Linking “wisdom” with the person of Jesus
Daily Scripture
Proverbs 1:7, 8:22-26, Colossians 1:15-20
Proverbs 1
7 Wisdom begins with the fear of the LORD,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 8
[Wisdom says,]
22 The LORD created me at the beginning of his way,
before his deeds long in the past.
23 I was formed in ancient times,
at the beginning, before the earth was.
24 When there were no watery depths, I was brought forth,
when there were no springs flowing with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
26 before God made the earth and the fields
or the first of the dry land.
Colossians 1
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God,
the one who is first over all creation,
16 Because all things were created by him:
both in the heavens and on the earth,
the things that are visible and the things that are invisible.
Whether they are thrones or powers,
or rulers or authorities,
all things were created through him and for him.
17 He existed before all things,
and all things are held together in him.
18 He is the head of the body, the church,
who is the beginning,
the one who is firstborn from among the dead
so that he might occupy the first place in everything.
19 Because all the fullness of God was pleased to live in him,
20 and he reconciled all things to himself through him—
whether things on earth or in the heavens.
He brought peace through the blood of his cross.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
The book of Proverbs began with a 9-chapter poem about wisdom as a woman urging people to listen to her teaching. The apostle Paul used that tradition to show Jesus as the full expression of God’s wisdom. “Jesus as wisdom appears again in Paul, in an image spawned by Israel’s wisdom tradition. When Paul writes that Christ is ‘the image of the invisible God, the one who is first over all creation’ (Colossians 1:15), he is clothing Christ with the imagery of a preexistent Adam and of wisdom.” *
- Many scholars believe these verses are the lyrics to an early Christian hymn in honor of Jesus. Rector Dick Lucas wrote that “If [Col. 1:15-20] was a spiritual song along the lines of Colossians 3:16, it would make the teaching hymns of even a Charles Wesley appear lightweight.” ** Read slowly and thoughtfully through these verses, noting all the qualities and actions of Jesus they name. Which of them mean the most to you? Which of them would you like to understand better?
- N. T. Wright’s scholarship noted the linkage between Proverbs’ image of “wisdom” and Paul’s description of Jesus: “In the Judaism of Paul’s day, quite a lot that he has here said about Jesus had already been said about the rather shadowy figure of ‘wisdom’. Part of Paul’s point is precisely this: if it’s wisdom you want, Jesus is where you have to look.” *** In what ways has knowing Jesus given you a clearer view of God’s wisdom for fully human living?
Prayer
Lord God, you are so much grander and greater than I am—yet you want me to know you. Thank you for coming in Jesus to show me a clear image of what you are like. Amen.
GPS Insights
Janelle Gregory
Janelle Gregory serves on the Resurrection staff as Human Resources Lead Director. Janelle finds that her heart is constantly wrestling with the truth that she needs a Savior, and the times when she's at her very best are when she's just too tired to put up a fight.
When I think of the term “wisdom,” I often associate it with “stoic.” My perception is that someone who is wise has either experienced or witnessed a difficult season of life and walked away with a new and higher perspective. A wise person absorbs information and is slow to speak. They are knowledgeable and careful. They may even be reserved so as to not be too hasty in their decisions. Does this description of wisdom sound familiar to you? I think that it’s certainly a solid depiction of wisdom, but it’s not the only one.
This definition is very restrained and composed, but there’s also a different way to view wisdom. The other way to think about wisdom is unconventional, it’s wild, it might even be preposterous. It’s the type of wisdom that comes from understanding who we are in Christ. In Christ, we are released from our egocentric lives. We are freed from finding our identity in the thoughts of others and bowing down to the idol of “doing good.” We no longer hold onto our past, our sins, or our self-doubt. We throw away chasing this world’s biggest, best, and brightest, and we live boldly as those who have been called children of God. It’s a type of wisdom that sat at the foot of the cross and then stepped into the empty tomb. It’s knowledge, but it’s knowledge of whose we are and how that changes everything.
This, my friends, is wise as well. My hope is that we take this definition of wisdom to heart and live courageously as those who are absolutely drenched in grace that can only come from the overwhelming love of our Savior.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Article “Wisdom” in Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III, general editors, Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998, p. 956.
** Dick Lucas, The Message of Colossians and Philemon: Fullness and Freedom. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1980, p. 46.
*** Wright, N. T., Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (The New Testament for Everyone) (pp. 151-152). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
