Handling accurately (3718) (orthotomeo from orthós = right, standing upright, continuing in a straight direction, figuratively = right, true, of ethically correct behavior + témno = cut or divide) means to make a straight cut, cut straight (of a craftsman cutting a straight line, farmer plowing a straight furrow, mason setting a straight line of bricks, workmen building a straight road. Metaphorically as used here it speaks of carefully performing a task. The present tense calls for us to continually rightly divide the Word of Truth. We are to take no short cuts or vacations when it comes to handling God's Worth in a trustworthy manner. Every time you teach or preach God's Word of truth you must seek by the Spirit's illumination and the enabling grace of Christ to cut the Word of Truth straight. In marked contrast are the false teachers who twist the Scriptures to their temporal benefit and their and their hearers eternal detriment! John MacArthur explains that... Because Paul is a tentmaker, he may have been using an expression that tied in with his trade. When Paul made tents, he used certain patterns. In those days tents were made from the skins of animals in a patchwork sort of design. Every piece would have to be cut and fit together properly. Paul was simply saying, "If one doesn't cut the pieces right, the whole won't fit together properly." It's the same thing with Scripture. If one doesn't interpret correctly the different parts, the whole message won't come through correctly. In Bible study and interpretation the Christian should cut it straight. He should be precise... and accurate. (MacArthur, J: The Charismatics. Zondervan) BDAG writes that orthotomeo is... found elsewhere independently of the NT only Pr 3:6; 11:5, where it is used with hodos and plainly means ‘cut a path in a straight direction’ or ‘cut a road across country (that is forested or otherwise difficult to pass through) in a straight direction’, so that the traveler may go directly to his destination. (Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature) NIDNTT adds that orthotomeo is found elsewhere only at Prov. 3:6 (In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.) and Pr 11:5 (Lxx = Righteousness traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing.), where it is used in connexion with (hodos = way, path) cutting a path in a straight direction. It is connected with temno, cut. The idea is that of cutting a path through a forest or difficult terrain so that the traveller may go directly to his destination (Arndt, 584). The vb. occurs only at 2 Tim. 2:15 where the RSV has: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling [orthotomounta] the word of truth.” The phrase may be compared with Plato, Laws 7, 801E: “to proceed along the way of legislation which has been cleared [tetmemenen hodon] by our present discourse.” Arndt suggests that the meaning in 2 Tim. is to guide the word of truth along a straight path, like a road that goes straight to its goal. Other interpretations are to teach the word aright, expound it soundly, shape rightly, and preach fearlessly (cf. Moulton-Milligan, 456 f.). (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) The careful exegete and expositor of God’s word of truth must be meticulous in the way he interprets and pieces together the many individual truths found in Scripture. The first and most important principle is that of basing doctrine and standards of living on Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura), a key watchword of the Protestant Reformation. The image of orthotomeo is that of laying out a road. The teacher is to lay out a clearly marked pathway for others to walk. This effort requires study. Teachers are those who have been gifted by the Spirit and have devoted their minds to God so that they might impart His wisdom to His people. The Word of God however can be abused as well as used. It is always in danger of being distorted by teachers who handle it casually. The only effective way to prevent distortion of the Word of truth is diligent preparation at the study desk. Where teachers and learners are lax in their study of the Scriptures, Bible classes are often filled with godless chatter and vain babblings. Instead of becoming mature in the faith, members and teachers become ungodly. Yet they claim success because their teaching becomes so popular, spreading "like gangrene.'' Spurgeon commenting on "handling accurately" writes... “Rightly dividing, or Straight Cutting. A ploughman stands here with his plough, and he ploughs right along from this end of the field to the other, making a straight furrow. And so Paul would have Timothy make a straight furrow right through the word of truth. I believe there is no preaching that God will ever accept but that which goes decidedly through the whole line of truth from end to end, and is always thorough, honest, and downright. As truth is a straight line, so must our handling of the truth be straightforward and honest, without shifts or tricks. There are two or three furrows which I have labored hard to plough. One is the furrow of free grace. “Salvation is of the Lord,” — he