The Three "I's" of Wisdom" The Fourth Fatherly Address

INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT

When we think of God and how He relates to us, there are two words that we could use to describe it:

Transcendence: This is the idea that God is above and beyond us.

The idea of transcendence is that God is entirely separate from and sovereign over his creation.

Gabriel Etzel

Transcendence describes God in His consuming majesty, His exalted loftiness.

R. C. Sproul

On the other hand, we have Immanence: This is the idea that God is near to us.

The meaning of immanence is that God is present and active within his creation, and within the human race, even in those of its members who do not believe in or obey him. His influence is everywhere.

Millard J. Erickson

The immanence of God means quite simply that God is here.

James Montgomery Boice

And of course, the greatest example to us that the Transcendent God is also Immanent is when He came near to us in the Person of Jesus Christ—the God-Man.

Tonight, we take a look at Solomon’s fourth fatherly address to his son.

It is the fourth of ten—all of which are found in the first seven chapters of Proverbs.

They are a part of the first of seven collections of Proverbs, which stretches all the way through chapter 9.

In this fatherly address, we will see that like God Himself, God’s wisdom is both transcendent and immanent.

One one hand it is above and beyond us—it is immense.

On the other hand, it is near to us—it is intimate.

And then we will see that God’s wisdom is immense and intimate, is also invaluable to our souls.

So these will be the “Three I’s of Wisdom,” tonight— immense, intimate, invaluable.

SCRIPTURE

Proverbs 3:11–20 ESV

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed. The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

THE WISDOM OF GOD IS IMMENSE (v. 19-20)

We will begin at the end tonight. We will start with the transcendent nature of God’s wisdom. We see this in verse 20:

1. The wisdom of God is immense (v. 19-20).

At the conclusion of the fourth fatherly address, Solomon says that it was by wisdom that the Lord founded the earth and by understanding that He established the heavens (v. 19).

So the Lord laid out the earth and established it by His wisdom.

And the Lord created the heavens—the sun, the moon and the stars and all the galaxies—by understanding.

By His skill and competence.

By His knowledge the deeps broke open (v. 20).

The KJV says, “the depths are broken up,” which is a little more clear.

This is referring to how God made oceans and seas and rivers, all divided by land.

By His knowledge, the clouds drop down the dew.

The whole process of:

water evaporating from bodies of water and turning into water vapor

and rising into the atmosphere and forming clouds and tiny droplets in the clouds combining with other droplets to make larger ones

and then those droplets falling to the ground because of gravity

This is all according to the knowledge of God.

We say that God’s wisdom is immense, because we are seeing in these verses that the scale of His wisdom and what is has accomplished is great.

We might look at someone who can manage their money and bank account and investments and say they are wise.

But God is managing the entire Universe.

And more than that—He created it out of nothing.

THE REALITY OF CREATION

The reality of creation with all of its delicate complexities is hard to even fathom.

The mixture of earth’s oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere has to be exact in order for us to breathe.

It is a very narrow window.

For life to be sustained on the planet, Earth must be in the precise position it is in in our solar system.

If the earth were to drift 5 percent closer to the sun in its orbit, the seas and rivers and lakes would evaporate and carbon-based life would vanish.

If the planet were 20 percent farther from the sun, the waters would all freeze.

When you think about the size of the planet, the outer crust of the earth is very thin.

If it were any thicker, the process of plate tectonics, which helps regulate and distribute the earth’s internal heat, would not take place.

This would once again, make life unsustainable.

And that is just the creation outside of man.

Looking at our own bodies, human DNA contains more than 3.5 billion letters and enough information to fill 12 sets of a 32 volume Encyclopedia.

DNA hosts information, like an instruction manual.

The genetic language consists of an alphabet system (coding system), correct spelling, grammar (proper arrangement of chemical subunits), meaning, and intended purpose. This genetic information is translated as it is conveyed to amino acids, which are assembled into proteins. This process is amazing.

Jeff Johnson

These are just a few factors of the delicate complexity on our planet and in our Universe and in our bodies.

