the grain of the universe

Wisdom was God’s first creation...

Back in January of 2018, I began a sermon series with the goal of preaching one book of the Bible every single Sunday. Yes, you read that right, an entire book in one sermon.

This was no small undertaking for a guy who spent over four years preaching the book of Luke. 

But, by God's grace, I did it. Between January of 2018 and September of 2019, I preached 68 sermons, making my way through the Whole Story of the whole Bible (check it out here). 

I tell you this because one of my favorite books in that series was the book of Proverbs. Preparing that sermon taught me how wisdom-the central theme of Proverbs-is this thing that helps us see the way the world truly is, and the way it works, so that we can live well inside of it.

And the reason wisdom is necessary for living well is because wisdom is expertise and competence, it is applied skill. Without it, we are unable to do our work in a joyful and purposeful way, seen in the how the Bible says that craftsmen (Exodus 35:31), goldsmiths (Jeremiah 10:9), and sailors (Psalm 107:27) all require it to fulfill their callings.

So let's bring these two thoughts together with another metaphor: that of a woodworker. You see, a woodworker uses applied skill by understanding that her work is done best by working with the grain of the wood, and not against it. And God has created the whole world with a "grain" of wisdom. Thus, in the same way a woodworker works with wood, we want to operate with the grain of creation, as designed and crafted by God (Psalm 19:1), and not against it.

Solomon himself revealed how wisdom is hardwired into all of Creation, when he presents Lady Wisdom saying,

22  “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 23  Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 24  When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25  Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, 26  before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. 27  When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28  when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29  when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30  then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, 31  rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man. 

(Proverbs 8:22-31)

One of my favorite preachers, Ray Ortlund, reflects on this passage...

Wisdom was here first, before us.

Wisdom was God’s first creation.

He wired wisdom into the cosmos as the inner logic of everything. So wisdom was how everything started and how it still works. We are born into this world long after things were set up so amazingly.

So Biblical wisdom (like we find especially in Proverbs 10—31) is more than handy tips. It is the secret code to reality. And in the Bible it is speaking to us, so that it isn’t a secret anymore!

And in the Bible it is speaking to us...

Huh.

This is why the Bible is indispensable in the very natural human longing for a good life! It helps us see more clearly the hardwiring of wisdom in all of creation, so that we can follow its lead, and work with it, and not against it (which would be folly).

When, through the Bible, we see God's wisdom hardwired into the world, and then work with this “grain” of creation, we find the path toward a happy and good life. And it is in the Bible we see that we have a guide on this path, Jesus, who is himself the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24) and in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).

I'm excited about a little project I'm working on that will deliver Biblical wisdom aimed at helping us live wisely, happily, as we move one step closer to Jesus. It will come in the form of more written content on my website, as well as some other forms of media. More on that in the days ahead.

And now,

May "the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory...give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe..."

(Ephesians 1:17-19)