Lessons #37 and 38
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Boasting (1 Cor 1:26-31)
26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
Our last study was focused on the sentence you are in Christ Jesus that informs us that we are in union with Christ. However, we considered in considerable detail the implications of the phrase in Christ Jesus since it conveys many benefits that are associated with being in union with Christ. The benefits we considered should, of course, convince any believer of the centrality of the person of Jesus Christ in our relationship with God. If there is no Christ who died on the cross for us, then we would not have any relationship with God. Apostle Paul understood this truth that he was compelled to say more about this Jesus Christ in our relationship with Him so that we understand clearly the reason we should not boast about our salvation or about any human instrument the Lord used to bring us to salvation. It is because of our failure to understand the centrality of Jesus Christ in our salvation that may explain a reason some of us are drawn into partisanship of denomination where they focus on our denomination and forget the centrality of Christ in our salvation. Furthermore, we forget that He is the glue that holds believers together, so to say, implying that we should not boast of any person or any organization but about Him who saved us. Thus, the apostle continued in verse 30 to convey to us the importance of the person of Jesus Christ regarding our eternal salvation.
The apostle guided by the Holy Spirit tells us more of the significance of the Lord Jesus Christ regarding our salvation. He began this in the next clause of 1 Corinthians 1:30 who has become for us wisdom from God. This clause is concerned with incarnation because the apostle described to us what Jesus Christ in eternity as the second member of the Godhead was not regarding us.
We contend that the Holy Spirit through the apostle reminds of the incarnation because of the expression “has become” that the apostle used. This point cannot be derived or perceived from the English translation. This is because there are two Greek words that may mean “to be” in English but the one the apostle used in our passage is that which conveys the sense of being what one was not previously. Everything the apostle goes on to say about Jesus Christ are things He was not for us prior to the incarnation.
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
The word may mean “to be done” as in Jesus’ prayer in the Gethsemane, as recorded in Matthew 26:42:
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
The word may mean “to be” in the sense of “to belong” as in the question the Sadducees, who did not believe in resurrection, posed to Jesus Christ regarding a woman who had married seven men as to whose wife she will be at resurrection, as we read in Luke 20:33:
Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
The question will she be means “will she belong”. The Greek word may mean “to arise, to come about” as it is used to describe the darkness that descended on Jerusalem during the crucifixion of Jesus, as recorded in Luke 23:44:
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
It may mean “to happen, turn out, take place” as it is used to describe the healing of Publius in the Island of Malta by Apostle Paul that drew others to him for healing, as reported in Acts 28:9:
When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.
The Greek word may mean “to be born” as in Galatians 4:4:
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
The Greek word may mean “to become something,” that is, to experience a change in nature and so indicates entry into a new condition, as the word is used to describe Paul who was formerly an opponent of the gospel message becoming its proponent so that he described himself as servant of the gospel in Colossians 1:23:
if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 1:30, the sense of the Greek word is “to become” in the sense that Jesus Christ became for us what He was not prior to His incarnation. The Greek uses a passive voice to describe Jesus Christ becoming something and so the implication is that someone was responsible for Jesus becoming what He became for us. Although the subject of the action is not explicitly identified but the implication is that God was the subject since the word “God” is mentioned in the clause we are examining. However, God here should be understood as God the Father since He is the member of the Godhead that is associated with the sending of Jesus Christ, the second member of the Godhead, into the world. This truth, the Lord Jesus Himself asserted several times during His earthly ministry. Consider for example, what He said, as recorded in John 5:37:
And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
Thus, everything the apostle described as what Jesus became for us is what God the Father made the Son for us. There are four things the Holy Spirit through the apostle mentioned in the passage we are considering that the Father made the Son for us.
The first thing the Father made the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for us is described with the word “wisdom” in the clause of 1 Corinthians 1:30 who has become for us wisdom from God. Our concern is how to interpret this clause as it relates to us because of the phrase for us. The Greek word used may be translated “for us, in our behalf” as reflected in the NIV or it may be translated “to us” as reflected in the Authorized Version (KJV) and the NASB. Although the second translation is permissible, it does not convey what the apostle intended to convey regarding how “wisdom” is related to us, as it conveys that Christ was made wisdom to us instead of wisdom for our benefit that the apostle intended to teach. Anyway, to understand what the Holy Spirit conveyed to us in this clause who has become for us wisdom from God we need to examine the word “wisdom.”
