Christian Philosophy: How Christ Fulfills Proverbs 10:8

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Proverbs 10:8 says: "The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall." So, what self-portrait does the Divine Artist, the Lord Jesus Christ, paint for us here? And, secondarily, what sketch of the Christian, His disciple, has God the Son drawn for us here?

The first clause tells us that the wise in heart will receive commandments. First, we have the description "wise in heart." One thing that comes to mind is how Scripture contrasts the heart with the mouth and also with mere appearance (1 Samuel 16:7; Matthew 15:8). In other words, the wise in heart are those who not merely give off an appearance of wisdom (Colossians 2:23), but actually possess wisdom, this wisdom residing in their hearts and subsequently shaping their thoughts, words, actions, etc. Such is the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself is the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). And the Holy Spirit goes on to tell us that the wise in heart will receive commandments. As we've covered before in this Proverbs series, this speaks of Christ's flawless obedience to the Father (John 8:29). He received commandments, His Father's commandments (John 15:10), just like the wise son (Proverbs 2:1) [1], and thereby manifested the wisdom that characterizes His very Being. So, to sum this paragraph up, Christ is the Wise-in-Heart.

The next clause tells us that a prating fool will fall. "Prating" means "babbling," [2] so the prating fool is a babbling fool. And the babbling fool will fall. Since "falling" here is contrasted with "receiving [God's] commandments," perhaps we can understand "falling" here as rejecting God's Word. We see "fall away" used this way to describe those who reject Christ by apostatizing from Him (Hebrews 6:4-6). So, here we see the antithesis of the Lord Jesus Christ: a word-spewing fool who falls by rejecting God's Law.

The Christian, in his obedience to Christ's Word, is compared by the Lord Himself to a wise man who builds his house on the rock so that it stands after the storm, unlike the foolish man who builds his house on the sand unaware that the storm will completely destroy his house (Matthew 7:24-27). Christian, are you obeying Christ's commands in His Word? Then you are wise in heart, an image of the Ultimate Wise-in-Heart. Or do you disobey Him, including His command to not let any talk that corrupts the hearts of others come out of your mouth, but instead only that which builds people up in God's Word (see Ephesians 4:29)? In other words, are you a Christian or a fool? If the former, keep trusting and following Christ only! If the latter, turn away from all else and trust in Christ only to save you, to the exclusion of even your obedience!

[1] See Voddie Baucham's preaching on Proverbs. Link: https://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakerWithinSource=&subsetCat=&subsetItem=&mediatype=&includekeywords=&exactverse=&keyword=Voddie_Baucham&keyworddesc=Voddie+Baucham&currsection=&AudioOnly=false&SpeakerOnly=true&keywordwithin=Proverbs&x=0&y=0

[2] See the NASB's translation of Proverbs 10:8. Link: https://biblehub.com/proverbs/10-8.htm