Wisdom Wednesday :Wisdom and Truth Part 2
Wisdom, Truth, Knowledge and Understanding
Submitted by Debbie’s Dad
“By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; And by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”
(Proverbs 24:3-4) NASB 95
The distinctions between wisdom and the words knowledge and understanding are often difficult to distinguish, yet these words are closely related in both the Old and New Testaments.
In the passage above, Solomon makes a clear distinction using the metaphor of a building:
- Wisdom is the goal, purpose and architecture of planned house.
- Understanding establishes (Hebrew kun, to be firm) or prepares, places, constructs, and makes ready the house.
- Knowledge provides the information that enables construction and decorates the house to make it complete and valuable.
In this metaphor, wisdom provides the purpose and plan, knowledge provides the information to complete attractive rooms, and understanding enables the process of building the house. All of this is based on building on reality- the truth of God and Who He is.
Without wisdom, the house could be a disaster. Jesus also used the metaphor of building a house based on wisdom. He described wisely building a house on a solid rock rather than foolishly building on sand. (Matthew 7:24-27) In this passage, Jesus used wisdom to refer to the foundation of the house – the thing on which the house is built. The purpose is to last through the storms of life; the plan is to establish it on a solid rock (truth). Without understanding the house would be constructed improperly, and without knowledge the floor plan and rooms would be incomplete and nonfunctional.
Solomon offered this advice to the young person:
My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the Lord And discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:1-6)
There it is: Seek wisdom, ask for understanding to discern how to live, and to discover the knowledge of God – Who He is, What He desires (His will), and What He wants you to know.
Again Solomon said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)
Here again, this passage distinguishes the need for reverence toward God to provide wisdom, which provides a knowledge of Who God is (to establish a relationship with Him) and the understanding to live a life walking with Him.
The definitions of wisdom, knowledge and understanding, and the relationships between these words are provided below.
The Epistles recognize that believers have the privilege of receiving wisdom and knowing God and His mystery (redemption through Jesus Christ):
… hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col 2:2–3).
May we seek God’s gift of wisdom, so we may have the knowledge to truly know (have a genuine relationship with) Him, and the understanding to live our lives to walk with Him daily, making decisions in His will. He is the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6)