For the past few days we've discussed various Ministry
Gifts, you may want to check out what we've already covered here: Part 1, Part 2,Part 3 and Part 4
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We will now turn our attention to another Ministry Gift
that the Head of the Church has given to His church. This Ministry Gift is
largely responsible for grounding believers in the Word of God by making the
truths revealed in the Word accessible and applicable. This gift is uniquely
graced with the ability to take the abstract and make it practical, that’s the Ministry
Gift of the Teacher.
Not to be confused with the secular teacher who has to
go through formal training, certification and licensing, this Ministry Gift is
not a product of formal religious education (not that formal education isn't important, far from it). This Ministry Gift proceeds from the Master Teacher,
our Chief Rabbi, Jesus Christ Himself. The Lord promised us that He will send the
Holy Spirit to come and be our Teacher. I’m convinced that He not only teaches each
of us privately, but He also uses this Ministry Gift to teach us and remind us
of everything He has told us in His Word.
26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in my name, will
teach you all things and
will remind you of everything I have said to you. – John 14:26 NIV
Just as it is with all of the Ministry Gifts, one may
be used in a certain ministry without them being that particular Ministry Gift.
All may evangelize even though all are not an Evangelists. All may prophesy but
not all are prophets, we may operate apostolically without being Apostles; in
the same way, not all who teach are Teachers.
The Ministry of the Teacher is one of unveiling the Truth - Christ - and as the saints behold Christ, they are gradually being transformed
into His image by the Holy Spirit who is constantly at work within the believer
and teacher alike. That’s how we go from glory to glory and that glorifies God.
An effective New Testament Teaching Ministry will
always unveil Jesus, with a focus on His finished work and what that actually means to
the believer today. Through this Ministry Gift, the grace of God is dispensed
to believers as they are made aware of the New Covenant they have with God through
the perfect sacrifice of Christ.
What sets apart the Teaching Ministry Gift is not only how
they teach, but also what they teach and the authority with which they teach. They
are sent by the Head of the Church, Christ Jesus, and through them He is both building
and equipping His Church. Building His Church into His own spiritual dwelling
place (Ephesians 2:22, 1 Peter 2:5)
and equipping it for the work of the ministry to His Body and to the unreached
as well (Ephesians 4:12-12).
When Jesus taught, the authority that accompanied His
teaching was evident to all present. The Word of God says:
28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,29 because
he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. – Matthew 7:28-29 NIV
When
Jesus taught, it wasn't with empty words, He didn't employ grand abstract scholarly
concepts that only a few highly educated folks could grasp, on the contrary all
His parables were to do with everyday life realities, something all His hearers
could relate to or identify with, thus making His teachings even more
effective. Not only that, when Jesus taught, the power of God was present to
meet the needs of the people.
17 One day Jesus was
teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come
from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of
the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. – Luke 5:17 NIV
This same grace is on the Teachers He has placed in His
Church today. The Teacher’s heart desires to impart knowledge and to see that
knowledge lead to transformation in the lives of their hearers. This Ministry
Gift is not interested in how much Scripture one has memorized or knows but on
how much growth and transformation has happened as a result of one’s knowledge
and application of the Scriptures.
You see, the Teacher knows
full well that it is the truth that one knows, (believes and acts on) that will
set them free. This Ministry Gift is acutely aware of the dangers of piling up
knowledge upon knowledge without practicing what has already been taught.
Teachers are very much aware of the fact that pride and deception can creep in
if all people do is collect teaching after teaching without putting what they
already know into practice. The Word is clear, knowledge puffs up (1 Corinthians 8:1) and being a hearer and
not a doer of the Word leads to deception (James
1:22). This Ministry Gift does not teach with mere words, but would often
model what they teach with their own lives. No wonder the Apostle Paul after
teaching Corinthian church for a while, could boldly say to them, “follow me as
I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1)
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Teachers will often accurately assess the maturity
level of the people they are ministering to and then under the unction of the
Holy Spirit, our Teacher-in-residence, proceed to bring forth teachings appropriate
to that audience. Teachers complement the other Ministry Gifts in the sense
that they are graced with the ability to take what the other Ministry Gifts bring
to the Body and from the Word of God, correctly break them down into bite size
portions as it were, and then proceed to draw practical applications from what
was presented, and so enrich the Body greatly.
This Ministry Gift, though may be itinerant from congregation
to congregation, it does however, spend considerable time within a local body teaching
and edifying the saints so that they are established in sound doctrine. This
Ministry Gift equips believers with the wherewithal to rightly divide the Word
of Truth and consequently walk in confidence and victory to the glory of God.
The New Testament Ministry Gift of the Teacher takes to
heart this charge:
You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. –
Titus 2:15 NIV
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