INTRODUCTION
There is a verse that has been really challenging me this last few weeks, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to share that verse with you, 1 Cor. 1:30.

"But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - righteousness and sanctification and redemption"

Well, the whole point of this message is that the Cross is about much more than forgiveness. It certainly starts there. But there is much, much more to the good news in Christ Jesus.

"But of Him are you in Christ Jesus"...

"Of Him" - That is, the Father.
"are you in Christ Jesus" - the Son, of course.
"who is became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" - Here is where the Holy Spirit is at work. "How so? I don't see the Holy Spirit mentioned here." Hold that thought - We will get back to it when we come to this verse. Let's go back to verse 18: The story of two dead-ends and a Cross-road.

I. The Cross of Christ Divides: 18- 25
A. The World Despises the Cross of Christ. Maybe you noticed that. Perhaps you've witnessed to someone, trying to get them interested in Christ and salvation and what has been happening in your life with God and - they just dismiss it, or say something like, "That may be good for you, but I've got no use for it." Or if they don't say it in so many words, you just know there is no interest, zero interest. This verse 18 sheds some light on that.

The two dead-ends are those of the Jews and the Greeks:
The Jews required a sign and the Greeks looked for wisdom.

1. The Greeks, though never having been taught of God, like the Jews were, did manage a few insights into the character of God. In Plato's book, "The Republic", we have the discussion between Socrates, the philosopher, and his friends about the nature of righteousness. In order to define the word, Socrates says, we must first describe the most righteous man possible. Someone who was totally righteous in all his actions and thoughts. He also has to be someone who has the stigma of being unrighteous, because, otherwise, he might just be good for the sake of reputation. And this righteous man must not only be thought evil, he must be persecuted and beaten - all the while maintaining his righteousness. Last of all, he must be impaled.

These words of Socrates centuries before Christ are probably the closest the Greeks came to the truth.

But Paul was probably not thinking of that ancient Greek, but a much more recent rejection at Mars Hill. That was a rough missionary trip for Paul. He had some encouraging converts in the last few weeks like the Phillipian jailer and Lydia.

2. There has been no nation that has been so blessed with the knowledge and presence of God as Israel has. Aside from all the miracles and other blessings they received, they were given many promises about the coming Messiah. Here are just a couple of them.

a. How about Jacob? At the end of his life, he gathers his sons together to bless them. An important key to this whole passage, Gen. 49:1- 26, is that very first verse:

"Gather together that I may tell you what will happen to you in the last days.." "In the last days". Jacob is inspired to speak of the days of Messiah. We see the phrase "last days" and automatically think of our "last days". But these "last days" refers to the "last days" of the Jews before Messiah. (Hebrews 1:1- 2) It's a Messianic promise.

Gen. 49:10:
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people."

These are many other Messianic promises that show Him as Prophet, Priest or King.

Jeremiah 33:14- 18 promises that Messiah will take the place of both the kings and the priests of Judah. Verse 16 looks forward to the imputed righteousness of Christ for His people, "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS".

Verse 17, "David will never lack a man to sit on the throne".
The angel Gabriel says that that Man is Jesus (Luke 1:32- 33) "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

Verse 18, back in Jeremiah 33, says, likewise, that the priests would never lack a Man to minister. Hebrews 5:6 "You are a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

But the Jews - most of them - missed all this! They looked for a physical king and a physical kingdom and didn't recognize the approaching Kingdom of God that doesn't come with observation!

And what about their Messiah? Because He did not live up to their expectations of what the Messiah should be, they couldn't accept Him. He didn't give them signs to suit them. He spoke in parables and metaphors like, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you." (John 6:53) They didn't stay for the explanation.

They rejected Him.
They rejected Him as Prophet (John 6:60 "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?").
They rejected Him as Priest (Heb. 10:20 - "counting His blood as an unclean thing").
They rejected Him as King (Luke 19:14 "We will not have this man reign over us." ; John 19:14- 15 "We have no king but Caesar").
They rejected their Shiloh, the Prince of Peace. (Luke 19:41- 42 "He saw the city and wept over it, saying "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.").

"The word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith." (Heb. 4:2)

Now that is all history. But the lesson is more than a history lesson, because these two dead-ends still exist today. Christ is being offered to all people today, but the majority turn their nose up at it because of the same two reasons: We have ministries today that, instead of just plainly presenting the truth of the Bible, and of our sin, and presenting the holiness of God - and the Gospel of Christ's love; instead these ministries cater to the prejudices of unbelieving minds. They strive to give unbelievers "reasons to believe", like Hugh Ross does with his eleven dimensions of God and 67 books of the Bible

But our job is to just present the Gospel - not make it presentable. That is the Holy Spirit's ministry! The Word will always be despised by some - and - praise God - accepted by others. Our purpose, your purpose in your witnessing - is not to sweat it out trying to convince someone. We can't give anyone spiritual eyes or open hearts, as God did to Lydia's.

