This article is an edited excerpt from Simon P. Kennedy’s forthcoming book Against Worldview: Reimagining Christian Formation as Growth in Wisdom (Lexham Press, 2024).
Recent decades have seen the emergence of “worldview” thinking in Christian circles, and the concept of worldview has come to dominate reformed and evangelical discourse around Christian education. There is a problem, here. Worldview is a weak term, poorly defined, and is something of a wax nose. Reformed and evangelical Christians need to reimagine their philosophy of education, bringing it into line with the biblical vision of discipleship and growing to maturity. The real core of thinking about Christian education is the biblical concept of wisdom.
Two Kinds of Wisdom
The Bible offers us two forms of wisdom, both of which are accessible to humans. Both forms are important, and both are relevant in the context of Christian education. These two kinds are practical wisdom and spiritual wisdom. In a fundamental and theological sense, these two wisdoms are joined in the person of Jesus Christ. However, in another sense, they are separate in our experience of life under the sun. We all know people who exhibit practical wisdom and yet reject spiritual wisdom. Likewise, some are spiritually wise and yet lack practical wisdom. There is a distinction here, and it is important when framing the task of Christian education.
Practical wisdom is the wisdom evident in the person who knows a lot about living in the cosmos that God has created. It is exhibited in social and familial relationships, political activities, physical labor, scientific inquiry, learning and knowledge, and so on. This is the wisdom that we might even call “natural.” It is grounded in the creation order, flows into a life that exhibits prudence in actions and words, and displays fruitfulness as an outworking. The practically wise person has a strong relationship with the creation.
Spiritual wisdom, on the other hand, is connected to having a relationship with the Creator. The spiritually wise person knows God, loves his ways, loves his word, and pursues a life that is pleasing to him. She does this not just so she can flourish, but so that she can please him and glorify him. Spiritual wisdom also works itself out in a life that is bent toward serving others in the context of the people of God, the church. Spiritual wisdom bears spiritual fruit. A person can have both kinds of wisdom, and ideally we will all exhibit both practical and spiritual wisdom. They are not mutually exclusive, but you do not need one to have the other.
The Bible is full of descriptions of, and praise for, practical wisdom. This is the kind of wisdom that is discussed in Proverbs:
“He who gathers in summer is a prudent son” (Prov 10:5).
“The soul of the diligent is richly supplied.” (Prov 13:4)
“The wisest of women builds her house.” (Prov 14:1)
“The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way.” (Prov 14:8)
“Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding.” (Prov 14:33)
Practical wisdom is also evident in certain characters in the Bible. Joshua is said to have been “full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses” (Deut 34:9). Moses had commissioned Joshua to be his successor as ruler over the people of Israel. Earlier in Deuteronomy, Moses commanded the Israelites to select leaders in each tribe who were “wise, understanding, and experienced” (Deut 1:13). In Genesis, Joseph recommends to Pharaoh that he select “a discerning and wise man” to oversee the distribution of goods during the preparation for the famine, as well as during the famine (Gen 41:33). Pharaoh recognizes these qualities in Joseph and appoints him to this post (Gen 41:37–40).
Practical wisdom is also evident in the life of Solomon. Here, we see wise judgment and deliberation; “the wisdom of God was in him to do justice” (1 Kgs 3:28). Solomon had “wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore” (1 Kgs 4:29). This “breadth of mind” manifested itself in lyrical and musical skill (1 Kgs 4:32), knowledge of zoology and botany (1 Kgs 4:33), and knowledge of building and architecture (1 Kgs 6). Indeed, Solomon is a model of practical wisdom (that is, until he forfeits this wisdom later in his life). He demonstrates to us the breadth of practical wisdom. It is a wisdom that stretches from a theoretical understanding of animals, justice, and architecture to a rich practical understanding of government administration. “Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city” (Eccl 7:19).
While political rule is boosted by wisdom, so too is household management (Prov 31). Wisdom shows itself in good works and right conduct (Jas 3:13; Eph 5:15; Col 4:5). It also manifests itself in craftsmanship. Exodus 31 tells of two men, Bezalel and Oholiab, who are gifted by the Spirit of God to build and craft the tabernacle and the elements inside the tabernacle (Exod 31:1–8). God, by his Spirit, gave them “ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship” (Exod 31:3). Indeed, it says further that God gave “to all able men ability, that they may make that all I have commanded you” (Exod 31:6). Wisdom is of great practical benefit. As argued above, creation is hospitable to wise acts, and this works itself out in all the various spheres of human activity.
What of spiritual wisdom, then? As discussed above, Jesus Christ is “the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24), and God is immeasurably wise (Rom 11:33; Job 12:13; Rom 16:27, Isa 31:2). Humans can become spiritually wise because God’s wisdom is handed down to humans in his word. Psalm 19:7 says that the law of the Lord “is perfect … making wise the simple.” Those who listen to what God says are wise (Pss 2:10; 94:8). The prophet Daniel says that those who have wisdom receive it from God (Dan 2:21). This is in contrast to the fool, who “says in his heart ‘There is no God’ ” (Ps 14:1). Jesus uses the proverbial imagery of house building when he says the one who “hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matt 7:24). If hearing and doing the words of Jesus is a sign of wisdom (cf. Jas 1:22–25), then there is a wisdom that is particularly connected to spiritual matters.
