"Because of Him..."


“Because of Him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”  -1 Corinthians 1:30-31

This passage has a mouthful, and then some, of theological terms that encompass the magnificence of what Jesus did on behalf of believers.  It is “because of [God], you are in Christ Jesus.”  God’s plan of redemption and restoration for all who would come to Him in repentance and faith is the very reason we are able to come to Jesus to begin with, as well as being “in [Him].”  To be in Christ means to have all of His righteousness accredited to the eternal account of the believer and to even take on His identity before God the Father – this is why believers will go free on Judgment Day, because all the Father sees/will see is His Son in us.
Even beyond the great privilege of being in Christ by God’s work and plan, Jesus also becomes our “wisdom” – as our dead spirit is made alive in Christ by the Holy Spirit we are given divine wisdom from God Himself through the counsel and leading of the Holy Spirit through the Word.
Being in Christ also accomplishes for us “righteousness.”  Righteousness is ‘the quality of being morally right or justifiable’ but if “there is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom.3:10), how does this work?  Simple: Through the finished work of Jesus on the cross and in His resurrection to life, Jesus’ perfect righteousness is imputed (transferred to; given to) to the believer upon faith.
Christ also brings about the believers’ “sanctification and redemption.”  Sanctification is a million-dollar theological term describing the process Jesus takes every believer through by the Holy Spirit to make them more like Him.  This process ongoing throughout the believers’ life but will not come to completion until all is made new (Philipp. 1:6). 
Redemption is simply the term describing the rescue of the lost individual from eternal death and hell.  Redemption is the believers’ rescue from what all lost souls have coming their way.
All of this was accomplished for all believers over 2,000 years ago at the cross and with the empty tomb through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity.  It is because of all of this, that believers have absolutely nothing to brag on or take credit for other than in Jesus Himself.  He alone gets the credit, the glory, and the praise for our salvation.


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