SOUNDING OUT: Coming unto the Knowledge of the Truth
God desires that we come unto the knowledge
of the truth, but do we do so?
I Timothy 2:4:
Who will have [thèlõ] all men
to be saved, and to come unto [eis] the knowledge
[epignõsis] of the truth [alethèia].
Thelõ
means “desire” or “wish” and
embodies an emotional element which leads to the consequent
action. It refers to the natural impulse not the reasoned
resolve. [See
the Companion Bible Appendix 102] God’s figurative
heart here is pictured as leaping with emotion and desire
for two specific things for His people.
First, God desires all men to be saved, sõzõ,
to be made whole. We often think of this as being made
whole spiritually. When a man of body and soul, becomes
a man of body, soul, and spirit. That’s how man
was intended to be from the beginning. We are saved
from sin in the new birth, but the word sõzõ
also includes being saved from sickness and being rescued
from danger or disaster.
God desires that we be whole in every respect.
This is foundational for without being saved, all the
knowledge in the world cannot help you. But, God doesn’t
stop here with salvation. He goes on to say that He
wants us to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The phrase “unto the knowledge of the truth”
is in Greek eis epignõsin alethèia.
This phrase occurs three times, always in Timothy. The
second occurrence shows us what we need to do in order
to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
In order to get to the knowledge of the truth
we must repent. To further our knowledge, there may
be things we must unlearn. There is meekness and humility
that is required in order to come unto the knowledge
of the truth. It is the responsibility of the overseers
to help in this capacity. The leader must first partake
(coming unto the knowledge of the truth himself), and
then help those who oppose themselves to come also.
II Timothy 2:24-26:
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be
gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing
[paideuõ, to train children or to mold
the character of others by reproof and correction] those
that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give
them repentance to the acknowledging of the
truth [eis epignõsin alethèia]; 26 And that they may recover
themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
captive by him at his will.
You cannot do it for them.
They must recover themselves. The overseer or leader
is simply there to help them. Like children they will
need help so that they do not oppose themselves. Most
of the time people do not even know they are opposing
themselves.
Remember the account of Philip and Simon in Acts
8? Let’s go there please.
Acts 8:5-18:
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached
Christ unto them. 6 And the people with one
accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake,
hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying
with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed
with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were
lame, were healed. 8 And there was great joy
in that city. 9 But there was a certain
man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city
used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving
out that himself was some great one: 10 To whom they all gave
heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man
is the great power of God. 11 And to him they had regard,
because that of long time he had bewitched them with
sorceries. 12 But when they believed
Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of
God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,
both men and women. 13 Then Simon himself believed
also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip,
and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which
were done. 14 Now when the apostles
which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received
the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15 Who, when they were come
down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy
Ghost: 16 (For as yet he was fallen
upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then laid they their
hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 18 And when Simon saw that
through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy
Ghost was given, he offered them money,
Simon didn’t know
he was doing anything wrong. That’s the way he
had always operated. That’s how he got to the
top in the devil spirit field. He wants more knowledge
so he can do what he saw Peter do. However, things are
different now, and he needs to learn how to live honestly
without ulterior motives. Peter doesn’t cut him
any slack either. So he is a new believer. Well, let’s
learn to do it right from the beginning.
Acts 8:19:
Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever
I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Simon wanted to be able
to do the same thing. That’s a righteous desire.
There is nothing wrong with that. But, his motive was
wrong. He is still operating the way he used to before
he was born-again.
Acts 8:20:
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee,
[Keep it; I don’t want it.] because thou hast
thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
He had wrong motives.
He was thinking wrongly. But if he thought it was wrong
to ask, why would he have asked them? He didn’t
know he was doing anything wrong. This is how he had
always operated.
Acts 8:21:
Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter [logos;
ministry of the word]: for thy heart is not right in
the sight of God.
Now Simon has a decision
to make. Is he going to get rid of his old motivation
and thinking that has contaminated his life or is he
going to hold on to it? Is he going to come unto the
knowledge of the truth, or is he going to think he has
all the answers and tell Peter and John to go fly a
kite? His heart was not right. He is at a crossroads.
What does he do? What do we do when we find out our
heart is not right in the sight of God? We do just what
Peter told Simon to do – we repent!
Acts 8:22-25:
Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God,
if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven
thee. 23 For I perceive that thou
art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. 24 Then answered Simon,
and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these
things which ye have spoken come upon me. [Simon saw
how serious this was. He could have died. After all,
Peter did say, “Thy money rot with thee.”
He could have died right then.] 25 And they, when they had
testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned
to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages
of the Samaritans.
We have to repent of those
activities of which we were ashamed. We can change our
lives. We can be delivered from anything and everything
that is holding us back. Just renounce the hidden things
of dishonesty. You know, those secret shameful things
we do not want anyone to know about. Then we can repent
and have our lives changed forever by the goodness and
grace of God.
The third and final occurrence of eis epignõsin
alethèia is in I Timothy 3:7.
I Timothy 3:6:
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and
lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with
divers lusts, 7 Ever [always] learning,
and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Learning is not the key
to coming to the knowledge of the truth, repentance
is. (Like we read in II Timothy 2:25.) If we do not
change and conform to the image of His son, we will
never come unto the knowledge of the truth. Let’s
read a couple of other translations.
II Timothy 3:6:
NIV
They are the kind who worm their way into homes and
gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded
down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never
able to acknowledge the truth.
II Timothy 3:6: NLT
They are the kind who work their way into people's homes
and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened
with the guilt of sin and controlled by many desires. 7 Such women are forever
following new teachings, but they never understand the
truth.
It was their carnality
and immaturity that made them easy targets. As long
as people remained loaded down with sins and sin-consciousness
they are easy prey. When people’s morals are decayed
and their integrity has been compromised, they easily
become victims. Although Paul is addressing a specific
situation that had arisen in Ephesus, it is still applicable
today.
So from the three occurrences of eis epignõsin
alethèia we learned that God fervently desires
that His people are saved and come to the knowledge
of the truth. As servants of God we must instruct those
that oppose themselves so that God may grant them repentance
unto the acknowledging of the truth. Finally, we understand
that some, although they ever learn, never come to the
knowledge of the truth. The transforming power of the
gospel makes the difference. We either believe it and
are changed, or we deny it and remain the way we have
always been.
Let’s juxtapose our knowledge and how we
think against the accuracy of God’s word. When
there is a difference we must repent, acknowledging
that we were wrong and the Word is right. When we do
so we will come to a fuller and more precise knowledge
of God’s Word and will.
