The "Gift" of Teaching

Last time we established that a teacher is not a gift and that the “gift of teaching” is a combination of several gifts that give one the ability to teach from Scripture. However, in order to keep things simple I will refer to the act of teaching as a gift, because for all intents and purposes it is a blessing (a gift) God has given to certain people for edification of the church.

Teachers usually have the spiritual gifts of prophecy, exhortation, wisdom, knowledge and discernment, which help them to expound on the Scriptures and in turn helps the church to grow.
 
2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (NKJV). 

The word “dividing” in Greek is orthotomeō. Orthos, meaning “straight,” and temno, meaning “to cut”. Those that teach “cut” a straight line to the heart of the matter. In other words, those with the gift of teaching, will stay true to God’s Word. They will not veer from the truth in order to appease those around them with differing opinions. They will stay focused on context. They will not take one verse and try to make it mean something else. 

Teachers will not base their Bible studies on revelations, visions, "words of knowledge", or dreams from God. Especially if those revelations, visions, etc., can’t be backed up with Scripture. Unfortunately, this is a big problem with many celebrity preachers today, who rely heavily on their “revelations” from God over what the Bible actually says. A good teacher will use the Word of God in context and will consider the whole Word of God as counsel when expounding on a particular subject. They do this because Scripture does not contradict Scripture.

Characteristics of a Teacher
​

Those who teach will often find themselves digging deeper into Scripture and will not be satisfied with meditating only on daily devotionals. They want “meat” and will do everything in their power to find those moments in the day where they can spend time in the Word of God. They will often spend hours (sometimes days) preparing lessons because they are extremely careful with what they teach and how they teach it. The main thing about teachers though is that they can’t wait for Sunday, or Bible study group (or wherever they serve) so that they can share the Word of God. They come “alive” when they can share what God is showing them.

I do want to stress one thing though, teaching the Bible and the gift of teaching is not the same gift as say a school teacher would have. There are many talented school teachers, who have a knack for getting their message across to students. However, you may find that those same teachers when put in the position of teaching the Bible, often flounder. Teaching the Bible is not the same as teaching "reading, writing or arithmetic". A teacher has to know their Bible and been given the spiritual gifts of exhortation, discernment, wisdom, knowledge and prophecy, in order to explain the Scriptures accurately.

I heard the story of a teacher who was pressured into teaching Sunday school by the elders of her church. They “assumed” she would be a great “fit” because she taught the age group they were trying to place her in. But she felt called to serve in different ways – as a greeter, in the kitchen, or in the nursery tending to little ones. She had the spiritual gift of helps and hospitality. Not teaching. When she knew it was her turn to serve in the kitchen serving coffee she came alive! She loved to pour someone a cup of coffee or tea on Sundays and talk to them. Especially if they were new to the church. She also served as a greeter. Her gifts of hospitality and helps fit right in with these types of service. However, someone convinced her that as a teacher she should be teaching Sunday school. In fact they made her feel guilty for not serving that way in her church. So she agreed to serve as a Sunday School teacher, but she soon became miserable. She wasn’t happy teaching all week and then having to prepare more lessons for Sunday. She was frustrated, tired and sad. Where once Sunday was her day of rest and a day to exercise her spiritual gifts, she soon began to hate the thought of going to church. It felt like work to her and she had no joy in serving the Lord in this manner. She was on the verge of quitting church altogether when she took a course on Spiritual Gifts and realized (with a shock) that she did not have the gift of teaching. She laughed with irony at the thought, and after much prayer and discussion with friends, went back to serving as a Greeter and serving coffee.

If you are a school teacher and you don’t feel comfortable teaching Sunday school or Bible studies, it is likely because you have not been called by God to teach in that way. Don’t let those who think they know best try to convince you otherwise. However, if you are a school teacher who has also been given the "gift of teaching" – you have (in my humble opinion) been doubly blessed. What a rare treat it would be to have you as a teacher!

Do You Have a Faith-Based Blog? 
Share Your Link to it Below.

An InLinkz Link-up