Page 114 - The Poetic Books - Student Text

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create the world. A theological battle raged through the fourth century until the Council of Nicaea
declared Arianism heretical. The Nicaean Creed expressly addresses the issue. “We believe…in one Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only-begotten, that is, of the substance of the
Father, God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the
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Father, through whom all things were made, things in heaven and on earth….” Since that time the
church has stood on this theology, even if interpretations of Proverbs have varied.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses still maintain the created nature of the Son of God in part based on this
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passage. Yet the text in Proverbs clearly demonstrates wisdom personified. As already noted, the
chapter begins and ends with wisdom calling out (8:1, 32). Wisdom is described as a she (8:1, 2, etc.) not
only in this passage but throughout Proverbs.

The NT rarely speaks of God’s Son in terms of wisdom. As a human he grew in wisdom (Luke 2:40, 52)
and taught with wisdom (Matt. 13:53). In contrast to human systems of thought, Christ is “the power of
God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). In him, in what he said and what he did, can be seen both the
infinite power and the infinite wisdom of God. This wisdom is different from that of the world, in effect
turning it upside down. To worldly wise people a crucified king is utter foolishness: a humble God does
not make sense (1 Cor. 2:1-5). The believer must with determination stand on the death and resurrection
of Christ and turn completely from any human, self-confident advice (1 Cor. 3:18-23). We can, and must,
use the wisdom that flows from Christ if we would mature or help others mature (Col. 1:28-29). This is
how the Holy Spirit leads (Eph. 1:17).

While not so clear, the inspired sayings of Agur point in this direction.
He admits the smallness of his own learning (30:2, 3). He encourages
his readers to take refuge in God (30:5). He understands the
importance of God’s name more than his own well-being (30:9).
Haughty eyes are a grave danger (30:13) as are unsatisfied desires
(30:15, 20). The small things of the earth have more power than the
great with kings finding lizards in bed with them (30:28). The summary
of his message for humans is exactly like that of the NT, turning upside Figure 56: Clap hand on mouth
down the usual perspective. “If you play the fool and exalt yourself, or
if you plan evil, clap your hand over your mouth! (30:32).” We would expect nothing else from someone
asking the name of the one who established the earth and the name of his son (30:4).

Most works on Proverbs include a section on theology. Many pages are spent describing the major
themes in the book often including God, revelation, anthropology, and Christology along with major
topics and subthemes like the wise, fools, the wicked, male, and female. All of these are valuable and
give good insight about Proverbs. These types of studies use a different approach to the book. Instead of

189 Wikipedia Contributors. “Arianism,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia; Jan. 25, 2017 [cited 2017 Jan 20].
Available from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism.
190 Henry Bettenson, Documents from New Testament Times (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1974), 25.
191 Elijah Daniels, “Is Proverbs 8:22-31 talking about wisdom personified instead of Jesus?” Defend Jehovah’s
Witnesses. April 15, 2013 [cited Jan. 25, 2017] Available from:
http://defendingjehovahswitnesses.blogspot.com/2013/04/is-proverbs-822-31-talking-about-wisdom.html.
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