Christian Philosophy: How Christ Fulfills Proverbs 10:19

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Proverbs 10:19 says: “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.” So, what illustration of the Lord Jesus Christ do we have here in this proverb?

The first clause says that, in the multitude of words, sin is not lacking. “Multitude of words” here likely means “much speaking.” So, in much speaking, sin is not lacking. To understand rightly how Christ embodies this proverb, we need to consider Christ’s speech. We know, given Christ’s moral perfection, that His speech was never sinful. So, we can rightly assume that His words were never so much as to be this “multitude of words” wherein sin was sure to be found. So, the truth about the Lord’s conversation we can glean from the first clause of this proverb is this: Christ never spoke excess words, or words that were unnecessary.

The second clause says that the one who refrains his lips is wise. Since, as we’ve established in many previous posts in this series, Christ is Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:24), anything that can be said about wisdom is a characteristic of Christ. So, it can be said that Christ is the One who refrains His lips. However, this can’t possibly mean that Christ never spoke, for even the Biblical information alluded to in our examination of the previous clause makes such a belief impossible to hold. But it still says that Christ, being wise, refrains His lips, so what does this mean? Given the Biblical premises we’ve covered in this article so far, I think we can say this: Christ never spoke in ways or in times that would displease the Father. And those ways and times are specified in the body of commands concerning speech that the Holy Spirit commands us in the Word. However, since this clause is obviously related to the preceding clause, it seems to mean this: Christ refrains from speaking excessively, which is an implication of the broader interpretation we covered in this paragraph. Indeed, given the context of this proverb, this narrower and more specific meaning appears to be the most likely.

So, to sum up what we’ve covered here: Christ never spoke more than what was necessary, those necessary things being commanded by God the Father. He refrained His lips in the sense that He never spoke contrary to His Father’s desires, including, and perhaps especially in this proverb’s context, more than what was needed.

A final note before closing this post: from now on, I think I’ll leave the reader to do the work of thinking on how what’s illustrated of Christ in each proverb applies to the Christian, as an image-bearer of Christ (in His righteousness).

FOOTNOTE: If my memory serves me correctly, God used this clip (and perhaps the whole sermon of which it is a part) to shape my thoughts here in this article concerning Christ's speech: https://illbehonest.com/do-your-words-fit-the-occasion-ephesians-4-29