begins it, he carries it on, he completes it. Salvation is not of man, neither by man, but of grace alone. Grace in election, grace in redemption, grace in effectual calling, grace in final perseverance, grace in conferring the perfection of glory; it is all grace from beginning to end. If we say at any time anything which is really contrary to this distinct testimony that salvation is of grace, believe us not. This furrow must be ploughed fairly, plainly, and beyond all mistake. Sinner, you cannot be saved by any merit, penance, preparation, or feeling of your own. The Lord alone must save you as a work of gratis mercy, not because you deserve it, but because he wills to no it to magnify his abundant love. That is the straight furrow of the Word. (click full sermon "Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth") Barclay comments that orthotomeo literally means to cut rightly. It has many pictures in it. Calvin connected it with a father dividing out the food at a meal and cutting it up so that each member of the family received the right portion. Beza connected it with the cutting up of sacrificial victims so that each part was correctly apportioned to the altar or to the priest. The Greeks themselves used the word in three different connections. They used it for driving a straight road across country, for ploughing a straight furrow across a field, and for the work of a mason in cutting and squaring a stone so that it fitted into its correct place in the structure of the building. So the man who rightly divides the word of truth, drives a straight road through the truth and refuses to be lured down pleasant but irrelevant bypaths; he ploughs a straight furrow across the field of truth; he takes each section of the truth, and fits it into its correct position, as a mason does a stone, allowing no part to usurp an undue place and so knock the whole structure out of balance. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos) Let us continually seek to be like the Psalmist who wrote... Thy word is very pure, Therefore Thy servant loves it. Psalm 119:140- note Spurgeon (note) commenting on this verse writes... Thy word is very pure. It is truth distilled, holiness in its quintessence. In the word of God there is no admixture of error or sin. It is pure in its sense, pure in its language, pure in its spirit, pure in its influence, and all this to the very highest degree -- "very pure." "Therefore thy servant loveth it," which is a proof that he himself was pure in heart, for only those who are pure love God's word because of its purity. His heart was knit to the word because of its glorious holiness and truth. He admired it, delighted in it, sought to practise it, and longed to come under its purifying power. George Horne adds... Thy word is very pure. In the original, "tried, purified, like gold in the furnace," absolutely perfect, without the dross vanity and fallibility, which runs through human writings. The more we try the promises, the surer we shall find them. Pure gold is so fixed, Boerhaave, informs us of an ounce of it set in the eye of a glass furnace for two months, without losing a single grain. John Morison writes... Thy word is very pure; therefore, etc. The word of God is not only "pure," free from all base admixture, but it is a purifier; it cleanses from sin and guilt every heart with which into comes into contact. "Now ye are clean," said Jesus Christ to his disciples, "by the word which I have spoken unto you": John 15:3. It is this its pure quality combined with its tendency to purify every nature that yields to its holy influence, that endears it to every child of God. Here it is that he finds those views of the divine character, those promises, those precepts, those representations of the deformity of sin, of the beauty of holiness, which lead him, above all things, to seek conformity to the divine image. A child of God in his best moments does not wish the word of God brought down to a level with his own imperfect character, but desires rather that his character may be gradually raised to a conformity to that blessed word. Because it is altogether pure, and because it tends to convey to those who make it their constant study a measure of its own purity, the child of God loves it, and delights to meditate in it day and night. Sir William Jones (1746-1794) wrote... Thy word is very pure. Before I knew the word of God in spirit and in truth, for its great antiquity, its interesting narratives, its impartial biography, its pure morality, its sublime poetry, in a word, for its beautiful and wonderful variety, I preferred it to all other books; but since I have entered into its spirit, like the Psalmist, I love it above all things for its purity; and desire, whatever else I read, it may tend to increase my knowledge of the Bible, and strengthen my affection for its divine and holy truths. Graham writes the following concerning "Thy word"... Let us refresh our minds and our memories with some of the Scripture adjuncts connected with "the word," and realize, in some degree at least, the manifold relations which it bears both to God and our souls. It is