2:14 This verse is transitional. Timothy was to keep reminding his "faithful men"of the things Paul had just brought back to his own recollection (i.e., vv. 3-13, but especially vv. 11-13).
Furthermore, he should warn them against emphasizing hair-splitting controversies in their ministries since these do more harm than good (cf. 1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 6:4-5).
"In the end disputing about words seeks not the victory of truth but the victory of the speaker."42
2:15 Positively, in contrast, Timothy should be "diligent"(lit. zealous) to make sure that when he stood before God he would receive the Lord's approval and not be ashamed (cf. 1 John 2:28).43Most important in gaining this goal was the way he would proclaim God's truth. He must teach it consistent with God's intended meaning and purpose. "Handling accurately"(lit. cutting straight) is a figure that paints a picture of a workman who is careful and accurate in his work. The Greek word (orthotomounta) elsewhere describes a tentmaker who makes straight rather than wavy cuts in his material. It pictures a builder who lays bricks in straight rows and a farmer who plows a straight furrow.44The way a minister of the gospel presents the Word of God was of primary importance to Paul, and it should be to us. The Greek word ergaten(workman) stresses the laborious nature of the task rather than the skill needed to perform it.
2:16-17a Timothy should turn away from meaningless discussions that characterize the world on the other hand. These only provide an atmosphere in which ungodliness grows.
"It may be that these people regarded themselves as progressives' and that Paul picks up the verb from their usage, ironically indicating that their progress is in ungodliness."45
Those who engage in such discussions spread poison that eventually corrupts the body of Christ. Gangrene is decay of tissue in a part of the body when the blood supply is obstructed by injury, disease, or some other cause. Medical writers of Paul's day used this term (Gr. gangraina, only here in the New Testament) to describe a sore that eats into the flesh.46
2:17b-18 Paul cited concrete examples of two men, probably from Ephesus (cf. 1 Tim. 1:20), whose verbal speculations were derailing other sincere Christians from the track of God's truth.
"Perhaps due to some confusion over the Pauline teaching that believers even now participate in the death and resurrection of Christ (Rom 6:4-5, 8; 2 Tim 2:11), they believed and taught that the resurrection of believers had already occurred in a spiritual sense . . .
"That such a mistake could be made may seem strange to us. But the fervency of the first-generation church's hope of Christ's return and certain carryovers from the pagan religions out of which believers came . . . could have led some to the conclusion that all of salvation's blessings were to be experienced now. A modern parallel is what we might describe as Christian triumphalism (or the health and wealth' gospel), which tends to present the Christian message as the quick solution to all of life's problems. The same basic mistake seems to be involved."47
