2 Timothy 3.7-Certain Christian Women Received Repeated Instruction from False Teachers But Never Were Able to Know Exeperientially the Truth
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday July 14, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 3:7-Certain Christian Women Received Repeated Instruction from False Teachers But Were Never Able to Know Experientially the Truth
Lesson # 70
2 Timothy 3:1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 6 For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (NASB95)
“Always learning” is composed of the following: (1) temporal adverb pantote (πάντοτε), “always” (2) accusative neuter singular present active participle form of the verb manthanō (μανθάνω), “learning.”
The verb manthanō means “to learn” since it refers to acquiring information as the result of instruction, whether in an informal or formal context which is modified by the adverb of time pantote which means “often, always” since pertains to a repeated action or frequent action.
Therefore, these two words indicate that these foolish Christian women who were captivated by unrepentant apostate Christian pastor-teachers were “often receiving instruction” in the sense that they were often receiving instruction but this instruction was never making an impact on their lives or character.
The present tense of the verb manthanō is an iterative present used to describe an event that repeatedly takes place which would indicate that these foolish Christian women described in verse 5 were “repeatedly” receiving instruction.
The idea with the present is not that these women were receiving instruction every minute of every day but rather they perform this action repeatedly.
“And never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” stands in contrast to the previous clause which states that these foolish Christian described in verse 5 repeatedly received instruction.
“Knowledge” is the noun epignōsis (ἐπίγνωσις), which means an “experiential knowledge” of the truth.
Second Timothy 3:1 Indeed continue making it your habit of taking note of this, namely that dangerous circumstances interacting will exist during the last days. 2 For out of selfishness, people will be characterized as self-centered, lovers of money, braggarts, arrogant, slanderous, disobedient to the detriment of their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 devoid of natural affection, implacable, malicious gossips, self-indulgent, brutal, opposed to what is good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, hedonists rather than lovers of God. 5 They exhibit that which resembles godliness. However, they reject for themselves its power. Consequently, for your own benefit, continue making it your habit of disassociating yourself from these types of people 6 because out from these individuals are those who make it their habit of insinuating themselves into households. In fact, they make it their habit of captivating foolish women because these are overwhelmed with guilt because of sins because they are driven by means of various kinds of lusts. 7 They repeatedly receive instruction. However, they are never at any time able for their own benefit to enter into knowing experientially the truth. (My translation)
The apostle Paul completes his description of these apostate Christian women before returning to the unrepentant apostate pastor-teachers in Ephesus.
Paul asserts that these women were repeatedly receiving instruction but what were they being taught?
The answer is that they were repeatedly receiving instruction from these unrepentant apostate pastors who rejected Paul’s apostolic teaching which is indicated by the fact that these women were said to be captivated by these apostate teachers.
They were never able to at any time enter into knowing experientially the truth after their conversion to Christianity because they were receiving instruction from these men.
If obeyed, Paul’s apostolic teaching would enable these women to enter into knowing in an experiential sense the truth.
These women had an intellectual curiosity and did not have a desire to know God.
If they did, they would have listened to the conviction of the Holy Spirit who indwells them and would thus have obeyed Paul’s Spirit inspired gospel, which was truth from God.
Since their desire to learn was not related to wanting to experience a more intimate fellowship with God and love for God, it was related to their pride.
Out of pride they sought instruction from these false teachers whose false doctrine reinforced their pride and arrogance whereas Paul’s apostolic teaching would have convicted them.
It would have reproved them, and rebuked this pride and arrogance but it would have also exhorted and instructed them regarding the Father’s will for their lives and would have given them true joy and happiness which is based upon truth.
These women were restless because they were unhappy and they were unhappy because they had rejected the truth.
Paul asserts that they never for their own benefit entered into knowing experientially the truth.
The false doctrine which these unrepentant apostate pastor-teachers were communicating to these foolish Christian women was lies from Satan’s cosmic system.
Therefore, these women could never know the truth experientially since truth resides in God’s character and nature.
Thus, because they were listening to the lies propagated by these false teachers, they were never able to enter into knowing experientially God who as to His nature is truth.
Because they were listening to lies, their character was never transformed into the image of Jesus Christ.
Only truth, when obeyed, can do this.
What does Paul mean by an experiential knowledge of the truth in Second Timothy 3:7?
First of all, Paul is speaking in the context of the post-conversion experience of these foolish Christian who were captivated by unrepentant apostate pastor-teachers.
When he speaks of an experiential knowledge of the truth, he means that these women never personally encountered through the process of fellowship the mind of Christ as it is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the pages of Scripture and prayer.
It means that they never were affected by an encounter with the mind of Christ.
This encounter would have resulted in their gaining of practical spiritual wisdom and more of the character of Christ.
Fellowship with God is experienced by obeying the Father’s will as it is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God.
So these women were not experiencing fellowship with God because they were not receiving truth from God but rather they were receiving lies from Satan’s cosmic system.
Thus, they were never able to encounter God who as to His nature is truth.
They were never able to gain a practical spiritual wisdom and more of the character of Christ as a result of receiving lies from these unrepentant apostate pastors in Ephesus.
“The truth” refers to Paul’s apostolic teaching and specifically it refers to his apostolic teaching which Timothy was to make it his habit of accurately teaching to the Christian community and non-Christian members of the community.
Therefore, the word refers to the truth of God in an objective sense as a body of knowledge containing the revelation regarding the will of the Father for the Christian and the non-Christian.
This revelation also contains information regarding the character and nature of the Trinity and contains information regarding the consequences of the Christian failing to do the will of the Father or doing His will.
It contains information regarding the consequences of the non-Christian rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior or accepting Him as Savior and also contains information regarding what the Father has provided for the Christian through both His Son and the Holy Spirit which enables the Christian to execute His will.
Paul is rebuking these women and these unrepentant apostate pastor-teachers who were captivating these women because it was not transforming the character of these women.
They were never personally encountering God who as to His nature is truth.
If these women were obeying the gospel and these pastors teaching the gospel, these women would know the truth experientially or in other words, they would know experientially God and it would thus transform their character so that they exhibit godly character which is the product of obeying truth.
So here in Second Timothy 3:7, we can see that the unrepentant apostate pastor-teachers in Ephesus and certain foolish Christian women in this city were feeding off one another.
Both were consumed with pride and arrogance which caused both groups to reject the truth and consequently, both manifested ungodly character and were thus being disciplined by God.
Part of that discipline is that God handed them both over to the lies of Satan cosmic system which was in the form of the false doctrine of the Judaizers.
Just as God hands the unregenerate over to the lies of Satan when they reject the truth of God in creation or in the person of Jesus Christ or the gospel, so God does the same to the Christian who rejects the truth of the gospel in that He hands them over to false doctrine from Satan’s cosmic system.