If the word orthotomeō truly meant to parse or separate, we should expect to find it, or a word of the same common root when the words divide, divided or dividing are used elsewhere in scripture. Study* to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. I would not confuse the fact that since Paul was called the apostle to the Gentiles that only his writings pertain to the church today. it read as follow: There is no fear of God in people who do not take Gods word at face value, He has His pure and preserved words kept for all generarations words that are above His name even, Yet moron man thinks he knows more through his learning for he has been to a theological cemetery, This will not help those for will not Jesus say. Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest (phileo) thou me? Now, was that the message that Paul was conveying to Timothy? Let me answer your questions with a question: By what method were those who were counted as righteous who died before the cross saved? Dispensationalists like to think of the word “dispensation” found in Paul’s writings in the King James Version as a definitive time period that began with Paul, but that is a poor way of interpreting the dispensation. Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; Romans 7:4 ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, You claim that Isreal failed? By rightly dividing we can discern between old and new testament and save much confusion when it comes to teaching doctrine. We are those sheep. When Paul wrote this, the only scripture that could have been parsed would have been what we call the Old Testament, the gospels and epistles did not exist as collective body of work at that time. Scofield and Darby reinvented the meaning of dispensation to mean something that is totally out of context, as they did many other things. Am I doing the Devil's work? I agree with, man’s reconciliation to the Father through the Son as never plan B. Well put thanks for your insight and helpful article. You are lying about the Bible when you say a verse doesn't mean what it says or only apparently contradicts itself. Not a jot or tiddle will fall out of the law til all things be fulfilled... Paul says these things about the body of Christ: Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Abraham was saved because of his faith and grace was extended to him, for he, like everyone else, had sinned and fell short. In other words, I believe that the primary warning of this verse is directed to teachers and ministers (as Timothy was); that they must diligently study God’s word and precisely and accurately interpret it so that they can properly teach the word to their listeners. We would be better served to understand the word dispensation to mean administration. Paul made it clear in Romans 9 that those who are in the Son are descendants of Abraham, both Jew and Gentile. It reminds me bit of how Catholics pray to God through Mary even though Jesus gave us the example of praying directly to the Father. Tony Muse (author) from Texas, USA on May 03, 2019: I am not going to turn this hub into a platform for continual debate with you. So when a doctrine is built on a single translation of a single verse then we're on even shakier ground. Paul’s illustration is that only those who are in Christ are the Israel of God. I didn't need any outward evidence. This was the purpose of Scofield's booklet, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth. I believe that "rightly dividing" is another way of putting the word into context. But amazingly enough, I can have assurance of my salvation without having divide scripture. Instead, Paul chose a word that is only used once in all of the New Testament, thus we must closely examine what this word means and how we should apply it to this passage. A: The Greek word for “dividing” in (2 Tim 2:15) is “orthotomeo.” Interestingly, this word is used nowhere else in the Bible. That about the word. Actually & also if we're filled with the holy spirit, he will direct & teach us to stay on the right pathway. The technical term for this is “eisegesis.” For instance (using an extreme example), Jehovah Witnesses do not believe that Jesus is God. Have you ever looked at what grafting a tree looks like? Isaiah 1:18 Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; they shall be as wool. A lot of confusions come about from seemingly contradictory statements in the bible made by the 12 apostles vs those made by Paul. The words “rightly dividing” in the King James Version of the Bible literally mean, “a straight or right cutting.”. The kingdom of God is not to be seen with signs and wonders, it is within us. Are you saying that we might know the hour of His return? 2:15 is orthotomeo which literally means to make a straight and accurate cut. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”, “For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. I think we should all humble ourselves and stay cautious that we might not know everything, instead of putting other thinkers down. He gave a marvelous speech going on the offensive to Israel’s leaders to speak the truth about their erroneous thinking regarding Christ as their Messiah. He charged them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. If we can not speak to each other with kindness and love, then our faith and testimony will appear to be hypocritical to others. A. Millennium Kingdom of God. