We acknowledge the great labors of Dr. E. W. Bullinger in his book "How To Enjoy The Bible," To a great extent we will follow his outline in these papers on RIGHT DIVISION. He devoted about 75 pages to the development of THE ONE GREAT REQUIREMENT OF THE
WORD "RIGHTLY DIVIDING" IT. The writer does not agree with all the conclusions of the Doctor, but his labors have been entered
into, and we thank the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for those
earthen vessels who have gone on before and left us tools with which to
work.
"Study to skew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed RIGHTLY DIVIDING the Word of Truth" (2
Tim. 2:15).
The one great requirement of the Word is the fact that it is grounded on
the principle that it is "the Word of Truth." The verse is so
stated that the implication is this unless the Word is rightly divided,
you shall not get "truth'; and you shall get its truth only in
proportion to the measure in which you rightly divide it. It MUST be
divided RIGHTLY; that is, avoid all the ways that are wrong. It does not
matter at all what all others have thought or said. Page after cage
could be filled with what man has thought concerning
RIGHT DIVISION of the Word of Truth. Many treat the
command of RIGHT DIVISION as though it is not binding at all. Many build
ministries upon the Word of Truth, failing all along to observe the one
great requirement of the Word of Truth; that is, the rightly dividing of
it. They act as though it was never given. This command in 2 Timothy
2:15 is as binding as any other of God's commands. Strange
that so many totally ignore it as if God has not
spoken concerning the subject. Dr. Bullinger noted the following in 2
Timothy 2:15.
1. The one great reason for
our study is to seek the approval of God, not man.
2. We are to be diligent in the study of the Word of
Truth.
3. Our aim, as workmen, is not to have cause to be
ashamed of our work.
4. To gain God°s approval and avoid being put to
shame we MUST rightly divide the Word of Truth.
All this tells us that we will not get truth unless
we RIGHTLY DIVIDE. We are to give heed to this GREAT REQUIREMENT OF THE
WORD simply because it is the Word of Truth.
The common belief today in Christian circles is that
all the Bible is to be interpreted in light of the present church age.
Or, that every portion of Scripture is written TO the Christian. This
neglect of rightly dividing the Scripture bars the believer from RIGHTLY
understanding the Word. This is the reason for the neglect of the Word.
This is the reason for the spiritual pygmies. The spiritual pygmies are
the reason for the fact that confidence has been lost in the Scriptures.
A generation of under-nourished Christians, ill-fed and consequently
ill-equipped, think the problem with the so-called "Church" is that the
Bible is not clear, or at best it is outdated in its archaic King°s
English. The problem all along has been failure of God's people to
recognize the one great principle of understanding the Word of Truth
they fail to RIGHTLY DIVIDE,
"While the Word of God is written FOR all
persons, and
FOR all time, yet it is as true that not
every part of it is addressed
TO all persons of ABOUT all persons
(E. W. Bullinger).
Lest we be misunderstood, we repeat that every word
from Genesis to Revelation is written
FOR us. There is not one word that. we can
do without. We believe all Scripture is FOR us, and is for our
learning (Rom. 15:4), but not all Scripture is addressed
TO us, or written CONCERNING us.
With the foregoing comments in mind, let's apply the
principle of 2 Timothy 2:15 to what we will call the Dispensational
Teaching of the Word of Truth.
In order to grow in knowledge", for we are to
increase in "knowledge" as well as "grace" (2 Pet. 3:18), we need to
UNlearn all that we have been taught by man if it does not recognize
the one great principle of Bible study - rightly dividing the Word of
Truth. We must empty ourselves of all Tradition.
If we think we already know, it will be impossible
to learn. If a vessel is full it is impossible for its contents to be
increased. Room must be made for the INCREASE by continually replacing
what we have learned from man with what we have learned from the Lord.
We must be prepared to learn over again the things we have learned from
man that does not agree with the Word of God rightly divided. If what we
learn is direct from the Word, the Truth will grip us instead of us
holding the Truth.
1. TRUTH THAT BELONGS TO ONE PART OF A PAST
DISPENSATION MUST NOT BE READ INTO ANOTHER PART OF THE PAST.
The Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John belong to a PAST dispensation and have a special relation to the
Time when the Kingdom was subsequently rejected.
Truth that pertained to the PROCLAMATION period is
not Truth for the period of the REJECTION. Notice during the
PROCLAMATION period:
(a) Matthew 10:5-6: The Lord Jesus speaks to the twelve and says, "Go
not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans
enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Immediately we can detect a problem. The command
from the Lord is to "Go not" to the Gentiles. If the Word is not
divided, rightly or wrongly, then this command is still binding on all
of the Lord's servants. If we fail to take note of what PART of what
Dispensation the command takes place in, then it must be interpreted as
being written to all persons for all time. If right division is not
applied missionary work among the Gentiles is forbidden. Only missionary
work among the Jews should be endorsed by believers.
Modern Mission Boards do not follow this principle
of "Go not." Then something must be wrong. The command of Matthew 10:5-6
either remains in force and the modern Mission Boards are operating in
defiance of it, or there is some explanation that will exonerate them
from such obstinacy.
If it be said that the Mission Boards are operating
under the marching order of Mark 16:15 , "Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature'"; then the Word of God flatly
contradicts Itself as to the fundamental principle of missionary work.
See the problem? The solution to this is that some DIVISION must be made
between the two commands of "Go not" and "Go ye." Now both commands were
true. Both were spoken by the Lord Himself. We contend that both
commands were not to be ignored. One command should not be exalted at
the expense of the other. Right division of the two assigns each to its
proper place in the Dispensation in which they occur.
The "Go not" applies to the period when the
PROCLAMATION of the King and the Kingdom was being made. However, when
both the King and the Kingdom were rejected, and the King crucified and
risen, this command was no longer appropriate because of the changed
circumstances. With the changed circumstances, the "go ye" of
Mark 16:15 is in order, and it s u p e r c e d e s the "Go not"
of Matthew 10;5-6.
(b) In connection with the command, there were
others given also: ",Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your
purses, Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes,
nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat" , (Matt. 10:9-10;
cf Lu. 9:3).
When the Kingdom has been rejected and the King was
on the eve of being crucified, He abrogated the commands Himself, as
being no longer suitable because of the changed circumstances. The Lord
repeats them, and asks whether or not His promise was true: "When I sent
you without a purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they
said, Nothing. Then He said unto them,
BUT NOW, he that bath a purse, let him take
it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his
garment, and buy one" (Lu. 22:35-36).
The two words "BUT NOW" announce that even
within the same Dispensation a change takes place. It must be noted and
the two commands must be rightly divided. The "BUT NOW" , points out the
fact that Truth which belongs to one part of a PAST dispensation must
not necessarily be interpreted to be Truth for ANOTHER part of that same
Dispensation.
Now if the principle of right division must be
followed when circum stances change within the same dispensation, how
much more of a necessity is it to rightly divide the Word of Truth when
the Dispensation itself changes. We are to rightly divide one PART of a
Dispensation from the other PART of the same Dispensation when
circumstances change, as noted in (a) and (b). But when the whole
Dispensation changes, the whole sphere changes, most cases the
people dealt with change, and the principle on which God deals with them
changes.
Even with the two examples given in this paper
(Matt. 10 and Lu. 9), Christendom persists in jumbling the whole Bible
together; Law, Gospel, Grace, Kingdom, Church, Israel, Jew, Gentile,
Judgment, Glory, Bride and Body, all are confused in one vast tangle.
Any wonder the Bible is misunderstood and has become closed to most of
God's people?
