Don Smith :: Pro; Wisdom

Portraits of Christ in Proverbs
“Wisdom”

1. What is Wisdom?
   • Wisdom is a recurring theme throughout Proverbs, and inevitably someone will ask, “What is wisdom, anyway?” This is a good question—one that might best be dealt with at the outset of our study. So take a moment and record your personal thoughts as to how you would define wisdom.
   • “Wisdom,” as defined in Proverbs, uses other synonymous terms like: understanding, knowledge, learning, instruction and discretion.” By and large, its meaning is assumed to be fairly well understood by the reader.
2. Who is Wisdom?
   • Let’s begin our study with Solomon’s insight into divine wisdom. It is personified as God Himself, a Christological anticipation of the Truth. Notice the correlation between God the Creator and the personification of Wisdom.
     “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens; By His knowledge the depths were broken up, and clouds drop down the dew.” (Proverbs 3:19-20)
   • A fuller explanation is given in Proverbs 8:22-31 of One Who was before creation and Who took part in creation. He is called “Wisdom.”
     “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever an earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth; While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, or the primeval dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, When He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, When He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men.”

Now let’s look at the following New Testament Scriptures to get a picture of Who is Wisdom.

• “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)
• “The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.” (Matthew 12:42)
• “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:24)
• “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God.” (1 Corinthians 1:30)
• “The knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3)
• “This grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:8-11)
• With these Biblical insights from Proverbs and the New Testament, how would your definition of wisdom be expanded? Record your expanded thoughts.