This is further evident in the deployment of the wisdom concept throughout the New Testament. In the parable of the ten virgins, it is those who bring enough oil and are therefore properly prepared to wait for the returning bridegroom who are considered wise (Matt 25:4). The bridegroom in this parable is Jesus, meaning that the virgins’ wisdom is not simply practical but is linked to a kind of spiritual discernment. In contrast, Paul describes those who “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man” and animals, those who reject God, as fools (Rom 1:22–23). They are the fools of Psalm 14:1. As we have seen, listening to and responding to the word of God is an entirely different matter. As Paul writes to Timothy, the Scriptures “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 3:15). There is a wisdom offered in God’s word that is not practical, but spiritual. It is a wisdom that is garnered by hearing the words of God and by responding to these words with obedience and faith. We can be made “wise for salvation,” and this work is done by the Holy Spirit working through the Scriptures and the message of the gospel.
Wisdom and Education
So far we have seen that wisdom is seeing God’s world properly, reading his word truly, and acting rightly in light of this. From this, we can appreciate the importance of apprehending God’s created reality and acting in light of this apprehension. We have also explored the connections between Jesus Christ as the “wisdom of God” and the wisdom expounded in books like Proverbs. This was all tied together by differentiating two kinds of biblical wisdom: practical wisdom and spiritual wisdom.
These two kinds of wisdom ought to be the substantial content of a Christian education. I want to explore how we might theoretically and practically link the pursuit of wisdom as it is laid out in the Scriptures with a Christian vision of education.
The entire book of Proverbs is framed as advice from parent to child. The parent offers the child teaching on how to live well in the world.
Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching. (Prov 1:8)
Whether one is a parent, a pastor, or in a teaching role in an educational institution, these verses apply. The child is a student sitting under the teaching of someone in authority who is preparing them to move into maturity. The didactic task is framed in Proverbs as helping the student “find favor and good success in the sight of God and man” (Prov 3:4). Attentive learners are told they will “walk on [their] way securely, and [their] foot will not stumble” (Prov 3:23). The whole point of this teaching exercise is to provide the student with a foundation for righteousness and wisdom in a world that will (generally) accept it, and by which they will (generally) thrive in that world.
The setting of the book of Proverbs is informative also. Proverbs is situated in a covenant community. It is composed in the context of a community of faith and presumes a common set of metaphysical convictions, while simultaneously offering pieces of advice that aren’t inherently connected to those convictions. Everyone knows that unjust weights are, well, unjust, despite the variety of religious convictions in the world. So there is a confessional particularity to the setting and generality to the content.
Wisdom teaching is not confined to Proverbs, of course, but these two observations help us frame Christian education in light of the Bible’s understanding of wisdom. First, education ought to be understood as the presentation of, imparting of, and pursuit of wisdom. What could be more satisfying to a teacher than seeing a student emerge equipped with wisdom? Much of the “content” of education can be classified under practical wisdom. When we are teaching students about mathematics, we are helping them gain wisdom about the mathematical order of reality. When we teach students physical education, they are gaining theoretical wisdom about the way their bodies work and practical wisdom about how to use their bodies. When we teach students about history, they gain wisdom about the ways of humankind, human civilizations, and a sense of the scale and complexity of human existence. This gives them wisdom about their own world and about why the world is the way it is. It also offers them perspective on what they cannot know, given that much is hidden in history, which is also formative of wisdom.
In an education seen through the lens of practical wisdom, students are gaining an understanding of the world and of reality through the gaining of knowledge and skills that will help them live a wise and fruitful life in the creation of God. Creation is, in Errington’s words, “hospitable to the successful living of human life.” An education that is shaped by the teaching and pursuing of wisdom leads students toward this kind of success. It is not necessarily the success that the world loves to see, such as a healthy bank account and career seniority, but is rather a life marked by a right understanding of reality.
Truth about reality, about the world that God has made, is not confessionally determined. We are not limited in our epistemology by our religious commitments. Therefore, the scope of education can be as wide and deep as God’s world is.
At the same time, Christian education will inevitably revolve around a particular religious confession. This means there will be a Christian element to a Christian education. A vision for education shaped by the Christian understanding of wisdom naturally incorporates the spiritual elements of wisdom. There is, after all, a knowledge that “makes you wise for salvation,” which Paul talks about in his letter to Timothy (2 Tim 3:15). A Christian education that has wisdom at its core ought to incorporate the inculcation of the faith as part of its program.
Spiritual wisdom is of a different kind than practical wisdom, and while they are connected, they cannot be gained in the same way. The integration of faith with practical wisdom is much more a task for the learner than the teacher. Whether the students will pursue the spiritual wisdom held out to them in Jesus Christ isn’t something we can control. But we can and should be purveyors of that wisdom if we are Christian educators. These bits of wisdom are like the tiles on a big, glorious worldview mosaic. As mosaic laborers, students and teachers do not have access to the master plan. They do not know the final picture. But they can proceed with confidence, knowing that they are pursuing the truth about the little tiles of reality that they are called to work on.
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