The Christian Teacherʼs Creed1

Creation

God created us to be like Him and to do His work.

Fall

The first man, Adam, chose to try to be God, rather than be like Him. All of Adamʼs
capabilities were perverted, and his direction in life moved away from God and His truth.
However, Adam did not become a non-person; he kept all that God had given him as
part of being made in Godʼs image. Adam misused that image to dishonor God (as is
still the case with us). Therefore, Adam, along with the rest of creation, was doomed to
death and destruction.

Redemption

God graciously restored Adam (and his future generations) to his created place and
task. God gave His Son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty of sin. Through faith in Christ,
we are enabled to do what God called us to do and be what God created us to be.

Our work is done in the midst of a battleground, as the enemy plots to delude us (just as
he did in the beginning). The image is therefore not perfect--yet, nor is our work for God.
In the midst of this culture, our lives as His image bearers imperfectly testify to the life-
changing reality of God and His truth.

Restoration

One day, though, Godʼs kingdom will be instituted in its fullness, and we will be made
perfect. We will no longer have to battle the enemy in this earth, and we will rejoice and
worship God in a new heaven and a new earth.

Until this day comes, however, we labor as teachers, seeking to fulfill our task as
Godʼs image bearers through the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer. Biblical principles
form the foundation of our approach to teaching. The teacher who deals practically with
students as Godʼs image bearers doing Godʼs work will have a classroom that
embodies biblical principles. In such a classroom, daily assignments, test questions,
disciplinary techniques, subjects being studied, the time in and out of school —
everything the teacher does — is structured to reflect those foundational principles.

The prospects for applying these principles are difficult, for the teacher works as an
ambassador of Godʼs kingdom in a culture where the devil works actively to undermine,
discourage, and delude. But the potential is exciting, and Godʼs promise of His Spirit to
empower us is far bigger than any barriers the enemy can construct.

1 Adapted, with great liberty, from the final pages of Donovan Grahamʼs third chapter, “Creation-Fall-
Redemption: A Framework for Building,” from the book Teaching Redemptively: Bringing Grace and Truth
into Your Classroom, pages 35-36