RIGHTLY DIVIDE: 2 Timothy 2.15, I Don’t Think it Means What He Thinks it Means
Author: Bobby Valentine | Filed under: 2 Timothy, Exegesis, Hermeneutics, Ministry, Patternism, Preaching
I received a message because I wrote about the Psalms.
“Brother …, 2 Ti 2:15 tells us to rightly divide the word of truth. Rightly divide means to divide the Old Testament from the New Testament. We are not under the old law.”
This brother regularly posts similar misunderstandings on my posts. My Reply was as follows:
“Rightly divide” has nothing whatsoever to do with “dividing” that is separating, the “Old Testament” and the “New Testament.” Not only is there not a shred of evidence from the context to support such a position that is not what the word means.
That particular translation comes from the KJV from 1611. What that phrase meant in 1611 did not MEAN to distinguish or separate OT from NT. Nor does 2 Timothy 2.15 have that meaning today.
A person does not need to know Greek to “study to show themselves approved.” They can pull down multiple translations to make sure they are “correctly understanding” what the text actually says. The value of numerous translations is they help us understand what is actually said.
So, what does Paul say to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2.15. He says not one iota about distinguishing between the “Old” Testament (something neither Paul nor Timothy had ever heard of in their entire life) and the “New” Testament (something neither Paul nor Timothy had also never heard of). Here are various translations of 2 Timothy 2.15:
“handling aright the word of truth” (ASV)
“interprets the message of truth correctly” (CEB)
“rightly handling the word of truth” (ESV)
“correctly teaches the message of God’s truth” (TEV)
“teaching the message of truth accurately” (NET)
“correctly handles the word of truth” (NIV)
“correctly explains the word of truth” (NLT)
“rightly explaining the word of truth” (NRSV)
Second Timothy 2.15, ironically, is not “rightly divided” when some one claims it is dividing the “Old Testament” from the “New Testament.”
September 5th, 2025 at 11:29 am
Well the ghost of Darby haunts us still.
Some people want to “rightly divide” the New Testament, too.
I was told by my old pastor that Matthew 25 (Sheep and Goats) was about a test for the nation of Israel which they failed, since it’s salvation by works…in fact, most of what Jesus taught was “Old Testament” and didn’t apply to the Church.
There are groups that want to divide the church age into 2 phases – Jewish and Gentile Mission, therefore eliminating the need for baptism. They even remove parts of the NT canon (all the Gospels, half of Acts, and some of the Epistles). They call themselves mid-Acts dispensationalists.