1:30 But of him
are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption: 31
That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the
Lord.
Christ is the centerpiece, the point around which all creation,
redemption, resurrection, and eternal life revolves. He was God in the flesh as
the Son of God, living and dying as our example, creating all things, sustaining
all things as in keeping them going, and He is the end of all things. Here are
some interesting verses given in no particular order.
John 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him
was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of
men.
1John 1:1 ¶ That which was from the beginning, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and
our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen
it, and bear witness, and shew
unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto
us;) 3 That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our
fellowship is with the Father,
and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And
these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are
in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all
things consist.
1John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an
understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his
Son Jesus Christ. This is the true
God, and eternal life.
Titus 2:11 ¶ For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem
us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good
works.
Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to every
one that believeth.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me
in heaven and in earth.
Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were
great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms
of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
There are a number of verses that speak of the importance of
glorying in the Lord. For instance;
Isaiah 45:25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be
justified, and shall glory.
Some commentators will say that the reason that there is no exact
Old Testament quote for Paul’s text in this verse is that he tends to quote
freely and changes things to suit the situation. For instance, in quoting
Habakkuk he twice deletes the word his.
Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in
the sight of God, it is
evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man
draw back, my soul shall have no
pleasure in him.
That is just one example of the Holy Spirit using the wisdom given
to Paul giving the reader what they needed rather than a direct quote. An Old
Testament verse can be alluded to or quoted directly. Some commentators claim
that verse 31 is a loose quote, an allusion, from Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 9:23 ¶ Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let
the mighty man glory in his
might, let not the rich man
glory in his riches: 24 But let him that
glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise
lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
Well, whatever the case, remember that there are quotes of texts
that are not in the Bible. For instance, David said;
1Samuel 24:13 As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth
from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.
In a similar fashion Paul and even the Lord Himself quoted things
that were commonly understood sayings of the time that were not quotes from a
Bible text.
Jesus said to Paul on the road to Damascus, quoting a cultural
proverb not found in the Bible but understood in an agricultural society about cattle
kicking against an ox goad, a pointed stick with a piece of metal on the end;
Acts 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord
said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it
is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Paul used a commonly understood saying that may have come down
from the comic poet of the 3rd -4th century BC named Menander.
1Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications
corrupt good manners.
He quoted Epimenides, a Greek poet and philosopher, in both Acts
and Titus.
Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move,
and have our being; as certain
also of your own poets have said, For we
are also his offspring.
Titus 1:12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow
bellies.
So, don’t be too alarmed when you find a quote that doesn’t appear
to be an allusion to a Biblical text. It can be an allusion, summing up a thought,
or it can be a quote from something commonly known in the culture but not from
the Bible itself. God is not bound by your prejudices.
An important thing here is about glorying in the Lord. We are so
used to having our hands raised in victory after a sporting event as we receive
our trophy or ribbon, having our efforts lauded at a retirement dinner, or
receiving awards for some famous deed in our business or community, and giving ourselves
the credit for our success and good fortune that we typically do not give glory
to God.
Knowing where a thing comes from is not easy in a world that has
reduced God to a first cause only and then booted Him out the door completely. But
we see His handiwork all around us as grass turns greener in the spring, the sun
rises in the morning, and a hard rain falls. We see God’s work in the moment by
moment beating of a heart, a baby’s laugh, and the healing touch of a physician
but we have been brainwashed with the deceit of Modernism which relegates all
these things and the complexity they require to be true to some sort of
randomness and luck, totally devoid of meaning or purpose.
Christians need to relearn in a modern world to glory in the Lord.
We did not save ourselves and our very being is a continuous miracle from God.
Now, let’s review the entire passage.
1:18 For the
preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which
are saved it is the power of God. 19 For
it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. 20
Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is
the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after
that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks
seek after wisdom: 23 But we preach
Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks
foolishness; 24 But unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than
men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that
not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are
called: 27 But God hath chosen the
foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things
which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to
bring to nought things that are: 29 That
no flesh should glory in his presence. 30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God
is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He
that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
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