Ephesians 4:7-16: Spiritual gifts –pastor teacher, part 11.Sunday December 5,2021Title: Ephesians 4:7-16: Spiritual gifts –pastor teacher, part 11.
Eph 4:11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
As we have noted by the Greek grammar of the sentence, the pastor/shepherd and teacher compose one gift.
Teachers: didaskalos. Used of God (Mat 23:8); Nicodemus (Joh 3:10); and instructors of truth in the churches (Act 13:1; 1Co 12:28-29; Eph 4:11; Heb 5:12; Jam 3:1).
In the KJV it is often translated “master,” especially when used of Christ in the gospels.
All of us are in need of good teachers.
Of the pastor, elder, overseer, it is written that he must be able to teach. We’ll want to investigate the need for teaching rather than methods of teaching. The Bible is silent about how the teacher teaches, whether gifted by God the Holy Spirit for that purpose, or anyone in the body of Christ who is put into a teaching situation.
Paul, for instance, delivers the gospel in different styles depending on his audience. The Lord had a similar characteristic. God does not give us a script to follow, but He does give us the truth.
In his last paragraph in Mere Christianity, Lewis writes about originality. He makes a point that is found plainly in the scripture – lose your life that you may find it. Seems like some self-help trick, but it is a divine truth that has nothing to do with self. The point is about what we are looking for. An example of it is found, for instance, in the difference between Saul and David. After his anointing, Saul wanted to be king first and foremost. After his anointing, David wanted to see God first and foremost. Listen to how Lewis puts it.
[C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book 4, chap. 11] “But there must be a real giving up of the self. You must throw it away "blindly" so to speak. Christ will indeed give you a real personality: but you must not go to Him for the sake of that. As long as your own personality is what you are bothering about you are not going to Him at all. The very first step is to try to forget about the self altogether. Your real, new self (which is Christ's and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him. Does that sound strange? The same principle holds, you know, for more everyday matters. Even in social life, you will never make a good impression on other people until you stop thinking about what sort of impression you are making. Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring two pence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up your self, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”
I found a very similar quote by A. W. Tozer yesterday. He wrote about seeking Christ – and. The “and” was whatever self wanted. He encouraged his readers to get rid of the “and” and Christ you will find. Christ told us to seek His kingdom first and not worry about the and. He said that the and would be added to us. This lovely principle applies to teaching. Teach the truth and don’t bother about your method, nor attempt to mimic another, nor worry about how it may sound on the ears of your listener, for the truth is alive and powerful, not us or our pedagogy (method and practice of teaching).
There is not near as much written in the scriptures about teachers as there is about shepherds. However, the role of a teacher to each person is important throughout the scripture.
The pastor teacher is to teach the truth from the Scripture to the congregation. That is the teaching part. He is not responsible for teaching anything else. He must work hard at hermeneutics and exegesis. He must develop sound theology in all its systematic categories. The fancy words simply mean that he must glean the truth from the word of God, the entire Word and its entire message, and teach it clearly.
The principle of the pastor’s teaching is easily understood and falls under spiritual common sense.
We will read the passages that reference it. First, I thought it might be interesting to think about why we need teachers. The simple answer is that we lack knowledge and we can get that knowledge from someone who has it.
All of us are to come to a level of Biblical knowledge that would qualify us as teachers.
Heb 5:11-14 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
The context of Heb 5 is their lack of understanding due to their dullness of hearing. The writer wants to teach them more about Melchizedek and his order, but he cannot due to their immaturity. While not every believer has the gift of teaching, every believer should be able to teach in various situations, most of which would be one-on-one. Parents must teach their children. We teach when we evangelize. We teach when we share doctrine with other believers.
All of us are in need of good teachers.
Rom 10:11-15 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; 13 for "Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." 14 How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!"
Communion:
Eze 34:25-31 "And I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 "And I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing. 27 "Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit, and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 "And they will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid. 29 "And I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore. 30 "Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people," declares the Lord God. 31 "As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God," declares the Lord God.
Zec 13:4 "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate," Declares the Lord of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones.
He gave His life for the sheep, to save us and to become our Shepherd.
1Co 11:23-26 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. |