The Gift of Teaching

Uniquely You in Christ: (Part IV)

THE GIFT OF TEACHING

Luke 1:1-4 (NIV)

 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.  Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beinning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

   One of the significant contributions of Martin Luther during the reformation was when he rediscovered the doctrine of the Priesthood of Believers.  In this doctrine, Luther has emphasized the privilege and the responsibility of all believers.  The concept of privilege applies to the direct access which all believers enjoy through Jesus Christ.  Back in the Old Testament, the common Israelite cannot approach the presence of God without the mediatoral access provided by priests.  For responsibility, the doctrine teaches that believers must share the love of Jesus Christ to others.  Here are two major references for this doctrine:

1Peter 2:9 (NIV)

   But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the priaises of Him who called you oout of darkness into His wonderful light.

Revelation 1:4-6 (NIV)

   John. To the seven churches in the provinces of Asia:  Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father -- to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

   Clearly, if you are some who has been called out from darkness, or someone freed from sins by the blood of Jesus, you are a priest before God.  This is indeed as awesome privilege!  In fact, when God communicated to Moses in Mount Sinai about this concept, He uses a description for His priests that we would truly appreciate:

Exodus 19:5-6 (NIV)

Now if you obey me fully and keep  my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.  Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.

   Notice in verse 5, "my treasured possession" God cherishes us as His valuable treasures.  We have a very special connection to Him.

   However, we must also emphasize the accountability.  As His priests, we are all called to minister in the church of Jesus Christ, not only the pasotrs, staff, deacons or leaders of the church.  This is what we have been trying to emphasize now for the past couple of Sundays.  We have been explaining the spiritual gifts.  With god's expectation that we all serve, he has given us the Holy Spirit to adequately provide us with the ability or abilities so we can effectively serve Him.  the truth is: knowing your gift/s will mean knowing what ministry we should have in the church.  And of course, when we serve according to our gifts, there will be greater productivity for us.  A. T.  Pierson, a Bible teacher from an earlier era said: "Everyone has some gift, therefore all should be encouraged.  No one has all the gifts, therefore all should be humble.  All the gifts are for one Body, threfore all should be harmonious:  All the gifts are needful, therefore all should be faithful."

   Last Sunday, we covered the figt of serving.  Today, let's talk about the gift of teaching.  The Bible character who vividly demonstrates the gift is Luke.  When he wrote his account of the life of Christ, he clearly stated that he desires to give an informative account of the prophecy-fulfilled life of Jesus Christ.  He hopes that by doing so, he can establish the absolute truth about Jesus the Messiah.  Now, the recipient, "Theophillus" could very well have been a real person.  Nothing much is said about him, except his name which means "lover of God".  Let's examine together this particular gift:

I.  THE DESCRIPTIONS

   The gift of teaching is clearly one of the spirituals enumerated in Romans 12:7, "...if it is teaching, let him teach."  The Greek word Didaskalos, which is translated Teacher is often perceived as the gift of understanding and communicating the Word of God, of edifying believers in the truths of God's Word.  It involves understanding, interpreting, arranging, and communicating the Word of God.

   Because  the church of Christ has been tasked to disciple believers, there is a constant need for more teachers.  Just like in BCI wee need teachers for all ages -- for children, youth, and adults.  We need teachers in homes, in Sunday Schools, in Care Groups, etc.  I always have believed that if we do a good job in teaching, then growing numerically and spiritually will come naturally.  here are some prominet descriptions of teachers:

     A.  They dig for the truth.

   The believers who have this gift will do their best to seek for the truth and stand on it.  They are people who will not jsut accept teachings without doing their best to validate whether they are true or not.

   Dr. Luke in our key text acknowledges the existence of other writings concerning the life and message of Jesus - "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things...(v.1)."  He made it clear to his reader that his account was based on careful investigations, and thus reliable.  Perhaps, in this day and age when there are so many false teachings out there, we cannot afford to have teachers who are not committed to the truth.  We need teachers who would not teach anything unless they are convinced that they are truths from Word of God.  The Bereans were honored for having this kind of mind set.

Acts 17:11 (NIV)

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

   Now, remember, you cannot be a good teacher of the Word, if you are not a good student of the Word of God.  As Howard Hendricks, a well-known Bible teacher say, "Once a teacher stops growing, he or she stops teaching."

