Of Him (God) you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us
WISDOM from God—and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption.
1 Corinthians 1:30
Jesus Christ is not only Priest to purchase, and King to secure, but also Prophet to reveal to us the salvation that God prepared for them who love Him. Just as at creation the light was first called into existence, that in it all God’s other works might have their life and beauty, so in our text wisdom is mentioned first as the treasury in which are found the three precious gifts that follow. The life is the light of man (John 1:4); in revealing this to us, and enabling us to see the glory of God in His own face, Christ makes us partakers of eternal life. It was by the Tree of Knowledge that sin came; it is through the knowledge that Christ gives that salvation comes. He is made of God wisdom for us. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).
And of God you are in Him, and only have to abide in Him to be made partaker of these treasures of wisdom. In Him you are, and in Him the wisdom is; dwelling in Him, you dwell in the very fountain of all light; abiding in Him, you have Christ, the wisdom of God, leading your whole spiritual life. He is ready to communicate, in the form of knowledge, just as much as is needful for you to know. Christ is made to us wisdom: You are in Christ.
It is this connection between what Christ has been made for us, and how we have it only as we are in Him, that we need to understand better. The blessings prepared for us in Christ cannot be obtained as special gifts in answer to prayer apart from abiding in Him. The answer to each prayer must come in a closer union and deeper abiding in Him; in Him—the unspeakable gift—all other gifts are treasured up, including the gifts of wisdom and knowledge.
How often have you longed for wisdom and spiritual understanding that you might know God better, whom to know is life eternal? Abide in Jesus: Your life in Him will lead you to that fellowship with God in which the only true knowledge of God can be found. You may not be able to grasp it with understanding, or to express it in words; but the knowledge that is deeper than thoughts or words will be given—the knowing of God that comes from being known of Him. ‘‘We preach Christ crucified ... to those who are called ... Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God’’ (1 Corinthians 1:23–24).
Would you count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ your Lord (Philippians 3:8)? Then abide in Jesus, and be found in Him. You will know Him in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). Following Him, you will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12). It is only when God shines into the heart, and Christ Jesus dwells there, that the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Christ can be seen.
Would you understand His blessed work, as He brings it to pass on earth or works it from heaven by His Spirit? Would you know how Christ has become our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption? It is by bringing, revealing, and communicating these that He is made to us wisdom from God. There are a thousand questions that at times come up, and the attempt to answer them sometimes becomes a burden. It is because you have forgotten you are in Christ, whom God has made to be your wisdom. Let it be your first aim to abide in Him in focused, fervent devotion of heart; when the heart and the life are right, rooted in Christ, knowledge will come in the measure we need. Without such abiding in Christ, knowledge does not really profit, but can actually be hurtful.
The soul may satisfy itself with thoughts that are but the forms and images of truth, without receiving the truth itself in its power. God’s way is to first give us, even though it is but as a seed, the thing itself, the life and the power, and then comes the knowledge. Man seeks the knowledge first and often never gets beyond it. God gives us Christ, and in Him are hidden the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Let us be content to possess Christ, to dwell in Him, to make Him our life. Only in a deeper searching into Him will we find the knowledge we desire. Such knowledge is life indeed.
Therefore, believer, abide in Jesus as your wisdom, and confidently expect from Him whatever teaching you may need for living your life to the glory of the Father. In all that concerns your spiritual life, abide in Jesus as your wisdom. The life you have in Christ is a thing of infinite sacredness, far too high and holy for you to naturally know how to act it out. He alone can guide you, as by a secret spiritual instinct, to know what will help and what will hinder your inner life, and enable you to abide in Him.
Do not think of it as a mystery or a difficulty you must solve. In whatever questions come up about abiding perfectly in Him at all times, and of obtaining all the blessing that comes from abiding, always remember: He knows, all is perfectly clear to Him, and He is your wisdom. Just as much as you need to know, and are capable of understanding, will be communicated, if you only trust Him. Never think of the riches of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Jesus as treasures without a key, or of your way as a path without a light. Jesus your wisdom is guiding you in the right way, even when you do not see it.
In all your meditations with the blessed Word, remember the same truth: Abide in Jesus, your wisdom. Study as much as you can to know the written Word; but study even more to know the living Word, in whom you are of God. Jesus, the wisdom of God, is only known by a life of implicit confidence and obedience. The words He speaks are spirit and life to those who live in Him. Therefore, each time you read, or hear, or meditate upon the Word, be careful to assume your true position. Realize first your oneness with Him who is the wisdom of God; know yourself to be under His direct and special training; go to the Word abiding in Him, the very fountain of divine light. In His light you can and will see light.
In all your daily life, its ways and its work, abide in Jesus as your wisdom. Your body and your daily life share in the great salvation: In Christ, the wisdom of God, provision has been made for their guidance too. Your body is His temple, your daily life the sphere for glorifying Him. It is a matter of deep interest to Him that all your earthly concerns be guided rightly. Trust His sympathy, believe His love, and wait for His guidance—it will be given. Abiding in Him, the mind will be calm and free from distraction, judgment will be clear as the light of heaven shines on earthly things, and your prayer for wisdom, like Solomon’s, will be fulfilled ‘‘exceedingly abundantly above all that (you) ask or think’’ (Ephesians 3:20).
And so, especially in any work you do for God, abide in Jesus as your wisdom. Remember, we are ‘‘created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them’’ (Ephesians 2:10). Put away any fears or doubts that you will not know exactly what these works are. In Christ we are created for them; He will show us what they are and how to do them. Cultivate the habit of rejoicing in the assurance that the God of divine wisdom is guiding you, even where you do not yet see the way.
All that you can wish to know is perfectly clear to Him. As Man, our Mediator, He has access to the counsels of Deity, to the secrets of Providence, in your interest and on your behalf. If you will but trust Him fully, and abide in Him entirely, you can be confident of having unerring guidance.
Yes, abide in Jesus as your wisdom. Seek to maintain the spirit of waiting and dependence, the spirit that always seeks to learn and moves only as the heavenly light leads on. Withdraw yourself from all needless distraction, close your ears to the voices of the world, and be as a docile learner, always listening for the heavenly wisdom the Master has to teach. Surrender all your own wisdom; seek a deep conviction of the utter blindness of the natural understanding in the things of God; and wait for Jesus to teach and to guide in all you believe and do. Remember that His teaching and guidance do not come outside you: It is by His life in us that Divine Wisdom does His work.
Retire frequently with Him into the inner chamber of the heart, where the gentle voice of the Spirit is only heard if all is still. Hang on with unshaken confidence, even in the midst of darkness and apparent desertion, to His own assurance that He is the light and the leader of His own. And live, above all, day by day in the blessed truth that, as He himself, the living Christ Jesus, is your wisdom, your first and last care must be this alone—to abide in Him. Abiding in Him, His wisdom will come to you as the spontaneous outflow of a life rooted in Him. I am, I abide, in Christ, who was made to us wisdom from God; wisdom will be given to me.