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You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. 2 Timothy 3:7 http://www.dailybiblestudy.org
7 Ever [pantote] learning, [manthano] and [kai] never [medepote] able [dunamai] to come [erchomai] to [eis] the knowledge [epignosis] of the truth. [aletheia] KJV-Interlinear
7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. NASB Wicked, or spiritually dysfunctional people, are always learning. Everyone learns day in and day out during their life. We learn from academics, from our jobs, from our social interactions, from watching the news or even from entertainment. Our brains are always on, so to speak. But, there are two different type of knowledge. The first is referred to as 'gnosis, and the second is mentioned in our verse here called 'epignosis.' The first, is the learning process of details or information, or better described as an awareness of things or information. The second, is a reference to the comprehension, discernment, understanding, mastery, and better stated as the possession of that information. The first, 'gnosis,' can be described easily as a person who sees trees in a forest and they are nothing more than something pleasant to see, or just trees. You see them but you don't really see them. They are just there. The second form of knowledge, 'epignosis,' can be described as a person looking at those same trees and seeing an application for them, construction, lumber, art value, sculpture, manufacturing value in the sap for syrup or in the pulp for paper, or medicinal value, and so forth. So you can see that there is a vast difference between the two types of knowledge- elementary level vs. PhD level. Not that looking at a forest makes you a elementary school person, but what is emphasized here is the broad range or distance between the two types of knowledge. This is their description in the carnal realm. In the spiritual realm the same terms can be applied however the differences are in their spiritual value, which has even greater significance in a persons life. When we get to the study of Ephesians we will study this concept in far greater detail, however for now, we should understand that the spiritual life has a specific function in which spiritual value is beneficial when it is obtained and applied properly, and of no benefit when it is mis-obtained or mis-applied. A quick review is in order here. First, in order to have a spiritual life, you must first be saved. You have accomplished that by believing in Christ. That took you but a moment of time. Second, you must be in fellowship, in order for your spiritual life to function. You acquire fellowship status by means of confession of your sins to God the Father. This you do on a daily (if not more often) basis. 'Father I did, wanted, thought … this and that and this and that.' That confession places you back into fellowship, a non-physical, non-emotional, non-detectable state. Fellowship places God the Holy Spirit in control of your soul. Out of fellowship places the sin nature in control of your soul. You do not ever have independent control over yourself except that, in your volition, you give control over to either God or sin. There is no third option. The spiritual side of life is something that we cannot measure or detect or sense. Third, you must then study, and through study, you hear or see, the content of the scriptures you are studying. This is 'gnosis,' or something learned. God the Holy Spirit grabs the spiritual aspect of that information and channels it through your human spirit. You then believe it and then it is channeled down into your soul. Fourth, that information thus channeled into your soul becomes the foundation of a spiritual structure within your soul. That foundation or structure is called 'epignosis,' or possessed knowledge. Something that you own. Fifth, this building process, as it is repeated through daily study and learning, builds up a structure which we call your mansion, your temple, your fortress, and so forth. This is doctrine building up muscle or strength in your soul. Sixth the process of learning continues but then you add the application component to your spiritual growth process. And that we call spiritual production. Once you build a structure you must then furnish it, landscape it, or in other words, make it into a home of permanent residence. A home that is carpeted, painted, furnished, landscaped and so forth is a much more pleasant and comfortable home than just an unfinished leaky shack. When you live your life out of fellowship, then 'gnosis' is the only knowledge available to you. There is no spiritual benefit. Satan has 'gnosis.' He knows the Bible forwards and backwards, but has none of the spiritual benefit from it. And so life in this world, when the spiritual side is not functioning, is what is meant here. People are always learning, but in essence they are learning nothing that will help them in their eternal life. Always learning but never building up a permanent structure in their soul. Whether you are a bum on the street or a rocket scientist, if you have no doctrine, then your spiritual value is exactly the same - zero. Academic knowledge in this world gains you nothing for your next life. It may make things better for folks to live in this world. Certainly cars are better than horses, and home ovens are more convenient than campfires, and cell phones are better than pigeons. But they only make life easier. And by the way, with so many conveniences in this world today, that only eliminates your excuses for not studying and growing up spiritually. It should be far easier, today, for folks to study and grow in their spiritual lives, than at any time in the past. And yet, this verse applies. People are always on the go, always learning something, but really never learning anything. And certainly never retaining anything that will benefit them in their future, eternal life.
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
