1 Timothy 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
In the scripture above, there are two aspects of our journey of faith in God. The first is to be saved and the second is to come to the knowledge of the truth. This means after salvation, all is not done yet. It can also mean that many are saved but not all have come to the knowledge of the truth. Who is the truth? He is Jesus based on John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” So after we receive the life of Christ by being born again, we need to know whom we have believed so we can enjoy all that His sacrifice brought to us. In Matthew 16 we see Jesus ask the disciples who men say He is and then now asked them who they also say He is. After Peter answered, Jesus said that Upon the revelation of Him, the church will be built. As a result, the church has dominion only to the degree to which Christ is revealed to them. The more revelation a person has of Jesus, the more dominion they have.
Take note of the word ‘build’ because, in Acts 20:32, the scripture tells us how we can be built. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. The Word is what builds up and so the way we come to the knowledge of the truth spoken of in the opening scripture is by focusing on the Word. 1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. The way we move from baby/child to sonship is through the Word.
Back to the two parts: To be saved is salvation but to come to knowledge of the truth is discipleship. The one who is saved is a child of God. John 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. But the one who has come to the knowledge of the truth is a son of God.
In salvation, we receive Christ’s life but in discipleship, we give our lives to Christ. Not everyone who has received Christ’s life has given their lives to the control of Jesus. Jesus is Saviour to the saved but He is Lord to the disciple because a disciple follows the principles and instructions of His Master.
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. There is a difference between a child and a son. A son is one who has come to maturity. Galatians 4:1-3 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all. But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so, we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: So an heir can only inherit when he has left childhood and become a son.
Verse 19 of this same scripture says, My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. This denotes that the one who is saved has Christ in them but the one who has come to the knowledge has Christ formed in them. So the Christ received at the time of being born again has to grow in us and that is how we come to maturity. We are currently on a journey to having Christ formed in us. There may be aspects of your life not yet surrendered to Christ. You may have included Him in your health but not finances. He may be Lord over your finances but not your relationships.
You see, physical growth is time bound. This means the more years you spend, the more visible changes we see in your physical outlook. However, spiritual growth isn’t that way. It’s not time bound. You can be in church for 30 years and still be a child if you are not intentional about taking steps toward your growth.
What is the whole point of this excerpt? There are things God cannot trust us with if we are still children.
Children are always begging but sons take responsibility.
When you see a person who does nothing for God’s Kingdom, that’s a child right there. They are just there to ask God for what they want. We can see maturity even in the content of your prayer. The Son, however, is asking what He should do for God. If you are still wondering why the church today is not as impactful as the early church, your answer is here. We are only focused on ourselves and never on God. The earlier verses in 1 Timothy spoke of the fact that prayers and intercessions be made for all men, kings, and those in authority. The question is how many of us pray for others on a daily? Matthew 6:33 has always been our job description but we are currently doing the opposite. We have inverted the order God gave us.
The world awaits the manifestation of the Sons of God, not children. Romans 8:19
The Word In Clarity 