We have only made a scratch on a surface that is so grand, we don’t even know the scope of it.

British mathematician, Roger Penrose, did a study on the probability of life and existence and he came to the conclusion that the chances of their being a universe capable of sustaining life that came about by random chance is “10 to the power of 10 to the power of 123.”

How many zeroes is that? It is 10 to the power of 123 zeroes.

A number too big for us to imagine.

The probability theory of mathematics says that anything that has the odds of “1 to 10 to the power of 50,” is essentially “Zero Probability.”

According to Penrose, the chances of our existence coming about apart from an act of a creating God, is more than a trillion, trillion, trillion times less than Zero.

And yet, according to Solomon—God did all of this by His wisdom, understanding and knowledge.

Solomon will repeat this in fuller detail in Proverbs 8:22-31. Once again it is Lady Wisdom speaking:

Proverbs 8:22–31 ESV

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 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, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.

It is also stated in other parts of the Old Testament:

Psalm 104:24 ESV

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.

Isaiah 40:28 ESV

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

Jeremiah 51:15 ESV

“It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

And then, in the New Testament, we find out who is the all-powerful agent in God’s creation.

Listen to what the Apostle John says to open his gospel:

John 1:1–3 ESV

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 were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

The Word is none other than Christ, the Wisdom of God.

In the beginning was Christ, the wisdom of God.

He was with God.

He was God.

And all things were made through Christ, who is the Wisdom of God.

Look around you—there is nothing that was made without Him.

Paul says it is this way:

Colossians 1:16–17 ESV

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Ta panta is the Greek term. It means all things.

All-inclusive.

Nothing is self-sustaining apart from Christ who is the wisdom of God.

It all exists because of Him.

And it is all made through Him and for Him.

It is all held together in Him.

Christ, who is the Wisdom of God, is the Life-Giver.

He is the Life-Sustainer.

He is the preeminent one over and before all creation.

When Proverbs 3:19-20 speak of God’s transcendent wisdom that has founded, established and sustained the world, the text is talking about the Jesus of John 1 and Colossians 1.

From DNA to the system of water vapor turning into rain to the earth’s orbit—it is Him.

The immense, creating, transcendent wisdom of God is the immense Christ—the King of the ages, resurrected and reigning.

THE WISDOM OF GOD IS INTIMATE (v. 11-12)

So understanding the transcendent wisdom of God, let’s now look at our own hearts as Christian people.

2. The wisdom of God is intimate (v. 11-12).

This is where we move from transcendence to immanence.

From above and beyond to near and dear.

In verses 11-12, Solomon is speaking to his son about how we all must respond to God as our Father.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

11  My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline

or be weary of his reproof,

12  for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,

as a father the son in whom he delights.

To be a child of God is to live under the discipline of God.

This is how childhood and parenthood work.

When I was a child, I lived under the discipline or Mike and Debbie Howard. There were things expected and certain things that were not allowed.

It was expected that I would not be disrespectful.

It was expected that I would do my homework.

It was expected that i would keep my room clean.

Once we became Christians, it was expected that I would go to church.

On the other hand, I was not allowed to watch rated R movies.

I was not allowed to listen to music that had a warning on the front about Explicit Content.

I was not allowed to hang out with certain people who had bad reputations.

I was not allowed to stay out late past a curfew.

Apart from any sort of punishments if I transgressed these things, the rules themselves were a form of discipline.

And I am better for it.

Furthermore, if I did not live up to expectations or I did what was not allowed, there were consequences.

There were punishments.

Stepping outside of their discipline would result in discipline.

We are all under the discipline of the Lord in the sense that we are under His “Yes’s” and “No’s.”

There are some things He says we should do and must do.

There are some things He says we should not do and cannot do.

And when we ignore His “Yes’s” and “No’s,” we will find ourselves under discipline for ignoring His discipline.

We will find ourselves receiving His reproof—or His correction.

If the son violates the father’s admonitions, he can expect I AM to back it up with a spanking.

