Unnoticed Gnostics...Bible Study #1

Greetings friends and readers! 

I would like to introduce you to Steve McGlade, a brother in the Lord and student of the Word of God.  Our brother Steve has written several Bible studies and we are looking forward to sharing them with you!  Here is the first of many...

God bless you,

Pastor Rance

The early church was infiltrated by certain people who were called gnostics. Their name comes from the Greek “gnosis" which means to know.  The infiltration is clearly spoken of by Jude, whose little one chapter book is an exposure of the gnosticism of that time.  Without quoting all of Jude, I will pick out some interesting statements.

"For certain men have crept in unnoticed ". Jude v 4

Notice here, these people were in the Christian congregations but they often went unnoticed.  As we know, the early Christians would have agape feasts where they would get together for a shared meal and Christian fellowship Jude also says -

"These are spots in your love (agape) feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves".  Jude v.12

  

They are described as comfortably joining with us in intimate fellowship.

"They are clouds without water."  Jude v. 12

As we know water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the Lord said that rivers of living water would flow from the belly of the true believer, yet these are described as having no water.  John 7 v. 38.  Jude also goes on to say that -

"These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit ".  Jude v.19.  Jude then describes them as people who "have not the Spirit ".  The Scripture is clear -

"Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His".  Romans 8 v. 9.

There were two main types of gnostic heresy in those days. Both groups believed that matter was intrinsically evil.  The docetic gnostics denied our Lord's humanity.  The word " docetic is from a Greek word which means " to seem ". They argued that Christ never had a real physical body, he only "seemed” to have one.  This is the heresy that John immediately begins to address in his first epistle.

"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life." John 1 v. 1.

Notice here how John is emphasizing the humanity of Christ.  That...which we have HEARD.  Which we HAVE SEEN with our eyes.  Which we have LOOKED UPON.  And our HANDS HAVE HANDLED.  Even the word "handled" here is very informative, it is a word that is not used very often in the New Testament. It means to handle deliberately with a view to investigate. The word in Greek is “psailafao", it's root is “psallo , from where we get the word psalm.  It is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament when Isaac who was blind, handled Jacob's hands with a view to investigate whether or not the person before him was Esau, because his voice sounded like Jacob's voice.

"So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he FELT him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”  Genesis 27 v. 22.

This same word is used in Luke 24 v 39, where Jesus bids his frightened disciples -

"Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: HANDLE me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have".  Luke 24 v. 39.

Jesus wanted His disciples to handle him so as to investigate that he was not a spirit, but rather he himself risen bodily from the dead.

Again when Paul was preaching to the people on Mars hill in Athens, he used the same word when he said -

"That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might FEEL after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us ".  Acts 17 v. 27.

As stated earlier, the root of this word is "psallo" from whence comes the word “psalm ".  The relationship between the two words is clear when we consider some of Strong's definitions of psallo -

a) to touch or strike the chord, to twang the strings of a musical instrument so that they gently vibrate. 

b) to play on a stringed instrument, to play, the harp, etc. 

c) to sing to the music of the harp. 

d) in the NT to sing a hymn, to celebrate the praises of God in song.

And when someone touches and handles a musical instrument, they must do it carefully in order to get the right sound.  It is as if they are investigating the instrument to see how to achieve the quality of sound that they desire.

Number 2.

Getting back to the first epistle of John , he explains to us one of the reasons why he wrote his first epistle.

" These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you ".

1 John 2 v 26.

As we have already seen , the deceivers in the early days of the church were known as gnostics.

Also we noticed that they believed that matter was inherently evil and that the body of our Lord only appeared to be material.

This helps us to understand certain remarks that John makes in chapter 4 -

" Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world ".

1 John 4 v 2-3.

Years ago when I would read these verses I would find them a bit difficult , because all of the cults that I had come into contact with did confess that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh.

These cults believe that Jesus Christ was born as a flesh and blood baby in Bethlehem.

It was only when I came to understand about the gnostic threat to the early church that I was able to understand these statements in their first context.

