Making Sense of God's Word Part 1 "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." II Timothy 2:15

"Rightly dividing" is the key to Bible study.  It allows us to understand and apply God's word intelligently to our daily lives.  Some say that dividing the Bible is wrong and should never be done.  But this verse is not calling into question whether we should or should not divide the Bible.  Rather it says that when we divide the Bible (and we do), do it rightly.

Dividing the subjects we study is not something new to us.  Think back to high school English class.  Remember diagramming sentences?  I do.  My teacher referred to it rather stuffily as "distinguishing the parts of speech."  Do you know what that teacher was doing--she was rightly dividing sentences so that we could learn about the English language and use it better in our daily lives.

Or remember biology class.  The first thing we learned was the classification system.  And in chemistry we spent a lot of time following procedures that allowed us to separate distinct elements in a compound.  How well we do all this, how well we "rightly" divide the subject matter, will determine whether or not we become approved workers who learn the material correctly and pass the course.

Dividing things--separating and distinguishing them, making distinctions among them, comparing and contrasting them--is basic to how we study subjects and learn about them so that we can better understand the whole.  And this is how we will study God's Word and learn His coursework and gain appreciation for what He is doing as well.  Here in II Timothy 2:15 God tells us to divide rightly so that we can ace God's test, pass His course, and be His "approved workmen who need not be ashamed."  But how do we rightly divide God's Word?  The short answer is that we rightly divide the subject matter of God's Word when we make the same distinctions in our study that He makes in His Word.

The Heavenly/Earthly Distinction

Let's start at the beginning, the very first verse in the Bible--Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."  Here God distinguishes between two spheres of activity--the heavenly and the earthly.  This distinction impresses itself on us even more when we remember that the Bible not only opens by referring to the heavenly/earthly distinction, but closes by referring to it as well (the new heaven and the new earth - Revelation 21).  God makes a fundamental distinction between His activity in the heavenly realm and His activity in the earthly realm.  Everything God reveals to mankind is encapsulated within the heavenly/earthly distinction.  The whole Bible is placed within it's context.  This is an important distinction in God's Word, and it ought to be important to us as well.

As we continue reading in Genesis and the rest of the Old Testament, God focuses our attention on the earth.  He promised Abraham a real land on the earth.  God told Abraham to "Lift up thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed for ever."  And Abraham immediately walked through the land--"the length of it and the breadth of it," recognizing that it belonged to him (Genesis 13:14-17).

David also looked forward to this earthly purpose of God when his people would be planted in the land promised to Abraham, and God would establish his Kingdom on earth (II Samuel 7:9-12).  And all the later prophets spoke in anticipation of the fulfillment of this earthly purpose, prophesying of the time when God's dominion on the earth would stretch from "sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth" (Zechariah 9:10).

So far however, we have only spoken about God's purpose for the earthly realm.  what about God's purpose for the heavenly realm?  Where do we find God's heavenly purpose?  The Apostle Paul says God gave him a message and a ministry that centers on God's purpose to make known "now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places...the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:10)

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." II Timothy 2:15

#1: THE HEAVENLY/EARTHLY DISTINCTION

To understand God's Word we must "rightly divide" it. We "rightly divide" it when we make the same distinctions in the Bible that God makes. Last time we saw that God makes a basic distinction in His Word between His heavenly and earthly purposes. The importance of this cannot be overstated. God has placed His entire written revelation within the context of this distinction. The Bible opens with it in Genesis 1, the old heaven and the old earth, and it closes with it in Revelation 21, the new heaven and the new earth. Therefore, we ignore it at our own peril. Everything God wants us to know is wrapped up in His purposes for heaven and for the earth.

With these two spheres of activity in mind, God immediately focuses our attention on the earth, and what He is doing to establish His glory there. He created mankind, placed them in the Garden, gave Adam the charge to rule over His abode or kingdom everything is centered on the earth (Genesis 1-3). Adam fell, but God's intentions for the earth did not. Step-by-step God unfolded His plan--He spoke of a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15). He spoke to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob of a land and a people (Israel) (Genesis 12-13). He spoke to Moses of earthly blessings. He spoke to David of a King who would rule the world through Israel in a Kingdom on earth (II Samuel 7:8-13). He spoke to the prophets of a time when Israel's Kingdom would reach "from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth" (Zechariah 9:10; 14:9), and all the nations of the earth would come to worship God in Jerusalem (Isaiah 60).

The whole Old Testament is a record of God's revealed program to establish His glory on the earth through Israel. Then God fell silent for 400 years. (That is the blank page in your Bible between the Old and New Testaments.) Turning that page over, we enter the Gospels and see that Israel's long awaited Messiah and King had arrived and her Kingdom was at hand. Many religions and denominations say God began something new in the Gospels. But what do the Scriptures say? Listen to the Prophet Zacharias' words about what God was doing at that time: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He has visited and redeemed His people: As He spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began" (Luke 1:68-78). Did you catch that? What God was doing in the Gospel period was according to what had been spoken since the world began.

