Church Blog

July 14 2009 at 1:44 pm

Defining Our Terms

2 Comments

In my message this past Sunday, I shared a number of definitions relating to wisdom and the fear of God.  Here they are for your reference:

1. What is wisdom?

a. Definitions:

• “Wisdom is the art of living skillfully in whatever actual conditions we find ourselves.”—Eugene Peterson
• “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.”—Charles Spurgeon
• “[Wisdom] is practical know-how in the hard realities of living with others before God in the world He has created.”—John Kitchen

b. Proverbs teaches us wisdom by piling up synonyms about how we learn wisdom. The following definitions are adapted from Proverbs: A Mentor Commentary by John Kitchen:

Instruction: Can also be translated “discipline”—the idea is education through correction. Receiving instruction about what we got wrong.
Discernment: The ability to look at two things and see what God sees, to tell the difference between what is good and what is evil. 
Understanding: Implies not only discernment but the ability to understand why one option is God’s preference.
Prudence: A Spirit-born cleverness that understands the trend of events and inherent dangers, and avoids the pitfalls of life.
Knowledge: More than possessing information, it is a knowing that is deeply personal and experiential.
Discretion: Avoiding harm brought on by foolishly proceeding with ill-advised plans.

2. What is “the fear of the LORD”?

“Reverence mingled with honor and fear.” —John Calvin

“That affectionate reverence by which the child of God bends himself humbly and carefully to his Father’s law.” —Charles Bridges

“Right recognition of God.” —Sinclair Ferguson

3. How are wisdom and the fear of the LORD related?

“What the alphabet is to reading, notes to reading music, and numerals to mathematics, the fear of the LORD is to attaining the revealed knowledge of [Proverbs].” – Bruce Waltke





How do we begin to fear the Lord?  Where to start? Or should I say how do we develop a reverence to Him?

By Mirian on 07/19/2009

Thank you very much for this definitions, they are very helpfull in my reading of Proverbs.

By Chava Ordaz on 04/20/2010
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