Spiritual Gifts: Teaching

…Or he that teacheth, on teaching;

Romans 12:7

Teaching is a very important gift in the life of the church because all believers must come to a unity of truth of Christ. The Lord knows this and therefore disburses the gift of teaching to the church. It helps the believers know the counsel of God, and facilitates the teaching of all things whatsoever the Lord Jesus has commanded us (Matt 28:20). It provides the necessary food for the soul and seed for growth. What are some of the characteristic features of a church member with the gift of teaching?

The Christian with the gift of teaching needs to ensure the statements made by people are accurate.

Luke wrote his Gospel to Theophilus, “That thou might know the certainty of those things, wherein thou has been instructed” (Luke 1:4). The individual with the gift of teaching, will be asking questions often because their primary intention is to validate the information given so that truth will be known. In the course of validating truth, the christian with the gift of teaching will be interested in finding out the qualifications and the background of teachers in order to be alerted to any heretical or false teachings. They will rely on established and trusted resources. They are like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, who checked out Paul’s message with the Old Testament.

The Christian with the gift of teaching has a unique ability to present the word of God systematically.

They are able to present facts clearly and in proper sequential order. These are the individuals who when speaking would go into the background, the overview, the specifics and will even conclude clearly with proper evidence so that the hearer can be convinced of the truth of the topic. They make excellent expositors and Sunday school teachers.

The Christian with the gift of teaching has the need to be careful not be rely on teaching skills but to rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Christian with the gift of teaching need to be aware not to be tempted to want praise so that they end up teaching what they think people want to hear instead of the truth. Pride can tempt one to create their own following. The possible pitfalls to avoid is not to judge those who do not enjoy studying the word and the possibility of becoming legalistic or overly dogmatic.

There is a beauty of self-learning and discovery that GOD inserts in every request to teach. There are many who do not teach because of a fear of man, or a fear of messing up the word of GOD. We will never find out if we have the gift of teaching unless we are willing to volunteer to teach. God will take the messenger as we submit to Him, and give him the words to speak so that the people of God will be edified.

Do you have the gift of teaching? May the Lord help us to find out gift and then to use it for the edification and the building up of the people of GOD, in the local church.