Bruce Waltke

But what verse 12 tells us is that the divine spanking is out of love.

The Lord reproves those whom He loves, like a good father reproves a son in whom he delights.

The love behind the action is one that says, “The rebellion in your life is dangerous and destructive. And I love you too much to continue in it. Therefore, I am going to reprove you so that your transgressions don’t become a permanent fixture in your life.”

Just like in the case of God’s immense, transcendent wisdom, we find an example of God’s intimate and immanent wisdom in the New Testament. In fact, these verses are quoted directly:

Hebrews 12:5–11 ESV

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

If God were not to discipline us, it would not say good things about our souls.

If you ever look at lost people and think, “How can they live like that? How can they be so care free in sin, but my conscience is eaten up with the smallest of infractions against God’s law?”

Well—they are not sons of God.

They are not daughters of the King.

They get no discipline, because they are not in God’s household.

But the Savior who has saved you and reconciled you to God, beckons you to pray at the throne of grace and to call the Maker of the Universe, Father in heaven.

And the Spirit who dwells in your heart testifies to you that you can call God, Abba Father.

By grace, we can be sure that we have been adopted into God’s households and that adoption is only confirmed by the Lord’s discipline.

Under no character does He approach so near to us, and endear Himself so closely to us, as that of a Father. Most precious at all times, especially under correction, is the privilege of adoption. Nowhere, indeed, are our corruptions so manifest, or our graces so shining, as under the rod.

Charles Bridges

THE DANGER OF DISCIPLINE

And yet, we must say that there is a danger in discipline.

The danger is that we would either despise it or be weary of it.

To despise it = Rejecting it

To be weary of it = Running from it

Proverbs 15:10 captures this danger well:

Proverbs 15:10 ESV

There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.

There is life found in submitting to the loving discipline and reproof of God.

There is even more severe discipline, and even death, for the one who hates God’s discipline.

Because in the sustained hatred of it, there is evidence that a heart has not truly been brought into God’s household.

We cannot afford to find our hearts in this position.

If we do, we will end up missing out on an aspect of God as our Father.

We will miss out on an aspect of His adoptive love for us.

Part of being His child is living under His discipline.

His discipline is that of the family; not of the school; much less of the prison. He corrects his children, not as criminals, but as those whom he beholds without spot, made accepted in the Beloved.

Charles Bridges

So how do we make sure that we are not rejecting the discipline of God or running from the discipline of God? How do we ensure that we are acting as children of God in relation to His intimate wisdom in discipline?

I want to provide three requirements.

THE REQUIREMENTS OF DISCIPLINE

First of all, submission to discipline requires humility.

If pride is what causes us to struggle against God’s discipline and be weary of it, then we must turn away from pride and humble ourselves before the Lord.

In the book of Micah, Israel was riddled with national sins and Micah prophesies to them about all of these failings.

Their response is:

Micah 6:6–7 ESV

“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

And Micah’s response to them is:

Micah 6:8 ESV

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

When we have sinned and the Lord is disciplining us, it is the time to get back to the basics.

We must humble ourselves, let go of our insistence on doing things our way and walk in humility with God.

Humility before God is saying, “You are right and I am wrong.”

“You have the words of life, but on my own, I would only know death.”

If we do not humble ourselves, we are nothing more than the child who is throwing themselves on the floor because they are not getting their way.

We are the child who stomps their feet and stops their ears because they aren’t getting what they want.

And we are the child, who when punished, only grows more angry or more sullen and continues to despise the discipline of their parents.

If we belong to God, and we are His, our refusal to humble ourselves will only serve to cause us to miss out on God’s reproving love, while at the same time, garnering more divine spankings from Him.

Secondly, submission to discipline requires faith.

It requires faith that God’s discipline is a part of His gracious Providence and that He knows what He is doing.

We know that He disciplines us as a Father, but maybe the issue of faith as it relates to discipline will be more easily understood in light of CS Lewis’ divine artist illustration:

Lewis said that if you saw an artist working tirelessly on a painting and they were rubbing out certain parts and re-painting them over and over, you would think, “Wow—they want perfection” or “Wow, they really care about the details of this work of art.”

