In our small group at Lifeway Church, Sanford Florida, centered around developing skills to study the Bible effectively, we looked at 1 Cor 1:30. This was to be our last get together, although I caught a bug and canceled. But this is what is great about technology: I can post what God said to me regarding our verse. Here it goes!
As we look at the verse, we will use several skills we have studied for the past 8 weeks:
- Observation – what does God say in the verse.
- Interpretation – what does God mean in the verse.
- Application – what does it mean to me?
We also will use the Analytical Lexicon Method. It’s just a fancy way to look at the original language and grammar (in this case, Greek) to more deeply understand the meaning and uses of words. Here is our sample study:
Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification, and Redemption
1 Corinthians 1:30
NASB
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
Observations:
- “But by His doing”: God is the origin of the action
- Morphology: PPro-GM3S
- Part of Speech: PPro: Personal / Possessive Pronoun,
- Grammatical Categories:
- Case G: Genitive
- Gender M: Masculine
- Person 3: 3rd Person
- Number S: Singular
- Jesus became (the “Genesis”) our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. V.30 Became: Greek “ginomi” – come into being:
- Morphology: V-AIP-3S
- Part of Speech: V: Verb
- Grammatical Categories:
- Tense A: Aorist (action completed in a point in time)
- Mood I: Indicative (declarative mood, simply states a fact)
- Voice P: Passive
- Person 3: 3rd Person
- Number S: Singular
Comparative verses for Wisdom
Ephesians 3:10
NASB
so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.
2 Corinthians 1:12
For our proud confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you.
1 Corinthians 2:13
NASB
which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
1 Corinthians 1:30 – Wisdom
- Morphology: N-NFS
- Part of Speech: N: Noun
- Grammatical Categories:
- Case N: Nominative
- Gender F: Feminine
- Number S: Singular
Strong’s Number: g4678
- Lexical: σοφία
- Transliteration: sophia
- Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
- Phonetic Spelling: sof-ee’-ah
- Definition: wisdom, insight, skill (human or divine), intelligence.
- Origin: From sophos; wisdom (higher or lower, worldly or spiritual).
- Usage: wisdom.
- Translated as (count): wisdom (43), of wisdom (7), with wisdom (1).
Comparative verses for Righteousness
Philippians 3:9
NASB
and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
Acts 13:10
NASB
and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?
Romans 6:19
NASB
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
1 Corinthians 1:30 – Righteousness
- Morphology: N-NFS
- Part of Speech: N: Noun
- Grammatical Categories:
- Case N: Nominative
- Gender F: Feminine
- Number S: Singular
Strong’s Number: g1343
- Lexical: δικαιοσύνη
- Transliteration: dikaiosuné
- Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
- Phonetic Spelling: dik-ah-yos-oo’-nay
- Definition: (usually if not always in a Jewish atmosphere), justice, justness, righteousness, righteousness of which God is the source or author, but practically: a divine righteousness.
- Origin: From dikaios; equity (of character or act); specially (Christian) justification.
- Usage: righteousness.
- Translated as (count): righteousness (70), of righteousness (17), to righteousness (3), from righteousness (1), justice (1).
Comparative verses for Sanctification
1 Thessalonians 4:7
NASB
For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
Romans 6:19
NASB
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
1 Corinthians 1:30 – Sanctification
- Morphology: N-NMS
- Part of Speech: N: Noun
- Grammatical Categories:
- Case N: Nominative
- Gender M: Masculine
- Number S: Singular
Strong’s Number: g38
- Lexical: ἁγιασμός
- Transliteration: hagiasmos
- Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
- Phonetic Spelling: hag-ee-as-mos’
- Definition: the process of making or becoming holy, set apart, sanctification, holiness, consecration.
- Origin: From hagiazo; properly, purification, i.e. (the state) purity; concretely (by Hebraism) a purifier.
- Usage: holiness, sanctification.
- Translated as (count): sanctification (6), holiness (4).
Comparative verses for Redemption
Romans 3:24
NASB
being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
Ephesians 1:7
NASB
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
Hebrews 9:15
NASB
For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
1 Corinthians 1:30 – Redemption
- Morphology: N-NFS
- Part of Speech: N: Noun
- Grammatical Categories:
- Case N: Nominative
- Gender F: Feminine
- Number S: Singular
Strong’s Number: g629
- Lexical: ἀπολύτρωσις
- Transliteration: apolutrósis
- Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
- Phonetic Spelling: ap-ol-oo’-tro-sis
- Definition: release effected by payment of ransom; redemption, deliverance.
- Origin: From a compound of apo and lutron; (the act) ransom in full, i.e. (figuratively) riddance, or (specially) Christian salvation.
- Usage: deliverance, redemption.
- Translated as (count): redemption (8), of redemption (1), release (1).
If you made it this far, you really like to dig deep! But all this identifying important words and looking for their Greek roots with Morphology (grammar properties of mood, tense, number, case, etc.) doesn’t do any good if you don’t let the spirit of God speak to you specifically about what you can apply to your own life. Here are 2 concrete applications God revealed to me. Did he do the same for you? What other applications did you find? Put you comments in the comment section below.
Applications
- Any wisdom I have comes from God. When I think I’m clever, thank God for it.
- Any success I have, don’t boast in it, because it doesn’t come from me. Give God the praise.
This verse in Jeremiah sums up the attitude of 1Cor 1:30:
Jeremiah 9:23-24
NASB
Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; [24] but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
Consider God's Word 