2 Timothy 2:15 reads: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (KJV).
This command comes from the (likely) last letter the apostle Paul ever penned, to his protege, the young preacher Timothy. Early in chapter 2 of this letter, Paul has commanded Timothy that the same things he has heard in the midst of many witnesses, he is to commit (paratithemi – “to hand over, to entrust”) to faithful men who will be able to teach others. In the early verses, Paul compares Christians to: soldiers, athletes, and farmers.
Here in this brief paragraph, Paul calls on Christians to be students, students of the word. Now, as you may know, the verb “study” here does not mean to open the Bible and learn from it. Not the word itself. The word itself is the same word used in Ephesians 4:3, where Paul tells the saints in Ephesus: “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
That word “endeavoring” is the same word translated here as “study.” So, what Paul is telling Timothy is that he should “endeavor” to show himself approved of God. Make every effort to show yourself approved of God. If Paul had left the command at that, we would understand him to be saying that all of our lives are simply to reflect our obedience to God’s will.
But, Paul further defines what he means by “endeavoring, making every effort to show ourselves approved of God,” by saying, “a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
That verb “rightly dividing” literally means, “cut a straight line,” and the verse, then, means “guiding along a straight path through the word of truth.” The verb was used in secular Greek to refer to cutting a straight furrow in the garden or paving a straight path for a road.
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What Paul is telling Timothy, and all of us who aspire to be faithful to Jesus Christ, is that we are to approach the Scriptures with holiness, common sense, and honesty.
I work in the ESV and the NASV. Here is the ESV: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
And the NASV: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
Be diligent to show yourself approved of God by cutting a straight path through the Scriptures, applying what God requires us to do.
–Paul Holland
