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"RECOGNISING
THE GNOSTICS - THE HUMAN PHILOSOPHERS"
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come"
2Tim.3:1 KJV.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that IN THE LATER TIMES some will depart
from the faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,
through the profession of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid
marriage and enjoin abstinence from foods, which God created to be received with
thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth" 1Tim.4:1-3 RSV.
Before proceeding to examine some of the scriptures that some of our modern day
`sonshippers' are using in support of the "forbidding of marriage"
doctrine, we shall look closely first at some elements found in our text above
such as `spirit speaking expressly' `Doctrines of devils' `Deceitful spirit'
etc. THE
SPIRIT EXPRESSLY SAYS -What do we mean by this? Paul was simply talking of the
Holy Ghost speaking expressly through the New Testament prophets to the body of
Christ even then, E.g. when prophet Agabus demonstrated the persecution of Paul
in Jerusalem in Acts 21:11 "...Thus says the Holy Spirit, so shall the Jews
at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this girdle and deliver him into the hand of
the Gentiles" see also Acts 20:23. We can see clearly that we only need to
hear the voice of the Spirit today through His prophets to know what He is
saying to the Church (Eph.3:3-5). This is different from the personal witness
that the Lord gives to individuals as they listen to Him. LATER
TIMES. Truly speaking, in line with historical evidence, Paul was not using this
word `Later times' to speak of our age or time, rather the period before the
`day of the Lord' as recorded in the Gospel of Mathew Chapter 24. Verse 24 of
the Chapter spoke of "the false Christ and false prophets that shall
arise" before the great and notable day of the Lord came (Acts DECEITFUL
SPIRITS. In 1Jn.4:1+, we read "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try
the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets have gone out
into the world ... Every Spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereby ye have
heard that it should come and even now already it is in the world". Mind
you this was written in AD 95-96. These false prophets were men (the Gnostics)
who claim to have supernatural knowledge and powers outside of the Holy Spirit
(Jn.16:13-15) whom God has sent to reveal to mankind the truth about God that
"Jesus is the Christ". In other words, they deny the fact that
"Christ the Son of the Living God" (Math. 16:16) took on human form in
a man called Jesus (see 1Jn.2:22). Their claim was that Christ was not
inseparably united with the man Jesus, or that Jesus body was not a human body.
But the Scriptures declare otherwise. For we read "forasmuch then as the
children are partakers of flesh and blood, He (Christ) also Himself likewise
took part of the same; - (Heb.2:14). For "...without controversy great is
the mystery of godliness, God (in Christ) was manifest in the flesh..." 1
Tirn.3:16. The `Gnostics' denied that the historical man - Jesus - was the
Christ (2Jn.1). Please see Acts 2:36. Even so, to teach that Christ is not come
in the flesh today is a manifestation of evil and deceitful spirit. For the
spirit of Christ who is the Son of the Living God has been given unto us right
now in our hearts, hence we as sons can call on God as our father. Gal.4:6.
Compare 2Cor.13:3,5. That Son of God that has been given to us was the same holy
thing that was deposited in Mary when the Holy Ghost over shadowed her. (Lk.1:3435)
which was eventually wrapped up with the body of Jesus (Math. DOCTRINES
OF DEVILS. This means a manifestation of the fleshy life even in wisdom.
"For jealousy and selfishness are not God's wisdom, Such things are,
"spiritual, inspired by the devil. For wherever there is jealousy or
selfish ambition, there will be disorder and every other kind of evil" Jarn.
FORBID
MARRIAGE. Gnostics teachers forbade legitimate marriage and certain foods. This
is why Paul warned the Church when he said "...don't let anyone criticize
you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating Jewish holidays and feast
or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these were only temporary rules that
ended when Christ came. They were only a shadow of the real thing of Christ
Himself. ...They have seen a vision they say, and know you should. These proud
men (though they claim to be so humble) have a very clever imagination... Since
ye died, as it were with Christ and this has set you free from following the
worlds ideas of how to be saved - by doing good and obeying various rules - why
do you keep right on following them anyway, still bound by such rules as not
eating, tasting or even touching certain foods?" Col.2:16-21 TL13. Please
compare Tit. 1:I5,'Heb.13:9. These then were the problems created by the
philosophy of the Gnostics. WHO
THEN WERE THESE GNOSTICS?
GNOSTICISM with its dangerous heresy came to the Church like a flood in
the 2nd century. At about the rd Century, this movement has affected nearly all
the more intellectual Christian congregations in the In our next study, we shall be considering three scriptures to which our modern day Gnostics lay claim in subscribing to the teaching of "forbidding of marriage" THESE
TEACHERS AND THEIR TEACHINGS ARE NOT OF CHRIST.
