Wuest paraphrases it as "Bend your every effort".

Be diligent (4704) (spoudazo from spoude = earnestness, diligence) conveys the idea hastening to do something with the implication of associated energy or with intense effort and motivation. It suggest zealous concentration and diligent effort. Spoudazo speaks of intensity of purpose followed by intensity of effort toward the realization of that purpose.

The supreme purpose of the diligent and selfless teacher is to please God.

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God?” Paul asked Galatian believers. “Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ (Galatians 1:10)

Every Christian teacher and preacher should be able to say,

Just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who examines our hearts (see notes 1Thessalonians 2:4).

His greatest desire is to hear his Master say,

Well done, good and faithful servant (Mt 25:21).

The most beneficial study of God’s Word requires diligence and perseverance, but the results are worth the effort. A. B. Simpson said...

God has hidden every precious thing in such a way that it is a reward to the diligent, a prize to the earnest, but a disappointment to the slothful soul. All nature is arrayed against the lounger and the idler. The nut is hidden in its thorny case; the pearl is buried beneath the ocean waves; the gold is imprisoned in the rocky bosom of the mountains; the gem is found only after you crush the rock which encloses it; the very soil gives its harvest as a reward to the laboring farmer. So truth and God must be earnestly sought.

Steven Cole what the key is for a saint to be diligent to rightly divide the Word...

So many Christians are haphazard and lazy rather than diligent in their approach to God’s Word. They don’t systematically read, study, or memorize it. If they read it at all, they jump from passage to passage, pulling verses out of context. They aren’t seeking to know God and how He wants them to think, to believe, and to relate to others. Their lives and relationships are falling apart, but they don’t search diligently to discover what God’s Word tells them
to do about these problems.

The key to being diligent in God’s Word is to be motivated. Motivation is the key to learning. Have you ever been on an airplane and watched the passengers as the stewardess gives the instructions on how to use the emergency breathing apparatus? They’re reading their newspapers or impatiently thinking, “Hurry up so we can get going!” They’re not motivated to hear her boring instructions. But suppose they’re airborne and the pilot comes on the intercom and says, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re experiencing some severe trouble with our engines. We’re going to have to depressurize the cabin and make an emergency landing. The stewardess is going to explain how to use the emergency breathing apparatus.” Do you think he would have to add, “Please give her your full attention”? People would be motivated!

So the key to being motivated to be diligent in God’s Word is to recognize, “I live in the presence of God! Someday soon I will give an account to Him. His Word alone contains His wisdom on how to live in a way that pleases Him, which is the only way to true happiness for me. So I’ve got to be diligent to search out what the Scriptures say about knowing God and His wisdom for living.” (See full message 2 Timothy 2:14-19 Using the Word Properly)

PRESENT YOURSELF: parastesai (AAN):

Present (3936) (paristemi from pará = near + hístemi = place, stand) literally means to stand beside or near, to present and includes idea of yielding, to place at the disposal of another and so to lay oneself out for the use of another. In the Septuagint (LXX) paristemi was used as a technical term for priest’s placing offering on altar. This word conveys the general idea of surrendering or yielding up. Josephus (Ant., 4, 113) writes

"He then slew the sacrifices, and offered (paristemi) them as burnt offerings, that he might observe some signal of the flight of the Hebrews."

The aorist tense here indicates a decisive, wholehearted act, yet in this case it is one requiring the diligence of repetition.

It is a standing alongside of or before God, of presenting oneself for inspection, as it were, in order to be approved by Him.

The verb paristemi is used in a similar manner by Paul in his letter to the Romans where he writes

"why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before (paristemi) the judgment seat of God." (Ro 14:10)

Note that this judgment has to do with a believer’s service, not his sins (1Co 3:11–15). It is a time of review and reward, and is not to be confused with the Judgment of the Gentile nations (Mt 25:31–46) or the Judgment of the Great White Throne (Rev 20:11–15). The latter is the final judgment of all the wicked dead.

Be diligent that you might receive your degree...

A.U.G.
Approved
Unto
God

Steven Cole points out that...

