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 Mat 13:12. See Gill on Mat 25:29.