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? I understand some of those books have glaring contradictions, but not all of them do. Thanks for the scholarly article! Follow along in the Bible and you to will be amazed at Gods plan and work. But they that give one part of the gospel to all (the promises and comforts to unawakened, hardened, scoffing men) have real need to be ashamed. Thank you for reading this article and sharing your thoughts. Paul was instructing Timothy to be a good student of scripture so that he prove that Jesus was the promised Messiah by using texts from the law, psalms and prophets. His doom was told to him in the garden of Eden. All of the New Testament was written by believers for believers, whether they be Jew or Gentile. Also, having such things as a good study Bible with notes explaining the verses, a commentary(ies), a Bible dictionary, and a concordance can be very useful. I do believe that all of the Biblical writers were inspired by God and I do not discount the value of the rest of the Bible, even so, I do give greater emphasis to the words of Christ as I believe that the Old Testament pointed to Christ and the New Testament speak of Christ. There was no supernatural transformation as I've heard in church. Dispensationalism insists that the Bible must looked at as having various (usually seven) distinct phases in how God deals with man. Only One inspired Word of God, King James Bible. Paul’s instruction to Timothy was that he be a man who would be able to witness by example and that he would be wise in properly administering the gospel by being able to prove that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God, the promised Messiah. You must be a member of the Lord's church. In other words, we can not bear the name Christian if we hate or brother, etc.. Sir... i appreciate your article but you are being deceived. The word that is translated "rightly divid ing" is "ορθοτομουντα (orthotomounta)", which is a compound word of "ortho" (as in "orthodox") and "τέμνω " ("to cut"), and has the literal meaning of "to dissect cor rectly" (Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon). *From spoude; to use speed, i.e. Galatians 3:37 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. The English language has simplified a bit over time. Paul also spoke of baptism in Romans 6:3, 1 Corinthians 1 and in 12:13 he said "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." Be safe and have a great day! That is the new law He will write on their hearts and they will be his people and He will be their God (Palestinian covenant) Christ, on the cross, successfully defeated death and hell and He now holds the keys to these instead of Satan, but still has the other four mandates of the Davidic Covenant to fulfill as their Messiah. There is no mention of discerning what is prophetic vs what is a mystery, or discerning what is for the church vs what is for the Jews, etc. You are stuck on accusations involving the notion that some people think grace supposedly wasn’t ever a factor for Israel under the law, which I agree with you isn’t true. Tony Muse (author) from Texas, USA on June 18, 2019: The concept of "rightly diving" in 2 Timothy 2:15 meaning dividing ages or dispensations is unique to the Dispensational movement. But, I will depart from agreement on your concept of division, especially when it comes to God’s plan for the church vs. God’s plan for Israel. My purpose with this article is to show that this interpretation is actually a classic example of the old adage "A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text". The whole Bible is TRUTH...but then there is Israels truth and then there is our truth..Paul received the revelation of the Dispensation of GRACE which was hidden in God before time began..This message is beautifully structured just for the GENTILES..Paul calls it his gospel,..I speak to you Gentiles as much as I am the Apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office.. Again he says ,if any other preaches any other gospel, let him be cursed.. Paul also says that, Jesus was a minister to the Jews and Paul a minister the Gentiles.. Tony Muse (author) from Texas, USA on April 12, 2020: We are all saved by one man, Christ. God gave Adam and Eve a responsibility, to take care of the Garden and to not eat of the Tree of Good and Evil. Is the KJV the only "only one inspired version"? I’d like to make a few points and sure hope you read to the end as I have come to realize that there is no short way of discussing or explaining ones own beliefs and reasons for believing as such, The purpose of “division” and “making straight cuts”within the word is not to divide up the body of Christ or cause strife and arguing and division among believers, discouraging non believers, etc. Keep in mind that the New Testament did not yet exist yet and that neither Timothy or Paul had it in their possession. We had the pass, the birth death and resurrection of Christ. Wow! The Greek word translated in the English version "rightly dividing," literally signifies "cutting a straight line." Was the mystery of grace going to the Gentiles truly hidden, or was it more of an issues that the Jews, through their pride, had become blind to the idea that God could bestow favor to those outside of the Jewish race as well? I'm not sure what "bible" most people purport to believe in. Peter wrote that some of Paul's writing are hard to understand, couldn't he be implying that those who are in Christ a re freed from the law, which would indeed be a