“When He established the heavens, I was there…” (Proverbs 8:22-31, NASB)

Today’s passage speaks of something profoundly theological. In theology, there is a term that describes this idea: “Wisdom Christology.” It describes the idea that the “wisdom” in today’s passage is the Old Testament version of the Word incarnate, that is, the preexistence of Christ. It is a theological framework that identifies Jesus Christ as the embodiment or personification of God’s wisdom. What do you think? Read it for yourself and see if you agree. It says,

“The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was brought forth; while He had not yet made the earth and the fields, nor the first dust of the world. When He established the heavens, I was there, when He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed, when He set for the sea its boundary, so that the water should not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth; then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in the world, His earth, and having my delight in the sons of men.”

This passage stands out within wisdom literature by both personifying wisdom and presenting it as an enduring, timeless entity. Wisdom is not a tool God used for creation, but an inherent aspect of God’s nature. Verse 22 says, “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, before his works of old.” This suggests that God and wisdom are both eternal, existing before creation. For this reason, some biblical scholars argue that this passage refers to Jesus Christ’s preexistence. John 1:1-5 says, “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 came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Furthermore, John 1:14 says that this “Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Apostle John begins his gospel by clearly stating that the eternal Word of God took on flesh and lived among us in the person of Jesus.

So, what is wisdom? We can say that wisdom is words that are wise sayings. Therefore, can we say that wisdom is the Old Testament understanding of the eternal Word who later took on flesh as Jesus? While the Old Testament believers didn’t fully understand it, passages like today may indicate that they had some idea about it as the Spirit of God spoke through them. They wrote the Scriptures but didn’t know that the Word of God would one day come and take on flesh and live among His creation. They spoke, but didn’t fully understand that this person, who is the Word in flesh, would die for the sins of mankind and rise again to redeem them as children of God. Even the prophets and angels who prophesied about the coming Messiah didn’t fully know it. 1 Peter 1:10-12 says, “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.”

Regardless of whether wisdom in today’s passage refers to the preincarnate Christ, the undeniable truth is that Jesus is the eternal Word who created the heavens and earth with God. Colossians 1:15-18 says, “And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.” And in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col.2:3). This is the truth that separates Christian faith from all other religions, and it is the core foundation of the gospel of God.

• Do you believe that Wisdom in today’s passage speaks of the same Word who became flesh in John 1:1-2?
• What do you feel knowing that the wisdom God used to create the world is accessible to us now?