisible God, Colossians 1:15. The brightness of his Father’s glory, and the express image of his person, Hebrews 1:3. God hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 4:6. So that he who hath seen him, hath seen the Father, John 14:9. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in him, Colossians 2:3. And no man knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him, Matthew 11:27. Thus, though God destroyed the wisdom of the wise, yet the Corinthians were not without wisdom; for God had made Christ to them wisdom, both causally, being the author of wisdom to them; and objectively, their wisdom lay in their knowledge of him, and in a fellowship and conmmnion with him. And whereas they wanted a righteousness in which they might stand before God justified and accepted, God had also made Christ to them righteousness: Sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, Romans 8:3,4.

And sanctification also, believers being renewed and sanctified by his Spirit.

And he is also made redemption: where by redemption is meant the redemption of the body, mentioned Romans 8:23; so as redemption here signifies the same with resurrection of the body. Christ is the resurrection, and the life, John 11:25.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,.... These words, as they direct to the proper object of glorying, Christ, so they show the high honour the called ones are brought to in and through Christ, and are opposed to their outward meanness, folly, weakness, poverty, and contempt. They are first of God the Father, of his own rich free grace and goodness, without any regard to any motive, merit, or desert of theirs, put into Christ by electing grace, in whom they are preserved and blessed; and which is their original secret being in him; and is made manifest by regenerating grace, by their being made new creatures; which also is not owing to their blood, or to the will of the flesh, or to the will of man, but to God and his free favour in Christ: and in consequence of their being in Christ, as their head and representative, he becomes all to them, which is here expressed,

who of God is made unto us wisdom. Though they are foolish creatures in their own and the world's esteem, yet Christ is their wisdom; he is so "efficiently", the author and cause of all that spiritual wisdom and understanding in divine things they are possessed of; he is so "objectively", their highest wisdom lying in the knowledge of his person, blood, and righteousness, of interest in him, and salvation by him; with which knowledge eternal life is connected: and he is so "representatively"; he is their head, in whom all their wisdom lies; he acts for them as their wisdom to God, he is their Counsellor, their Advocate, who pleads and intercedes for them, and as their wisdom to men, and gives them a mouth and wisdom which their adversaries are not able to gainsay; and having the tongue of the learned, he speaks a word in season to themselves, when weary, distressed, and disconsolate, and for them in the court of heaven; he is their wisdom, to direct their paths, to guide them with his counsel, in the way they should go, safe to his kingdom and glory:

and righteousness. He is the "author" of righteousness; he has wrought out and brought in one for them, which is well pleasing to God, satisfying to his justice, by which his law is magnified and made honourable; which justifies from all sin, and discharges from all condemnation, is everlasting, and will answer for them in a time to come; this he has brought in by the holiness of his nature, the obedience of his life, and by his sufferings and death: and which is "subjectively" in him, not in themselves; nor does it lie in any thing wrought in them, or done by them; but in him as their head and representative, who by "imputation" is made righteousness to them; and they the same way are made the righteousness of God in him; or in other words, this righteousness, by an act of the Father's grace, is imputed, reckoned, and accounted to them as their justifying righteousness:

