In the Cross of Christ I Glory
In the cross of Christ I glory
This hymn expresses the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith, emphasizing that all Christian confidence and boasting must be in Christ's redemptive work rather than human accomplishment. The cross becomes the central symbol of God's grace and the believer's hope, reflecting the Reformation emphasis on Christ as the sole source of salvation.
History & Background
Written by Sir John Bowring in 1825, this hymn was published in his 1827 collection Hymns. The text became widely adopted in English-speaking Protestant churches throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
John Bowring’s text was inspired by Galatians 6:14: “May I never Scripture References boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Originally in st. 1- Gal. 6:14 five stanzas (st. 5 was a repeat of st. 1), it was initially entitled ‘The 1 Cor. 2:2 Cross of Christ” but later came to be known as “Glorying in the st. 2 -1 Cor. 1:18 Cross.” (The often-told story that Bowring wrote this hymn text after seeing a cross on top of a ruined cathedral on the island of Macao near Hong Kong is not true; Bowring went to Hong Kong twenty-four years after writing the text.) The first stanza affirms that the cross of Christ stands at the center of history; it is the key to the meaning of the history of events or civilizations that are the “wrecks of time.” Stanzas 2 and 3 confess the comfort, peace, andjoy that Christ’s cross brings to our troubled personal lives. Stanza 4 concludes that “bane and blessing, pain and pleasure” become a profound experience of unending peace and joy when “sanctified by the cross.” John Bowring (b. Exeter, England, 1792; d. Exeter, 1872) was a businessman who spent much of his life in public service. From 1828 to 1835 he worked for the British government as a political economist in the Netherlands, France, and Belgium. A member of Parliament, he worked for the British government in China in 1849 and completed his government career as governor of Hong Kong. Bowring’s literary output was phenomenal: he published thirty-six volumes on topics ranging from economics to biography, science, religion, and poetry. In practice a devout Christian, he belonged to 641 THE PSALMS, BIBLE SONGS, AND HYMNS the Unitarian Church. Bowring studied two hundred languages and claimed to speak one hundred. Included in his writings are two collections of hymns, Matins and Vespers with Occasional Devotional Pieces (1823) and Hymns as a Sequel to Matins (1825), which included “In the Cross of Christ I Glory.”
Hymnal Appearances
- Baptist Hymnal — 554
- Chalice Hymnal — 207
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 519
- Glory to God — 213
- The Hymnal 1982 — 441
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 104
- Lutheran Service Book — 427
- Lutheran Worship — 101
- New Century Hymnal — 193
- Psalter Hymnal — 474
- Trinity Hymnal — 251
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 354
- United Methodist Hymnal — 295
Liturgical Use
Lent and Holy Week; other services that focus on the meaning of Christ’s cross for us.
Bulletin Note
Written by Sir John Bowring in 1825, this hymn became a Reformation classic for its clear confession that Christian confidence belongs entirely to Christ's cross, not to human merit or accomplishment.
Preaching Connection
This hymn crystallizes the Reformation's central claim: the cross is God's answer to human sinfulness, making it a powerful response to any sermon proclaiming justification by faith rather than by works.
Catechism & Confessional Connections
- Of Justification Augsburg Confession
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law to Gospel: human weakness and worldly ruin (stanzas 1-2) give way to Christ's cross as sole source of redemption, peace, and Christian boasting (stanzas 3-4)
Themes
Redemption through the cross Boasting in Christ alone Triumph of the cross Christian confidence