John also says -

" Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

1 John 2 v 18 - 19.

Notice here that John speaks of these people going out " FROM US " instead of " CONTINUING WITH US ".

Many people that are born again often backslide and leave church. They are not the ones that are spoken of here.

These statements recall to mind similar statements uttered by Peter in his second epistle -

" For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit, and, a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

2 Peter 2 v 20 - 22.

I have often wondered if Peter is speaking here of gnostics. It is known that they confessed Christ , although not according to the true Gospel. 

Yet somehow their testimony of Christ enabled them to infiltrate the true church.

I remember once reading a collection of early 
Christian writings and there alongside people like Athanasius and Polycarp was Valentinus , a significant second century gnostic , and incredibly there was no mention of the fact that he was a gnostic and not a true Christian.

It appears that they can still infiltrate today.

Getting back to Peter's statements , he appears at first to be speaking of born again Christians as some of his statements are very extreme , but then he goes on to speak of a dog returning to his own vomit and a sow having been washed then returning to the mire.

This is interesting as dogs are spoken of in the Bible as unbelievers -

" But outside are DOGS and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

Revelation 22 v 15.

Also the washing of the sow could refer to an outward washing which would produce a form of outward godliness without the inner reality.

But if you take a sow and clean it up on the outside , dress it in a nice suit , and seat it in the front row. It is still a sow inside and if it leaves the church it will soon go back to wallowing in the mire again.

Also the Biblcal languages are not always as nuanced in my opinion as our English language. Often the Bible will speak in extremes in a way that maybe we would not. Just to give two examples , firstly Jeremiah says to Israel -

" For thus says the LORD ‘Your affliction is INCURABLE , Your wound is severe. 13 There is no one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up; You have no healing medicines ".

Jeremiah 30 v 12 - 13.

This sounds pretty extreme. Yet further down in the same chapter the Lord says -

" For I will RESTORE HEALTH to you And HEAL you of your wounds,’ says the LORD ".

Jeremiah 30 v 17.

Our second example is Jacob's attitude toward Leah , the Scripture says -

" And he went in also unto Rachel, and HE LOVED RACHEL ALSO MORE THAN LEAH , and served with him yet seven other years ".

Genesis 29 v 30.

Then the very next verse says -

" And when the LORD saw that Leah was HATED , he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren ".

Genesis 29 v 31.

The word " hate " here ( sune ) , does mean " hate " in the Hebrew.

Strongs description of the word " hate " here is as follows -

To hate, be hateful.

Interesting how the " loved more " of verse 30 is the equivalent of the " hated " of verse 31.

This is what is known as the comparitive degree. 

For Jacob did not hate Leah as we use the word hate in english. It is simply a case of Rachel being Jacob's favorite wife , and that Leah was less favored.

After all Jacob and Leah had 6 children together.

This also sheds light on something Jesus said in the New Testament -

" If anyone comes to Me and does not HATE his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

Luke 14 v 26.

This word " hate " ( miseo ) is just as strong in Greek as it is in Hebrew , and is where we get the first part of the english word " misogyny ", ( hater of women ).

Strongs entry for this word says -

To hate, pursue with hatred, detest.

Again although Jesus uses this very strong word to express the comparative degree , yet that is exactly what is meant here. Whenever there is a conflict of interest between our devotion to the Lord and our devotion to our nearest and dearest , the Lord must always comes first.

This is apparent when , after Jesus had explained to his disciples that he must needs go up to Jerusalem to be killed and raised from the dead. Peter probably in an attempt to display to the Lord the depth of his devotion took Him to one side and said-

" Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”

Matthew 16 v 22.

Jesus , far from being grateful , responded with single minded devotion to His Father's will --

But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Mattthew 16 v 23.

After receiving such a stinging rebuke , Peter's wounded heart may have momentarily felt that Jesus love for him had suddenly turned to hate, but Jesus was more concerned with doing His Father's will than worrying about Peter's feelings.

Author:  Steve McGlade

Editor:   Ruth~Ann Waterhouse