“Be diligent (spoudazō: to be zealous) to present yourself APPROVED TO GOD, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who CORRECTLY HANDLES (orthotomeō: to make a straight cut, to rightly divide, to hold a straight course) the word of truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15) We must study, understand, practice and present the accurately inspired Word of God. Paul chose not to use any of the words that had previously been used in the Greek to demonstrate his point. Instead, Paul chose the word orthotomeō that is only used once in all of the New Testament as assuring that we hold a “straight” course.
Not only is this verse a command of the Lord, but within the context of verses 14-19 it is also a warning. For if you can “rightly divide” the Word then you can also wrongly divide it. If you do not obey this verse, then you can fall into doctrinal error much like Hymenaeus and Philetus did in verses 17 and 18 whereby they departed from the truth. Not to go back and analyze, but their teaching was described as a “canker” or a gangrenous infection in the church that led to the DESTRUCTION OF FAITH IN SOME. “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may WAGE THE GOOD WARFARE, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn NOT TO BLASPHEME.” (1 Tim. 1:18-20) False doctrine is certainly dangerous and it can multiply itself if left unchecked!
This is so very important because “ALL SCRIPTURE (every Word of God) is GOD–BREATHED (theópneusto: theó: God, pnéō: to breath).” (2 Tim. 3:16-17) Just like God, when he created Adam, He formed him by hand and breathed the breath of life into Adam. God’s word is “…ALIVE and POWERFUL. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Heb. 4:12) God’s word is alive and powerful and God breathes it into us so we can KNOW what it means. Some skeptics may say “how can God do that?”
Well, The temperature at the surface of the Sun is about 10,000 Fahrenheit. The temperature rises from the surface of the Sun inward towards the very hot center of the Sun where it reaches about 27,000,000 Fahrenheit. How big is the Sun? More than one million Earths could fit inside the Sun if it were hollow. The Sun has a radius of 432.685 mi and a diameter of 864.000 mi. On the 4th day of creation God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. And that is what happened. God made two great lights—the larger one (sun) to govern the day, and the smaller one (moon) to govern the night. He also made the stars.” (Gen. 1:14-16)
GOD SPOKE THE MASSIVE SUN INTO EXISTENCE HE CAN SURELY BREATH HIS WORD INTO OUR LIVES…
-Bill Stockham