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come"
2Tim.3:1 KJV.
"But the (Holy) Spirit distinctly and expressly declared that in
latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding
and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach". (1Tim.4:IAmp)
"...and the cause of this is the lies told by hypocrites whose consciences
are branded as though with a red hot iron. They will say marriage is forbidden,
and lay down rules about abstaining from foods which God created to be accepted
with thanksgiving by all who believe and know the truth" (Verse 2-3) JB.
Elsewhere, in this study we have indicated that the last days began even
in the days of the apostles (Rom.3:26+). They lived in the final era of crisis
as indicated above by Paul. See 1 Cor.2:26, Eph.5:6; 6:13; Jm.5:3; 1Jn.2:18,
Mt.26:41.
One of the major signs of the last days was those who had their
consciences seared. That is they had their conscience marked with a red-hot
branding iron. It is more or less like a branded runaway slave who cannot be
branded by another master. These are men whose conscience cannot be touched
anymore by the words and teachings of Christ. In the days of the apostles they
were mainly the Gnostics and Jewish' teachers. So we found that of the two major
issues above, the rejection of marriage was one of the main points of
Gnosticism, while the dietary regulations were more specifically Jewish. It was
these teachings Paul classified in the above Scripture as the doctrines of
demons. We shall now examine these doctrines. DEMON
INSPIRED DOCTRINES OF THE FALSE TEACHERS
In order to get a clear picture of what I am about to say, I will like to
quote the same passage from the Living Bible. "It is quite true that the
way to live a godly life is not an easy matter.... But the Holy Spirit tells us
clearly that in the LAST TIMES some in the Church will turn away from Christ and
become eager followers of teachers with devil inspired ideas. These teachers
will tell LIES with straight faces and do it so often that their consciences
won't even bother them. They will say it is WRONG TO BE MARRIED and WRONG TO EAT
MEAT; even though God gave these things (including man-iage) to well taught
Christians to enjoy and be thankful for. For everything God made is good, and we
may eat it gladly if we are thankful for it and if we ask God to bless it, for
it is made good by the word of God and prayer. If you explain this to others you
will be doing your duty as a worthy Pastor who is fed by faith and by the true
teaching you have followed" 1Tim.116; 4:1-6 TLB. Looking at the above
passage, we can observe the followings (1) The teaching that marriage is wrong.
(2) Eating of certain food is wrong. (3) It is lack of faith to teach thus. (4)
Such a one is not doing his duty as a worthy Pastor, and above all. (5) It is a
demonic idea and not of God.
Now there is something I love about this passage. It says "Now the
Spirit speaketh expressly that in the Latter Times". That means it is the
Spirit that is talking and not Paul. Can you see that? So the truth is, what we
are dealing with is what the Spirit, who is the God of yesterday, today and
forever is still saying. What then is new even as we still have people saying
today that it is wrong to be married? When we say something is wrong, it is
another way of saying that, that thing is forbidden by God. But is marriage
wrong in the sight of God? I am going to examine three scriptures which our
modern day "Gnostics" lay claim to, in propagating these devil
inspired ideas:
Matt.19:12. Here, firstly we must understand that the issue in question
was that of DIVORCE as Jesus was speaking to His disciples. I will like to quote
from verse 9-12 "1 tell you that anvone who divorce
his wife is if his wife has sexual relations with another man". The
followers said to Him "If that is the only reason a man can divorce his
wife, it is better not to marry" Jesus answered "not everyone can
accept it (accept what? The saying that you cannot divorce except for adultery
in other words Jesus did not disapprove marriage; rather He established it and
indicated that it should be for life - no divorce). Then continuing in verse 12
- He said - there are different reasons why some men cannot marry (1) Some men
were born without the ability to become fathers (natural Eunuchs). (2) Others
were made that way later in life by other people (e.g. slaves in their masters'
houses, to avoid procreation even lwith the masters .family. They were
castrated). (3) And some men have given up marriage because of the Kingdom of
heaven. But the person who CAN MARRY should accept this teaching about
marriage" NCV. Now listen: To the man who gave up marriage for the sake of
the Kingdom, it is a matter of choice and personal dealing with God. Should that
become a doctrine, or to be seen as a higher life? Not at all! Again, Jesus
approved legitimate marriage and it should be properly taught in the Church as
to when, how, why and by whom.
