Chapter 12 — How the Son of God is called the Wisdom of God

Seeing that we have applied to the generation of the Word the things that are said of Divine Wisdom, it remains to be shown how Divine Wisdom, in whose person those things are said, may be taken to be the Word of God.

And that we may obtain knowledge of things divine from human things, we must observe that in man, wisdom is a habit perfecting our mind in the knowledge of the highest things—and such are divine things. And when through the habit of wisdom there arises in our intellect an idea of divine things, this very idea or inward word tends to be called wisdom, by that figure of speech whereby acts and species are denominated from the habits from which they proceed. Thus sometimes a just action is called justice, a brave action bravery, and a virtuous action is commonly called virtue. And in this way a man’s wise conceptions are called wisdom.

Now in God wisdom must be referred to the fact that he knows himself. But, since he knows himself not by an intelligible species but by his essence—indeed, his very act of intelligence is his essence—therefore God’s wisdom cannot be a habit, but is the divine essence. Now it is evident from what has been said that the Son of God is the Word and concept of God understanding himself. Therefore, the Word of God is rightly called conceived or begotten wisdom, as being the wise conception of the divine mind. Hence the Apostle calls Christ the Wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24).

Now the word of wisdom conceived in the mind is a manifestation of the understander’s wisdom, even as all our habits are revealed by their acts. Since, then, Divine Wisdom is called light because it consists in a pure act of knowledge, and the manifestation of light is its splendor proceeding from it, the Word of Divine Wisdom is fittingly called the splendor of light, according to the words of the Apostle speaking of the Son: being the splendor of his glory (Heb 1:3). Hence the Son ascribed to himself the manifestation of the Father, when he said: Father, I have manifested your name to men (John 17:6).

Yet though the Son, who is God’s Word, is rightly called Begotten Wisdom, the name ‘Wisdom’ taken absolutely must be common to Father and Son, since the wisdom that shines through the Word is the essence of the Father, as we have said above, and the Father’s essence is common to him and the Son.