Now, we can say a lot of things about the Gospels, but one thing we cannot say is that God was starting something new and was making a distinction in His Word there. No, He was still dealing with Israel in accord with His program to establish His glory on the earth just as He had spoken of since the world began, running from Zacharias through all the prophets down through David and Moses and all the way back to the Patriarchs. If we make a distinction in the Gospels, if we say God began something new there, then we make a distinction in the Bible that He does not make. We will be "wrongly dividing" it. God does not place a distinction in the Gospels; neither should we.

Exiting the Gospels, we enter into the Book of Acts. Most evangelical and fundamental even dispensational Bible teachers say God definitely began something new in early Acts. They say that with Israel's rejection of her Messiah and King, God began a new program with a new people, the Church, the Body of Christ. Some go so far as to call the Day of Pentecost the birthday of the Church. But what do the Scriptures say? Listen to what Peter and the 12 said about what God was doing in early Acts, remembering that they had been taught directly by Jesus Christ for 31/2 years in His earthly ministry, had just come out of 40 days of direct instruction from the Resurrected Lord, and had been filled with the Holy Spirit: Ye men of Israel...repent and be baptized and Jesus Christ would come back from heaven to usher in the "times of refreshing" just as God had spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began (Acts 3:19-21). Did you catch that? In early Acts, God was still dealing with Israel in accord with what had been spoken of since the world began.

Now, we can say a lot about early Acts, but one thing we cannot say is that God began something new there. He was still dealing with Israel in a program that He had spoken of since the world began. If we make a distinction here, if we say God started something new on the Day of Pentecost, then we make a distinction in the Bible that He does not make. We will be "wrongly dividing" it. God does not place a distinction in the Gospels nor does He make one in early Acts; neither should we.

#2: THE MYSTERY/PROPHECY DISTINCTION

Now, if the Bible stopped in Acts we might think that God never began something new. We might assume that He has only one people and one program which He had been progressively revealing since creation. Today He is just continuing what He had been doing throughout history with Israel according to what had been spoken of since the world began. Many say exactly this. But the Bible did not stop in early Acts. It went on with the Risen Lord raising up a new Apostle with a new ministry (Acts 9). Listen to what Paul says about what God was doing through him. Be warned! If we have been paying attention, this verse is meant to startle us; it is meant to shake our universe. Read it carefully: "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began" (Romans 16:25)

Did you catch that? The Holy Spirit uses the exact same structure He had used with Zacharias in the Gospels and Peter in early Acts--but then changes the ending! He does this to alert us. To wake us up! If God used flashing neon signs in His Word, one would go here. THIS IS THE PLACE TO MAKE A DISTINCTION! If words have any meaning, if language has any ability to convey information, then we must distinguish between a program that had been spoken of since the world began and one that had been kept secret since the world began. God makes a distinction in His program and people with the raising up of the Apostle Paul; so should we. If we make a distinction in the Bible here, then we make the same distinction that God makes. In short, we will be "rightly dividing" God's Word. We will be workmen who need not be ashamed.

Over the past few months we have been looking at some of the major distinctions God has made in His Word. First, we saw that God distinguishes between two purposes, one to establish His glory in the earthly sphere and the other to establish His glory in the heavenly.  Second, He distinguishes between two programs, one that was spoken of since the world began (Prophecy of the OT and Gospels), and one that was kept secret since the world began (Paul's Gospel and the Revelation of the Mystery). Third, He distinguishes between two peoples' the nation Israel and the Church, the Body of Christ.

These are the most fundamental distinctions God has made in His Word. He has a purpose to establish His glory on the earth in accord with what He had spoken of since the world began with the nation Israel. Just as importantly, God has another purpose to establish His glory in the heavenlies in accord with what He had kept secret until He had revealed it to and through the Apostle Paul, with the Church, the Body of Christ.

We "rightly divide" His Word when we approach each Bible passage with these distinctions in mind. We need to ask: Does this passage have to do with God's plan and purpose for the earth with Israel as revealed in the Old Testament and Gospels? Or does this it have to do with His plan and purpose for the heavenlies with the Body of Christ as revealed in Paul's Epistles?

Let's see how rightly dividing works. In Genesis 17:10-14, the Bible commands circumcision if God's people were to profit from His covenant. But in Galatians 5:2-4, it says that if God's people are circumcised today Christ profits them nothing. In Deuteronomy 32:46 God tells Israel that she is under the Law, but in Romans. 6:25 God tells His people that they are not under the Law but under Grace.

