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
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