Attributed commentary excerpt
Barnes' Notes on 1 Corinthians 1:30
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Notes on the Whole Bible
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · 19th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
But of him - That is, by his agency and power. It is not by philosophy; not from ourselves; but by his mercy. The apostle keeps it prominently in view, that it was not of their philosophy, wealth, or rank that they had been raised to these privileges, but of God as the author. Are ye - Ye are what you are by the mercy of God. 1 Corinthians 15:10. You owe your hopes to him. The emphasis in this verse is to he placed on this expression, “are ye.” You are Christians, not by the agency of man, but by the agency of God. (See the supplementary note at Romans 8:10.) In Christ Jesus - See the note at 1 Corinthians 1:4. By the medium, or through the work of Christ, this mercy has been conferred on you. Who of God - From God ἀπὸ θεοῦ apo theou. Christ is given to us by God, or appointed by him to be our wisdom, etc. God originated the scheme, and God gave him for this end. Wisdom - That is, he is to us the source of wisdom; it is by him that we are made wise. This cannot mean that his wisdom becomes strictly and properly ours; that it is set over to us, and reckoned as our own, for that is not true. But it must mean simply, that Christians have become “truly wise” by the agency, the teaching, and the work of Christ. Philosophers had attempted to become wise by their own investigations and inquiries. But Christians had become wise by the work of Christ; that is, it had been by his instructions that they had been made acquainted with the true character of God; with his law; with their own condition; and with the great truth that there was a glorious immortality beyond the grave. None of these truths had been obtained by the investigations of philosophers, but by the instructions of Christ. In like manner it was that through him they had been made practically wise unto salvation. Compare Colossians 2:3, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” He is the great agent by whom we become truly wise. Christ is often represented as eminently wise, and as the source of all true wisdom to his people. Isaiah 11:1; Matthew 13:54; Luke 2:40, Luk 2:52; 1 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Corinthians 3:10. “Ye are wise in Christ.” Many commentators have supposed that the beautiful description of wisdom, in Proverbs 8:0 is applicable to the Messiah. Christ may be said to be made wisdom to us, or to communicate wisdom: (1) Because he has in his own ministry instructed us in the true knowledge of God, and of those great truths which pertain to our salvation. (2) Because he has by his word and spirit led us to see our true situation, and made us “wise unto salvation.” He has turned us from the ways of folly, and inclined us to walk in the path of true wisdom. (3) Because he is to his people now the source of wisdom. He enlightens their mind in the time of perplexity; guides them in the way of truth; and leads them in the path of real knowledge. It often happens that obscure and ignorant people, who have been taught in the school of Christ, have more true and real knowledge of that which concerns their welfare, and evince more real practical wisdom, than can be learned in all the schools of philosophy and learning on the earth. It is wise for a sinful and dying creature to prepare for eternity. But none but those who are instructed by the Son of God, become thus wise. And righteousness - By whom we become righteous in the sight of God. This declaration simply affirms that we become righteous through him, as it is affirmed that we become wise, sanctified, a…
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