Wisdom & The Word:
The Word of God: Jesus is called the Word of God, the Logos, because He speaks the will of the Father. The Greek word Logos may be rendered as, the Wisdom of God, the Reason of God, or the Word of God. “The Word of God,” stands for the pre-existent nature of Christ.
The Word of God, or Jehovah, is of the same nature and duration with the Father, because the noun (the Word), is in the genitive case and joined by makkaph, “of.”
Genitive case is the expressing primarily the thing from which something else proceeds. For example;
1. “The son of a father.” The son being the genitive case.
2. “The water of a fountain.” The water being the genitive case.
It also expresses other relations, particularly possession or ownership, such as,
Greatness of mind. Greatness possessed by, or inherent in the mind.
Genitive case also expresses that which proceeds from something else, such as, “The father of seven sons.” The seven sons proceeding from their father.
Makkaph, refers to the word “OF,” of is the sign of the genitive case. Example:
1. “The Son of God.” Of, is the sign that Jesus proceeded from, or is the only begotten of God the Father.
2. “The Son of man.” Of is the sign that Jesus proceeded from man, in this case, Jesus being born of flesh. This being the primary sense. Also,
This is peculiarly distinctive in the Hebrew language. Nouns which are related to each other are either in the genitive case or joined by the makkaph, “of.” Because the words Son and Father, or Son and man, are both nouns, are in the genitive case and joined by “of,” they are considered to be of the same nature and duration. So when we speak of Jesus, as the Word of God, this implies that He came from the Father and is of that same nature and duration as the Father.
When we speak of Jesus as being of the same nature as the Father, I am implying that Jesus is of the same essence, essential qualities, having the same attributes, and is of the same nature and duration with the Father. How do we know this? Because the Word and Jesus, both being nouns is said to be,
Hebrews 1:3, “The brightness (Divine Majesty, splendor) of His (the Father’s) glory, and the express (exact) image of His (the Father’s) person.”
As for duration, The Word, “Was with God (the Father) and the Word (Jesus) was God.” Therefore, the Word is eternal and without origin.
In Genesis 15:1-2, The Word of God is emphatically styled,
“The Lord Jehovah.” The preserver, and protector of Abram.
Genesis 15:1, “The Word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision saying, fear not, Abram: I am thy shield (protector,) and thy exceeding great reward (preserver).”
In, verse 2, Abram responds to the person who stands before him as, “Lord God,” or “Lord Jehovah.”
In Genesis 18, The LORD appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, and said in verse 25, that He is the, “Judge of all the earth.”
In, Genesis 15:5, we read that the Word of God, predicted events which were to be fulfilled throughout all the succeeding generations coming from Abram. He said to Abram, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He (the Word of God) said unto him, So shall thy (Abraham’s generation) seed be.”
This was fulfilled by God, in that, the Jewish people and especially the Christian community number in the tens of millions.
The Word of God declares Himself to be Jehovah;
Genesis 15:7, “I am the LORD (meaning Jehovah).”
Romans 4:3, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
John 1:1, Jesus is declared to be, “The Word.” It is said of the Word, or Logos in the Greek, that, “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.”
Let’s examine a few other verses concerning the Word of God. It is written that God’s word came in many ways to the people of the Old and New Testament.
Genesis 20:3, “God came to Abimelech in a dream by night.”
In Scripture, dreams were sometimes impressions on the minds of those sleeping, they by Divine agency.
Matthew 2:12, “Being warned of God in a dream that they (the wise men) should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.”
Judges 13:3, “The angel (messenger) of the Lord appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, behold now, thou art barren, and bears not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son (speaking of the birth of Sampson).” God at times takes on the temporary form of a man and speaks His message of some coming event.
Joshua 5:13-15, “Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for out adversaries? And He (the man) said, Nay; but as Captain of the Host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the Captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou stand is holy. And Joshua did so.”
Joshua fell on his face, worshipping Him. Jews by law are to worship God alone. If this person (the Captain) were not God, Joshua could have been stoned, or accused of false worship. The man who called Himself the Captain of the LORD of hosts was the Word of God, having shown himself in the flesh, so as to be seen by Joshua as a man.
Genesis 15:1, “The word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”
In Scripture, a vision is a revelation from God; an appearance or exhibition of something supernaturally presented to the minds of the prophets,
Mark 1:11, “And there came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The voice of the Father’s words came from heaven.
Therefore this term, “The Word of God,” stands for the pre-existent nature of Christ, and is also that spiritual and Divine nature spoken of in the Jewish writings before and about the time of Christ.
John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Revelation 19:13, “And He = (Jesus) was clothed with a vesture (robe) dipped in blood: and His name is called the Word of God.”
He is called the Son of David and the Son of Abraham. Jesus is spoken of as having the same nature, but not of the same duration as both David and Abraham. Both men had a beginning. Jesus is what the word eternity implies.