In Isaiah 66:17, the Bible says eating pork is an abomination. But in I Timothy 4:4, it says just as emphatically that it is not. In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus told His followers to give no thought to food or clothing for tomorrow. In I Timothy 5:8, Paul says that those who do not provide for tomorrow are no better than the infidels. Who do we follow, Jesus or Paul? Old Testament or New Testament? The Gospels or Paul's Epistles?

Which way do we go? Who do we follow? Is there any sense in it? Perhaps we should side with God's enemies and give up the Bible, convinced that it is hopelessly confused and full of contradictions? Before we go to that extreme, let's see what happens when we apply the principles of "right division."

When we make the same distinctions in God's Word that He does, we discover that these are not contradictions at all. We see that God has dealt in different ways with different people at different times and for different reasons. Genesis 17:10-14, Deuteronomy 32:46, Isaiah 66:17 and Matthew 6:25-34 all have to do with God's people Israel in relation to what had been spoken of since the world began regarding God's purpose to establish His glory on the earth. Galatians 5:2-4, Romans 6:25, I Timothy 4:4 and 5:8, however, all have to do with the Church, the Body of Christ, in relation to what had been kept secret since the world began regarding God's program to establish His glory in the heavenlies.

There are no contradictions. There is only God's two purposes, two programs and two peoples working together to fulfill His eternal plan for the universe. By divine design they differ, yet at the same time they work together in perfect harmony to fulfill His plan for His creation.

This is the way rightly dividing works. Contradictions and confusion quickly begin to disappear, and God's Word opens up. 2000 years ago, God explained to Paul that in view of Israel's rejection of her Messiah, Jesus Christ, He had temporarily set aside the earthly purpose He had spoken of since the world and was now ushering in a heavenly purpose through a new program that had never been spoken of before involving a new group of believers called the Body of Christ.

Therefore, it is especially within the writings of Paul that we find our instructions and learn of our provisions for what God is doing today. There are no contradictions. We can eat anything we want. There is no confusion. Physical circumcision avails us nothing today, rather it is the spiritual circumcision made without hands that matters. There is perfect accord. God is now dealing with His heavenly people on the basis of Grace not Law. All this makes perfect sense when we "rightly divide." Doing this, we will follow Paul's instructions as Christ's ambassadors on enemy territory during this Dispensation of Grace.

So far, we have been looking at the important doctrine of "rightly dividing" from the standpoint of making the same distinctions in God's Word that He makes. We found that the three most basic distinctions God has placed in the Bible are between the Heavenly and Earthly Purposes, the Mystery and Prophecy Programs, and the Body of Christ and Israel Peoples.

We apply theses distinctions to our study of the Bible by asking: Does this passage have to do with God's heavenly purpose, which had been kept secret since the world began regarding the Body of Christ? Or does it have to do with His earthly purpose, which had been spoken of since the world began regarding the nation Israel? Making these simple but necessary distinctions, we allow the Bible to open up and become a living force that sweeps away confusion and supposed contradictions.

But there is another side to the "rightly dividing" coin. The side we have been stressing says, "let no one bring together what God has divided apart." The other side says, "Let no one divide apart what God has joined together." God has not only divided apart, He has also joined many things together. "Rightly dividing" respects both.

Look at Genesis 1. God has been dividing a lot of things apart in His creation of the universe, the heaven from the earth, the light from the darkness, the day from the night, the waters from the waters, plants from plants, animals from man, and so on. But in the midst of all this dividing apart, we find God joining things together. The day and the night were joined to form one day. The waters were joined together to form the sea. A man and a woman were joined together to form "one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). As important as it is to divide apart what God has divided apart, it is just as important to leave together what God has joined together.

Romans 6 explains that the believer has been joined together with the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to the different ways this is so. Believers were identified with Christ, buried together with Christ (v. 3), planted together with Christ (v. 5), crucified together with Christ (v. 6), and live together with Christ (v. 8). Let no man divide apart what God has joined together, or as John Wesley said of the believer: "Never think of yourself apart from Christ."

God joins us together with Christ based on something else He has joined together. Look at Romans 4:16 which begins in this way: "Therefore, it is of faith, that it might be by grace..." Grace and faith are always joined together in God's Word. They are inseparable. Someone has said: GRACE IS ALL THAT GOD IS FREE TO DO FOR YOU AND ME BECAUSE OF WHAT HIS SON DID ON THE CROSS OF CALVARY.

And faith is:

THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING. IT IS THE SETTING ASIDE OF ALL OUR OWN WORKS, MERIT, EFFORT AND PERFORMANCE TO RELY SOLELY ON THE WORK, MERIT, EFFORT, PERFORMANCE OF JESUS CHRIST.