Present is used (2 Cor 11:2; Ephesians 5:27 [note]) to speak of a bride being presented to her bridegroom. It’s a very personal, loving act when a young woman gives herself to a young man in marriage. In that culture (pre-women’s lib) it meant that she was giving herself completely to him: her devotion, her time, her body, her complete focus was now toward her husband because of his love for her and her love for him. That’s how we should come to the Bible. It’s not just a book of principles for how to live. It tells us of Christ’s enduring love for His bride. As His bride, we should seek to please Him and be available to do His will. As such, our focus should not be on what others think of us, but on what God thinks. Too many pastors fall into the trap of pleasing people, rather than pleasing God. While it’s nice to be liked, my main focus is to be, “approved to God.” Our goal is to please our heavenly Bridegroom who loved us and gave Himself for us.

When Jim Elliot, who was later martyred in the jungles of Ecuador, was a student at Wheaton College, he wrote in his diary, “My grades came through this week, and were, as expected, lower than last semester. However, I make no apologies, and admit I’ve let them drag a bit for study of the Bible, in which I seek the degree A.U.G., ‘approved unto God’” (Shadow of the Almighty [Zondervan], p. 43).

Come to the Bible to deepen your love life with the Lord, to learn how you can please Him more. (See full message 2 Timothy 2:14-19 Using the Word Properly)

APPROVED TO GOD : dokimon parastesai (AAN) to theo: (Acts 2:22; Ro 14:18; 16:10; 2Co 5:9; 10:18; Gal 1:10; 1 Th 2:4)

Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. (2Co 5:9)

The Steps of Those Whom He Approves
Wait on the Lord and keep His way,
And then, by Him approved,
Thy heritage shall still remain
When sinners are removed.
(Play hymn)

Approved (1384) (dokimos from dokime = test, proof, trial = idea is that when you put metal through a fiery testing and it comes out on the other side enduring it  "proven", "authentic" or "genuine" Click discussion of related word dokimazo and the antonym = adokimos) describes one who has stood the test.

Vine writes that dokimos signifies...

that which is approved by being proved, that which stands the test  (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

Wuest adds this description that dokimos means to...

put to the test for the purpose of being approved, and having met specifications, having the stamp of approval placed upon one. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)

A dokimos man or dokimos character is like metal which has been cleansed of all alloy and impurity. In James 1:12 (see below) the weaknesses of such a one have been eradicated and he emerges strong and pure. That which is dokimos is shown to be trustworthy and genuine.

Approved describes anything tested and fit for service. As alluded to above, this term was used of gold and silver which has been purified by fire of all alloy.

Dokimos is the word describing money which is genuine or as we would say sterling (silver) [sterling = conforming to the highest standard]. In other words, a persons must first be "proved" before being "approved". One so approved is assayed by the One Who has eyes like flames of fire (see note Revelation 1:14) yet passes this scrutiny and is counted as worthy.

Dokimos is a word which motivates one to have a "God consciousness" (cp "Coram Deo" - before the face of God!), a consciousness of His presence and of living and acting in His sight, so as to please Him in all things. (e.g., see the use by James below)

Sometimes it is helpful to get a sense of the meaning of a word by observing uses of its antonym and here Isaiah 1:22 presents us with a clear picture, where God is speaking to faithless Israel declaring...

Your silver has become dross (Hebrew = siyg = literally  that which is turned away or skimmed off in the refining process, the waste or impurity, the refuse after smelting precious metal and figuratively that which is base or worthless), Your drink diluted with water. (Comment: The Septuagint -LXX translates siyg with the Greek word adokimos)

Richards writes that dokimos

is used in the NT in the sense of recognition, of being officially approved and accepted.

Barclay writes that...

The Greek for one who has stood the test is dokimos, which describes anything which has been tested and is fit for service. For instance, it describes gold or silver which has been purified of all alloy in the fire. It is therefore the word for money which is genuine, or, as we would say, sterling. It is the word used for a stone which is fit to be fitted into its place in a building. A stone with a flaw in it was marked with a capital A, standing for adokimastos, which means tested and found wanting. Timothy was to be tested that he might be a fit weapon for the work of Christ, and therefore a workman who had no need to be ashamed. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos)

The root dek-, dechomai, accept, gives two verbal derivatives dokeo and dokao. The former means (intrans.) to appear, have the appearance, (trans.) to think, believe, consider right; the latter means expect. Derivatives of the former are: (a) dokimos, trustworthy, reliable, tested, recognized, used as a technical term for genuine, current coinage, but also applied to persons enjoying general esteem; (b) adokimos, untested, not respected; (c) indirectly also dokimion, test, probation; (d) from dokimos are also derived dokimazo, test, pronounce good, establish by trial, recognize, and apodokimazo, disapprove of, reject, blame; dokimasis and dokimasia, investigation, testing (preparatory to installing in an office); dokime, approved character, trial.  (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) 

Dokimos is used 7 times in the NT...

