On Wisdom Christology and the Wise Use of Scripture

Abstract

Following the grammar of 2 Timothy 3:15–17, this article reflects on the relation between the Christological salvation unto which Scripture ‘makes us wise’ and the corresponding use of Scripture as one among many ‘good works’. Dogmatically restated, it seeks to indicate Scripture's wise use by attending to the Christological Wisdom to which that use corresponds. This task is carried out by way of critical engagement with the work of Susannah Ticciati, who describes the status of Christ as Wisdom in terms of incarnation. The article alternatively suggests the difference it would make to understand Wisdom Christology in terms of justification. Ultimately, it argues that the wise use of Scripture along these dogmatic lines is able to preserve the critical moral force of Ticciati's account without diminishing the genuinely good news that is entailed in God's work of judgment and salvation in Jesus Christ.