B. The Saints are Drawn to the Cross of Christ. Here is the Cross- Road.
"But to us who are being saved it is the power of God." vs. 18.

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." John 10:27.
"All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out." John 6:37.
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." John 12:32.
Here we have a seeming paradox. That last verse says that Christ death will draw all people, yet our text in 1st Corinthians shows that the Cross will not draw all people. The answer is, first of all, that "all" does not always mean "all". If you have any doubt of this at all, go down a list of the occurrences of the word "all" in a concordance and you will see what I mean. See also John 6:44.

II. The Calling of the Father: 26- 29
"26. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28. and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29. that no flesh should glory in His presence."

Remember that Paul had few convert in wise Athens, the university town. So he left for Corinth. And here he had success. It was God. He told Paul, when he had gone to Corinth: "Don't be afraid but speak, and don't keep silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you, for I have many people in this city."(Acts 18: 9- 10) BTW, Paul may very well have been the first Christian to reach as far West as Corinth. And yet God assures Him "I have many people in this city."! God already knew - for that matter, from the beginning of time - which Corinthians He had chosen.

God's calling is according to His will. Not according to anything in us.
A. Qualifications for being called: None!
So what are your qualifications to being a Christian? "Ummm, I don't have any - He just chose me." This puts to rest that old chestnut about "God looking down the corridors of time and choosing those who He knew - would choose Him!" Paul said, "There is none who seek God." (Rom. 3:11). In other words: If there is any saving going on, He will have to come for us - since we aren't seeking Him.

God's eyes do not roam about the world, looking to build up His dream team of Christian witness. "Let's see, this guy looks smart. He'll be a professor at a Christian college. She's already pretty concerned for others. She'll be a great missionary. That athletic guy over there has a natural rapport with the kids. I'll make him a youth pastor." No, He took a stuttering, hot tempered Moses - and made him a bold mouthpiece for His message of deliverance and judgment. He took a rough and untutored son of Zebedee fisherman - and made him into a bold witness to the Gospel, fearless in the face of imprisonment and death.

Speaking of Moses again: Now there is a case of a guy throwing away a good education! According to Heb. 11:23- 26 he was raised up in the culture and education of Egypt. As the son of Pharoah's daughter he clearly had much training in various arts. According to Josephus he had considerable military training as well. Well, did he use any of that for God? No. God made him go to His university of humility in the desert for 40 years. What about his earlier training? None of those credits transferred.

How did God finally use him? What was the extent of his training in God's army? Well - he used a stick!
He threw it down - and it became a snake!
He passed it over the waters of Egypt and they became blood!
He held it over the Red Sea and it parted!
He struck the rock - Ooops, he struck it twice - and out came water.
He held it up - and Israel overcame the Amalekites in battle.

God didn't use Moses for his abilities and skill as a tactician. He called him, enabled him and - for His own inscrutable purpose - put a stick in his hands. "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise". This is just one example. Look through your Bible. You will find many.

A good saying to bear in mind here is: "God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called!" "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2nd Cor. 4:7).

B. Purpose for being called: Glory to God!
Verse 29 says it all: "that no flesh should glory in His presence". We add nothing to the Church of God. We only use the gifts that He gives us. Once this truth gets a hold of you, it should totally revolutionize your walk with God. When it comes to the Kingdom of God. you are a spiritual welfare case! "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God - , not of works, lest anyone should boast." The next verse 10 is not quoted very often in comparison to the previous verses 8- 9 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

"Wow. this is killing my self-esteem! What DO I get to take credit for?" Nothing. "That no flesh should boast in His presence."

III. The Riches of Grace: 30
"But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God - righteousness and sanctification and redemption"

God is the One who put you in Christ. We covered that already. Now we look at what we have in Christ: Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption.

When we talk about these things we are speaking of God's grace. Everything we have as Christians is because of Jesus Christ and through Jesus Christ. These benefits, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption are ours because of the Cross of Christ. It's an important point of Paul's teaching that he always connects God's being gracious to us with His Son's death on the Cross. A good acronym for grace is:

God (the Father)
Righteously
Applying (the Spirit)
Christ's (the Son)
Excellence.

