At the Ascension, the Father’s pleasure with the Son was declared as he was highly exalted and given a name above all names: Lord of the world. He is creation’s king to whom all authority over heaven and earth has been given. He proved his ability to handle this position through his obedience, so the Father granted him this rule (Phil 2.6-11). Jesus now rules, making judgments of life and death for the world so that the world will take the shape of heaven; so that God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
Jesus has … Jesus is … wisdom. Wisdom understands relationships, how things and people are supposed to fit together to form what is good, true, beautiful, and productive. Jesus knows how the world is supposed to be arranged; individual lives, families, societies, international relationships, architecture, gardens, and all other aspects of this world. He knows how heaven is to relate to the earth, how men and women are to relate to one another, and how it all fits together for the world’s ultimate purpose. He understands what is right(eous). Because of this, he is fit to be king, the lord of the world.
A wise king with no power, however, is ineffective. But powerlessness is not an issue with Jesus. The Father granted Jesus power to execute his wisdom when he anointed him with the Spirit for his new position. The Scriptures describe the Spirit of God as power. In fact, as Sinclair Ferguson brings out in his excellent book, The Holy Spirit, the words translated “Spirit” in both Hebrew and Greek emphasize, not so much his immateriality, but his power. We might even speak of the Spirit as “the violence of God” (17). This personal power is given to the Son to execute his plan for the world. He is the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit that belongs to the Person of Wisdom, Jesus, who powerfully arranges the world according to the plan of Wisdom. Just as he hovered over and arranged the original creation in the beginning (Gen 1), so now he hovers over and arranges the new creation begun in Jesus’ resurrection.
This Spirit of Wisdom is the Spirit that is poured out on the church on the Day of Pentecost. His first order of business is to unite the church with Christ Jesus, so that we, like the original bride, become Jesus’ helper to complete his mission in the world. The Spirit is the bond that joins the church to Jesus, making us one with him–one flesh (Eph 5.25-33)–uniting us with his person and mission in the world. He arranges the church so that each member is in a proper relationship with the other members. Apostles, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders, deacons, and others with various gifts are all united to the body of Christ through baptism (1Cor 12.13) and strategically placed in the church according to Wisdom’s plan.
The church being arranged by the Spirit, we are at the same time empowered by the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and anointed him as King. We are empowered to be laborers together with Jesus to arrange the world under the lordship of Wisdom. This re-arranging of the world to put it right involves everything from re-ordering our individual lives to re-ordering governments. By the Spirit, Jesus in union with his church is setting the whole world right, discipling the nations.
Being a part of the church, you have the Spirit. This means that you have some power to order or arrange the parts of creation that God has given into your hand. You are called to walk in line with the Spirit by working with him in his mission to arrange everything under the lordship of Jesus. When you don’t do this, you grieve the Spirit (Eph 4.30). Walking in the Spirit is not about having ecstatic experiences or floating three inches off of the ground. Walking in the Spirit is moving with his power and purpose to complete Jesus’ mission in the world.
You are to arrange your personal life to be in line with Jesus’ design. You are to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12.1-2) and yield your bodily members as instruments of righteousness to him (Rom 6.12ff.). Your family is to be ordered according to Wisdom’s plan; wives submitting to and respecting husbands, husbands loving wives by nourishing and cherishing them, children obeying parents, and fathers acculturating children to the Lord’s kingdom. As a member of Christ’s church, to walk in line with the Spirit is to be contributing to the unity and growth of the body by actively using your gifts and avoiding sin’s destructive ways (Eph 4.1-11).
As a member of Christ’s body, the church, baptized by the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, you have the Spirit of Wisdom. Walk in the Spirit.
