<p>2:15- see on Mt. 7:24.</p><p><em>Exert yourself, to prove you are pleasing to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, handling correctly the word of truth</em>- The AV &quot;Study to show thyself...&quot; has been tragically misunderstood as meaning that Bible study makes us pleasing to God. But that is a result of misreading &quot;study&quot;- in the days of King James it means 'to try', and that is the idea of the Greek. For not all are Bible students nor have the apparatus to be that. The context of :14 is specific commandment to the teachers within the church. They were workmen, working on the church of God, and their work with others would be examined at the last day. And they would be ashamed if those under their teaching are given the shame of condemnation. Effort must consciously be made to build up others. We must &lsquo;rightly divide&rsquo;, or cut straight, the word of truth in our preaching of it. The LXX uses the same word in Prov. 3:6: &ldquo;He will make straight your paths&rdquo;. We are to offer people a clear, straight way to the Kingdom; to span that gulf between the word of God and the mind of man. &quot;The word of truth&quot; refers to the basic Gospel, according to the context, which Paul has redirected their attention to. By involving their audience in strife about semantics and words, they were not using the word of truth correctly. The whole of Paul&rsquo;s exhortation to zealous service in the ecclesia in 2 Tim. 2:15-20 is based on the returned exiles, confirming that they are indeed &lsquo;types of us&rsquo;; and the teachers are the manual workers, slaving away to build up Zion:</p><div align=center><table border=0 cellspacing=16 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=467 valign=top>            <p><strong>2   Tim. 2</strong></p>            </td>            <td width=457 valign=top>            <p><strong>Nehemiah</strong></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=467 valign=top>            <p>&ldquo;If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto   honour, sanctified and meet for the master&rsquo;s use&rdquo; (:21)</p>            </td>            <td width=457 valign=top>            <p>&ldquo;I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that   they should come and keep the gates&hellip; thus cleansed I them from all strangers&rdquo;   (Neh. 13:22,30). Also a reference to the cleansing of the Jews from mixed   marriages.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=467 valign=top>            <p>&ldquo;A workman that needeth not to be ashamed&rdquo; (:15)</p>            </td>            <td width=457 valign=top>            <p>The workmen rebuilding Zion</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=467 valign=top>            <p>&ldquo;The foundation of God standeth sure&rdquo; (:19)</p>            </td>            <td width=457 valign=top>            <p>The laying of the foundation stone</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=467 valign=top>            <p>&ldquo;The Lord knoweth them that are his&rdquo; (:19)</p>            </td>            <td width=457 valign=top>            <p>The spirit of Is. 44:5- that although at the time of the restoration not   all knew their genealogy, they were accepted in any case, being surnamed with   the Name of Jehovah and that of Jacob</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=467 valign=top>            <p>&ldquo;A great house&rdquo; (:20)</p>            </td>            <td width=457 valign=top>            <p>The temple (1 Chron. 22:5)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=467 valign=top>            <p>&ldquo;Vessels of gold and of silver&rdquo; (:20)</p>            </td>            <td width=457 valign=top>            <p>&ldquo;Vessels of gold and silver&rdquo; (Ezra 5:14)</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table></div>