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Returning therefore to II Tim. 2: 7 we observe that the Apostle says: (1) Consider;
(2) What I say; (3) The Lord will give thee understanding. These words have been
distributed on the diagram under the realms of sensation, mind, or of spiritual
understanding.
"What I say."--The Apostle was writing a letter to Timothy, and consequently could
not send Timothy his "thoughts", for these are invisible and intangible. All he could do
was to send a series of black marks made with pen and ink on paper. The organ of vision
would record these marks, straight lines and curved, and, without conscious effort,
Timothy's memory would on his part translate these into words, which, in their turn,
would be associated with distinct meanings; he would "consider", noeo, "perceive,
implying the perception of the mind consequent upon sight" (Dr. E. W. Bullinger's
Lexicon).
The nous, or mind, forms the connecting link between the world of sense and the
world of spirit, and so we reach the third statement, "The Lord will give thee
understanding".
"Sunesis, the collecting together of single features into a whole, to reflect morally,
to lay to hear. Sunesis is used of reflective thought; sophia (wisdom) of productive
thought" (Dr. E. W. Bullinger's Lexicon).
The Apostle prays for the Colossians that the Lord would give them "spiritual
understanding" (Col. 1: 9), and this is his desire for Timothy here.
That it is quite possible to "consider what the Apostle had said" and yet not to arrive at
a spiritual understanding is patent to all. The Lord spoke in parables to Israel, so that
they would indeed "hear" His actual words, but not "perceive" the true import of His
illustrations. But the Apostle wanted Timothy to ponder before the Lord the three figures
he had used, (the good soldier, the athlete and the husbandman), so that, through
revealing grace, he might see the will of the Lord for himself.
While mere "reasoning" can never lead us to the truth, which can only be revealed by
the Lord, and while "faith" must apprehend that which lies outside the scope of human
investigation, to rule out the exercise of the highest faculties that God has given is
spiritual suicide. The very construction of the sentences is in the province of reason.
Nouns, verbs, prepositions are a part of the material of reason. Faith can make nothing
even of an inspired sentence if it is written in a tongue unknown to the reader, e.g., it is
an impossible question to ask, "Do you believe Beroshith bara elohim eth hashamayim ve
eth ha erets?" (Gen. 1: 1) unless the person addressed is acquainted with the Hebrew
tongue, and the question reveals the fact that it is foolish to talk about "believing" what
we do not "understand".
Of course those who desire to exercise lordship over the faith of the Lord's people will
naturally keep back from them the means of arriving at a personal understanding of the
matters of revelation, but it is of the essence of the true Berean spirit "to search and see".