and sanctification; Christ is the sanctification of his people, through the constitution of God, the imputation of the holiness of his nature, the merits of his blood, and the efficacy of his grace, he is so "federally" and "representatively"; he is their covenant head, and has all covenant grace in his hands for them, and so the whole stock and fund of holiness, which is communicated to them in all ages, until the perfection of it in every saint: this is sanctification in Christ, which differs from sanctification in them in these things; in him it is as the cause, in them as the effect; in him as its fountain, in them as the stream; in him it is complete, in them it is imperfect for the present: and they have it by virtue of union to him; sanctification in Christ can be of no avail to any, unless it is derived from him to them; so that this sanctification in Christ does not render the sanctification of the Spirit unnecessary, but includes it, and secures it: likewise Christ is the sanctification of his people "by imputation", as the holiness of his human nature is, together with his obedience and sufferings, imputed to them for their justification; Christ assumed an holy human nature, the holiness of it was not merely a qualification for his office as a Saviour, or what made his actions and sufferings in that nature significant and useful, or is exemplary to men; but is a branch of the saints justification before God: the law required an holy nature, theirs is not holy; Christ has assumed one not for, himself, but for them, and so is the end of the law in all respects: and this may be greatly designed in the whole of this passage; "wisdom" may stand in general for the wise scheme of justification, as it is laid in Christ; "sanctification" may intend the holiness of his nature; "righteousness" the obedience of his life; and "redemption" his sufferings and death, by which it is obtained: but then justification and sanctification are not to be confounded; they are two distinct things, and have their proper uses and effects; sanctification in the saints does not justify, or justification sanctify; the one respects the power and being of sin, the other the guilt of it. Moreover, Christ is the sanctification of his people "meritoriously"; through the shedding of his blood, whereby he has sanctified them, that is, expiated their sins, and made full atonement for them; see Hebrews 10:10. Once more, he is their sanctification "efficiently"; by his Spirit, as the author, and by his word, as the means; he is the source of all holiness, it all comes from him, and is wrought by his Spirit in the heart; which lies in filling the understanding with spiritual light and knowledge; the mind with a sense of sin, and a detestation of it; the heart with the fear of God; the affections with love to divine objects and things; the will with submission and resignation to the will of God in all respects; and is exercised in living a life of faith on Christ, and in living soberly, righteously, and godly, before God and man: and this, though imperfect now, will be perfected from and by Christ, without which it is impossible to see the Lord:

and redemption; which he is by the appointment of his Father, being foreordained to it before the foundation of the world; and this sense of the word made will agree with every clause in the text; and he is so efficiently, having obtained eternal redemption from sin, Satan, the law, and this present evil world, for his people; and "subjectively", it being in him, and every other blessing which is either a part of it, and comes through it, or is dependent on it, as justification, adoption, and remission of sins. Moreover, this may have respect not only to redemption past, which is obtained by Christ; but to that which draws near, the saints are waiting for, and to which they are sealed up by the Spirit of God; even their redemption and deliverance from very being of sin, from all sorrow and sufferings, from death and the grave, and everything that is afflicting and distressing.

Geneva Study Bible

But {a} of him are ye in Christ Jesus, {27} who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

(a) Whom he cast down before, now he lifts up, indeed, higher than all men: yet in such a way that he shows them that all their worthiness is outside of themselves, that is, it stands in Christ, and that of God.

(27) He teaches that especially and above all things, the Gospel ought not to be condemned, seeing that it contains the principal things that are to be desired, that is, true wisdom, the true way to obtain righteousness, the true way to live honestly and godly, and the true deliverance from all miseries and calamities.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

1 Corinthians 1:30 f. In contrast (δέ) to the ὅπως μὴ καυχ. π. σ. ἐνώπιον τ. Θεοῦ, we have now the true relation to God and the true and right καυχᾶσθαι arising out of it: But truly it is God’s work, that ye are Christians and so partakers of the greatest divine blessings, that none of you should in any way boast himself save only in God. Comp Ephesians 2:8 f.

ἘΞ ΑὐΤΟῦ] has the principal emphasis: From no other than God is derived the fact that you are in Christ (as the element of your life). Ἐξ denotes the causal origination. Comp Ephesians 2:8 : ΟὐΚ ἘΞ ὙΜῶΝ, ΘΕΟῦ ΤῸ ΔῶΡΟΝ, also in profane writers: ἘΚ ΘΕῶΝ, ἘΚ ΔΙΌς (Valckenaer, a[283] Herod. ii. 13); and generally, Winer, p. 345 [E. T. 460]. While Hofmann here, too, as in 1 Corinthians 1:28, introduces into ΕἾΝΑΙ the notion of the true existence, which they have from God “in virtue of their being included in Christ,” others again, following Chrysostom, Theodoret, and Theophylact, take ἐξ αὐτοῦ δὲ ὑμεῖς ἐστε by itself in such a way as to make it express sonship with God (comp Ellendt, Lex. Soph. I. p. 553), and regard ἐν as conveying the more precise definition of the mode whereby this sonship is attained: ΠΑῖΔΕς ΑὐΤΟῦ ἘΣΤΕ, ΔΙᾺ ΤΟῦ ΧΡΙΣΤΟῦ ΤΟῦΤΟ ΓΕΝΌΜΕΝΟΙ, Chrysostom; comp Calvin, Beza, Grotius, Flatt, Billroth, Rückert, Ewald, and others. But wrongly; or the conception ἘΚ ΘΕΟῦ ΕἾΝΑΙ in the supposed sense is Johannine, but is not in accordance with the Pauline mode of expression (not even in Galatians 4:4); and ΕἾΝΑΙ ἘΝ ΧΡΙΣΤῷ was a conception so habitually in use (Romans 16:7; Romans 16:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 1:22, al[286]), that it must have occurred of itself here also to the reader; besides, the ἈΠῸ ΘΕΟῦ which follows answers to the ἘΞ ΑὐΤΟῦ. This applies, too, against Osiander, who, after ἘΞ ΑὐΤΟῦ, mentally supplies ΓΕΓΕΝΗΜΈΝΟΙ: “being born of God, ye are members of Christ.”

