How would wisdom affect righteousness when that is the result of our relationships with God? This devotion looks at wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
Nuggets
- When we are “in Christ,” sin no longer has a hold on us.
- Jesus is our wisdom.
- We possess Jesus’ righteousness because it is imputed in us at conversion.
- Growth in grace and knowledge is how we become sanctified.
- Redemption is also a process.
To read devotions in the title series, click the appropriate button below.
What Is the Relationship Between Righteousness and Wisdom?
Wow! This is the last devotion in the What Is Righteousness? series. I found the verse I used when I was looking up sanctification. It seemed like a good way to connect and tie up the series.
Let's Put It into Context
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise” (Ps. 111: 10 NIV)
The Holman Bible Dictionary notes that authentic wisdom is fear of Lord. Partridge defined wisdom as “in the Scripture sense, is a virtue which makes a man not only skilful (sic) and intelligent, but also good and virtuous. It consists, not so much in knowledge, as in practice.”
We’ve talked about fear of the Lord before. We learned in What Does Fear of the Lord Mean? that the fear of the Lord means reverence and love, not terror. In Finding Favor by Acknowledging God, we talked about our following God’s laws and commandments shows that we fear God.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
In What is the Spirit of Wisdom?, we said that God uses the Holy Spirit to impart His wisdom. He will reveal Himself to us — giving us understanding for what we can read in the Bible and understanding for things God Himself will reveal to us. Knowledge has to come before holiness. Our growth particularly comes when He supplies wisdom through experiences.
Partridge said that fear of the Lord incorporated righteousness, service, and devotion. This, along with the reverence and love, forms the foundation of wisdom.
In Christ
“And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (I Cor. 1: 30 ESV)
We talked about being in Christ when we were strolling through Ephesians. At one point, Paul really emphasized what this meant.
Paul specifically wanted his readers to remember the time before salvation to contrast “without Christ” to “in Christ.” Everybody had been in the same unredeemed boat as, in the spiritual sense, we are all uncircumcised Gentiles.
However, when we are “in Christ,” sin no longer has a hold on us. Yes, Jesus is in us. He is in our hearts after we have asked Him to be our Savior. He is to be our life.
The restoration of our relationship with God has been made because of the power “… in the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2: 13 RSV). Yes, this is because of the power in the blood” (Eph. 2: 13 RSV).
But it is also, because of the power of God. The Sovereign Lord had the power and strength to make those dead bones live again.
Waterman pointed out that Christ in us was “not merely a life like Christ’s, but a life that is a part of Christ’s life. The temperament of Christ pervades the whole body.”
Look at the verse again. “And because of him …” (I Cor. 1: 30 ESV). Because God made this connection. God calls us to salvation.
God wants a relationship with us and will call us. His gift of salvation is available to any and all who believe. He is calling us to life, to contentment, and to be heirs as His children.
God’s call for us to accept Jesus in our lives eliminates the separation that occurred as a consequence of the original sin. As much as we may wonder how He can pardon us from our sins and restore our relationships with Him, He can and does — He wants to do just that.
Wisdom
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved” (I Cor. 1: 18 CSB)
Jesus is our wisdom. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (Jn. 14: 6 NIV). We can only gain salvation and be made, holy, sanctified, and righteous by accepting Jesus through faith as our personal Savior.
We are called to salvation through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gives us wisdom so that we may choose salvation.
What is this wisdom? “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere” (Jas. 3: 17 NLT). Isn’t that a great description of what we are called to be?
Look at it this way, too. Jesus said, “If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (Jn. 14: 7 CSB). Because we know Jesus, we have wisdom about the Father. Even though we haven’t seen Him, we see Him.
Now, God is important as He is the author of wisdom. “All wisdom comes from the LORD, and so do common sense and understanding” (Prov. 2: 6 CEV).
Colossians 2: 2-3 tell us that Jesus is that wisdom. “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (NIV). We only have true wisdom into the mystery of God when we are in Christ.
Of what does this wisdom consist? Well, we have record of Jesus’ teaching for three years. We see His works. That is a pretty good start.