Romans 14:18 (note) For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. (John MacArthur comments: Dokimos (approved) refers to acceptance after careful examination, as when a jeweler carefully inspects a gem under a magnifying glass to determine its genuineness and value. When we serve Christ selflessly, we prove ourselves “to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (see note Philippians 2:15). (MacArthur, J: Romans 9-16. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos)

Romans 16:10 (note) Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. (Comment: O, that the "tribe" of Apelles might increase for whatever it was he did in the way of ministry and service, it was done in the sphere of [sufficiency of, power of, grace of] Christ, allowing Christ to live out His supernatural life through him. Apelles understood the vital principle Jesus taught in John 15:5 that "if you abide in Me and I abide in you shall bear much fruit for apart from Me you can do absolutely nothing that will pass the test." The "works" of Apelles will be tried by fire in 1 Corinthians 3:13-14 and even as pure gold will be found to pass the test of purity in the eyes of the Refiner. May God be pleased to raise up many Apelles in the modern church in America. Amen.)

1 Corinthians 11:19 For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you.

2 Corinthians 10:18 For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

2 Corinthians 13:7 Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we should appear unapproved.

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.

James 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial (the test is not designed to destroy us but to display the genuineness of our faith); for once he has been approved (dokimos - in the context he has passed the test and his faith is intact), he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (Comment: The principle is simple and clear that perseverance brings God’s approval, and His approval brings the crown of life)

There are 6 uses of dokimos in the Septuagint (LXX) (Gen 23:16; 1 Ki 10:18; 1 Chr 28:18; 29:4; 2 Chr 9:17; Zech 11:13) and here are some representative uses...

Genesis 23:16 And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, commercial standard (Lxx = "approved [dokimos] with merchants".

1 Kings 10:18 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with refined (Hebrew = pazaz = refined; Lxx = dokimos) gold.

1 Chronicles 29:4 namely, 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined (Hebrew = zaqaq = purified, refined, purged; Lxx = dokimos) silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings;

2 Chronicles 9:17 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure (Hebrew = tahor = pure, clean, genuine - used ninety times in the Old Testament, primarily to distinguish things that were culturally pure, capable of being used in, or taking part in the religious rituals of Israel;  Lxx = dokimos) gold.

Donald Barnhouse has the following interesting explanation of dokimos writing that

In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and no paper money. All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into moulds and allowed to cool. When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to smooth off the uneven edges. The coins were comparatively soft and of course many people shaved them closely. In one century, more than eighty laws were passed in Athens, to stop the practice of shaving down the coins then in circulation. But some money changers were men of integrity, who would accept no counterfeit money. They were men of honour who put only genuine full weighted money into circulation. Such men were called "dokimos" or "approved"

AS A WORKMAN: ergaten: (Mt 13:52; 2Cor 3:6; 6:3,4; 1Ti 4:6,12-16)

This was Paul's warp and woof, to be God's man, God's workman who expressed his earnest expectation and hope this way...

that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. (see note Philippians 1:20) (And we should each seek to be imitators of Paul, just as he was of Christ)

Workman (2040) (ergates from ergazomai = meaning to engage in an activity involving considerable expenditure of effort. It is the root of English words like ergs, ergonomics, etc)

The Word of Truth is the workman’s tool for building, measuring, and repairing God’s people. Carriers of the truth of God are to represent that truth and the God of truth well enough that we need never apologize for ourselves. God wants His people to be well prepared in the interpretation of God's truth. The messenger who interprets God's truth for others is an agent of His revelation.

It is clear from both the OT and NT, as well as from church history and our own time, that many of the worst false teachers claim to be servants of God. The majority of scribes, Pharisees, and other Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day considered themselves to be the godliest of the godly, as well as the only reliable interpreters of Scripture.

Wuest writes that

A workman approved is a workman who has been put to the test, and meeting the specifications, has won the approval of the one who has subjected him to the test. (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans or Logos)

Steven Cole illustrates the approval every workman should strive for...

