The Teacher

Among the five perfecting ministries mentioned in Ephesians 4:11 the Teacher is the one anointed by God to impart the deep and lasting truths of God’s word, to His people. His role is not to fill Christians’ minds with intellectual knowledge, but in teaching, to allow the Holy Spirit to write the Word of God on the tablets of their hearts.

There are many pastors with degrees and doctorates in Theology, who have been teaching theology for years, but with very little to show for it. Unfortunately, many of these men have come to the end of themselves today, because all their knowledge has had no power to change their service for God, their lives, or the lives of the believers in their congregations. Some are even looking for an escape route from the ministry.

The teaching of the Word forms part of the commission Jesus gave to His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The aim of teaching is not only to build Christians’ knowledge of the Bible but, above all, to bring them to maturity.

Being united with the other ministries
The teacher must never forget apostle James’s warning (3:1) that he will be judged more strictly than others. There are countless independent, self-appointed ‘teachers’, circulating in the Church at large today – writing books, broadcasting television programmes, publicising their teaching on DVD and CD, posting blogs, and using every medium they can to reach the Christian public. There have never been so many as today. Yet, the model we see in the Bible is of teachers forming part of the body of elders of a local church [Acts 13:1]. As with the other four ministries, it is not absolutely essential that there be a teacher present in every local church, but each church should form part of a network of churches in which all the 5-fold ministries are represented. When the teacher forms part of the eldership of a local church in the network, he is sent to the other churches they work with, and so is a blessing to each one of them. He is not just a guest speaker, imparting various facts to the church, without any real relationship with the people, relying on his credentials. Thanks to the apostolic gospel, he is united with the other ministries, carries the same heart for the people, and is aware of the importance of building relationships.

Proclaiming sound doctrine
Once the apostle has laid the foundation in the Church by preaching the sound doctrine of Christ, the anointed teacher can build upon it (1 Cor. 3:10) because he communicates in a more in-depth and profound way than the other ministries. As long as the teacher is submitted to the team of elders in the local church, God's people are protected from false teaching.

Imparting the heart of God
We have the perfect example in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Before He came, the Pharisees were the teachers of the Law. Their teaching was without anointing, and so could bring no change in people's hearts. But all those who heard Jesus were amazed at the authority with which He taught, and they flocked in multitudes to hear Him. The Pharisees drove people away people because they were only interested in finding fault with others’ lives, but Jesus demonstrated the heart of His Father, and His words drew people. Though, what He taught challenged and confronted his listeners, they recognised that He spoke the words of life (Mat 7:28-29).

Leading Christians to take up their cross
The anointing upon a teacher causes him to delve into the depths of God’s Word, to find the riches hidden within. He desires to be more enlightened himself, so that he can impart sound doctrine to God’s people. Both a teacher’s life and his doctrine must be founded on the message of the cross – the power of God to those who believe. Therefore, he will be recognised by his ability to establish Christians firmly on this foundation. Teaching, when it is in the right spirit, automatically leads God’s people to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Jesus.

Turning away from false doctrines
One of the biggest dangers in the teacher's ministry is that his burning desire to find hidden treasures in the Word of God can lead him off course and into error. This is how false doctrines enter the Church. The Bible often mentions false teachers, and clearly warns God's people against them. Titus 1:10-11 cautions against men who are mere talkers and deceivers, who teach things they ought not to, for dishonest gain. Such men deceive God's people. Some of them, as a result of certain experiences they have had, develop false doctrines, which are nothing more than destructive heresies.
Others create a whole doctrine from a few verses taken out of context. But we cannot draw from a personal experience with God, and teach it to the church as part of the doctrine of Christ, nor base anything on one verse alone. However, we have seen this happen increasingly in recent years. On the other hand, when the cross is at the centre of the teaching, God’s people can rest secure, and will not be deceived!

When the five-fold ministries operate together, the whole ministry of Jesus is revealed to the Church. The spiritual relationships between these ministries provide vital protection for God's people, as they prevent any wind of doctrine originating from the mind of man, from infiltrating the Church. The Church needs all these ministries in order to come to maturity, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, which should be its objective. It is in the interests of God's people that they understand what a wonderful grace the unity of these ministries in the Church represents to them!

Personal Testimony

In the late ’80s, I was teaching at, and running our Bible School in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Though I didn’t know it then, I was teaching without the revelation of God’s grace, and I brought the Word of God to the students in a very legalistic manner, teaching principles and techniques. Because I relied on my own strength to change, it was impossible to apply the very things I was teaching, to my own life; and, knowing nothing about the message of the cross, I couldn’t identify with Jesus’ statement in John 12:24 about the kernel of wheat having to die to bear much grain. No wonder, then, that I carried no life of Christ in me, and could therefore impart no life to those I was teaching! Today, I see just how true it is that the letter kills, but the Spirit brings life.

I am so grateful to the Lord that He allowed me to hear the powerful gospel of the cross through Miki Hardy coming to our church all those years ago. As I began to identify with Christ, my life began to change and I taught with revelation in my heart. This was the message for my own life and for the church as well. For the first time, I actually witnessed lives changing and, in time, relationships within my family, with my brother elders, and in the church, were all restored.

Neil Martin is a member of the CTMI apostolic team, and pastor of Grace Fellowship in California, USA.