The word “wisdom” is translated from a Greek word that is related to a Greek verb (sophizō) that may mean “to make wise” as it is used to state the impact of the Scripture on Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15:
and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Our Greek word translated “wisdom” in 1 Corinthians 1:30 is related to a Greek adjective (sophos) that may mean “wise” in the sense of being discerning that leads to conduct or attitude that reflects wisdom as the word is used in the instruction of how believers should conduct themselves in Ephesians 5:15:
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,
The adjective may mean “experienced” or “expert” as it is used to describe experienced builder in 1 Corinthians 3:10:
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
Both the verb and the adjective convey the sense of understanding about something. The word “wisdom” in 1 Corinthians 1:30 is translated from a Greek noun (sophia) that we have considered previously but we need to review what we said about it to help us in our present clause. The word may mean the capacity to understand and, as a result, to act wisely. There are two kinds of wisdom conveyed with the Greek word. There is the natural wisdom or insight obtained, for example, through education that is referred by Apostle Paul as “worldly wisdom” in 2 Corinthians 1:12:
Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace.
The phrase worldly wisdom is more literally “fleshly wisdom” or “human wisdom.” There is also that wisdom God gives to those who are in close relationship with Him that Jesus promised His disciplines when they encounter hostility from people in Luke 21:15:
For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
The Greek word may have the sense of “good judgment” in practical matters, as the word is used to give the qualifications of those the early church chose to administer their affairs, as recorded in Acts 6:3:
Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
Wisdom here in Acts 6:3 has the sense of good judgment or knowledge that allows one to do things properly. The Greek word may refer to personified wisdom, that is, “Wisdom”, as it is used in Matthew 11:19:
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”
Wisdom here is personified which agrees with the concept of personification of wisdom in the OT Scripture, as for example, wisdom personified called out, but people did not respond adequately; hence, the declaration of Proverbs 1:23:
If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.
The phrase my rebuke refers to the correction, reprimand or scolding Wisdom gives to the foolish, hence wisdom is personified. Thus, our Greek word has a range of meanings that convey the concept of understanding and personification of wisdom. In any event, the Greek word as used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 1:30 has the sense of the capacity for rational thought to act wisely. This brings us to the question of what the Holy Spirit meant to convey in the clause who has become for us wisdom from God.
There are two possible interpretations of what the Holy Spirit meant to convey in the clause we are considering. A first interpretation is that Jesus Christ is the source of wisdom from God. This means that believers become wise through Jesus, so they can understand God or spiritual matters unlike those who are not in Christ that lack capacity of understanding spiritual matters, especially, the understanding of the message of the cross. The interpretation of Jesus being the source of wisdom or source of making believers wise finds support in the apostle’s teaching about Christ being the repository of wisdom, as we read in Colossians 2:3:
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
This being the case, it is quite fitting to consider Jesus Christ as the source of wisdom from God. A second interpretation is to understand the clause as conveying that Jesus Christ is for us God’s demonstration of His wisdom. This interpretation finds support from the fact that Jesus Christ has already been described as the wisdom of God in 1 Corinthians 1:24:
but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Furthermore, this second interpretation is supported by the fact that the Holy Spirit through the apostle conveyed in his epistle to the Ephesians that the existence of the church and so of believer is a clear demonstration of God’s wisdom in solving the sin problem, as the apostle stated in Ephesians 3:10:
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
The phrase the manifold wisdom of God refers to the many-sided nature of the wisdom God possesses or to the various ways God shows His wisdom. In effect, the phrase indicates that the wisdom God possesses can be made known in different ways. For example, the coming of Jesus Christ into the world to solve the problem of sin that from logical perspective is unsolvable is a demonstration of how wise God is. Mankind sinned against God who is holy. The result is a barrier that separated mankind from God. This barrier is impossible to remove because sin and righteousness have nothing in common. If God wanted to maintain any relationship with mankind, His character of holiness and humanity’s sin would make this impossible. So, there is an impasse. But God solved this impasse through Christ. Thus, Christ’s coming into the world and dying for our sins is clearly a demonstration of the wisdom that God possesses.
We have considered two possible interpretations of the clause who has become for us wisdom from God of 1 Corinthians 1:30 and so the question is to determine which of these the apostle intended in our passage. Truly, it is difficult to be certain of the intended interpretation since both make sense in the context, depending on how one understands the relationship of the word “wisdom” to the three remaining things the apostle gave in the verse. Nonetheless, we believe that it is the second interpretation that indicates Jesus Christ is God’s demonstration of wisdom that is intended as it involves our salvation. This is because the three things the apostle describe in the rest of the verse are concerned with salvation hence it is better to think of Jesus Christ as God’s demonstration of wisdom for our benefit instead of making us wise. Furthermore, the immediate context of 1 Corinthians 1:24 support this second interpretation. In any event, the first thing God the Father made the Son, the Lord Jesus, for us is the demonstration of His wisdom in our salvation.