A young man once studied violin under a world-renowned master. When his first big recital came, the crowd cheered after each number, but the young performer seemed dissatisfied. Even after the final number, despite the applause, the musician seemed unhappy. As he took his bows, he was watching an elderly man in the balcony. Finally, the elderly one smiled and nodded in approval. Immediately, the young man beamed with joy. He was not looking for the approval of the crowd. He was waiting for the approval of his master. Christians should be living for God’s approval. We will be approved unto Him as we use the Bible to grow in godliness. Are you growing as a craftsman who uses God’s Word of truth accurately and skillfully to grow in godliness? The misuse of the Bible will lead you to ruin. The proper use will lead you to godliness. (2 Timothy 2:14-19 Using the Word Properly)

WHO DOES NOT NEED TO BE ASHAMED : anepaischunton:

Not...ashamed (422) (anepaischuntos from a = without + epaischúnomai = be ashamed) describes the absence of a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.

The diligent workman who handles the Word rightly is irreprehensible (blameless)

Diligence in handling the Word now prevents one from one day having to stand before God and experience the painful feeling arising from the consciousness of having done something dishonorable with the Word of Truth. Let us always seek to Be Bereans - Acts 17:11.

I want among the victor throng
Someday to have my name confessed;
And hear my Master say at last,
"You stand approved, you did your best!"
—Simpson

The diligent workman has no cause for shame and is not liable to be put to shame when his work is inspected.

Application: Could I challenge you to consider measuring all your thoughts, words and deeds by the phrase...

"A workman who does not need to be ashamed."

HANDLING ACCURATELY: orthotomounta (PAPMSA): (Mt 13:52; Mk 4:33; Lu 12:42; Jn 21:15-17; Ac 20:27; 1Co 2:6; 3:1,2; 2Co 4:2; 1 Thes 5:14; Heb 5:11-14)

See sermon by C H Spurgeon Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth

Handling accurately (3718) (orthotomeo from orthós = right, standing upright, continuing in a straight direction, figuratively = right, true, of ethically correct behavior + témno = cut or divide) means to make a straight cut, cut straight (of a craftsman cutting a straight line, farmer plowing a straight furrow, mason setting a straight line of bricks, workmen building a straight road.

Metaphorically as used here it speaks of carefully performing a task.

The present tense calls for us to continually rightly divide the Word of Truth. We are to take no short cuts or vacations when it comes to handling God's Worth in a trustworthy manner. Every time you teach or preach God's Word of truth you must seek by the Spirit's illumination and the enabling grace of Christ to cut the Word of Truth straight. In marked contrast are the false teachers who twist the Scriptures to their temporal benefit and their and their hearers eternal detriment!

John MacArthur explains that...

Because Paul is a tentmaker, he may have been using an expression that tied in with his trade. When Paul made tents, he used certain patterns. In those days tents were made from the skins of animals in a patchwork sort of design. Every piece would have to be cut and fit together properly. Paul was simply saying, "If one doesn't cut the pieces right, the whole won't fit together properly." It's the same thing with Scripture. If one doesn't interpret correctly the different parts, the whole message won't come through correctly. In Bible study and interpretation the Christian should cut it straight. He should be precise... and accurate. (MacArthur, J: The Charismatics. Zondervan)

BDAG writes that orthotomeo is...

 found elsewhere independently of the NT only Pr 3:6; 11:5, where it is used with hodos and plainly means ‘cut a path in a straight direction’ or ‘cut a road across country (that is forested or otherwise difficult to pass through) in a straight direction’, so that the traveler may go directly to his destination. (Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature)

NIDNTT adds that

orthotomeo is found elsewhere only at Prov. 3:6 (In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.) and Pr 11:5 (Lxx = Righteousness traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing.), where it is used in connexion with (hodos = way, path) cutting a path in a straight direction. It is connected with temno, cut. The idea is that of cutting a path through a forest or difficult terrain so that the traveller may go directly to his destination (Arndt, 584). The vb. occurs only at 2 Tim. 2:15 where the RSV has: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling [orthotomounta] the word of truth.” The phrase may be compared with Plato, Laws 7, 801E: “to proceed along the way of legislation which has been cleared [tetmemenen hodon] by our present discourse.” Arndt suggests that the meaning in 2 Tim. is to guide the word of truth along a straight path, like a road that goes straight to its goal. Other interpretations are to teach the word aright, expound it soundly, shape rightly, and preach fearlessly (cf. Moulton-Milligan, 456 f.). (Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986. Zondervan) 

The careful exegete and expositor of God’s word of truth must be meticulous in the way he interprets and pieces together the many individual truths found in Scripture. The first and most important principle is that of basing doctrine and standards of living on Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura), a key watchword of the Protestant Reformation.

