The ancient Sophists (from the Greek word sophia which means wisdom), particularly Protagoras of Abdera, were lovers of wisdom and spent much of their time thinking and discussing wisdom. Protagoras coined a phrase: "Man is the measure of all things." If you adhere to a Biblical worldview you can immediately assess that that saying is flawed. There is no way that fallen humanity can be the ultimate arbiters of wisdom. In our modern culture, when we talk about wisdom, we usually ascribe it as some kind of trait that "older" individuals have. I put older in quotation marks because my daughter, who is 8, thinks I will be ancient when I turn 35 next week. But, for others, at 35 I am just a young lad. Older is not an absolute trait. While I would agree with that assessment of wisdom to an extent, what I am going to discuss today is what the Bible has to say about wisdom.The concept of wisdom is much more than that in the Biblical sense. When looking at the Old Testament, wisdom is portrayed as a "she" in many instances and we are encouraged to get her. For example, this is Proverbs 4:5-9:
5 Get wisdom, get understanding; don't forget or turn away
from the words of my mouth. 6 Don't abandon wisdom, and she will watch over
you; love her, and she will guard you. 7 Wisdom is supreme-so get wisdom. And
whatever else you get, get understanding. 8 Prize her highly, and she will
exalt you; she will honor you if you will embrace her. 9 She will place on your
head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.
In addition to wisdom being personified as a
"she", wisdom is eternally possessed by God and helped Him in
creation as detailed in Proverbs 8:22-31:
22 The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the
first of his acts of old. 23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the
beginning of the earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when
there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains had been
shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, 26 before he had made the earth
with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. 27 When he established
the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28
when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the
deep, 29 when he assigned the sea its limit, so that the waters might not
transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30
then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always, 31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting
in the children of man.
There are 2 things to note about this passage. The first is
that while all the creative acts of God from Genesis 1 are not listed; the ones
present appear in the same order as the original creation text. Compare Gen
1:1-2 with Pro 8:27-28 and Gen 1:6-10 with Pro 8:29. This is not meant to be
fanciful language only with no referent to the created order. This passage is
meant to remind the conscientious ancient Hebrew of creation itself. God had
this wisdom from the beginning and it helped Him and took delight in creation.
The second point will take us into the what the New Testament writers had to
say about wisdom. It is that, according to this passage, wisdom seems to be
both eternal (v. 22), yet begotten (v. 23). How can that be? If God had wisdom
before the heavens and earth were created, then wisdom is timeless due to the
fact that time was not around before His first creative act. Yet, the very next
verse says that wisdom was "set up". This seems, at the very least,
paradoxical, and at the very worst, contradictory. When we move into the New
Testament however, we find a clue. The clue is in Colossians 1:15-17 which
says:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of
all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things
were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in
him all things hold together.
The "He" that Paul speaks of is Jesus. We see that
Paul speaks about Christ in similar ways as the author of Proverbs speaks of
wisdom. Jesus is the "firstborn of all creation" (Col 1:15) while
wisdom is the "first of his [God] acts of old" (Pro 8:22). Jesus
created everything (Col 1:16) while wisdom assisted God "like a master
workman" in creation (Pro 8:30). We find another clue when we extend our
investigation to the early church creeds. What we find is that the church
affirms the eternally begotten nature of Jesus. Consider the Nicene Creed from
325 AD:
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from
true God, begotten, not made...
Jesus was never created, as "firstborn" (Col 1:15)
or "set up, at the first" (Pro 8:23) seem to indicate. This is
referring to his preeminence over all creation. Our study has shown us that the
New Testament writers didn't just think that Jesus had some wisdom to give out;
what they indicate is that Jesus is the personification of wisdom. As we
consider 3 more examples from the New Testament, this will become a bit more
clear. This first comparison is between Proverbs 8:1-11 and Matthew 11:28-30:
Proverbs
1 Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her
voice? 2 On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;
3 beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she
cries aloud: 4 "To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of
man. 5 O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. 6 Hear, for I will
speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, 7 for my mouth
will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of
my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. 9 They are
all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. 10
Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold,
11 for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare
with her."
Matthew
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and
lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light.
A comparison of the highlighted passages shows that Jesus
can teach us wisdom because He is wisdom itself. Wisdom is calling, so is Jesus
(red). Wisdom encourages learning, so does Jesus (blue). The next example
highlights the fact that Jesus is wisdom even more strongly. The passages are
Luke 11:49 and Matthew 23:34:
Luke
49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, "I will send
them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute...
Matthew
34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes,
some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your
synagogues and persecute from town to town,...
Again, when we look at the highlighted words, Jesus is
saying in both occasions that prophets will be sent to the Jews to warn them.
In Luke, the Wisdom of God is sending them while in Matthew, Jesus is sending
them. Our final example will bring us full circle with the clearest enunciation
of the personification of wisdom in the person of Jesus. It comes from 1
Corinthians 1:30-31 and Jeremiah 9:23-24:
1 Corinthians
30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to
us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so
that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
Jeremiah
23 Thus says the LORD [YHWH]: "Let not the wise man
boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the
rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he
understands and knows me, that I am the LORD [YHWH] who practices steadfast
love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight,
declares the LORD [YHWH]."
In these final passages, Paul makes it explicitly clear that
Jesus is wisdom. He also encourages the Corinthians to boast in the Lord, which
in this case is Christ Jesus from the verse before. However, when we look at
the passage in Jeremiah that Paul quotes, the Lord in this case is God's
personal name; YHWH. So Paul is equating wisdom with Jesus and then equating
Jesus with God. The end result of this is that if we want to exercise wisdom
through discernment and discretion we have to have a relationship with God
through His son (eternally begotten, not made!) Jesus Christ and empowered by
the Holy Spirit because they are wisdom. They don't just have pithy sayings to
help you live your life. They, by their very nature, are wisdom. So now that we
know what wisdom is and where to get it, what do we do with it? Paul answers
that question as well in Colossians 2:1-4:
1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you
and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that
their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the
riches of full assurance of understanding and knowledge of God's mystery, which
is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I
say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
Learn about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit through studying
God's word. Develop a personal relationship with them through prayer and
worship. This will equip you to live in the world that is led by Satan without
losing your way.
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