“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,” (1 Timothy 4:1 (ESV).
The words the Apostle Paul expressed at the beginning of I Timothy 4 are sobering. He did not say a departure from the Christian faith might happen sometime in the future, but rather it certainly would happen. He affirmed this by invoking the person of the Holy Spirit. Paul said the Spirit expressly says (ῥητῶς λέγει; rhetos legei), which means the Spirit explicitly, presently, actively and singularly stated a departure from biblical faith would occur.
What does it mean to depart from the faith? The verb depart (ἀποστήσονταί; apostesontai) is a future, middle, plural verb. It means to fall away, to forsake and to turn away. The root word is aphistemi, from which we derive the English word apostasy and apostate.
“Those who fall prey to false teachers will abandon the Christian faith. The Greek word for ‘depart’ is the source of the English word ‘apostatize,’ and refers to someone moving away from an original position. They are professing or nominal Christians who associate with those who truly believe the gospel, but defect after believing lies and deception, thus revealing their true nature as unconverted,” explains Dr. John MacArthur.
Rev. Caleb Cangelosi, senior pastor of Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland, Miss. writes, “It’s difficult to visit the internet these days without seeing another story about someone’s “deconstructing” his faith or undergoing a “deconversion.” The process these fancy terms describe once went by a simpler name: apostasy. The English word apostasy comes from the Greek apostasia.”
“Derived from a verb meaning “to withdraw, depart, desert, fall away,” the noun refers to abandonment of and defiant rebellion against authority. It is used twice in the New Testament. In Acts 21:21, Jewish Christians had been told that Paul was teaching apostasia from Moses—that is, he was supposedly teaching Jews to forsake and reject their Jewish culture. And in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul declares that the day of the Lord will not come until the apostasia (here indicating a general rebellion or falling away from the Christian faith) happens first”
“When theologians speak of apostasy, they are referring to those who once declared an allegiance to the Lord but then turned away from Him and His people. The Israelites in the exodus generation “turned back from following the Lord” at Kadesh-barnea (Num. 14:43). The people of God in the days of the divided kingdom were frequently denounced by the prophets for their apostasy (e.g., see Jer. 2:19).”
“Under the new covenant, apostates rejected Jesus and His church, deserting their previous profession of faith in Him. Jesus paints a word picture of apostasy in the parable of the sower,” states Rev. Cangelosi.
“As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” (Matt. 13:20–21).”
Paul initially declared professing believers in Christ would depart from the true gospel. However, with what would they replace the true gospel? The apostle, and the Holy Spirit, do not leave us with an answer. The apostles would be “devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,”
Devoting themselves (προσέχοντες; prosechontes) means to presently, actively and collectively pay attention to, consider carefully, and continually believe deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. Deceitful spirits (πλάνοις πνεύμασι; planois pneumasi) mistaken demonic spirits. This is to “whom” they devote themselves. Doctrines of demons (διδασκαλίαις δαιμονίων; didaskaliais daimonian) is to “what” they devote themselves. This is not teaching about demons but rather teaching originating from demons.
“The reality is that not everyone who professes faith in Jesus actually possesses genuine saving faith in Jesus. Not every member of the visible church (“a society made up of all such as in all ages and places of the world do profess the true religion, and of their children”; Westminster Larger Catechism 62) is in fact a member of the invisible church (“the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one under Christ the head”; WLC 64). The visible church is always made up of wheat and weeds, the elect and the nonelect (see Matt. 13:24–30, 36–43). As John goes on to explain: “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 it might become plain that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19). Only those who have been granted saving faith from the Father and are therefore “of us” will persevere in faith to the end,” concludes Rev. Cangelosi.
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a God honoring day in the Lord.
Soli deo Gloria!
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