1 Corinthians 1:30

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

Here Paul provides a list of accomplishments which he considers important. I use the word accomplish because in Christ Jesus we have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. Without Him we have none of it. As with any list, it is incomplete, as He does so much more than these four things.

Perhaps Paul listed these four because having planted this church in Corinth he knew them and understood what they needed to focus on for the moment. Each of his epistles were sent with purpose and it takes all of them to show us how God works in us to accomplish His will.

I consider wisdom as knowing the right thing to say and do to accomplish God’s will.

I consider righteousness as a right standing before God and impossible without Christ.

I consider sanctification as being consecrated unto good works done by Christ in us.

I consider redemption as now belonging in the family of God, back where I belong.

These are all complicated theologies, as are many of the other things God has wrought in us, and the fact that I consider the simplistic meaning for my one personal use does not make what others consider invalid. What works for me might not work for everyone.

This is a personal relationship, my past experiences are personal even if similar to others. What God has wrought in me is personal because He is in me. That is personal.

What we get from the scriptures is what each of us need to become what God needs us to be in order to accomplish His will in the world. That is why there are diversities of gifts, talents and services. None of us are meant to be everything to everyone, only Christ can do that because He is God and able to do all things to accomplish the will of the Father in us.

We do not have to be all things to all people, that’s His accomplishment.

Hebrews 4:3

For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Since I consider this to be true, then I cannot change what has already been accomplished.

Relax, enjoy the journey.

1 Corinthians 1:18

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

One of the better aspects of the Word of God is that it is still at work in us and never leaves us or abandons us. It will not leave us in an unfinished state.

Lamentations 3:22-24 English Standard Version

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[a] his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

Footnotes

1. Lamentations 3:22 Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Because of the steadfast love of the Lord, we are not cut off

When I think of “cut off”, I think about the power of electricity, sitting in the dark during an outage. Unlike our electrical provider the power of God is never cut off, He is at work in us always.

Here is the alternative to active versus passive power. When pride takes over the Holy Spirit becomes a passive agent of change. Kinetic energy is at work, static energy is at rest, Pride turns off the kinetic energy but the static energy remains dormant, waiting patiently for pride to be humbled.

“Be humble or be humbled” is a quote from a past teacher of mine and that can be found to be true when pride gets in the way.

1 Corinthians 1:30

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

Note that God provides His own list and His list is much more important than the ones we create to justify ourselves. When wisdom from God replaces self-reliance we will discover the deeper meanings behind His list of things His Word does for us.

Once again we come back to previous comments like, “Let go and let God.”

Is the enemy tormenting us with past mistakes? “You are forgiven, go and sin no more.”