“I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.”
(1 Timothy 5:21)
In a world where many spend their life pursuing material wealth, status, and temporal joys, let us Christians consider the importance of investing our energies in the pursuit of godly knowledge and spiritual maturity—for these are treasures reserved exclusively for God’s elect. In fact, even the “elect angels are still attending in his ordinances (1 Tim. 5:21) to join with his elect and learn of the church what this manifold wisdom of our God is.”[1]
Our privilege as saints to learn and absorb God’s Word that we may grow in the knowledge of Him and the wisdom of His ways holds inestimable value for living, both in the here-and-now and the hereafter. In fact, this unique privilege we have as God’s children to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) even further elevates our value in the Father’s eyes. Scripture refers to the elect as God’s beloved chosen jewels (Mal. 3:17), because the process of sanctification by His Word and through His Spirit transforms us into living precious stones (1 Peter 2:5).
This reality is further illuminated by Paul in Romans 8:29, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,” (Romans 8:29). Indeed, each Member of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—acts jointly yet distinctly to grant this special knowledge of Himself to those He adopts into His royal family.
The first step in our redemption was taken by God the Father, who chose those He would save before He even created the first man Adam (Eph. 1:4). Then God the Son secured our redemption by His sinless life, sacrificial death, victorious resurrection, and mediatorial ascension back to the Father (Heb. 10:7). Finally, the Holy Spirit works in us moment by moment to continue to infuse us with the wisdom and knowledge of God that we may be prepared for eternal glory (John 16:13). While their roles are distinct, their purpose is unified: to make the elect worthy of their divine calling and inheritance.
Those chosen of God benefit from His gracious divine display of unmerited favor, not for our glory but for His… that we may “know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, and that we might be filled with all the fulness of God,” (Eph. 3:19). As bearers of this treasured knowledge of God and His glorious Gospel, let us strive to shine like the jewels we have been made to be, both in time and eternity.
Contemplations:
- On Being Known by God. When I remember that God knows me in a special, intimate way I am filled with a sense of greater worth and purpose. He not only approves of who I am, but He has also chosen me to be a part of His divine family (Romans 8:15). What an overwhelming truth it is to be known and loved by God.
- On The Excellence of Divine Wisdom. The knowledge of the Gospel of God that I have been granted is so exceptional that even angels long to comprehend it (1 Peter 1:12). It will always astound me that the believer’s understanding of the Gospel is not shared with celestial beings, despite how magnificent they are in their own right.
- On the Cause of Divine Knowledge. The source of this divine knowledge is not human in origin but stems from the Trinity itself (Matthew 16:17). The Father elects, the Son redeems, and the Spirit sanctifies. Knowing that all three Persons of the Godhead are invested in my spiritual growth humbles me and causes me to cherish this knowledge of God more dearly.
- On Transformation Through Knowledge. The more I come to know God, the more I am transformed into a living, precious stone in His sight (2 Corinthians 3:18). This doesn’t happen simply by acquiring information but rather involves a transformative experience that reshapes me into the image of Christ. How incredible it is that the more I know Him, the more I become like Him!
Further References for 1 Tim. 5:21:
2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Tim. 6:13; Lev. 19:15; Prov. 24:23
[1] Claudius Gilbert, A Sovereign Antidote against Sinful Errors, (London: printed by R.W. for Francis Titon, and are to be sold at the sign of the three Daggers in Fleet Street, 1658), 36.
