There is a core insight into the nature of wisdom that has been discovered in Old Testament, New Testament and the Christian tradition. This is: God is to be loved for God's sake.

The present chapter opens with an exploration of that maxim. Its implications are followed through in the rest of the chapter: on the one hand, attempting to appreciate God as God through considering the divine perfections; and, on the other hand, recognising that to love God for God's sake is, inseparably, to love the people and the world God loves. Yet this double involvement with God and neighbour is not done in isolation, it requires a community, a school of desire and wisdom that is concerned for both God and the world, and within which people can be formed in faith, hope and love. So the later sections of the chapter will consider the church, concluding with a brief survey of the ways in which its theology can be embraced within the concept of wisdom. Throughout, the overarching theme of this chapter, as of chapter 6, is learning to live in the Spirit.

Hallowing the name: loving God for God's sake

The centrality to Christian wisdom of relating to God for God's sake – hallowing, fearing, loving, praising, blessing, glorifying God's name simply because God is God – has been indicated in previous chapters mainly by reference to Job and Jesus and reading scripture for God's sake.