ὙΜΕῖς] with emphasis: ye for your part, ye the chosen out of the world.

ὃς ἐγενήθη … ἀπολύτρωσις] brings home to the heart the high value of that God-derived ΕἾΝΑΙ ἘΝ ΧΡΙΣΤῷ: who has become to us from God wisdom, righteousness and holiness, and redemption. Ἐγενήθη is simply a later (Doric) form for ἐγένετο (Thom. Mag. p. 189; Lobeck, a[287] Phryn. p. 108 f.), not, as Rückert makes it (comp Luther: “gemacht ist”), a true passive in sense; comp Acts 4:4; Colossians 4:11; 1 Thessalonians 2:14 (Ephesians 3:7, Lachm.). Christ became to us wisdom, etc., inasmuch as His manifestation and His whole saving work have procured for believers these blessings; namely, first of all,—what was of primary importance in the connection of 1 Corinthians 1:19 ff.,—wisdom, for to believers is revealed the counsel of God, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge (see 1 Corinthians 2:7 ff.; Colossians 2:3); righteousness, for by means of faith we are through the Lord’s atoning death constituted righteous before God (Romans 3:24 f., al[290]; see on Romans 1:17); holiness (see on Romans 6:19; Romans 6:22), for in those who are justified by faith Christ works continually by His Spirit the new holy life (Romans 8:1-11); redemption, for Christ has delivered believers, through His blood paid as their ransom (Romans 3:24; Romans 6:20; Romans 7:23), from the wrath of God, to which they were subject before the entrance of faith (see on Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:3). The order in which these predicates stand is not illogical; for after the first intellectual benefit (σοφία) which we have received in Christ, marked out too from the rest by the position of the word, Paul brings forward the ethical blessedness of the Christian, and that in the first place positively as δικαιοσύνη and ἉΓΙΑΣΜΌς, but then also—as though in triumph that there was now nothing more to fear from God—negatively as ἀπολύτρωσις, in which is quenched all the wrath of God against former sin (instead of which with the Christian there are now righteousness and holiness). Hence in explaining ἀπολύτρ. we should not (with Chrysostom) abide by the general ἈΠΉΛΛΑΞΕΝ ἩΜᾶς ἈΠῸ ΠΆΝΤΩΝ ΤῶΝ ΚΑΚῶΝ, which is already contained in what goes before; nor again should we, with Grotius, Calovius, Rückert, Osiander, Neander, and others (comp also Schmid, bibl. Theol. II. p. 325; and Lipsius, Paulin. Rechtfertigungslehre, p. 8), make it the final redemption from death and all evils, such as is the object of ἐλπίς, the redemption perfecting itself beyond our earthly-life (Hofmann), or the definitive acquittal at the last judgment (Weiss, bibl. Theol. p. 327). In the passages alleged to support the interpretation in question, this sense is given solely by the accessory defining phrases—namely, in Ephesians 1:14 by τῆς περιποιήσεως, in Ephesians 4:30 by ἩΜΈΡΑΝ, and in Romans 8:23 by ΤΟῦ ΣΏΜΑΤΟς. Rückert (comp Neander) is further of opinion that ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΎΝΗ Κ.Τ.Λ[293] is merely explanatory of how far Christ is to us σοφία, namely, as δικαιοσύνη, ἁγιασμός, and ἀπολύτρ., and that these three refer to the three essential things in the Christian life, faith, love, and hope: the τέ binding together the last three words and separating them from the first. But (1) the τέ links closely together only δικαιοσ. and ἁγιασμ., and does not include ἀπολ.; much less does it separate the three last predicates from σοφία;[294] on the contrary, τε καί embraces δικ. and ἁγ., as it were, in one, so that then ἀπολύτρωσις comes to be added with the adjunctive καί as a separate element, and consequently there results the following division: (a) wisdom, (b) righteousness and holiness, and (c) redemption. See as to this use of τε καί … καί, Hartung, Partikell. I. p. 102; Ellendt, Lex. Soph. I. p. 878 f.; Baeumlein, Partik. p. 224 f. (2) Paul would, on this theory, have left his readers without the slightest hint of the subordinate relation of the three last predicates to the first, although he could so easily have indicated it by ὡς or a participle. (3) According to the correct interpretation, ἀπολύτρ. is not something yet future, but something which has already taken place in the death of Christ. Bos (Obs. Misc. p. 1 ff.), Alethius, Clericus, Nösselt (Opusc. II. p. 127 ff.), Valckenaer, and Krause interpret in a still more involved way, holding that only the words from ὅς to Θεοῦ apply to Christ, and these are to be put in a parenthesis; while δικαιοσύνη κ.τ.λ[295] are abstracta pro concretis (2 Corinthians 5:21), and belong to ὑμεῖς ἘΣΤΕ: “Ejus beneficio vos estis in Christo Jesu ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΥΝΗ Κ.Τ.Λ[296],” Valckenaer. How ambiguous and unsuitable would such a statement as ὃς ἐγεν. σοφία κ.τ.λ[297] be for a mere parenthetical notice!

