Romans 12:7”…if you are a teacher, teach well.”(NLT) The Greek word for “teacher” is: didasko, which means, "to teach one, to impart instruction, to explain or expound on a subject.” (Greek Lexicon)
The
gift of teaching is the ability to communicate in a way that the student can
understand and make life applications.
The gift of teaching isn’t so much the quality of teaching, but rather,
the ability to teach so that the student is able to learn life lessons. While some possess the spiritual gift of
teaching, all of us have a responsibility to teach godly values of right and
wrong, morality, ethical standards and honesty.
It does not take the special spirit-gift to teach virtues that will lead
a person to godly living.
Jesus the Teacher
The word “Rabbi”
comes from the Hebrew word meaning “great
one, my honorable sir.” In the Greek
language, “Rabbi” (Rhabbi) was a
title used by the Jews to address their teachers. Jesus was referred to as a “teacher” at least 45 times (depending
on translation) within the gospels.
Jesus used a variety of teaching methods to get
his message across:
He told stories (Parables) that had spiritual meaning, such as,
the Lost Sheep in Matthew 18:12-14
or the story about how to invest your money wisely in Matthew 25:14-30.
Jesus taught through discourse (Sermons) by sitting on a
mountainside in Matthew 5,6,&7
and instructing the people about the importance of right living.
Jesus taught through one-on-one discussions. In Luke
10:25, Jesus and a lawyer are discussing how one obtains eternal life and
who is my neighbor. Nicodemus, who was
a member of the Jewish ruling council called Jesus, Rabbi. They both proceeded
to have a discussion about being born again in John 3:1-21.
Jesus taught by example.
Not only did he call his Twelve to go out and preach, He lead by doing
it first in Mark 6:7-13
Pastor-Teacher
1 Corinthians 12:28
The gift of teaching is a vitally important part of the
spiritual health of the church. And, the
gift of teaching is the third most important work within the life of the church
according to Paul.
According to 1
Timothy 3:2, those who hold the leadership of pastor, must have the gift of
teaching. The phrase, “able to teach” is not the physical
ability to teach, but rather, the Spirit gift ability to teach. Also, the pastor must hold firm to what he
has been taught so that he can teach others in the truth according to Titus 1:7.
In Ephesians 4:11
the gift of teaching comes with the role of pastor. Pastor comes from the Latin word for
Shepherd. A Shepherd is one who takes
care of the spiritual needs of the church by serving the flock and by being an
example of living out the spiritual teachings of Scripture as found in 1 Peter 5:1-4
Remember, Be God Controlled!
Brian McCutchen