“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” (Eph. 4:11)
There is a specific plan for teachers in the church today; we do not hear a lot about it, because preaching is foremost among most fundamentalists, but we are admonished to “teach” as well as preach. What are we supposed to teach? We already know that we are to “preach the Gospel” but what do we know about what to teach? We are commanded to teach the words (Word) of God; let’s look at a few commands to “teach” that are found in the Bible:
The most common is, of course, Matthew 28:19, 20:
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Notice that BOTH verses command us to teach, as well as preach the Gospel. We are to teach, according to this command, others to “observe all things” that the Lord has commanded us. Still a little vague? Read on.
Deuteronomy: “Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; (4:9) and jumping ahead a little; “And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.” (v. 14) We are to teach the Lord’s “statutes and judgments”. (See also Deut. 5:31 and 6:7)
Acts: We are to “teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42);
We are to teach “No other doctrine” than that; (1 Tim. 1:3); also, Many things (Scriptural things i. e. godliness; trust the Living God, etc.) see 1Tim.4:1-11.
Aged women to teach younger women chastity, etc. (Titus 2:4).
Many, more, but we have not the time or space for all of them. “Teach” is mentioned 109 times, with several referring to “What we are to teach”. Further study reveals whom we are to teach: children; women; one another, the congregation, the lost, etc., but again, neither time nor space is available at this time for such a study. Study on your own, and discover the truth of the matter.
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