It is only at the Cross, and because of the Cross of His beloved Son, that the Father can be at the same time "just and the justifier of the believer in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26).

1. If God was only just He could have sent everyone to Hell. Certainly we all deserved it.
2. If God was only justifier He could have pardoned everyone. But then He wouldn't have been holy and just. Sin had to be paid for some way.
3. That is why the Cross of Christ is so important. It is the only way that we can be saved by a righteous, holy God.

John 16:13- 14 teaches that the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, will take of the things of the Son and give them to believers. In John the promise was still to come, but now, on this side of Calvary, the promise is a wonderful reality for every believer in Christ. The Spirit applies the blessings of Christ's intercession to us. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, the work of Christ for His people becomes the work of Christ in His people.

Christ is to us...
A. Wisdom: When God opened our hearts, He also opened our eyes. Suddenly, verses that seemed obscure make total sense - or at least much more sense than before. Col. 2:2- 3 says that "All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ." If we truly believe this, shouldn't we study our Bibles for all their worth? To be in Christ and to have the Spirit of Christ in our hearts - and to have the Word of God. That is a powerful combination! There is so much blessing that we could have in Christ - and we are content to coast along with the bare minimum. Why is that? Read carefully John 6 to find out how Christ is our source of spiritual wisdom and life. "The flesh profits nothing. The words I speak unto you (vs. 63) they are spirit and they are life." Christ is our wisdom.

B. Righteousness and Sanctification: These next two words go together. They are joined together in the Greek. They both have to do with being righteous. The first is that perfect standing with God that is ours because of Christ's sacrifice. It is instantaneous and it means we have eternal life! The second, sanctification (or holiness, same word) is a lifelong process. This is Christ being formed in us.

C. Redemption: Here means our final redemption. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption, (Eph. 4:30) the redemption of our bodies that we groan for (Rom. 8:23).

But all that Christ is to us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, is done through the Holy Spirit. In John 16 The first Comforter (Jesus) promises to His disciples another Comforter (the Holy Spirit). "He shall take from what is mine - John 16:15 - and give it to you". That is what this verse is all about.

1 Cor. 2:10 "The Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God."

What does 1 Peter 1:2 say? The same thing that this passage is saying. We are "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." This one verse shows all three of the Trinity working in our salvation.

And all of this happens because of the Cross! This is why Paul says "God forbid that I should boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Gal. 6:14.

By the way, notice that Paul doesn't say he is carrying his cross. Only Jesus said that, and that was before the Cross. For those of us on this side of Calvary, we know that we are crucified with Him. We died with Him. But, because we died with Him, we live live by faith in Christ (Gal. 2:19- 20).

By faith we do what most of the Jews did not do: recognize Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King:

1. "Wisdom": The Prophet speaks words of wisdom. "This is my Son. Hear Him." "The words I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life".

2. "Righteousness and Sanctification": The Priest sacrifices and intercedes (Heb. 7:25). The sacrifice was already done, once for all time. This sacrifice imputes to us the righteousness of Christ. After this sacrifice there will be no other. The interceding he is doing right now. This is where we grow in grace, our Sanctification (or holiness, same word).

3. "Redemption": refers to our ultimate redemption in Christ, in the Day of redemption, when He comes as "King of Kings, Lord of Lords".

IV. Glory to God: 31
Not much needs to be said here, except: We cannot take credit for our salvation. We did not start it. We cannot keep it (in our strength). "It's God who works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure". (Phil. 2:13) All the credit goes to God!

CONCLUSION:
1. God chose us. "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." He spoke to you and to you - and to me. Not many wise, not many noble. We say that we trusted in Him - and that is true - but before any act of ours, it was God that worked in us. He opened our hearts to trust in Him, like Lydia's.

2. Your salvation is not in your hands. You don't want it to be in your hands. If its in your hands you will drop it - or lose it. No, our salvation is hidden with Christ in God. We are safe because we are in the Son.

3. Salvation is all of God. We can take no credit for our salvation. God chose us first - then made us "choosable".

4. We have everything we need in Christ Jesus. Everything. He not only chose us, He guides us safely home. "He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus".

5. We can't put into practice what we don't know. To be rich in spiritual blessings means nothing unless we are aware of them - and act on them in faith. We need to read God's Word and seek God's face for wisdom! Paul's main constant prayer for all the Christians he wrote to was for them to have their eyes open - more and more - to all they have in Christ Jesus. He told these same Corinthians in the next chapter, verses 9- 10:

"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

These are not just future blessings spoken of.
This is what we have right now!

Message preached May 16, 2004