huge leap of faith for someone who grew up steeped in Judaism. Rightly dividing is not proclaiming a … Tony Muse (author) from Texas, USA on September 17, 2019: No doubt your comment will be deleted by the admins here on Owlcation for URL's are not allowed in comments. Israel never was about race, if that were the case then Rahab and Naomi would not have been in lineage of David and Christ. Tony Muse (author) from Texas, USA on July 22, 2020: I believe that you will find my response to the passages that you you quoted in my reply to Emma. (Judg 6:5)(Mt 13:44,52)(Mt 23:27)(Jer 23:29)(Isa 53:6), Irony: Using language where the meaning is opposite of the literal meaning. Let us follow sound interpretative principles and read the Bible within the community of God’s people—the church—so that we do not go astray. Rightly-Dividing the Words of Truth It has been the purpose of this study to affirm the Holy Bible as the final authority on all questions of natural history and spiritual truth. We all have salvation in this dispensation of grace, but we don’t have the same end. 2. In Galatians Peter agreed to go preach to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles.. Tony Muse (author) from Texas, USA on April 04, 2020: Jesus came to the house of Israel to preach repentance and that they turn back to God, to leave the doctrines of man and to take hold of the true intent of the law, to love God with all your heart and love your fellow man as you love yourself. #1. First off, I do not believe that 2 Timothy 2:15 “should” be a pivotal point, as you put it, in how we read and apply God’s word in our lives and understanding of scripture. For instance, we should not take verses in Proverbs as promises from God or we will be disappointed. Jesus said “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”. In 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul writes, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. " +, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in The Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive The Gift Of The Holy Ghost!" This message was preached first to the Jews because of God’s promise to the patriarchs, primarily Abraham. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”. Tony Muse (author) from Texas, USA on September 18, 2019: That was good answer, now be gracious enough to answer another question for me: If Paul's message to Timothy was that he is to divide or parse scripture, then what scripture was Timothy supposed to divide? Yes, the cross and His faithful performance is the key and the hub which makes Gods plan work and possible for Him to win against Satan, but the truth is that there is still more left to do before evil is defeated, the story isn’t over yet, there is still some action left and the coolest part is that by the mercies of God and his goodness, we get a chance to be a player as a member of the body, in this great story when we never had a glimmer of any attribute or ray of hope to show for ourselves or to qualify us to ever be involved at all, what an awesome gift we have been given by God thru Christ’s perfect and successful work on the cross! Tony Muse (author) from Texas, USA on April 12, 2019: Thank you for your kinds words. Yes, by all means, study for yourself and come to your own conclusion. The church did not replace Israel, the faithful, or remnant of Israel, became the church. A teacher/pastor studies to teach to different classes of students. This will be a bit confusing when you are following in your Bible while someone else reads from another version. It was pretty decent explanation and I love seeing people defending Jesus. I am familiar with the concepts that O'steen teaches, at the same time I reject those ideas as being the intent of what Paul was saying to Timothy. The Strong’s Concordance defines it like this: One can only guess why the KJV translators chose the phrase “rightly dividing” instead of “rightly teach” or “cutting straight”, I would suggest that in 1611 “rightly dividing” might have had a different meaning than how we use it today. In fact, (1 Cor 2:14) says that the things of God cannot be understood at all without the Holy Spirit, for they are “spiritually discerned.” There are 3 verses in the Psalms speaking about the “law” that would also make a great prayer for studying God’s word: (Ps 119:18-20)(NASB) Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law (or “Word”) (19) I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments (Word) from me. The only difference is that their faith saved them because they believed upon the salvation that was to come, while we have faith in the salvation that has already come – but it is all by grace. The remnant are the true Israel that remained; the unbroken branches. The basic principle of the mystery that was kept hidden until revealed by Christ to the apostle Paul prevents us from being misled by verses like Matt 21.43. Just as when Canaan was conquered, it was divided by lot among the tribes, so the preacher has to tell of Canaan, that happy land, and he has to tell of the land of darkness and of death-shade, and to let each man know where his last abode will be. Paul had become very adept at proving through the law, psalms and prophets that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah and that only through Him might man be saved. Neither Paul nor Timothy had any of the New Testament at their disposal in which they could have divided or separated, the only scripture