1Cor.7:7-10 "I wish that all of you were like me, but God has given
different gifts to each of us. Here is my (Paid) advice for people who have
never been married and for widows. You should stay single, just as I am. But if
you don't have enough self-control, then go ahead and get married. After all it
is better to marry than to burn with desire. I instructed marriage couples to
stay together, and this is exactly what the Lord Himself taught..." CEV. It
is plain here that Paul was approving marriage. But the question is, was Paul a
widower or just single? For what did he mean when he said `I wish that all of
you were like me" Certainly Paul was a widower. Every true Bible student
believed that Paul was a widower because of the position he occupied - a
Pharisee in the Jewish religion and political settings. 1 here in quote the
words of Preston Eby. "There is no doubt that he was a widower, because he
could not have been a member of the Rabbinical Council if otherwise and would
never have been an official witness at the death of Stephen, consenting to that
death, unless he had been a Rabbi of rank. A member of that council must need be
a married man. I agree with some Bible Scholars, that the apostle Paul was
probably a widower at the time he wrote the epistle in which he talked about the
virtues of not having a wife..." end quote. In addition to that, according
to the Tahmud, it was the responsibility of every Jewish father to provide a
trade, education and a wife for his son. And for Paul to have attended the
school of Gamaliel, it is an indication that he came from a wealthy background.
Then of course, he must of necessity have been married. So why was he saying
what he said? The answer is found in verse 26+. "Here is the problem; we
Christians are facing great dangers to our lives at present (remember he wrote
this letter in AD 57-58, some 12 to 13 years to the fall of FURTHER
EXAMINATION OF THE FALSE TEACHINGS.
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come"
2Tim.3:1 KJV.
We shall now continue with the third scripture that the `Gnostics' of our
days are using and more in their belief systems and "THE ESSENES"
which have be labored the church of Christ for years. Mk.12:25
In using this Scripture, the Gnostics of our days will say because we are in the
Kingdom of God, we ought not to marry, for we have resurrected in Christ
(Eph.2:1,6) even as the Scripture says "for when they shall rise from the
dead they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which
are in heaven". But could this be what the Scripture is teaching? The
answer says No. I am sure we can remember here that the issue at stake was the
question of a woman that married seven brothers, they all died, and the
Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection came tempting Jesus by saying who
will be the husband in the resurrection? So what did Jesus mean, "to be
like the angels in heaven"? This simply means to be devoted to the service
of God, after all it is believed that angels are sexless beings contrary to the
nature of man. The marriage institution itself was established from the
beginning and Jesus was not putting it aside for the Sons of the Kingdom I am
sure. Even Adam and his wife were in the Kingdom before the fall. Therefore for
us to understand the language of Jesus, we must compare other Scriptures where
this Phrase is used.
"For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into
the ark" Math24:37-39. One can see that what characterized the above state
of existence is that, these people were not mindful of the things of the Spirit.
They were careless of the Gospel that Noah was preaching. Their problem was not
because they were marrying. After all Noah himself had children and that did not
disqualify him from overcoming and entering into the ark. I think the meaning of
the above statement is found in the words of Paul in 1Cor.7: "...Those who
marry will have trouble in this life, and I want you to be free from trouble...
A man who is not married is busy with the Lord's work, trying to please the
Lord. But a man who is married is busy with the things of the world, trying to
please his wife. He must think about two things - pleasing his wife and pleasing
the Lord. A woman who is not married or a girl who has never married is busying
with the Lord's work. She wants to be holy in body and Spirit. But a married
woman is busy with things of the world, as to how she can please her
husband" Verse 28-34 NCV. So you see to be married and giving in marriage
simply means to be occupied with the affairs of life at the expense of the
things of God. Otherwise, come to think of it, the Lord said "...it is not
good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him"
Gen.2:18. I am sure God knows better than we do. And he could not have given to
man what will be a hindrance to his spiritual upliftment and having the normal
relationship with Him as a father. You can see with me that whatsoever is good
can still be abused. Even the grace of God upon man can still be abused by
becoming a license for us to sin. That is not to say that the Grace of God is
bad and should be done away with, that is not the issue. Proy.18:22 says
"He who finds a (true) wife, finds a good thing and obtains favor of the
Lord" AMP. See also Prov. 19:14; 31:10. Eph.5:31-32 And I believe that a
good partner brings God's favor to both persons. Is the Lord saying that that
which will bring favor is a hindrance to the Kingdom life? Looking at it
closely, was Enoch not translated unto glory because he pleased God? (Heb.11:5).
