1) Wisdom and Creation

(click the arrow to listen)

In our scientific age, some people look at the universe just in material terms: the universe is atoms, molecules, planets, and galaxies. Others appreciate its beauty in colour or landscape. For some the universe just provides us with the necessities of life: air to breathe, water to drink and sources of food. Despite all of these amazing things, people can fail to appreciate that the created universe has a spiritual purpose. It was made by God to fulfil His will.

There are different ways of seeing this spiritual purpose. It can be seen as a creative end in itself. Planet Earth is simply a place for humans to live and a place which will one day be renewed in order to last forever. This renewal is necessary because the universe and our planet cannot last forever in their present form. But there is another view, and one I am inclined to go along with: it is that the universe was created to bring about redemption from sin.

Redeemer

There are two reasons to see the Creation as redemptive: the first is that it was brought into being through the eternal Redeemer, Jesus:

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. (Hebrews 1:1-2)

Jesus is our Redeemer and Saviour and the universe was created through Him. This can be understood as part of an eternal redemptive work. Later in Hebrews we read that after His death for sins, Jesus entered Heaven as the eternal High Priest who had made that sacrifice for sins. But His sacrifice was made only once and, more especially, was eternal:

Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:25-26)

The Apostle Peter also speaks of this eternal dimension to the work of Christ’s redemption:

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. (1 Peter 1:18-20)

As the Lamb, Jesus became the sacrifice for sins. Even before creation began, God knew that sin would need to be redeemed. That this redemptive sacrifice was eternal is again seen in the Revelation prophecies:

All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world. (Revelation 13:8)

evil

There is a view of redemption which believes that sin entered creation at the Fall when Adam and Eve sinned. Certainly, it marks the moment that the human race became sinful. But you may recall that their sin began with an act of disobedience: they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. That tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I take it that the presence of a tree imbued with evil is a sign that sin was already in existence when the creation happened. [For more details see: The Hard Sayings of Jesus – “You belong to your father the devil”]

If we accept this eternal view of God’s intention in creation, then we shall understand that everything created has the primary purpose of redemption. Humans can enjoy creation and prosper in it. But this is only one aspect and can miss out on the spiritual reasons for creation. Consequently, we should understand that if the reason for creation is redemptive, then understanding why this is so is vital. This is where God’s wisdom comes in:

By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. (Proverbs 2:19-20)

We can read these verses as merely determining how the earth was formed of land, sea and sky; or we can read into them divine redemptive purpose. God designed the universe by wisdom. Creation was not a chance event. If we really wish to understand creation, we must come to appreciate that the wisdom of God determined how it was made.

Furthermore, wisdom existed before the universe was even envisaged. Wisdom was created by God before the world was:

‘The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so that the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was constantly at his side. (Proverbs 8:22-30)

companion

The wisdom of God existed before the wisdom of this world. The wisdom of this world was not created by God; as we shall see, it opposes God in every way. But if we believe that the world was created for humans, then we should also accept that God has infused it with wisdom to help us understand how to live well in it. In fact, the wisdom of God is deeply in love with His human creation:

I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in the human race. (Proverbs 8:30-31)

If you recall the first reading from Proverbs 2 in the introduction, wisdom offers herself freely and generously to us:

Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” (Proverbs 8:10-11)

If we want to flourish as humans, and this includes Christians too, then we need to seek the wisdom of God. Wisdom is to be our life companion and she will preserve us from the downfalls of the world’s silver and gold.

Finally, it is not enough for Christians to acquire wisdom merely to get the best out of life. The wisdom of God’s redemptive purpose is to be demonstrated to the powers of the spiritual universe through the church:

and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:9-11)

You see, there was an eternal purpose in creating wisdom and in the plan of redemption in Jesus through His precious blood. The wisdom of creating a universe for redemption is to be made known. The people who have been redeemed are to show to evil powers that God’s plan worked. But to ensure our lives carry that testimony, we must get wisdom; for without it we cannot display the fruits of redemption that we should.