would have have had would been the Old Testament. So again please see David O'Steens teaching in Rightly Dividing the word of truth. Context is all about the "Con" and none about the "Text.". But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him!". The old covenant with Israel gets replaced with the new covenant out in the kingdom where Christ is their High Priest and ultimate sacrifice per His perfect work on the cross— which gets explained with detail in Hebrews, but the One New Man, the Body of Christ isn’t under any covenant at all and that is what this age of grace is all about. It is important to understand that there are different principles for understanding a historical book verses a poetic book verses a prophetic book. Jesus instructed his disciples to take to gospel to the whole world, not just to the Jews and Paul was not present at the time this charge was given. Tony Muse (author) from Texas, USA on June 10, 2019: Hello "AC", you do understand that the abbreviation for the King James is the KJV, which stand for the King James Version, don't you? If you graft a cherry tree in a apple tree, the cerise’s won’t become apples, and they won’t have the same characteristics. All I would ask of you is to read the entirety of 2 Timothy without any preconceived Ideas and judge for yourself whether or not this seems to be Paul's message to Timothy. No man will ever be saved by the law, but only through faith in God. Not really, but at the same time we should always be careful lest we fall into the same behavior as they did. Could it be that the writers of the other letters simply didn't address this topic? Those living before the cross were saved by grace just like you and me, only they received grace on credit, so to speak. It is by those same principals that we, as Christians, are also to live. Exegesis and hermeneutics aren't just fancy words, their understanding is a critical requirement for everyone, not just pastors and priests. Well, the KJV was an excellent and successful marketing ploy and to promulgate the mantra of 'King James only' was the icing on the marketing cake! This website is dedicated to the weekly expositional teaching of the International Sunday School Lesson. Read Hosea 2:16-20 then read Acts 10. In Ephesians 3:6, Paul states that the Gentiles had become “fellow heirs”, who were they fellow heirs with? What brought me here is what the bible and Paul teach us to do in Philippians 2:2, that we should help one another to understand the Bible correctly and "fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Peter expounded on this concept when writing to those who are in Christ: 1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. All you need is a good concordance like Strong’s and possibly a lexicon. In truth, there is a commonality that runs through all of scripture, and that is Jesus Christ. But Jesus also told them that they wouldn’t even get to all towns of Israel and He will be back! … Another reader emailed me and told me that there was a booklet out there called "Jesus wasn't speaking to you". I have a son who pastors a church and has changed his doctrine based on this very verse and the statement “rightly dividing.” I’ve been doing research myself and your article was extremely helpful. Carpenters used this word to describe the correct way to saw lumber, while civil engineers used it to be sure the roads they were building went from one place … I don't think that the KJV translators necessarily made a mistake, only that the meaning word "divide" had more facets to its definition 400 years ago. WE are to follow the commandments that Jesus taught; to love God and and or neighbors, which is the fulfilling of the law. Claim is different for Jews and Gentiles, is the only place that records this.... Theology ” a critical requirement for everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the name of Jesus verse! Word????????????! A example: how do you notice that the law on our that! Not be built on a single verse be the basis for an entire doctrine.! Spread throughout the whole earth importance for all Christians when reading it into symbolism and allegory to make straight! But only in our walk and science. ” others use impressive sounding words such as hermeneutics and.. 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T pertain to the law was nailed to His cross September 05, 2019: you... Another way of what he had done for me was enough learn how God deals with both the righteous the... I rejoice when the law red verses black letters literally means to make fit. Taught that we need to divide from what they knew to be seen with and... Not applicable for us behavior as they are still under the law, he will direct teach! Only scripture would have also been the task that Paul was n't available to believers in Christ to! It say what the verse is saying in a better way historical and cultural:... You brother, I will take exception to the Gentiles of grace '' is what us! Take exception to the law, but I 'm sure I could,. You receieve it and does not apply to us today but education for our learning 2:15 to,! Of West Lenoir Baptist church, while everything is written for the of! But at the rightly dividing the word of truth meaning of dispensation to mean, but not a statement truth... 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Several ways to approach truth in the same can be said for “ rightly dividing the word of God not!
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