This translation of the NIV is an interpretative translation, that is not reflected in majority of our English versions although I believe it to be how the apostle intended for us to understand the Greek phrase. In fact, it is only the CEB of over 30 English versions that I consulted reflected the same interpretative translation as the NIV. To understand the problem, we should consider the literal translation of first part of the clause of the verse that reads in the NIV as who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness. Literally, the Greek reads who has become for us wisdom from God righteousness. The problem is to determine if there is a relationship between the word “wisdom” and the word “righteousness.” There are two approaches to dealing with this problem. The first is to consider the word “righteousness” as having no connection with the word “wisdom” so that the word “righteousness” is a second in a series of things the apostle mention that Christ became for us. A second approach is to take the word “righteousness” to be dependent on the word “wisdom.” This approach implies that the word “righteousness” is used to clarify or add to the meaning or significance of the word “wisdom.” In other words, the word “righteousness” is the first of the three words used to explain the word “wisdom” in the clause. Put in another way, this second approach implies that the word “righteousness” is the first word that is used to explain in what way Jesus Christ became God’s wisdom for us. This being the case, it is appropriate to insert an explanatory expression such as “that is,” before the word “righteousness.” Of these two approaches, it is the second approach that we believe the apostle had in mind. This is because it is the approach that will be in keeping with how God has displayed His wisdom in the church as per the apostle’s declaration in his epistle to the Ephesians that we cited previously in support of the interpretation that “wisdom” in 1 Corinthians 1:30 should be understood as God’s capacity to solve an impasse through Jesus Christ of how to solve sin problem while maintaining His holy character. Furthermore, there is no Greek conjunction that links the word “wisdom” to the word “righteousness” as we have, between the word “righteousness” and the other two words “holiness” and “redemption.” This difference suggests that the relationship between the word “righteousness” to the word “wisdom” is not the same as between the word “righteousness” and the other two words. Hence, we contend the apostle intended the word “righteousness” to be the first of the three words he used to explain further the word “wisdom.” Anyway, as we have stated, the second thing the Father made the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for us is the agent of us having right standing with God as in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 1:30 that is, our righteousness as we will demonstrate.
The word “righteousness” is translated from a Greek word related to a Greek verb (dikaioō) that may mean “to prove to be right” as it is used in Romans 3:4:
Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”
When the word is used of God, it may mean “to put right with, justify, vindicate, declare righteous, that is., cause one to be in a right relation,” as it is used in Romans 3:24:
and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
The word may mean “to make free/pure,” that is, to cause someone to be released from personal or institutional claims that are no longer to be considered pertinent or valid as the word is used in Romans 6:7:
because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
Thus, we see that the Greek verb has a range of meanings that are concerned with “proving to be right” to “being put right.” Thus, the verb contains the concept of doing right. Anyway, our word “righteousness” in 1 Corinthians 1:30 is translated from a Greek word (dikaiosynē) that may mean “righteousness” in the sense of doing what God requires or doing what is right, as the word is used to describe those who are persecuted in Matthew 5:10:
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
What God requires should not be thought only in terms of moral actions but what is in accordance with His plan. This point is important since there is no morality involved in the use of our Greek word when it is used in the mouth of Jesus during His water baptism but it is simply used in the sense of conforming to God’s plan, what He has decided, what is pleasing to Him in Jesus’ reply to John who was hesitant to baptize Him, as we read in Matthew 3:15:
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
It is also in the sense of doing what God requires that our Greek word is used to attribute righteousness to Abraham when he believed the Lord’s promise, as stated in Romans 4:3:
What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Righteousness here is a blessing conferred to Abraham in the sense that God considered him as doing what He wanted since he believed in Him. Our Greek word may refer to the practices required by religion such as charitable giving so that it has the meaning of “religious observances,” as in Matthew 6:1:
“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
The phrase acts of righteousness may be translated “religious observances.” Our Greek word may refer to the quality, state, or practice of judicial responsibility with focus on fairness hence means “justice, equitableness, fairness.” Thus, it is used to describe the manner of God’s future judgment in Acts 17:31:
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
It is in this sense of fairness or justice that it is used regarding the right practicing of judicial responsibility of believing rulers as it is used in Hebrews 11:33:
who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
The word may refer to quality or state of juridical correctness with focus on redemptive action and so means “righteousness.” It is used to describe the executive privilege that belongs to God in conferring a benefit. For example, the offering of Jesus Christ on the cross is described as a demonstration of righteousness on the part of God in Romans 3:25:
God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
The 1984 edition of the NIV translated our Greek word with “justice” in this passage but the 2011 edition used the meaning “righteousness” that is found in majority of our English versions. Each of these meanings could be justified in this passage, but it is probably the meaning of “righteousness” that is intended since the passage is concerned with how God puts persons right with Himself. Our Greek word may mean “being put in right relationship with God”, as that is the sense of the word in Romans 5:17:
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
The phrase the gift of righteousness may be understood either as the gift that comes from God because He is righteous or the gift of being put into a right relation with God. Though it is difficult to separate these two interpretations, but it is probably the second interpretation that is intended so that our Greek word is given the meaning of “being put into right relation with God.” Our Greek word in some contexts may approach the meaning of “salvation.” This we can see from its use in the Septuagint of Isaiah 51:5:
My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.