We also have Jesus’ example. Remember back in What Is the Relationship Between Righteousness and Obedience?, we talked about the “what would Jesus do” movement?
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Okay, no, Jesus didn’t have the internet back then and some of the other things that tempt us. But we do see how He reacted to other things, and we can transfer that to any situation we come across.
We have said, yes, Jesus wants the obedience. But the obedience is supposed to build the character. The character obeys because we are imitating Him.
Yes, it is hard sometimes. Jesus, however, is in us. He is a part of us, so it is easier.
Righteousness
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (I Cor. 5: 21 NIV)
We possess Jesus’ righteousness because it is imputed in us at conversion. Philippians 3: 9 says, “and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ — the righteousness from God based on faith” (CSB).
The law can’t save us. It isn’t about doing the do’s and not doing the don’ts. That comes after conversion.
It all comes down to “… based on faith” (Phil. 3: 9 CSB). Nothing more. Nothing less.
The righteousness has to come from God. Remember what it is. Righteousness is “the actions and positive results of a sound relationship within a local community or between God and a person or His people” (Holman Bible Dictionary). It is based on fulfilling the covenant and building relationships with God and others.
But think of it this way. Righteousness means we are doing the do’s and not doing the don’ts. We are living within God’s Will. The standard of His Will is His laws and commandments.
No, we don’t need to be law perfect for salvation. “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift — not from works, so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2: 8-9 CSB). We are accepted by God because Jesus paid the price for our sins.
But we do have to follow the laws and commandments after conversion. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do” (Eph. 2: 10 CSB).
As we dig deeper and deeper into His Word, we begin to see how much worse off we were than we thought. There is no way man — on his own — could dig out of that pit. Only Jesus can lift us out.
Righteousness has to come from God as we obey Him.
Sanctification
“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10: 14 ESV)
Sanctification is “the process of being made holy resulting in a changed life-style for the believer” (Holman Bible Dictionary). It is learning — acquiring wisdom — so that we can grow in grace and knowledge.
Spurgeon wrote that, “because we are in Christ we have the basis of sanctification, which consists in being set apart.” Sanctification happens at conversion, but it is also a growing process.
Burger talked about sanctification being a renewing of our nature. Think about it.
Romans 12: 2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (NIV). When we were looking at our disciples’ job description, we said that, when we become believers, we have to change our mindset.
This transformation needs to continue as we grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18). That growth in grace and knowledge is how we become sanctified. This changes our nature.
The Disciple’s Job Description
Complete Job Description
Individual Description
Redemption
Holman Bible Dictionary has defined redeemed as “to pay the required price to secure the release of a convicted criminal, the process therein involved, and the person making the payment.” Janes put it this way: “to redeem is to deliver from some obligation, or embarrassment, or danger, or necessity, from which a person is unable to deliver himself.”
Spurgeon reminded us redemption is also a process. Yes, we are redeemed at salvation “by price you are — but you are not yet redeemed by power.”
In a way, it is good the power doesn’t initially redeem us. It is not smooth sailing after conversion. We have that power on tap for all of the subsequent struggles.
Making the Connections
We can have all the world smart that we want, and it won’t mean anything. We can be book smart about God, and it isn’t going to get it anywhere.
Romans 3: 10 says, “As the Scriptures say, ‘No one is righteous— not even one’” (NLT). Righteousness has to come from God.
Righteousness is all about putting the wisdom we have learned from growing in grace and knowledge into practice to make us imitators of God.
Sanctification is not an easy process. Our human nature is going to kick and scream. Thank goodness we have God’s power in our side!
All this — wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption — is to give glory to God.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
We have to make the decision to change. That decision is made in our minds. We have to consciously choose to change our nature, and that change comes, many times, through self-discipline.
How Do We Apply This?
- This should call us to worship Him.
- We should discipline our minds to choose God’s way every time.
- We need to remember, as Paul told us in Ephesians, what it was like without salvation.
Father. Please give us wisdom daily so that we can grow in Your grace and knowledge. Keep growing us until You being us home. Amen.
What do you think?
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