(2) Study ALL Scripture Rightly Divided! :
“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 KJB!)
i'm not sure how to put '
rightly divide' into the list i've been making.
remember, the list is supposed to be a kind of definition of what '
studying the Bible' is or means.
by itself in English it's pretty vague and open to interpretation..
it's a really interesting phrase, in Greek it literally means "
to cut straight"
orthotemno - made up of "
ortho" meaning right ((as in a right angle, '
orthoganal')) or straight, and "
temno" meaning '
to cut'
the Word of God is our spiritual sword -- clearly we aren't supposed to '
cut' the Word, but the Word itself cuts - '
dividing soul from spirit' e.g.
orthotemno is the word you would use if you were building a road from point A to point B - you would '
cut the road straight' - not make it meandering or leading to the wrong place. it's the word you would use if you were doing carpentry or stonework and fashioning a part to go into a whole; you would '
cut it straight' so it's the right shape, and doesn't 'offend' the rest of the whole construction.
it also has application in swordsmanship - if you mean to cut something with a sword, it's very important that the edge of the sword is aligned with the direction the blade is swinging. if you are off, the whole blade will '
twist' when it hits the target, and not cut deeply. the further off from being perfectly aligned, the worse the twisting will be. to cut efficiently, as well as possible, you have to have the edge of the blade '
straight' in line with the motion of it when it's swung. think hitting a nail with a hammer sideways, and it messed up the wood and bends the nail. or like trying to split a log with an axe but you hit the wood with the blade turned sideways, and instead of driving into the log it takes a chip out and bounces off. or hitting a golf ball, if your club isn't '
straight' ((its face at a perfect right angle to the direction of the swing)) you'll slice the ball & it won't go where you mean for it to.
so what Paul writes to Timothy, that he should '
cut straight' with the Word of Truth - that's a very complex comment. IMO it's more about interpreting scripture according to the Holy Spirit and the revealed knowledge of the Son of God & His work, than it is about '
sectioning off' parts of the Bible in some way. of course that's an oversimplification, and it is important to know who things are being said to, why and when they're said, and whether that who = us, but all of this is, well, an example of what it means to study the Bible. looking into not only the immediate context, but also the greater context of the entire scripture, seeking how it testifies of Christ, digging into the literal and/or idiomatic meanings of the original language used, avoiding seeing it through the lens of a theological construct, meditating on it looking for every deep layer of meaning, hearing what the Spirit indicates about it, etc.
so -- overall, on topic, i'm not sure how to put '
rightly divide' into the list as an aspect of the definition of Bible study. it may be that we've already got it represented, since we have **considering the whole counsel** and **letting it say what it says** and **being taught by the Spirit**
i feel like if i put '
rightly divide' i'm immediately going to have a bunch of questions about '
what does rightly divide mean?' -- which will be a whole other thread.
lol pretty sure i made that thread on CC last year, actually
anyway, thinking out loud.
appreciate everyone's input and welcome more of it =]