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 [thêlõ] all men to be saved,
and to come unto [eis] the knowledge [epignõsis]
of the truth [alethêia].
Thêlõ 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 alêtheia. 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 alêtheia];
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
alêtheia 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 3:6,7: 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 3:6,7: 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
alêtheia 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.
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