ἈΠῸ ΘΕΟῦ] on God’s part, by God as the author of the fact. Comp Herod. vi. 125: ἈΠῸ ΔῈ ἈΛΚΜΑΊΩΝΟς … ἘΓΈΝΟΝΤΟ ΚΑῚ ΚΆΡΤΑ ΛΑΜΠΡΟΊ. See generally, Ellendt, Lex. Soph. I. p. 194; Winer, p. 348 [E. T. 464]; Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 280 [E. T. 325]. That it belongs to ἐγενήθη, and not to ΣΟΦΊΑ, is proved by the ἩΜῖΝ which stands between. The latter, however, is not to be understood, with Rückert, as though it ran Ἡ ἩΜΕΤΈΡΑ ΣΟΦΊΑ (“what to the Hellene his ΣΟΦΊΑ is, or is merely assumed to be, namely, the ground of confidence,—that Christ is to us”), else Paul must have written: ὃς ἡμῖν ἐγενήθη ἡ σοφία with the article, and have placed ἩΜῖΝ first with the emphasis of contrast.

Observe further, that Paul has said ὙΜΕῖς with his eye still, as in 1 Corinthians 1:26, upon the church to which his readers belonged; but now, in adducing the blessings found in Christ, he extends the range of his view to all Christians; and hence, instead of the individualizing ὙΜΕῖς, we have the ἩΜῖΝ including himself and others.

[283] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[286] l. and others; and other passages; and other editions.

[287] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.

[290] l. and others; and other passages; and other editions.

[293] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

[294] With σοφία the τέ has nothing whatever to do. Hofmann makes it serve as a link of connection to σοφία. In that case, Paul must have written: σοφία τε καὶ δικαιοσ. κ. ἁγ. κ. ἀπολ.

[295] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

[296] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

[297] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

Expositor's Greek Testament

1 Corinthians 1:30. ἐξ αὐτοῦ δὲ ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ: is ἐν Χ. Ἰησοῦ or ἐξ αὐτοῦ (sc. τοῦ Θεοῦ) the predicate to ἐστέ? Does P. mean, “It comes of Him (God) that you are in Christ Jesus”—i.e., “Your Christian status is due to God” (so Mr[256], Hn[257], Bt[258], Ed[259], Gd[260], El[261])? or, “It is in Christ Jesus that you are of Him”—“Your new life derived from God is grounded in Christ” (Gr[262] Ff[263], Cv[264], Bz[265], Rückert, Hf[266], Lt[267])? The latter interpretation suits the order of words and the trend of thought (see Lt[268]): “You, whom the world counts as nothing (1 Corinthians 1:26 ff.: note the contrastive δέ), are of Him before whom all human glory vanishes (1 Corinthians 1:29); in Christ this Divine standing is yours”. Thus Paul exalts those whom he had abased. The conception of the Christian estate as “of God,” if Johannine, is Pauline too (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:6, 1 Corinthians 10:12, 1 Corinthians 12:6, 2 Corinthians 4:6; 2 Corinthians 5:18, etc.), and lies in Paul’s fundamental appropriation, after Jesus, of God as πατὴρ ἡμῶν (1 Corinthians 1:4, and passim), and in the correlative doctrine of the υἱοθεσία; the whole passage (1 Corinthians 1:18-29) is dominated by the thought of the Divine initiative in salvation. This derivation from God is not further defined, as in Galatians 3:26; enough to state the grand fact, and to ground it “in Christ Jesus” (see note, 1 Corinthians 1:4).