1. Matthew 1:1, Jesus is called the “The son of David.”
2. Matthew 1:1, Jesus is called the “The son of Abraham.”
The Wisdom of God, is God’s total comprehensive knowledge of all things in their proper nature and relationships, together with the power of combining the knowledge, nature and relationship in the most useful and appropriate manner.
In a moral sense, it signifies that knowledge by which God guides men to connect the best means with the best ends. God’s wisdom is that which separates the successes of a wise man, from the foolishness of another man’s failure. The older Jewish writers used the title, “Wisdom of God,” and “the Word of God,” to describe their God and Messiah.
Proverbs 8:12 -22, “I Wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.”
Wisdom here is speaking of one of the many attributes of Jesus Christ. The verses that follow describe Wisdom” in the following way. Wisdom hates evil, pride, arrogance, and evil ways. Counsel is mine: I am understanding; I have strength. By Wisdom do kings reign, and princes decree justice, and rule, also the judges of the earth sit. You can read the rest of the verses and understand the full power of the person who is called the, “Wisdom of God.”
Daniel 4:17, “To the intent that the living may know that the most High (supreme God) rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever He will, and sets up over it the basest (lowest) of men.”
A little side note. Don’t worry about President Trump, God has everything in control. Our concern is who you vote for in Congress to stand beside and support our President. Is must be those that stand against abortion, the gay life style, the teaching of evolution and the separation of God from government, education, etc. If so, you will be on the side of righteousness, because God hates the above. If not, you stand against God. This is wisdom used justly.
Wisdom rules “in the kingdom of men,” and God declares His rule among men.
Wisdom in Proverbs, though described as being with the Father, is not asserted to be the Father.
Proverbs 8: 22-23, “The LORD possessed me (as the only begotten Son) in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I (Wisdom) was set up (anointed) from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.”
The use of personal attributes is consistent with personification, as with the description of a person. What does it mean to personify? It is to give life to inanimate (not having life) objects. It is to give to an non-living thing, the sentiments (thoughts prompted by passions and feelings), actions, and/or language of a rational person, or to represent an inanimate thing with the affections and actions of a person.
Wisdom is used as a personal pronoun, and with the female gender (her, she) continually in the book of Proverbs. In other words, wisdom is spoken of as a female. When we see a ship, we would say, “She (the ship) is named after a President. The ship itself, is never changed to that of the person.
Such a personification is agreeable to the style of the book of Proverbs as can be seen in the following verses.
Proverbs 1:20, “Wisdom cries without; she utters her voice in the streets.”
Proverbs 3:16-17, “Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”
Proverbs 4:8, “Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.”
The whole of Proverbs 8, can be taken as a personification of the term “Wisdom.” This can be seen and verified in the following N.T. verses. Lets compare Luke 11:49, with, Matthew 23:34.
Luke 11:49, “Therefore also said the Wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute.”
In Matthew 23:34, Jesus said, “Behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify.”
Note; in Luke, wisdom will send prophets, and in Matthew, Jesus said, I send you prophets. So, Jesus the Word of God, is also called the Wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:24, “Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God .” Jesus is called both “The Power and the Wisdom of the Father.”
Wisdom is that wonderful attribute of Jesus nature by which He knows and orders all things for the declaring of His glory and the good of His creation. Wisdom appears in all the works of His hand.
Psalms 104:24, “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches (possessions).”
Wisdom shows itself in the dispensations of His providence.
Psalms 97:1-2, “The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of Isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about Him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne.”
Wisdom earmarks itself in His work of redemption.
Ephesians 3:10, “To the intent that now unto principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.”
His wisdom is that which governs and preserves His church throughout the ages.
If we lend an ear to God’s Wisdom, it should teach us to have admiration for our Lord.
Revelation 15:3-4, “Sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”
God’s Wisdom builds in us, trust and confidence.
Psalms 9:10, “And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.”
God’s Wisdom strengthens our prayer life.
Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
We must learn of submission to our God.
Hebrews 12:9, “We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence (respect): shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits (God), and live?”
We must always praise our Lord Jesus.
Psalms 104:1-4, “Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honor and majesty.” ver.4, “Who makes His angels spirits; His ministers = (servants) a flaming fire.”
An interesting side not on Bible Phrases.
“Brought forth,” as in,
Proverbs 8:24, “When there were no depths, I (wisdom) was brought forth.”
To be brought forth means, established, built up, confirmed, made strong. So the Son of God was established as King, Priest, Prophet, Lamb, Creator, etc. Example,
“Brought up,” as in,
Proverbs 8:30, “When He (the Father) appointed (decreed) the foundations of the earth…” Then I = (Wisdom) was by Him (the Father,) as one brought up with Him.”
This word, “brought” in verse 30, is not the same Hebrew word used in verse 24. Here it means to be trusted, confided in, believed in, and also implies that Jesus, ascended to, as in will and deed, to His Father’s will. Jesus was now fixed, permanent, durable, and the truth was in Him.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com