Here the Lord’s righteousness is near, so is salvation; hence, there is a parallel between the two that we can say that “righteousness” in certain context refers to “salvation.”
We have considered the various meanings of the Greek word translated “righteousness” in our passage of study. Thus, the question is to determine how it is used in our passage. It is probably in the sense of salvation that it is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 1:30 since that is a meaning that encompasses the other meaning that is implied in our passage. This is because salvation involves being put in the right relationship with God because the moral requirements of His character has been satisfied. Thus, Jesus Christ is our righteousness in that He satisfied the moral requirements of God’s character for us so that we are in the right relationship with God, implying we are saved. It is for this reason that we contend that our Greek word translated “righteousness” in our passage has the sense of “salvation” that implies being put in right standing with God. It is probably this understanding that might have been the reason the translators of the NJB used the phrase “saving justice” in their translation of our Greek word in 1 Corinthians 1:30. The implication of this interpretation is that no one can claim to be saved if the individual is not in Christ through faith in Him. We are saying that it is a futile effort to try to attain right standing with God through any other agent or means other than Jesus Christ. Hence, the second thing the Father made the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for us is the agent of us having right standing with God so that the Son is the agent of our salvation.
The third thing the Father made the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for us is the agent of us being dedicated to God as His own people. In effect, God demonstrates His wisdom in making sinners His own people that are consecrated to Him. It is this demonstration of God’s wisdom in Christ that is given in the word holiness of 1 Corinthians 1:30 although many of our English versions used the word “sanctification.” Either of these English words does not fully tell us what it is that the Father made the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for us that demonstrates His wisdom. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the word “holiness” used in the NIV, especially since there are three Greek words that may be translated with the meaning “holiness.”
We begin our consideration with a Greek verb related to the Greek nouns that may be translated “holiness.” The related Greek verb (hagiazō) may mean “to consecrate, dedicate”, that is, to set something aside or make it suitable for ritual purposes. Thus, this is the word used in the Septuagint to translate a Hebrew word that is used in the consecration of the altar of the Tabernacle in Exodus 29:37:
For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.
It is in this same sense that the word is used to consecrate food in prayer in 1 Timothy 4:5:
because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
The Greek verb may mean “to dedicate, consecrate, sanctify” in the sense of including a person in the inner circle of what is holy both in religious and moral usages of the word. Hence, unbelievers are considered sanctified by marriage to believers in the sense of those who are exposed to the Christian community in 1 Corinthians 7:14:
For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
The word “sanctified” here has the sense of having the unbelieving spouse being brought within God’s people because of union with the believing spouse. The Greek verb may mean “to feel reverence, to treat as holy,” as it is the sense of the word when it is used in the pattern prayer our Lord taught in Matthew 6:9:
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
The Greek verb translated “hallowed” may be translated “to treat as holy” or “to have reverence.” The word may also mean “to purify”, that is, to remove that which is incompatible with holiness, as in 1 Thessalonians 5:23:
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The word “sanctify” here has the sense of removing something unacceptable by God, that is, sin, from the Thessalonians. Thus, we see that the verb form of the Greek word used has a range of meanings that includes setting something apart as belonging to God and that of purifying someone. With this understanding, we consider the Greek nouns that may mean “holiness” in the English.