[256] Meyer’s Critical and Exegetical Commentary (Eng. Trans.).

[257] C. F. G. Heinrici’s Erklärung der Korintherbriefe (1880), or 1 Korinther in Meyer’s krit.-exegetisches Kommentar (1896).

[258] J. A. Beet’s St. Paul’s Epp. to the Corinthians (1882).

[259] T. C. Edwards’ Commentary on the First Ep. to the Corinthians.2

[260] F. Godet’s Commentaire sur la prem. Ép. aux Corinthiens (Eng. Trans.).

[261] C. J. Ellicott’s St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians.

[262] Greek, or Grotius’ Annotationes in N.T.

[263] Fathers.

[264] Calvin’s In Nov. Testamentum Commentarii.

[265] Beza’s Nov. Testamentum: Interpretatio et Annotationes (Cantab., 1642).

[266] J. C. K. von Hofmann’s Die heilige Schrift N.T. untersucht, ii. 2 (2te Auflage, 1874).

[267] J. B. Lightfoot’s (posthumous) Notes on Epp. of St. Paul (1895).

[268] J. B. Lightfoot’s (posthumous) Notes on Epp. of St. Paul (1895).

The relative clause, “who was made wisdom,” etc., unfolds the content of the life communicated “to us from God” in Christ. Of the four defining complements to ἐγενήθη ἡμῖν, σοφία stands by itself, with the other three attached by way of definition—“wisdom from God, viz., both righteousness, etc.”; Mr[269], Al[270], Gd[271], however, read the four as coordinate. On σοφία the whole debate, from 1 Corinthians 1:17 onwards, hinges: we have seen how God turned the world’s wisdom to folly (1 Corinthians 1:20-25); now He did this not for the pleasure of it, but for our salvation—to establish His own wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:24), and to bestow it upon us in Christ (“us” means Christians collectively—cf. 1 Corinthians 1:17—while “you” meant the despised Cor[272] Christians, 1 Corinthians 1:26). This wisdom (how diff[273] from the other! See 1 Corinthians 1:17; 1Co 1:19; Jam 3:15 ff.) comes as sent “from God” (ἀπὸ of ultimate source: ἐξ of direct derivation). It is a vitalising moral force—δύναμις καὶ σοφία (1 Corinthians 1:24)—taking the shape of δικαιοσύνη τε καὶ ἁγιασμός, and signally contrasted in its spiritual reality and regenerating energy with the σοφία λόγου and σοφία τ. κόσμου, after which the Cor[274] hankered. Righteousness and Sanctification are allied “by their theological affinity” (El[275]): cf. note on 1 Corinthians 6:11, and Romans 6 passim—hence the double copula τε … καί; καὶ ἀπολύτρωσις follows at a little distance (so Lt[276], Hn[277], Ed[278]; who adduce numerous cl[279] parls. to this use of the Gr[280] conjunctions): “who was made wisdom to us from God—viz., both righteousness and sanctification, and redemption”.—δικαιοσύνη carries with it, implicitly, the Pauline doctrine of Justification by faith in the dying, risen Christ (see 1 Corinthians 6:11, and other parls.; esp., for Paul’s teaching at Cor[281], 2 Corinthians 5:21). With the righteousness of the believer justified in Christ sanctification (or consecration) is concomitant (see note on the kindred terms in 2); the connexion of chh. 5 and 6 in Rom. expounds this τε … καί; all δικαιοσύνη ἐν Χριστῷ is εἰς ἁγιασμόν. (Vbl. nouns in -μός denote primarily a process, then the resulting state.)—Ἀπολύτρωσις (based on the λύτρον of Matthew 20:28, 1 Timothy 2:6, with ἀπὸ of separation, release), deliverance by ransom, is the widest term of the three—“primum Christi donum quod inchoatur in nobis, et ultimum quod perficitur” (Cv[282]); it looks backward to the cross (1 Corinthians 1:18), by whose blood we “were bought” for God (1 Corinthians 6:19), so furnishing the ground both of justification (Romans 3:24) and sanctification (Hebrews 10:10), and forward to the resurrection and glorification of the saints, whereby Christ secures His full purchased rights in them (Romans 8:23; Ephesians 1:14; Ephesians 4:30); thus Redemption covers the entire work of salvation, indicating the essential and just means of its accomplishment (see Cr[283] on λύτρον and derivatives).

