Finally, Sophia as the patient woman, offering up her wisdom to man.
So why do we love to see Sophia as a woman? It just feels right. Often nurture is a sign of perfect wisdom. Seeing danger before men do. Being cautious when men are less concerned.
Why is Sophia such a popular topic, especially among Woman?
She makes wisdom relational instead of academic.
She gives Scripture a powerful female metaphor right in the center of theology.
She makes the call to wisdom feel compelling, not dry.
She bridges the OT and NT in ways that feel mystical and poetic but theologically grounded.
In the New Testament, Sophia seems to go undercover.
Once Jesus hits the scene, it is Jesus who becomes “Wisdom” (Corinthians 1:24) and there are a lot of parallels between the Sophia of the Old Testament and the Jesus of the new.
In the New Testament, Jesus calls out publicly as Sophia did. Jesus invites the weary to hear of the new covenant as Sophia invited the “simple”. Both Sophia and Jesus prepare feasts for all to join. Sophia is rejected by fools; Jesus is rejected by fools of his generation.
Was Jesus a manifestation of the female Sophia? In Matthew 11:19, Mathew writes of Jesus saying, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of a tax collector and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” Perhaps it can be said that Sophia was revealed in the Flesh through Jesus.
Finally, is Sophia the Holy Spirit? Well, both spoke of teaching, guiding, rebuking, convicting, giving life, comes into the lives of believers, produces virtue, empowers leaders, was present at creation.
At a minimum, if Sophia is not the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is the reality Sophia was pointing toward.
So, I think we can l agree, it’s all good news for the Ladies in that they are not by any stretch under-represented in Scripture.