A first Greek noun related to the Greek verb we considered that may be translated “holiness” is a Greek word (hagiotēs) that may mean “holiness” depending on the context. The meaning “holiness” may in some context be a reference to God’s character, as it is used in Hebrews 12:10:
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
The meaning “holiness” may refer to moral purity, as that is the sense Apostle Paul used it to describe his and his team’s conduct among the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 1:12:
Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace.
Thus, the Greek noun translated “holiness” may refer to character of God or moral purity.
A second Greek noun related to the Greek verb we considered that may be translated “holiness” in our English Bibles is a Greek word (hagiōsynē) that means “holiness.” However, “holiness” in some contexts may refer to moral purity as that is the sense of the use of the Greek word in Apostle Paul’s instruction as to what believers should strive to do in 2 Corinthians 7:1:
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Holiness here refers to moral purity as the kind of behavior God expects of believers. Holiness refers to the state that results from being dedicated to God’s service and so means “dedication, consecration” as that is the sense of the Greek word in 1 Thessalonians 3:13:
May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
The phrase blameless and holy is literally blameless in holiness. Holiness here refers to being consecrated or dedicated to God. Thus, this second Greek word has also the sense of being set apart to God and of moral purity.
A third Greek noun related to the Greek verb we considered that may be translated “holiness” in our English Bibles is a Greek word (hagiasmos) that is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 1:30. The word refers to personal dedication to the interests of the deity, hence means “holiness, consecration, sanctification.” It is in this sense of consecration or dedication to moral purity that the word is used in Romans 6:19:
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
It is in the sense of moral purity that the word is used in Apostle Paul’s statement regarding what is expected of believers in 1 Thessalonians 4:7:
For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
The verbal phrase to live a holy life is literally from the Greek in holiness. It is in the sense of virtue of moral purity that the apostle used our Greek word in encouraging women to ensure or confirm their salvation by exhibiting listed virtues in 1 Timothy 2:15:
But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
Because of the mention of the virtues “faith” and “love”, our Greek word translated “holiness” in 1 Timothy 2:15 is used primarily in a moral and ethical sense, referring to a life that is dedicated to God and therefore characterized by blameless conduct. It is still in the sense of moral purity that our Greek word is used in Hebrews 12:14:
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
The Greek word is used in the sense of dedication or consecration to God in Romans 6:22:
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
The sentence the benefit you reap leads to holiness is more literally you have your fruit to sanctification. Because the Greek word translated “sanctification” has the sense of being dedicated to God the literal translation may be rendered as in the TEV Your gain is a life fully dedicated to him. It is in the sense of dedication or setting someone apart to belong to God that Apostle Paul used it to describe the work of the Holy Spirit in relation to the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 2:13:
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
The phrase the sanctifying work of the Spirit is literally in sanctification of spirit but the sense is that of being set apart by the Holy Spirit to belong to God. Anyway, the predominant meaning of our Greek word is that of being dedicated or set apart to God. Thus, our Greek word along with the other two Greek words we considered may be understood as a reference to moral purity or it may be understood as a reference to a process by which a person is made part of God’s own people that is the work of the Holy Spirit. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 1:30, it is in the sense of being dedicated to God that our Greek word is used so that we can use the meaning “sanctification” or “holiness” to translate it so long as we understand that the sense of the word is being dedicated to God.
So, we ask in what sense then is Jesus Christ our sanctification or holiness? It is in the sense that it is through Him that God the Father made us His people or those who are dedicated to Him. It is this truth that the Lord Jesus referenced in His priestly prayer recorded in John 17:17–19:
17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
It is only in Christ can anyone be made part of the people of God as also indicated in the commission of the Lord Jesus to Apostle Paul, as recorded in Acts 26:18:
to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
The clause a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me means to be a part of God’s chosen people that is only possible through faith in the Lord Jesus. In any event, because of Christ’s death on the cross for our sins, we have become members of the family of God through Jesus Christ. Because we are united with the Son of God, we have become children of God. He took on human form so that He will elevate us and make us members of the family of God, as also implied by the author of Hebrews in Hebrews 2:10–11:
10 In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.
Since the Greek word translated “holiness” in 1 Corinthians 1:30 has also a sense of moral purity, then because of Christ’s work we are placed in a position whereby we can become dedicated to God in moral purity so that we can conform to the truth that we are those dedicated to God. In any event, third thing the Father made the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for us is the agent of us being dedicated to God as His own people. In effect, God demonstrates His wisdom in making sinners His own people that are consecrated to Him.
04/06/18 [End of Lessons # 37 and 38]