Word
of God
Man
does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from
the mouth of God
Matthew
4:4
Read, Study, and Understand
15
Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to
be ashamed, dividing the word of truth aright. 16 Stay profane, and
vain babblings: for they shall increase unto more ungodliness. 19
But the foundation of God remaineth sure, and hath this seal, The
Lord knoweth who are his: and, Let everyone that calleth on the Name
of Christ, depart from iniquity.
2
Timothy 2:15-16, 19
Study
to show thyself approved unto God
Not
unto men, as pleasing them; for such who study to please men, are not
the servants of Christ; and sometimes those that are approved to and
by men, are disapproved of by God and Christ: but unto God, showing
all fidelity and uprightness; speaking out the Gospel openly, and
freely, with all sincerity, as in the sight of God; commending
themselves to him, and to every man's conscience, by manifestation of
the truth; and such will hear, "Well done, good and faithful
servant" another day.
A
workman that needeth not to be ashamed;
The
ministry of the word is a work, and it is a good work; and those that
perform it aright are worthy of honour and esteem; and it requires
industry, diligence, and application, and for which no man is
sufficient without the grace of God; and those who are employed in it
are workmen, workers together with God, and labourers in his
vineyard: and such who are faithful and diligent ones, "need not
to be ashamed"; such do not cause shame, neither in themselves
nor in others, as false teachers do, who foam out their own shame,
and as negligent ministers of the word, and such whose lives are not
agreeable to the doctrines they preach; nor have they any reason to
be ashamed, neither of the Gospel, which they preach, nor of their
sufferings, which they endure for the sake of it, nor of their
upright ministrations of the word; and as they are not afraid to
suffer shame for the sake of Christ now, they will not be ashamed
before him at his coming.
Rightly
dividing, the word of truth.
That
is, the Scriptures of truth, which come from the God of truth, are
concerning Christ, who is the truth, and are dictated and led into by
the spirit of truth, and contain in them nothing but truth: to divide
the word, is not merely to divide the text into its proper parts,
though care should be taken that this be done aright; by one that is
well versed in the Bible, and knows every part of it, and readily
uses it, in speaking or writing; and such an one was Timothy.
Moreover, to divide the word of truth, or to cut it, is to cut it
open, and dissect its several parts, and search and look into the
inside and bottom of it, for to find out every truth contained in it,
and lay them open to others, and so the ministers of the Gospel are
to distribute the spiritual food of the word to babes in Christ, and
to grown Christians, according to their capacities, and suitable to
their cases and circumstances, dividing to everyone what is proper
for him: in short, one that divides the word of truth rightly, is, as
the Vulgate Latin version renders it, one that "rightly
handles"; or, as the Syriac version, that "rightly preaches
the word of truth"; who gives the true sense of Scripture, does
not pervert and wrest it, and take from it, or add to it; who points
out the truth in it, and shows unto men the way of salvation, and
plainly and faithfully preaches the Gospel contained in it, without
keeping back anything that is profitable, but declares the whole
counsel of God. And may here design a plain and open interpretation
of the word of God: and to answer these several characters in the
text should be the studious concern of every Gospel minister; and
study is necessary thereunto; it requires great care that a man take
heed to himself, and to his doctrine; and great industry, diligence,
and application, and much reading, meditation, and prayer.
But
shun profane and vain babblings
The
ministry of false teachers is mere babbling; a voice, and nothing
else, as the man said of his nightingale; a sound of words, but no
solid matter in them; great swelling words of vanity, like large
bubbles of water, look big, and make a great noise, but have nothing
in them; contain nothing but vain, empty, idle, and trifling stuff;
what is unprofitable and unedifying, yea, what is profane, contrary
to the nature and perfections of God, and not agreeable to the
doctrine which is according to godliness; and being palmed upon the
Holy Scriptures, is a profanation of them. And all such wicked and
empty prate, and babbling, is to be shunned, avoided, and
discouraged, refused, and rejected; and, as much as can be, a stop
should be put to it, both by ministers and hearers of the word.
For
they will increase unto more ungodliness
Meaning
either that such babblings, if used and encouraged, will grow more
and more profane and wicked; or the persons that use them, the unruly
and vain talkers, will grow more daring, bold; and impudent, will wax
worse and worse, and from one error will proceed to another, for such
seldom stop; and having abused one passage of Scripture, will go on
to attack another, and will not cease, till they have wrested the
whole Scripture to their own destruction, and that of others.
Nevertheless,
the foundation of God standeth sure
That
faith, which is the faith of God's elect, is of the operation of God,
and is the gift of his grace, and of which Christ is the author and
finisher, is firm and immovable as a foundation; it is solid and
substantial; it is the substance of things hoped for; and it is
permanent and abiding; it stands sure, being supported by the power
of God, and prevalent mediation of Jesus Christ; and so cannot be
overthrown by false teachers, when an historical faith, or the faith
of temporary believers may: or the doctrine of the resurrection of
the dead is here meant, which was said to be past by the above false
teachers; which is a fundamental doctrine of the Gospel, without
which the preaching of it is vain, and faith is vain; and which is a
doctrine of God, of pure revelation; and this will be effected by his
power: this stands sure upon the testimony of the patriarchs,
prophets, and of Christ, and his apostles; upon the sure word and
writings both of the Old and New Testament; and will stand its ground
against all opposition, and will have its certain effect; for the
Lord Jesus knows who are his distinctly and perfectly; nor will he
lose them, nor anything that belongs to them; not their bodies, any
more than their souls, nor any dust of theirs, but will raise it up
at the last day. Or else the doctrine of eternal election may be here
designed; which is the foundation of all spiritual blessings, of
faith and of holiness, of joy and comfort here, and happiness
hereafter, and even of complete and everlasting salvation; and is of
God's laying, and is owing to his sovereign pleasure and free rich
grace; and stands sure, not on the foot of works, but upon the
unchangeable and unfrustrable will of God; and this secures from a
final and total deception by false teachers: and also into the
account may be taken the persons of God's elect themselves; who are
of God's founding, and are as immovable as the firmest foundation
whatever, even as rocks and mountains, and stand sure upon the rock
of ages, Christ Jesus, and shall never perish; nor can they be
deceived by false Christs and false prophets, but will remain safe
and sound, when the faith of ever so many is subverted by them.
Having
this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his
Faith
is sealed and insured to God's elect, by his foreknowledge and
predestination of them; so that they certainly have it, and shall
never lose it: and their election is according to God's foreknowledge
of them; which designs not a foresight of their faith, holiness, and
good works, as the motives of his choosing them; nor a bare
prescience of their persons; but such a foreknowledge as includes
special love to them, which is distinguishing, unchangeable, and
everlasting; and this being a seal affixed to all the elect, shows
the distinguishing grace of God in their election, the secrecy of it,
and its firmness and irrevocableness, and also the safety of the
chosen ones; things being sealed, to distinguish one thing from
another, and to keep things secret, or to render them firm and
authentic.
And
let everyone that nameth the name of Christ; depart from iniquity
Both
from doctrinal iniquity, the errors and heresies of the above false
teachers, which increased to ungodliness, and ate as a gangrene, and
were the subversion of the faith of some; and from all practical
iniquity, which those men, and their followers, were guilty of; and,
generally speaking, when men make shipwreck of faith, they put away a
good conscience, and that all such should depart from iniquitous men,
from men whether of bad principles or practices, or both, and have no
fellowship with them, it being unworthy of the name by which they
were called.
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