Well Ephesians 2:10 says:

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The Lord God is the Master Workman—the Master Artist, creating us in Christ Jesus and He will see to it that the work He has begun is not just “pretty good,” but perfect in the end.

Therefore, God, as the owner of us in Christ, is rubbing out the parts of His masterpiece that still are not in line with His will and His way.

We must have the faith to believe that He knows what He is doing.

We must have the faith to believe that as He disciplines us, He is perfecting us, even if we can’t see the whole picture.

We must have the faith to believe that God is working together all things for the good of those whom He loves, including the discipline in our lives.

Thirdly, submission to discipline requires hunger for intimacy.

You must want to know God if you are going to be willing to know His discipline.

It is one thing to learn of God in theory.

It is one thing to know systems of theology.

It is one thing to understand the definitions of biblical terms.

It is one thing to have the attributes of God memorized.

But it is another thing to know God in experience.

It is another thing to actually know Him as Father and be able to say, I have felt His rod and I know His heart.

Not just to understand systems of theology, but to know the God of the theology.

To know the Father through the Son.

To taste of the grace of the Son sent by the Father.

To be beckoned to call God Father through the Spirit.

Those who only want the facts about God, but not a real relationship with God Himself, will have no interest in the discipline of God.

THE WISDOM OF GOD IS INVALUABLE (v. 13-18)

So we have seen that the wisdom of God is immense. We have seen that it is also intimate.

As we move to our third point for tonight:

3. The wisdom of God is invaluable (v. 13-18).

A BEATITUDE OF VALUE (v. 13-15)

Verse 13 begins with the words “Blessed is,” letting us know this is a Beatitude.

It is very similar to the beatitudes that we see at the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.

This is the first of five beatitudes in Proverbs. They all come in chapter 3 or chapter 8.

This beatitude shows us that the one who finds wisdom and gets understanding is blessed.

Your translation might say, “Happy,” because the one who finds wisdom and gains understanding are happy in the soul.

They have a peace that only God can provide.

The language of verses 14 and 15 reminds us of what we saw back in the second fatherly address in chapter 2, where Solomon said:

Proverbs 2:3–4 ESV

yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,

Once again, wisdom is being depicted as a woman.

And the gain from drawing wisdom out from God’s heart into your life is better than any gain you could get from silver.

It is better than any profit you could get from gold.

It is more precious than jewels.

In fact, Solomon says that you can think of anything that you would desire in this world, in terms of riches and material possessions, and none of it matches the worth of God’s wisdom.

Derek Kidner, commenting on this, said, “Wisdom makes you richer than money ever will.”

The Psalmist in Psalm 19, says it this way:

Psalm 19:10–11 ESV

More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

And as Solomon says these things to his son, he speaks from experience.

1 Kings 10:23–25 ESV

Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

And yet, Solomon looks at his son and says, “You can’t compare it to God’s wisdom.”

It won’t bless you the way understanding from above will.

It won’t make you happy.

It is not as precious.

THE TWO HANDS OF WISDOM (v. 16)

We know there are spiritual reasons for this. We know that money cannot fill the void of a soul that is separated from God.

We know that riches will not ultimately satisfy.

And yet practically, Solomon tells his son that those who are submissive to God’s wisdom will often find life and wealth in wisdom’s hands anyhow.

In verse 16, Lady Wisdom is like a queen with two full hands.

In the right hand, there is long life.

In the left hand, there are riches and honor.

The long life is more important than the riches and honor because it comes from the right hand, which was the more honorable hand in the Ancient Near Eastern cultures.

So with that honored right hand, Lady Wisdom reaches out like a queen to her subjects and offers long life.

The choices and values that wisdom will lead you to will typically result in longer life.

It doesn’t entitle you to it, but it positions you for it.

There are destructive vices the wise will avoid.

There are life-risking choices the wise will be averse to.

