Christian Wisdom

This post was written by Rev. Martyn McGeown, missionary-pastor of the Covenant Protestant Reformed Church in Northern Ireland stationed in Limerick, Republic of Ireland. If you have any questions or comments, please post them in the comment section on the blog.

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The second blog post in the 'Wisdom series: Wisdom and Folly' was inadvertently sent out before this blog post. This blog post is the first in the series.

CHRISTIAN WISDOM

The book of Proverbs is devoted to one great subject—wisdom.

Listen to the words of Proverbs 4:5, “Get wisdom, get understanding…” or Proverbs 4:7, “Wisdom is the principal thing: therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”

Wisdom is so important because God is wise, and Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God: “Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24); “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom…” (v. 30). “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). In fact, in the book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified: wisdom appears as a woman (because the Hebrew word for “wisdom” is feminine), who cries in the streets, who utters her voice, and who calls fools to listen to her.

In the very beautiful eighth chapter, wisdom dwells eternally with God: “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was” and “Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him” (Prov. 8:22–23, 30).

Jesus Christ, therefore, is the eternal wisdom of God. As God cannot be separated from His wisdom, so the Father cannot be separated from the Son.

WISDOM IN GOD

Before we consider what wisdom is in us, we consider what wisdom is in God. Wisdom is one of God’s many attributes or divine perfections. God is perfectly, infinitely and unchangeably good, holy, righteous, and powerful. God is also perfectly, infinitely, and unchangeably wise. Scripture calls him “the only wise God, our Savior” (Jude 25).

Wisdom is linked to knowledge, but it is not the same thing as knowledge. God has perfect, complete, and exhaustive knowledge of all things, past, present, and future. That is his omniscience. We have some knowledge of some things, but we are not omniscient.

A person could have knowledge of a wide range of topics, including theology, but not be wise. God has both knowledge and wisdom.

Wisdom is the right use and application of knowledge. A wise person knows how to live, act, behave and speak according to the knowledge that he has. Because God is wise, he always lives, acts, behaves, and speaks according to his infinite knowledge of omniscience. In addition, wisdom is adaptation of knowledge to the highest possible goal or purpose. The highest goal is God’s glory. Therefore, God’s wisdom is that perfection of the divine being according to which he is able to apply and adapt himself and all things to his own glory in all things.

God’s wisdom is on display in all his works and ways: “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches” (Psalm 104:24). So wise is God that even his “foolishness” is wiser than the greatest “wisdom” of men, and in comparison to God every man is a fool!

To be continued...

Next in series: Wisdom and Folly