The spiritual
gift of teaching is a very common gift in that the Apostle Paul ranked the gift
and included it in three different epistles – Romans, Corinthians, and
Ephesians.
“Just
as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have
the same function, so in Christ we who are many from one body, and each member
belongs to the others. We have different
gifts, according to the grace given us.
If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his
faith…if it is teaching, let him teach….” (Romans 12:4-7 NIV)
“Now
you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of
all apostles, second prophets, third teachers,
then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to
help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in
different kinds of tongues. Are all
apostles? Are all prophets? Are all
teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts? (I
Corinthians 12:27-30 NIV, italics added for emphasis)
“It
was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,
and some to be pastors and teachers,
to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be
built up….” (Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV, italics added for emphasis)
The
aforementioned passages indicate that only some believers are entrusted with
the spiritual gift of teaching,
although every believer should be ready to teach others about God’s work in his
or her life. The Apostle Paul’s letter
to Timothy also indicates that the overseers of local churches should have the
spiritual gift of teaching, as well as the gifts of leadership and pastoring.
(I Timothy 3:1-5) Much like the gifts of
leadership and pastoring, if overseers do not have the gift of teaching they should
work closely with other believers who can complement their spiritual gifts, or
the lack thereof.
Saint
Mark provides a great example of how Jesus Christ taught others to apply the
Word of God to their lives. As Jesus
Christ taught to a crowd in the temple courts, he quoted a psalm from the Old
Testament about the Christ (Messiah) being the son of David and then asked the
crowd an intriguing question about the deity of the Messiah in relation to the
lineage of David. “How is it that the
teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit,
declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your
enemies under your feet.’ David himself
calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his
son?” (Mark 12:35-37 NIV)
As for
teaching in general, the world is full of many great teachers who have the
natural talent of being able to instruct others as well as connect with
them. Just look around our communities
and you will find many talented people teaching others in our businesses and
homes, be it learning a skill or trade.
On the other hand, you have many people who also taught how to be
teachers or instructors for their respective careers. Regardless, teachers make a great impact on
helping our communities and businesses flourish.
When it comes to the spiritual gift of
teaching, the Holy Spirit uniquely equips certain believers to effectively instruct others and help
them apply the Word of God to their
lives. The Holy Spirit has entrusted
many believers with the gift of teaching to serve in different roles within our
churches, be it overseeing the church or individually teaching others, in
fulfillment of The Great Commission…making disciples of all nations.
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