called "the word of Christ," because much of it was given by him, and it all bears testimony to him...It is called "the word of his grace," because the glorious theme on which it loves to expatiate is grace, and especially grace as it is seen in Christ's dying love for sinful men. It is called ololoj tou staurou, "the word of the cross" (1 Corinthians 1:18), because in the crucifixion of the divine Redeemer we see eternal mercy in its brightest lustre. It is called "the word of the gospel," because it brings glad tidings of great joy to all nations. It is called "the word of the kingdom," because it holds out to all believers the hope of an everlasting kingdom of righteousness and peace. It is called "the word of salvation," because the purpose for which it was given is the salvation of sinners. It is called "the word of truth," because, as Chillingworth says, it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without mixture of error for its contents. And we will only add, it is called "the word of life," because it reveals to a sinful, perishing world the doctrines of life and immortality. -- IV. Graham, in "A Commentary on the First Epistle of John," 1857. ><>><>><> Rightly Dividing The Word - In 1879, James Murray was hired as the editor of The Oxford English Dictionary. He had little advanced education, but he was a gifted linguist. Murray enlisted a large number of volunteers around the world to read widely and send him usages of assigned words. At Oxford, he and a small staff of scholars cataloged and edited the definitions they received. During his lifetime, Murray was knighted and awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford. Today, the 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is still recognized as one of the most accurate and comprehensive dictionaries in the world. Murray’s legacy of precision and accuracy with words reminds me of what the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor of the Ephesian church: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2Ti 2:15). The phrase “rightly dividing” is a metaphor derived from the stonemason’s craft of cutting stones straight to fit into their proper place in a building. (Ed comment: If a man like James Murray would be willing to invest such zeal and passion for that which is passing, how much more invigorated and motivated should believers be to purely divide and passionately proclaim the living and active, eternal, life changing Word of Truth!) Precision with words is essential to an accurate interpretation of God’s Word. Let’s be people who care deeply about what the Bible says and what it means. -- Dennis Fisher (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) (See another devotional related to 2Ti 2:15 - Imagine That! - Devotional on 2Timothy 2:15) Correctly handling the Word of truth Takes diligence and care; So make the time to study it And then that truth declare. —Hess Rightly dividing the Word multiplies our understanding. ><>><>><> THE WORD OF TRUTH: ton logon tes aletheias: Word of Truth - What a beautiful name for the Bible, especially in a world which is becoming more and more the opposite, where men's words are no longer binding. How we need to remember that Satan is a liar, the father of lies and has no truth in him, which emphasizes our great need to be totally dependent on the Word of Truth to counter his evil but very deceptive lies! Take a moment and ponder each of the 5 Biblical uses of this great phrase Word of Truth (Ps. 119:43; 2Co. 6:7; Col. 1:5; 2Ti 2:15; Jas 1:18) Think of God's Word of Truth as the "sun" (Son) and then consider how the planets function in such order as they rotate around the sun. In a similar way believers should live their entire Christian life within the orbit of God's Word of Truth, ultimately manifest in the Logos, His precious Son, Our Lord and King. Amen. The following "outlines" on the Word of Truth are adapted from Spurgeon's notes on Psalm 119:140 (see notes directly preceding) The crystal stream (of the Word of Truth) (a) Flows from under the throne. (b) Mirrors heaven. (c) Undefiled through the ages. (d) Nourishes holiness as it flows. The enraptured pilgrim. (a) Keeping by its brink. (b) Delighted with its lucid depths. Pleased with its mirrored revelations -- self, heaven, God. Cleansed and refreshed by its waters. --W.B.H ><> ><> ><> The purity of God's Word (of Truth) (a) It proceeds from a perfectly pure source: "Thy word." (b) It reveals a purity otherwise unknown. (c) It treats impure subjects with absolute purity. (d) It inculcates the most perfect purity. (e) It produces such purity in those who are subject to its power. -- The love which its purity inspires in gracious souls. (a) They love it because, while it reveals their natural impurity, it shows them how to escape from it. (b) They love it because it conforms them to its own purity. (c) They love it because to a pure heart the purity of the word is one of its chief commendations. -- The evidences of this love to the pure word. (a) Desire to possess it in its purity. (b) Subjection to its spirit and teachings. (c) Zeal for its honour and diffusion. --W.H.J.P.