Do you see how the two work together perfectly? Grace is God blessing us on the basis of the work Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. And faith is the setting aside of our own works and ways of approaching God so that we can rely solely on His work and way, that of Christ and the cross. The two go hand-in-hand. God has joined them together. Therefore, let no man divide them apart.

Now let's go one step further. Paul says in Romans 4:4-5: "Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Our works are not just ignored; they are forbidden! If we approach God on the basis of our own works, even the works of the Law, then we are not approaching Him on the basis of His Son's work. The Grace/faith unity is completely distinct from the works/Law unity. Add one work of the Law and the grace/faith unity is destroyed. It is like adding one drop of cyanide to baby's milk. The whole thing is ruined.

Today God is calling out to a lost world, to you and to me, on the basis of the grace/faith union. "Come, let Me make you a partaker in My plan and purpose, not on the basis of your own works, but on the basis of my Son's work on the cross where He took onto Himself all your sin, dying for sinners that they might receive righteousness and life as a free gift. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved."

"Rightly divide" God's Word. God joined together Grace and Faith, so should we. God joined together Works and Law, so should we. God divided them apart from each other (Grace/faith system is separate and distinct from Law/works system) so should we. These two systems are incompatible ways of approaching God. Choose the former and be instantly and eternally saved.

What God has joined together let no man divide apart. What God has divided apart, let no man join together.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

This is the time of year we think a lot about gifts. We enjoy receiving them, but we enjoy giving them even more. Sometimes we pick up whatever is on sale, and other times, especially for those we really care about, we search tirelessly for that perfect gift that is just right for them.

We naturally think of people giving gifts, but did you know that the Bible says God gives gifts, gifts He has specially selected for us. Too often we think of God's gifts and grace as being the rain on the dry crops or the sun that warms the ground or the beautiful sunset or even the good luck that comes our way. As wonderful as these things can be, they are not the most important gifts from God. God loved us so much that He tirelessly searched for gifts especially suited to us, gifts that satisfy our deepest needs.

The most important gift and the greatest gift of all is the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. John said:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Let this verse sink into our thinking. It indicates, to use the language of accommodation, that in eternity past, the Triune God devised a plan whereby He would give His Son for the sole purpose of voluntarily leaving the glory of heaven, coming down into this sin cursed world and dying a criminal's death on the cross--for us. On the cross, He took onto Himself the condem- nation, wrath and punishment we deserved. There, He died our death. There, He did all that was necessary to satisfy the demands of an infinitely holy God, who could not just sweep sin under the carpet and let sinners off the hook. There, He dealt with sin once for all on our behalf.

How much have you thought about this gift? Sometimes we think of it very generally at Christmas or Easter time: God gave Himself for the world. But that is not where God wants us to leave it. That is not where the Apostle Paul left it. He personalized it, saying, "and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20b)." We need to personalize it too, saying, "God gave His Son for me!"

As with any gift, God's gifts must be received. Each person must accept them for himself, and the Bible says we do this by believing. We accept God's gift of His Son by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on our behalf at the cross of Calvary. It is one thing to say He took the sins of the whole world onto Himself there, but quite another to say He took my sins onto Himself there, I believe. It is one thing to say Christ took all the righteous and just wrath of an infinitely holy God had for the whole world onto Himself there, but quite another to say He took the wrath I deserved there, I believe. Don't just say He died for the whole world; say, with Paul, "He died for me" and receive this gift from God.

But this isn't all. The Apostle Paul tells us about other gifts God is offering to us today. One is the gift of righteousness: "much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17b)." God has prepared for us a gift of righteousness that gives believers all we need to stand in right relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

But even this isn't all: "For the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 6:23)." God has provided for us the gift of life, not just the temporary life of this world, but eternal life because it is found in the Risen Lord Jesus Christ Himself, whom God raised from the dead and is now alive forevermore.

Too often we think of God as a stingy God who doles out blessings grudgingly. But that is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible offers gifts freely to all who will accept them. If you have not already, make this the greatest Christmas ever. Accept God's gifts by believing in Him and His Word. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and participate in the Gift of God's Own Son. Believe in what Christ did on the cross for you and rest on His Gift of Righteousness. Believe and be united to the Risen Christ where the Gift of Eternal Life resides. These gifts are way better than rain and sunshine and sunsets and even occasional good luck.

OUR FERVENT PRAYER IN THIS HOLIDAY SEASON IS THAT WE WILL NOT BE SATISFIED WITH THE GIFTS OF THIS WORLD, BUT WILL RECEIVE BY FAITH THE GLORIOUS GIFTS FROM GOD, WHICH MEET OUR MOST BASIC NEEDS AND SUPPLY US WITH THINGS OF INFINITE AND ETERNAL VALUE.