The image of orthotomeo is that of laying out a road. The teacher is to lay out a clearly marked pathway for others to walk. This effort requires study. Teachers are those who have been gifted by the Spirit and have devoted their minds to God so that they might impart His wisdom to His people. The Word of God however can be abused as well as used. It is always in danger of being distorted by teachers who handle it casually. The only effective way to prevent distortion of the Word of truth is diligent preparation at the study desk.

Where teachers and learners are lax in their study of the Scriptures, Bible classes are often filled with godless chatter and vain babblings. Instead of becoming mature in the faith, members and teachers become ungodly. Yet they claim success because their teaching becomes so popular, spreading "like gangrene.''

Spurgeon commenting on "handling accurately" writes...

“Rightly dividing, or Straight Cutting. A ploughman stands here with his plough, and he ploughs right along from this end of the field to the other, making a straight furrow. And so Paul would have Timothy make a straight furrow right through the word of truth. I believe there is no preaching that God will ever accept but that which goes decidedly through the whole line of truth from end to end, and is always thorough, honest, and downright. As truth is a straight line, so must our handling of the truth be straightforward and honest, without shifts or tricks. There are two or three furrows which I have labored hard to plough. One is the furrow of free grace. “Salvation is of the Lord,” — he begins it, he carries it on, he completes it. Salvation is not of man, neither by man, but of grace alone. Grace in election, grace in redemption, grace in effectual calling, grace in final perseverance, grace in conferring the perfection of glory; it is all grace from beginning to end. If we say at any time anything which is really contrary to this distinct testimony that salvation is of grace, believe us not. This furrow must be ploughed fairly, plainly, and beyond all mistake. Sinner, you cannot be saved by any merit, penance, preparation, or feeling of your own. The Lord alone must save you as a work of gratis mercy, not because you deserve it, but because he wills to no it to magnify his abundant love. That is the straight furrow of the Word. (click full sermon "Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth")

Barclay comments that orthotomeo

literally means to cut rightly. It has many pictures in it. Calvin connected it with a father dividing out the food at a meal and cutting it up so that each member of the family received the right portion. Beza connected it with the cutting up of sacrificial victims so that each part was correctly apportioned to the altar or to the priest.

The Greeks themselves used the word in three different connections. They used it for driving a straight road across country, for ploughing a straight furrow across a field, and for the work of a mason in cutting and squaring a stone so that it fitted into its correct place in the structure of the building. So the man who rightly divides the word of truth, drives a straight road through the truth and refuses to be lured down pleasant but irrelevant bypaths; he ploughs a straight furrow across the field of truth; he takes each section of the truth, and fits it into its correct position, as a mason does a stone, allowing no part to usurp an undue place and so knock the whole structure out of balance. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos)

Let us continually seek to be like the Psalmist who wrote...

Thy word is very pure,
Therefore Thy servant loves it.
Psalm 119:140

Spurgeon (note) commenting on this verse writes...

Thy word is very pure. It is truth distilled, holiness in its quintessence. In the word of God there is no admixture of error or sin. It is pure in its sense, pure in its language, pure in its spirit, pure in its influence, and all this to the very highest degree -- "very pure."

"Therefore thy servant loveth it," which is a proof that he himself was pure in heart, for only those who are pure love God's word because of its purity. His heart was knit to the word because of its glorious holiness and truth. He admired it, delighted in it, sought to practise it, and longed to come under its purifying power.

George Horne adds...

Thy word is very pure. In the original, "tried, purified, like gold in the furnace," absolutely perfect, without the dross vanity and fallibility, which runs through human writings. The more we try the promises, the surer we shall find them. Pure gold is so fixed, Boerhaave, informs us of an ounce of it set in the eye of a glass furnace for two months, without losing a single grain.

John Morison writes...

 Thy word is very pure; therefore, etc. The word of God is not only "pure," free from all base admixture, but it is a purifier; it cleanses from sin and guilt every heart with which into comes into contact. "Now ye are clean," said Jesus Christ to his disciples, "by the word which I have spoken unto you": John 15:3. It is this its pure quality combined with its tendency to purify every nature that yields to its holy influence, that endears it to every child of God. Here it is that he finds those views of the divine character, those promises, those precepts, those representations of the deformity of sin, of the beauty of holiness, which lead him, above all things, to seek conformity to the divine image. A child of God in his best moments does not wish the word of God brought down to a level with his own imperfect character, but desires rather that his character may be gradually raised to a conformity to that blessed word. Because it is altogether pure, and because it tends to convey to those who make it their constant study a measure of its own purity, the child of God loves it, and delights to meditate in it day and night.