There are foolish decisions that the wise are guarded from by their understandings.

And even if our unbelieving neighbors outlive us, these things are still true in eternal sense, because we will be blessed on the New Earth—in the city built with God’s own hands.

And then, with the left hand, wisdom offers wealth and honor. Here is Matthew Henry talking about what children of God receive from the left hand of wisdom.

They shall have the wealth of this world as far as Infinite Wisdom sees good for them; while the true riches, by which men are rich towards God, are secured to them.

Matthew Henry

As much wealth and honor that Christ, who is the Wisdom of God, desires for you to have—you will have.

He will provide for your needs.

For so many of us, He goes beyond that and provides an abundance in the storehouse.

And His provision is for His glory.

Augustine famously said that God gives riches to good men so they are able to show they are not evil, but He gives riches to evil men to expose they are not good.

God often will give wealth to His people so that they may glorify Him.

And yet, this is not the case with everyone.

Some of the poorest of the poor in the world are believers. This is a promise in the general sense, but not exact for every situation.

But again—even for those believers who taste destitution and poverty according to the Providence of God, if they have Christ by faith, then they are rich toward God.

And when the Lord returns, they will find that they will be co-heirs of Christ, inheriting the entire world.

PLEASANTNESS AND PEACE (v. 17)

More than these physical delights and eternal promises that we see in v. 16, wisdom is also going to lead to spiritual delight.

That is what we see in verse 17.

When you walk the ways of wisdom, you walk the way of pleasantness.

There is spiritual pleasure in walking wisely and obeying God.

If you are despairing, go obey God.

Go serve someone.

Pray for someone.

Share the Gospel with someone.

Call a brother or sister who is on your heart and encourage them.

If you are confused and frustrated, take stock of your choices and see if you are properly applying God’s wisdom.

Receive His reproof as a humble, believing child, if you recognize you are guilty of relying on the world’s wisdom.

And what you will is that on the path of wisdom there is peace.

Just think about Philippians 4...

Paul tells the Philippians to do the wise thing of bringing their requests to God.

What will be the result?

Philippians 4:7 ESV

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul tells the Philippians to be wise and follow his godly example.

What will be the result?

Philippians 4:9 ESV

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Walking in wisdom is pleasant and pleasurable for the soul.

And as you walk in it, your soul will be at rest.

TREE OF LIFE (v. 18)

And then finally, we see how invaluable wisdom is as Lady Wisdom is called a tree of life for those who lay hold of her.

For those who hold fast, they will be called blessed—which is the 2nd Beatitude of Proverbs.

Remember that the Tree of life was in the Garden and it was the tree that would have provided longevity of life to Adam and Eve.

Because they unwisely ate from the forbidden tree, they are locked away from the tree of life.

Their pride took away their access.

And yet here in v. 18, what we are seeing is that when the fallen children of Adam and Eve humble themselves in repentance and faith before Christ, the Wisdom of God, they will gain access to life again.

The Spirit of Wisdom and Life who dwells in us is the down payment of our inheritance and then ultimately, the book of Revelation promises that we will eat the fruit from the tree of life forever.

Revelation 22:2 ESV

through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:14 ESV

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

CONCLUSION

If someone passes away and they leave you an estate, you might go and have the estate appraised.

The appraiser will take stock of what is offered and then let you know the value.

Well, if we stop and do this with God’s Wisdom tonight, here is what we find.

We find that it will provide:

Long life

Riches

Honor

In a general sense, these things are provided in this age, but they are guaranteed in eternity.

Spiritual pleasure

Spiritual peace

And then ultimately—eternal life

What kind of wisdom can be this invaluable?

Only the wisdom of God.

For in the wisdom of God Almighty, we have the same immense wisdom that hung the moon, promising to heal our souls.

We have the same wisdom that established the earth, establishing our steps.

We have the immense wisdom of the Creator, intimately disciplining us from the heart of our Father.

Nothing can compare.

Immense. Intimate. Invaluable.

Let us treasure the infinitely rich wisdom of our Lord.