O Come O Come Emmanuel: Pt. 6

We’re going back to verse three (in the traditional progression) today. It reads, “O come, thou Wisdom from on high, and order all things, far and nigh; to us the path of knowledge show, and cause us in her ways to go.” This invitation is for Wisdom (notice the capital “W”) to come down and create order. Before we talk about the order desired by the lyricist, we should first consider why they elected to capitalize “wisdom.” Certainly, we have verses such as Prov. 9:10 that state, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Awe of the Holy, Almighty, Omniscient One produces wisdom (I think largely because it reminds us of our complete inadequacy and desperate need for him). We know that wisdom comes from God himself (Prov. 2:6). Unlike knowledge, which can be gained strictly by study of information, true wisdom is a gift. Wisdom is the ability to discern not just right from wrong but good from best. It is the capacity to make not only factual decisions but morally praiseworthy choices. Ultimately, it is discernment – not only for excellence but for holiness. These are the choices that will conform us to his will.

However, there are also many places throughout Scripture where wisdom is conceptualized as a person. In Proverbs 1:20 we read, “Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice.” We’re going to talk more about this aspect in just a moment.

In the New Testament we progress from a personification of a character trait to so much more. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul calls Jesus the “wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24, 30). He reminded the church at Colossae, “That their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:2-3). The very life of Christ is our wisdom. He will empower us to make wisdom filled choices. However, Scripture wasn’t exaggerating when it says the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. This isn’t something that you casually acquire. This is a lifelong pursuit of a person. After all, he is the only source of true wisdom. Now I want to be clear, the treasures aren’t hidden because God is mean or ungenerous. Rather, these are gems, and it takes time and effort to mine precious stones. If you want to grasp the rich truth of why there are two genealogies given for Jesus, you need to understand Kings and Chronicles along with Jeremiah. If you want more fully appreciate Revelation, you need to understand Daniel (and the incredibly detailed history prophesied in that book). If you want to understand the sheer improbability of Jesus’ life, you need to understand Old Testament Messianic prophecy. If you want a deeper appreciation of the beauty of Hebrews, you cannot do it without an understanding of Jewish culture, much of the Old Testament, and a solid concordance to study the Greek it was originally written in.

These are just a few of the rich truths available in Scripture for those willing to dig into the Bible and understand the way it all fits together and points to Christ as our Kinsmen Redeemer (Ruth). God isn’t hiding but his eternal plan has spanned at least 6,000 years of human history (and eternity if you think about it). We wouldn’t presume to understand the history of the nation of China (5,000 years) or Egypt (~5,000 years) with a cursory reading. Scripture is both historical and divine. It tells us the story of how the world came into being and how we should live today. I understand that not everyone is called to be a pastor or teacher. I'm not saying that we should all buy Bible software and learn Greek. However, if we are going to spend eternity with the one who saved us, if we are betrothed to one spouse, then we should be interested in knowing him better (2 Cor. 11:2). When you love someone, you study them. You know their favorite food, color, band, their goals, allergies, and fears. You try to understand their heart because it is an expression of the love you hold for them. Why would we think that our relationship with the very Creator of the world should be reduced to casual lip service on Sundays? He is both worthy and worth all of the time we invest in knowing him.

If Christ is our very wisdom and we grow in practical/usable wisdom as we are obedient to him and allow his life in us to make excellent and holy choices then the next invitation is for this wisdom to bring order both far and nigh. Can you imagine a world where all things are in order? We can barely order our own lives and thoughts much less global organization. There are entire fields of study dedicated to producing order. Supply chain, logistics, organizational behavior, analytics, not to mention some of the social sciences such as psychology or anthropology. We can taxonomize all of our data and create beautiful spreadsheets. However, these devices were created in an attempt to bring order out of chaos. They are useful because the world is not inherently coordinated. Yet the invitation is for the very source of wisdom to bring discernment to bear on each situation. Businesses pay consultants and trainers incredible amounts of money each year in the hope that they will improve morale, performance, and profits. Yet the one who created everything and saw that it was good all those years ago is the only one who can restore our world to order.

If Christ is the only one who can bring order out of chaos, then should we simply sit on a hill somewhere and let the world completely devolve? I would argue no. Rather, as we wait for the one who is our wisdom to return, I think we can be agents of change, order, and grace wherever we go. Paul admonished the Philippian believers to, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life” (Phil. 2:14-16). While Jesus is the very Light of the World and the sovereign one who will put all things in order, we have the privilege of being his representatives on earth. We are light and image bearers. Let’s be sure that whatever we leave in our wake is a reflection of the one who is conforming us to the image of his Son. As we head into a new year with new opportunities, look for moments when we can bring light, order, joy, wisdom, discernment, grace…the very life of Christ into a twisted world around us. People will not know what to think but in many cases, they will want to know what makes us different.

The songwriter wants to be shown the path of knowledge. The last part of Proverbs 9:10 says, “The knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” To return to a previous point, you can acquire vast amounts of knowledge through study. You can learn that the earth is approximately 93 million miles from the sun, that Shakespeare wrote around 38 plays, and that diamonds don’t really originate from coal. Learning a large quantity of facts can lead to impressive accolades, sometimes useful research, or awesome trivia nights but it doesn’t necessarily do much good for eternal priorities. However, the path of knowledge is a different conversation. This implies a destination. This path is leading somewhere and over and over in Scripture we find that knowledge of God can lead to insight. We might call this useful knowledge. When knowledge is applied, it can turn into wisdom. It is no longer a collection of random facts or impressive degrees. Rather, it is a journey to know God in a more intimate way. It is learning about Christ so that we can put what we know into practice. It is not knowledge without understanding and more importantly, it is not knowledge without surrender.

Finally, what good will having wisdom or knowledge be if we don’t actually obey what we know to be true? This is what the last part of the verse requests, “cause us in her ways to go.” If we return to the Old Testament and the personification of wisdom as a woman who calls out on the streets, we find her contrasted with several other types of women. To accompany the different women, we find that they are often associated with various paths. Wisdom’s path leads to discretion, understanding, deliverance, knowledge, etc. In contrast, the other paths lead to forgetting the covenant of God, destruction, loss, and ultimately death.  

I think most of us would like more wisdom. We would like to make the best choices and have insight. However, finding the deep treasures is a lifelong adventure. It is not a casual endeavor. We are getting to know the one with whom we will spend eternity. When faced with the enormity of God’s eternal plan Paul couldn’t help but declare, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways…For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:33-36). The one who will never be fully understood (because he is God and we are not) still wants to be known. That is the essence of Christmas. He left heaven to be Emmanuel, God with us. Omniscience took on flesh. Omnipotence couldn’t even walk for the first few months of his earthly life. He did that for us – to redeem us when we could not save ourselves. This is the God who desires to be known and loved. This is a wisdom that can and will be studied for eternity.