“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.”
Proverbs 9:22-31
In this poem, Solomon personifies Wisdom. Thus, here it is revealed to us that Wisdom was in the beginning with God and was actively involved in creation. What else do we know was in the beginning with God with as much involvement in creation? “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… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-3, 14). Both Wisdom and the Word of God were with God in the beginning, actively involved in creation, the latter of which took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. These are not two different Persons, but the same. Wisdom, therefore, is Jesus Christ Himself; for just as God delights in Wisdom, so He delights in His only-begotten Son (Matthew 3:17).
Thus, what is wisdom? Indeed, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10a). It is wise to fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in Hell (Matthew 10:28); furthermore, it is wise to take refuge in the only One who can save us from the fear of Him (Psalm 46). Even more, Wisdom is a Person, whose name is Jesus the Christ. Everything He says and does, therefore, is wise. As Wisdom, Jesus’ primary role is not only created but also rejoicing and delight. He rejoices in God’s “inhabited world” and delights “in the children of man.” That is to say, Jesus loves life. He rejoices in what He has created, and the humans He has created bring Him delight. This is why we say God creates not only ex nihilo (out of nothing) but also ex amore (out of love), meaning He loves to create and He loves what He creates.
Therefore, to exercise full wisdom is to love Jesus Himself and to love what He loves, and He loves life. We likewise rejoice at the beauty of creation (this is why I love doing nature photography). We protect it and take care of it as faithful stewards. We also delight in the life of man; we experience joy when a new human life is conceived, and we therefore protect it from evildoers. We also guard and protect our fellow man from harm and injury. Therefore, in His wisdom, Christ commanded, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
The Lutheran Column 