Sir William Jones (1746-1794) wrote...

Thy word is very pure. Before I knew the word of God in spirit and in truth, for its great antiquity, its interesting narratives, its impartial biography, its pure morality, its sublime poetry, in a word, for its beautiful and wonderful variety, I preferred it to all other books; but since I have entered into its spirit, like the Psalmist, I love it above all things for its purity; and desire, whatever else I read, it may tend to increase my knowledge of the Bible, and strengthen my affection for its divine and holy truths.

Graham writes the following concerning "Thy word"...

Let us refresh our minds and our memories with some of the Scripture adjuncts connected with "the word," and realize, in some degree at least, the manifold relations which it bears both to God and our souls. It is called "the word of Christ," because much of it was given by him, and it all bears testimony to him...It is called "the word of his grace," because the glorious theme on which it loves to expatiate is grace, and especially grace as it is seen in Christ's dying love for sinful men. It is called ololoj tou staurou, "the word of the cross" (1 Corinthians 1:18), because in the crucifixion of the divine Redeemer we see eternal mercy in its brightest lustre. It is called "the word of the gospel," because it brings glad tidings of great joy to all nations. It is called "the word of the kingdom," because it holds out to all believers the hope of an everlasting kingdom of righteousness and peace. It is called "the word of salvation," because the purpose for which it was given is the salvation of sinners. It is called "the word of truth," because, as Chillingworth says, it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without mixture of error for its contents. And we will only add, it is called "the word of life," because it reveals to a sinful, perishing world the doctrines of life and immortality. -- IV. Graham, in "A Commentary on the First Epistle of John," 1857.

THE WORD OF TRUTH: ton logon tes aletheias:

Word of Truth - What a beautiful name for the Bible, especially in a world which is becoming more and more the opposite, where men's words are no longer binding. How we need to remember that Satan is a liar, the father of lies and has no truth in him, which emphasizes our great need to be totally dependent on the Word of Truth to counter his evil but very deceptive lies! Take a moment and ponder each of the 5 Biblical uses of this great phrase Word of Truth (click)

Think of God's Word of Truth as the "sun" (Son) and then consider how the planets function in such order as they rotate around the sun. In a similar way believers should live their entire Christian life within the orbit of God's Word of Truth, ultimately manifest in the Logos, His precious Son, Our Lord and King. Amen.

The following "outlines" on the Word of Truth are adapted from Spurgeon's notes on Psalm 119:140 (see notes directly preceding)

The crystal stream (of the Word of Truth)

(a) Flows from under the throne.
(b) Mirrors heaven.
(c) Undefiled through the ages.
(d) Nourishes holiness as it flows.

The enraptured pilgrim.

(a) Keeping by its brink.
(b) Delighted with its lucid depths.

Pleased with its mirrored revelations -- self, heaven, God.

Cleansed and refreshed by its waters. --W.B.H

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The purity of God's Word (of Truth)

(a) It proceeds from a perfectly pure source: "Thy word."
(b) It reveals a purity otherwise unknown.
(c) It treats impure subjects with absolute purity.
(d) It inculcates the most perfect purity.
(e) It produces such purity in those who are subject to its power. --

The love which its purity inspires in gracious souls.

(a) They love it because, while it reveals their natural impurity, it shows them how to escape from it.
(b) They love it because it conforms them to its own purity.
(c) They love it because to a pure heart the purity of the word is one of its chief commendations. --

The evidences of this love to the pure word.

(a) Desire to possess it in its purity.
(b) Subjection to its spirit and teachings.
(c) Zeal for its honour and diffusion. --W.H.J.P.

Word (3056) (logos from légō = to speak with words; English = logic, logical) means something said and describes a communication whereby the mind finds expression in words. Although Lógos is most often translated word which Webster defines as "something that is said, a statement, an utterance", the Greek understanding of lógos is somewhat more complex.

the Greek term for word is lógos; but lógos does not only mean word; it also means reason. For John, and for all the great thinkers who made use of this idea, these two meanings were always closely intertwined. Whenever they used lógos the twin ideas of the Word of God and the Reason of God were in their minds.  (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press or Logos)