Luke 8:18

18 Therefore consider how you listen, for whoever has, to him [more] will be given, and whoever does not have, even what he thinks [that he] has will be taken away from him."

Luke 8:18 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 8:18

Take heed therefore how ye hear
That ye hear not in a careless and negligent manner, since what truths and doctrines ye now hear with the ear, are to be preached by you unto others:

for whosoever hath;
that is, hath knowledge of the doctrines of the Gospel, and hath gifts and abilities to preach them to others:

to him shall be given;
more knowledge, and by using his gifts they shall be increased:

but he that hath not;
true, solid, spiritual knowledge of divine things, though he has had considerable advantages and opportunities of learning it, as the apostles especially had:

from him shall be taken, even that which he seemeth to have;
or "that which he thinks he has", as the Syriac version renders it; that which he seemed to others to have, or thought himself he had: the knowledge he had of truth, and which was rather a show of knowledge than real, shall be taken from him; his seeming gifts and parts shall die, and vanish away, and he shall be left to fall into ignorance, error, and heresy. Observe that this is to be understood not of internal grace, and experimental knowledge, but of speculative notions of the Gospel, and of external gifts; and so furnishes out no argument against the final perseverance of real saints; (See Gill on Matthew 13:12). (See Gill on Matthew 25:29).

Luke 8:18 In-Context

16 "And no one, [after] lighting a lamp, covers it with a jar or puts [it] under a bed, but puts [it] on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light.
17 For nothing is secret that will not become evident, and nothing hidden that will never be known and come to light.
18 Therefore consider how you listen, for whoever has, to him [more] will be given, and whoever does not have, even what he thinks [that he] has will be taken away from him."
19 Now his mother and brothers came to him, and they were not able to meet with him because of the crowd.
20 And it was reported to him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to see you."
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.