     B.  They desire to present truth in systematic way.

   Another quality visible to Luke was he endeavored to present an account of the life of Christ in the most orderly way - "it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you (v.3)."

   The teacher's heart is not just to impart the truth, but to impart it in such a way that it would be easier for students to follow and understand.  They definitely do their best to present the truth chronologically, logically, and with outlines.

     C.  They delight in researching and reporting as many facts as possible on the subject.

   Looking at the work of Luke, it is the longest of the four Gospels, giving a lot of attention to details.  When God sovereignly produced the Scriptures, He allowed the human authors to utilize their unique personalitites in writing the truths he desired to be imparted.  And for Luke, this meant a particular sensitivity to details.

II.  THE DANGERS

   Every teacher must be familiar with some potential dangers as he/she seeks to faithfully exercise his or her gift:

     A.  Becoming proud in knowledge.

   The apostle Paul carefully warns the Corinthian believers concerning knowledge lest it leads them to pride.

1 Corinthians 8:1 (NIV)

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowldege.  Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

  The context of this verse is on the issue of eating meat offered to idols.  Evidently, there was a difference of opinion among the Corinthian believers, and those who were more knowledgeable were demonstrating pride instead of love.  The message is quite clear that when the Lord has given you more knowledge, you must use it to minister to others, rather than use it to look down on others.

     B.  Greater joy in researching than presenting truth

   Now, this is one of those dangers for the person with the gift of Teaching.  They spend all of their time in searching and researching the truth and finding the truth and they're  fulfilled in discovering it for themselves.  Teachers should find venues to present those truths they have learned or lese they're wasted.

   Something that is closely related to this problem is:  if ever they have the opportunity to present the product of their research there is also the danger of dumping all the information without the sensitivity to the learning experience or facilitating practical appllications.  I believe teachers would be able to avoid this when they try to determine what they want to accomplish in the lives of the learners even before they teach.  The bottom line is: teachers are not just for giving information, they facilitate transformation.

     C.  Depending on human wisdom rather than God's guidance.

   While human wisdom can be a great blessing, it could also lead to self sufficiency, and eventually self-destruction.  King Solomon who was gifted with so much wisdom exhorted us to prefer trusting the Lord for guidance more than our own.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

   I hope we would all come to the realization that one of the greatest moral failure we can have is to live our lives independently of God.

III.  THE DISTINCTION

   Again we want to see the distinction between osmeone who is spiritual and carnal teacher.  As we have said last week, the efficiency of the gift is dependent on whether the person is spiritual or carnal:

       Spirit                                                                         Flesh

     Self-control                                                Self-indulgent

     Reverence for truth                                     Disrespect for God's Word

     Diligence                                                   Laziness/Excuses

     Thoroughness                                           Incompleteness

     Dependability                                           Inconsistency

     Patience                                                  Restlesness

IV.  THE DELIGHTS

   If you were here last Sunday, I talked about the reward of the servant in terms of fellowship and honor.  What about the Bible teachers?  Well, I would like to highlight at least two:

     A.  Teaching brings about transformation

   I already mentioned this earlier, but I really want to emphasize this truth.  Bible teachers can be God's instruments to bring change in people's lives because the Bible has the pewer to bring change.  Jesus Himself said:

John 17:17 (NIV)

Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

   The more truth we know, the more we will grow spiritually.  This is the reason why we need more people who have this gift to be involved in our ministries.  We need people who will invest time in understanding the Bible, and conveying it effectively so lives in our church can be shaped.  Le me challenge everyone to find opportunities to learn the Bible.  You will surely benfit from it.  In fact, the Bible encourage us to crave it like babies  craving for milk. 

1Peter 2:2 (NIV)

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.

     B. Transformation leads to productivity.

   Oour lives should not be used for ourselves and our own selfish purposes.  Our lives should be lived for kingdom purposes.  The people that you teach will one day teach others.  Those whom you disciple will disciple others.  The apostle Paul reminded Timothy that his life should never be a dead end, but a means to an end:

2 Timothy 2:2 (NIV)

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

   Who are you impacting today because of your teaching?  If ayou would be faithful as a teacher, God might allow you to impact someone who would shape thousands or hundreds of thousands for Jesus.  There;'s truth in the saying,"Only God can count the apples in a single seed."