2 Timothy 2 v 15
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman(woman)that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Many that read this verse immediately jump to the conclusion that we must study the scriptures to obtain our Heavenly Father’s approval. I do not; Our approval, before Him, in this age of grace, is based solely upon whether we accept His Son as our Lord and Savior, and believe that He lives, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
We are to study to SHOW OURSELVES: our Father’s spiritual approval, by grace: paid in full by the finished works of our Lord Jesus. We are not just to study the word of truth, we are to rightly divide it.
Romans 10 v 9
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
This approval is given by God’s grace; not by our works.
Ephesians 2 v 8 and 9
“For by grace(divine favour) are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
Not of works lest any man should boast.”
We can only understand the full extent of our approval in God’s eyes, by not only studying His holy scriptures, but more importantly, by rightly dividing them. Why is it so important to understand God’s approval? I believe that our relationship with the Father, and our confidence in Him, grows stronger the more we understand the depths of His approval.
A constant problem I encounter, as I encourage those that contact our prayer line, is that they feel unworthy to accept their spiritual standing before our Heavenly Father: they do not understand fully His approval by grace, and consequently talk themselves out of receiving His blessings.
A cautionary note however: We either rightly divide the word of truth, as encouraged by our Heavenly Father, or we wrongly divide it: there are no half measures.
For example, in verse 15, the word “unto” dominates the verse. In the Greek text, from which the Bible is translated, there is no corresponding Greek word for “unto”: it was supplied by the translators. This can be verified easily by checking a concordance. If you leave it in the verse, it implies that we must study to gain the Father’s approval, by our own works, and not simply accept it by grace. Therefore “unto” must be removed from the verse.
The Greek word for “rightly dividing” in 2 Timothy 2v15 is “orthotumeo”. It is a medical term and means “to make a perfect incision, to divide perfectly.” If the surgeon makes an incorrect incision and division there will be severe consequences for the patient. Similarly, if we fail to rightly divide the word of truth: we no longer have the truth.
At this point, I must give massive credit to Dr.E.W.Bullinger, whose book “How to enjoy the Bible” immensely encouraged my spiritual journey to understand the Bible in all of its fullness. I do not agree with all his conclusions but simply share the principles that I have utilized for 46 years and that have opened, for me, the great truths of the word of God.
It does not happen overnight, but as we honestly endeavor to rightly divide the word of truth: just like a jigsaw puzzle, the Holy Spirit will build a picture, in our hearts, of His wondrous love for us, of His will for us, of His care for us: of His spiritual approval of us by grace.
So, how do we rightly divide the word of truth?
1. We are to simply allow the scriptures to interpret themselves.
2 Peter 1 v 20.
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”
This verse is crystal clear. We are to study each verse as it is written, laying aside, not only any private interpretation that we might have of the verse, but also the private interpretations of those who we listen to. It is interesting to note that Peter emphasizes that the content of this verse is the foundation stone of understanding the scriptures: “knowing this first…….” and so it is rightly our departure point as we seek to rightly divide the word of truth.
In verse 20 above, the phrase “… any private….” comes from the greek word “idios” and is generally translated “one’s own”
The vast majority of verses in the Bible interpret themselves as they are written.
For example:
John 3 v 16.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”
This verse is straight forward: it interprets itself as it is written in the verse.
Philippians 4 v 19.
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Again, very simple. The verse interprets itself right where it is written.
Now, there are some verses in the Bible that appear contradictory or simply baffling, but I believe that if you follow the principles that I set forth, and you are a “Truth seeker” our Heavenly Father will indeed reveal His wonderful, matchless word to be a masterpiece: not just for knowledge, but also for the activation of that knowledge as we simply believe those scriptures: so that we can bless those who have needs.
King David records in Psalms 138:2
“I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy WORD above all thy name.”
Of all that our Heavenly Father has brought to pass, His word stands magnified above all else.
2. Asking the Holy Spirit for assistance is vital, as we seek to rightly divide the word of truth.
John 14 v 26
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall TEACH you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
John 16 v 13
“Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth is come,(our Comforter)he will GUIDE you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”
I must state, unequivocally, that my first “port of call” when I endeavor to rightly divide the scriptures, is to ask the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, for assistance.
All the teachings on this website, and whatever I share as I visit house fellowships around the country: I lay at the feet of the Holy Spirit.
My prayer ministry(service)and the prayer line @spiritword.org requires me to spend most of my prayer time interceding for the needs of others. As I pray, usually in tongues, I have noticed that the Comforter, invariably, reveals spiritual understanding to questions, that I have asked Him, concerning the scriptures. I believe that it is the dynamic mix of spiritual prayer and compassion for those in need, that causes this to come to pass.
Try it and see😊
The apostle Paul encourages us in 1 Corinthians 11 v 1.
“Be ye followers(imitators) of me, even as I also am of Christ.”
1 Corinthians 14 v 18
“I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all.”
As our brother Paul spoke/prayed in tongues (more than the whole Corinthian church)for the care of all the churches: the Holy Spirit did indeed “teach him all things” and “guide him into all truth.”
Thankfully, we have access to this revelation, not only in the 7 Church epistles, but also in the personal epistles that we find in our Bibles. Our brother Paul encourages us to be followers (imitators) of him
The spiritual principle involved here is found in 1 Corinthians 13 v 5.
“(Charity:God’s spiritual love in us)…….seeketh not her own…….”
Our calling is to love others with the Father’s spiritual love that we received at the new birth. We are not to seek spiritual knowledge, by rightly dividing the word of truth, so that we can become puffed up with our own importance. No.We are to share it with others so that they too can be blessed. When we pray, we are to pray for the needs of others first. This is the activation of verse 5 above: we seek not for our selves, but always for the benefit or profit of others. Our greatest example of this is the life and the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This concludes Part 1. Part 2. and possibly Part 3. will follow in due course.
Blessings.