But we are told "and Enoch walked with God after he begath Methuselah three
hundred years and BEGATH SONS AND DAUGHTERS " Gen.5:22. He married, he had
children and he -pleased God, Simple! Can't we even see that it is more
advantageous for those in the Kingdom as parents to bring forth more of Kingdom
like children to populate the world as every seed must bring forth its own kind,
instead of just leaving that to the unregenerate to continue to bring forth the
devil's seed on a daily basis? The Bible says bring up the child in the way he
should go and when he has grown, he will not depart from it. Where no children
are to be produced whose children are we to bring up in the way of our Lord, are
they not suppose to be the "ones in the household of faith? I think
evangelism will be reduced when Kingdom Parents build the seeds of God in the certainly
No and should the apostle or Evangelist form a doctrine around his gift that all
should be like him or that, that is the highest form of life.? Never! Even so
regarding the gift of celibacy. ALL CANNOT BE CELIBATES, neither is a gift the
qualification for entry into life but the quality of the life of God in a man or
woman, which is the fruit of the Spirit Gal 5:22-33. Now hear the word of God
from the disciple of Christ and the apostle of the resurrection, Paul. "Let
Marriage be held in honour-esteemed worthy, precious,(that is ) of great price
and especially dear-in all things. And thus let the Marriage bed be (kept
undishonored) undefiled; --" Heb.13:4 AMP. I am sure you can see the Kind
of powers that the apostles were contending with in their days- the last days. Now
before discussing the second aspect of their teachings"-abstinence from
(certain kinds of) foods which God have created to be received" I would
want to list the major beliefs of the Gnostics. WHAT
WERE THE MAJOR BELIEFS OF TIIE GNOSTICS? 1.
That matter (Material world) was evil, Spirit was good. God was a spirit
and therefore good; but the material world was evil and thus could not have
contact with a spiritual God. That God created the world through issuing
emanations; which were separated from God and often opposing to him. But the
record of creation says " And God saw every thing that He had made, and,
behold, it was VERY GOOD-" Gen. 1:31. 2.
Again, they stated that since matter was evil, it follows that flesh was
evil. Therefore if Jesus was the Son of God then He could not have dwelt in the
flesh, which is evil.
He must have been little more than one of a gradation of angels.
Therefore to them, Jesus did not live as a man, He did not suffer on the cross,
and He did not rise from the dead because He had never lived in an evil,
material body. But the word says -"The word was made flesh and dwelt among
us -" Jn In
addition to the above group of people (the Gnostics) that were troubling the
infant churches, was a Jewish sect known as the ESSENES. They hated anything
that has to do with Marriage, eating animal flesh, affirmation of the body and
enjoyment of life. Their strong observation of rites and rituals were
compulsory. In addition to the Mosaic Laws, they worshiped the sun, different
categories of angels. They believed that ,most of their rules were given by
angels and spirits manifestations. To them abstinence from meat and drink was
equally and finally more important than love for one's neighbor. They have
strong holiday observance with heavy sacrifices, which only a few knew why they
were celebrated. They observe the new moon strongly also.
I am sure, with this you can see clearly what was going on in the days of
the apostles, right inside the church even then. Now hear the words of Paul as
he admonished the brethren because of these false teachers. "Be careful
that nobody soils your faith through intellectualism or high sounding nonsense.
Such stuff is at best founded on men's ideas of the nature of the world and
disregards Christ! (by trying to make Him equal with other angels).
Yet it is in Him that God gives a full and complete expression of
himself... Who is the authority over all authorities and the supreme power over
all powers. ...In view of these tremendous facts, don't let anyone worry you by
criticizing what you eat or drink, or what holy days you ought to observe, or
bothering you over new moons or Sabbaths. All these things have at most only a
symbolical value, the solid fact is Christ. Nor let any man cheat you of your
joy in Christ by persuading you to make yourselves " humble " and fall
down and worship angels. Such a man inflated by an unspiritual imagination is
pushing his ways into matters he knows nothing about, and in his cleverness
forgetting the head. ...So if, through your faith in Christ, you are dead to the
principles of this world's life, why as if you were still part and parcel of
this world-wide system (the system of the Gnostics and Essenes) do you take the
slightest notice of these purely human prohibitions - Don't touch this"
" Don't taste that" and " Don't handle the other."?
"This" "that, "and "the other" will all pass away
after use..." (Col.2:9-23 Philips). WHY? Because "the Kingdom of
heaven is not a matter of whether you get what you like to eat and drink, but of
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy spirit ... Yet if a man eats meat
with an uneasy conscience about it, you may be sure he is wrong to do so. For
his action does not spring from his faith and when we act apart from our faith
we sin" Rom To
be continued OGAGA O. DAVID. |
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