“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
(2 Timothy 2:15)
This verse in 2 Timothy is most often considered in reference to pastors. And that is certainly the case specifically, as Paul here instructs young Timothy in certain non-negotiable qualifications and godly practices for a pastor charged with leading God’s flock. However, these same truths are also pertinent to every believer. For if the Lord established certain necessary principles for growing in the knowledge of Christ, then every Christian is charged with the responsibility of rightly handling the Word of Truth.
Doing so is essential because the Scriptures are the self-revelation of God concerning His eternal plan of redemption. They reveal the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son, in whom the Covenant of Redemption and the Covenant of Grace are fulfilled. These covenants, established in eternity and administered in time, are the centerpiece of divine revelation. So if Paul instructs Timothy to study this revelation in a certain way, it is equally important that the hearers of the Word know how to engage it as Scripture instructs.
To that end, those who hear the Word are to respond with reverent assent (Neh. 8:5–6; Ex. 24:7). The Word is to be expounded by preachers so that it is understood (Neh. 8:8), and Christians are to study and search the Scriptures to mine out its treasures (Acts 17:11). It is to be our delight (Ps. 119:97), our meditation (Ps. 63:6), our nourishment (Job 23:12), and our memory (Ps. 119:11).
In addition, God commands believers to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18). For Jesus declared, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3), indicating that eternal life relates not only to our future condition but also to a present knowledge of God and communion with Him through Christ.
The Sum of Saving Knowledge, a sister document to the Westminster Confession of Faith, consists of: 1) the Word, 2) the Sacraments, 3) Church-government, and 4) Prayer. In the preaching of the Word, God offers grace to all sinners through faith in Christ. And those who confess their sin, receive Christ, and submit to His ordinances are received into the covenant of grace with all its blessings.[1]
Therefore it is through personal reading and study of God’s Word, and faithful preaching by God’s messengers, that Christians grow deliberately and actively. And such growth requires rightly handling the Word of Truth. Mishandling God’s Word is no light matter, for it misrepresents His will, obscures His Son, confuses His people, and invites His judgment.
Christians must therefore be careful and humble students of God’s Word. We are never given the right to be wrong about what God has said. And we must not read our opinions into it but instead allow it to inform us and reform us. This is the call and duty of every follower of Christ.
Contemplation:
- Reverence for the Word. Lord, You feed Your sheep with the suitable food of Your Word which reveals the worth You place on Your people. “You prepare a table before me…” (Ps. 23:5), and that table is not filled with common fare but with the Bread of Heaven, “food that endures to everlasting life” (John 6:27). Help me never grow familiar with this holy food but always receive it with thankfulness and joy.
- Right Interpretation. Lord, I want to draw out of the Bible the truths that are truly there without injecting my opinions into it. I must not twist it to fit my desires or assumptions. Help me be diligent and discerning, rightly dividing Your Word of truth. Let my conscience bow to the plain meaning of the text, for the Scriptures are not the product of man, but of God. Guard me from error, and keep me humble to hear You speak through Your Word.
- Study for Holiness. I need to approach Your Word as a student who doesn’t seek only knowledge but also holiness. Let me be transformed by the renewing of my mind through the Scriptures. Don’t let me rest until my study leads to faith, obedience, and joy in Christ. Give me an appetite for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that I may be thoroughly furnished for every good work.
- Dependence on the Means. You have given the Word, the sacraments, church government, and prayer as appointed means of grace. Help me not neglect these gifts but let me love the preaching of sound doctrine. Let me not forsake the assembly of the saints. Let me take the Lord’s Supper with discernment. Help me pray without ceasing. Let me see that each one of these means brings me closer to Christ and therefore closer to glory.
Prayer
O Lord of truth and grace, You have spoken, and Your Word is living and active. You have not left Your people to grope in darkness for You have given us the Scriptures—the perfect revelation of Your character, Your covenants, and Your Christ. I come before You now, asking that You teach me how to rightly understand this sacred Word.
I know my mind is finite and my heart is prone to wander. I know how easily I can twist Your truth or read it with a cold or careless spirit. But You are full of mercy and power. You have given the Spirit of truth to be my guide. Illuminate every page, convict my heart, and lead me into all truth.
Make me a faithful student of Scripture, and not for knowledge alone but that I might know You better and obey You more fully. Let me see in Your Word the unfolding majesty of Your redemptive plan, the beauty of Christ, and the call to holiness that flows from grace. Help me be careful with Your Word, never inserting my thoughts where You have spoken clearly, and never shrinking back from hard truths that You have made plain.
Give me a hunger for doctrine and a delight for truth. Let me search the Scriptures daily like a child desperate for bread. Let me hope at every promise and tremble at every warning. Let me rejoice in every glimpse of my Redeemer, who is the Word made flesh.
Make Your church strong by Your Word. Strengthen the preachers of righteousness, preserve the purity of the pulpit, raise up godly men who will rightly divide the Word, and give Your people hearts to receive it. Let every believer grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, until we come to the unity of the faith and the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
I ask all this for the glory of the God who speaks and the praise of Christ who is revealed.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further References for 2 Timothy 2:15
Eph. 1:13; Col. 1:5; Phil. 2:16; Col. 3:16; James 1:21; 1 Peter 2:2
[1] Extra Notes: [1] Deut. 31:11–13; Josh. 8:33–35; 2 Kin. 23:2; 2 Chr. 17:7–9; Neh. 8:1–8, 13, 18; Jer. 36:6; Acts 13:15, 27; Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27. [2] Neh. 8:5-6; Ex. 24:7; Deut. 27:12–26. [3] Neh. 8:8; Luke 4:16–27; 24:27, 45. [4] Acts 17:11; John 5:39, 7:52. [5] Psalm 112:1; 119:116, 147; Jer. 15:16; Rom. 7:22. [6] Job 23:12; Psalm 63:6; 110:15; 119:97. [7] Deut. 6:6; Psalm 40:8; 119:11; Luke 2:19, 51; Col. 3:16. [8] It continues with, “By the Sacraments, God will have the covenant sealed for confirming the bargain on the foresaid condition. By church-government, he will have them hedged in, and helped forward unto the keeping of the covenant. And by Prayer, he will have his own glorious grace, promised in the covenant, to be daily drawn forth, acknowledged, and employed. All which means are followed either really, or in profession only, according to the quality of the covenanters, as they are true or counterfeit believers.”
