Rightly Dividing the Word - 2Timothy 2:15 (1/4)

What does it mean? Why should we do it? How is it done?

To people who hold the Bible in high esteem, it might seem that dividing up the Word of Truth would be a dangerous and undesirable thing to do. Do we not believe 2 Timothy 3:16 that, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"? Is not the dividing up of Scripture what the critics of the Bible do when they tell us that some parts of God's Word are fact and other parts are fiction? Yes, but surely the operative word is "rightly". Obviously it is possible to wrongly divide the word of truth. So what is right division?

Cut Straight

In his second letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul tells this young man to, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth". The N.I.V. translates "rightly dividing" as 'correctly handles', but while the idea of handling correctly is inherent in this verse, the way to correctly handle is more precisely given by the Greek term used here, which is more accurately translated 'correctly cutting' or 'cutting straight'. So we are to divide the Word of God up in some way which is correct or 'straight and true', and the reason for doing so is given by Paul in this same verse, namely that we may be "approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed".

How to do it

So much for the basic reason why we should rightly divide the word of truth, but what about the question how to carry this out. Well, again, in this passage of 2 Timothy, the apostle is dealing with just this question. In warning against the two extremes in Bible discussions, nit-picking about words (verse 14) and empty generalisations (verse 16), the apostle advocates straightforward study of the Word (verse 15) in a workmanlike fashion (i.e., some effort is required) engaging in a process which he calls right division.