[269] Meyer’s Critical and Exegetical Commentary (Eng. Trans.).

[270] Alford’s Greek Testament.

[271] F. Godet’s Commentaire sur la prem. Ép. aux Corinthiens (Eng. Trans.).

[272] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[273] difference, different, differently.

[274] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[275] C. J. Ellicott’s St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians.

[276] J. B. Lightfoot’s (posthumous) Notes on Epp. of St. Paul (1895).

[277] C. F. G. Heinrici’s Erklärung der Korintherbriefe (1880), or 1 Korinther in Meyer’s krit.-exegetisches Kommentar (1896).

[278] T. C. Edwards’ Commentary on the First Ep. to the Corinthians.

[279] classical.

[280] Greek, or Grotius’ Annotationes in N.T.

[281] Corinth, Corinthian or Corinthians.

[282] Calvin’s In Nov. Testamentum Commentarii.

[283] Cremer’s Biblico-Theological Lexicon of N.T. Greek (Eng. Trans.).

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

30. of him are ye in Christ Jesus] Humanity is nothing in the sight of God, except it be created anew in Christ Jesus. By virtue of His Incarnation it becomes wisdom, not by means of human research but by Divine Revelation; righteousness, not by works done in obedience to law, but by the infusion of the Spirit of righteousness into the soul by Christ; sanctification, (i.e. the setting apart to the working of a principle of holiness), not by human merit, but by a Divine law of growth; redemption, (i.e. the paying the price of our deliverance from the captivity in which we were held by sin), because we were lost but for the Atonement made by Christ for our sins.

Bengel's Gnomen

1 Corinthians 1:30. Ἐξ αὐτοῦ, of Him) Ye are of God, not now any longer of the world, Romans 11:36; Ephesians 2:8.—ὑμεῖς, ye) An antithesis to many, 1 Corinthians 1:26. Those persons themselves, whom the apostle addresses, ye, were not the many wise men according to the flesh, etc.—ἐστὲ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ye are in Christ Jesus) ye are Christians, etc. The antithesis is between, things which are not [1 Corinthians 1:28], and, ye are [1 Corinthians 1:30]; likewise flesh [1 Corinthians 1:26; 1 Corinthians 1:29], and Christ [1 Corinthians 1:30].—ἐγενήθη ἡμῖν, is made to us) More is implied in these words, than if he had said; we have become wise, etc., He is made to us wisdom, etc., in respect of our knowledge, and, before that was attained, by Himself in His cross, death, resurrection. To us the dative of advantage.—σοφία, wisdom) whereas we were formerly fools. The variety of the Divine goodness in Christ presupposes that our misery is from ourselves.—δικαιοσύνη, righteousness) Whereas we were formerly weak (without strength) [Romans 5:6], comp. Isaiah 45:24. Jehovah, our righteousness, Jeremiah 23:6, where (comp. 1 Corinthians 1:5) he is speaking of the Son: for the Father is not called our righteousness.—ἁγιασμὸς, sanctification) whereas we were formerly base.—ἁπολύτρωσις) redemption, even to the utmost; whereas we were formerly despised, ἐξουθενημένοι [1 Corinthians 1:28].

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 30. - 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 23:5). This is the theme of Romans 3:7. Sanctification (see especially 1 Corinthians 6:11 and Ephesians 5:25, 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. 1 Corinthians 1:30

Vincent's Word Studies

Wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

The last three terms illustrate and exemplify the first - wisdom. The wisdom impersonated in Christ manifests itself as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. For δικαιοσύνη righteousness, see on Romans 1:17. For ἁγιασμός sanctification, see on Romans 6:19. For ἀπολύτρωσις redemption, see on Romans 3:24.