All the foolishness of man, even of the saint, is the occasion of bringing out the wisdom of God; all thoughts are turned into good by Him, although this is no excuse for our foolishness. Two things brought out in 1 Corinthians 1 are, first, all that is of man is broken to pieces, and second, God comes in, and the righteousness of man — his carelessness and sin — everything is thoroughly broken to pieces. No flesh can glory in His presence.
Then would He have men not glory at all? Not so. Rather, “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (vs. 31). And here we find perfection in strength, wisdom, holiness; we will never have to be ashamed of that which is perfect, and it will never pass away, when everything else fades away. What a glorious thing for the saint! It seems wonderful for a poor sinner to be able to “glory in the Lord.” What a tendency there is in nature to glory in anything else! Man must glory in something; it may even be that he boasts of being the worst of sinners. He may glory in his sins, his wretchedness, anything that attaches to self. When God comes in, there will soon be an end of this; he will hide himself fast enough then and be ashamed of everything he has gloried in before. The state of man by nature is “without God,” even though he may be blessed by Him with all natural things. He would be glad to be out of God’s presence if he could, but in one sense he cannot. Man cannot fly from His presence, yet he is miserable in it.
Self-Righteousness
If a man sets up to be righteous, God will break that down, as He did in Paul. We are easily satisfied with ourselves; a very little righteousness will do. And there is another thing too: Man is content with doing his own will; he knows no obedience. Will that do when God comes in? Christ came not to save the righteous but sinners; therefore, if man is to be saved, he must be treated as a sinner. Where was all the boasted righteousness of Saul of Tarsus? He must be taken up as a poor sinner. All man’s self-righteousness turns out to be pride when it is traced to its root. The “elder brother” in Luke 15 says, What, will he take in a prodigal? His pride will not let him come in to be in company with such a one. There are plenty of elder brothers now, and younger ones too. Man in his vanity would set himself up to be wise, but he is really like a wild ass’s colt. What is his wisdom? He picks up little scraps of knowledge and calls that wisdom; it is man’s wisdom, spinning thoughts to exalt himself. Man is “lighter than vanity.” But “there is a path which no fowl knoweth, and the vulture’s eye hath not seen” (Job 28:77There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: (Job 28:7)). Real wisdom lies there. All that does not give rest to the conscience is folly and fades away.
Carelessness
Carelessness and boasting of sin and self-righteousness are both folly and vanity. The difference between them is that the self-righteous man is more proud than his neighbor, but in the presence of God every motive of the natural man is seen to be sin, for it is based on self-will. There is a way of deliverance open from the judgment. God speaks to Adam, “Where art thou?” You are naked in His presence, but there is a resource in Christ’s love, and this is granted here, not when we get to heaven. There is heart enough in Jesus to open the heart of the vilest sinner.
Christ – God’s Wisdom for Us
There is love to meet the need; therefore I have no need to hide my sins. It leaves no room for guile in the heart and offers no temptation to whitewash myself. When Christ comes, it puts away all this. Christ Jesus “is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and holiness [sanctification], and redemption” (1 Cor. 1:3030But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (1 Corinthians 1:30)). When we got eternal life in Christ, there was death in us, but life is come, and that life is in the Son. Christ is made unto us of God “wisdom.” What kind of wisdom? Divine wisdom. How could God love such a one as I am? There is Christ’s wisdom. When Christ is made wisdom for me, I can do without my own and learn of Him as a little child. How was He wisdom? He went down into the place where death reigned and got the victory over death. The world sinned against God, and He is come into it in mercy: That is wisdom. Wickedness is going on in the world; why does God patiently bear with it? He is saving sinners by Christ the Lord: That is wisdom.
The Needs of Righteousness
“Righteousness” is God’s own perfect righteousness. Not only can I get “wisdom,” which makes me calm and quiet, but “righteousness” in which there is not a flaw. Through His grace He is made to me “sanctification” also. The rule and measure, the power and setting apart of the new life, are all in Christ.
Christ is the key to the puzzle of this world. By Him I may no longer tremble in terror before God. No, I can glory in Him, worshipping Him who is all I need. The more I weigh and ponder it, the more perfect and the more wonderful it seems. We are not to be nibbling a little bit of the law and to think Christ has done all the rest. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He is a full Savior, and hence we learn that He is “redemption” too. By this the power of evil and death are set aside. We wait for the redemption of the body. I have got “redemption” now in Christ my head, and I am waiting for the full fruit of it.
Why do we wait? It is the time of His “long-suffering.” We wait for “the hope of righteousness by faith.” Now, in the best and highest sense we are redeemed to Him. “We are in Him that is free, even in His Son Jesus Christ.” We not only have the life of Adam, but are of God in Christ, and this is balm to the heart. What a different position we are in from a sinner trembling before a judge! Whence does all this come? He has taken our hearts up in grace and will wring them, as He took Job and wrung him, to show what was in his heart. What came out was what was in it, or it would not have come out. “Glorying in the Lord” is real humility: In it I confess I am ashamed of myself, but I acknowledge Christ.
J. N. Darby (adapted)