THE MINISTRY OF THE TEACHER

Everything God does, he does on the basis of principles that He has laid in His word. The
life of the Christian, if it is going to be successful, must be ordered on the basis of these
principles. Every Church must also be the pillar and ground of truth if it is going to be what it is
supposed to be in the world. It is an interesting thing that in nearly every revival or reformation
movement, the movement did not take hold until the truth around which it was built was
carefully expounded from the Scripture. When Jesus gave the great commission to the Church,
it did not involve just preaching the gospel in all the world for the witness, but it involved
making disciples, or disciplined ones, of all nations and “teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20).

In this commission we find a strong emphasis on the work of teaching, and to meet this
challenge God has given teachers in the Body of Christ. The teaching ministry is not a
complicated ministry, but it is a very necessary ministry if God’s people are going to “come in
the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). The teaching ministry is a very
important if babes in Christ are going to grow up into Him in all things (Eph. 4:15).

A. THE DEFINITION OF TERMS

The main Greek word that is issued in regard to the teaching ministry is the word “didasko”.
Often times this word is also translated as “doctor” of “master”. The root word simply means
“to instruct”. It relates to the process of holding discourse with others for the purpose of
instruction. It refers to the process of explaining or expounding something. It involves the
instilling of doctrine into others.

B. THE ORIGIN OF THE MINISTRY

There have always been teachers among the people of God in one form or another. Every time a
father gave a word of instruction to his family, or a leader gave instruction to a people, the work
of teaching was going on. Moses was a teacher of God’s people, continually instructing them in
the ways of God. In fact, God have given him this charge as part of the solution to his people
problem (Ex. 18:20). Moses’ problem was the great amount of counseling that he had to do day
after day. God told him that he could save himself a lot of counseling, if he would teach the
people the very principles that he used in judgment so that they could settle their own affairs.
So often, people’s problems are not totally their own fault. In many cases they have not had
good teaching that will help equip them to deal with their problems.

The Ministry of the Teacher / Committed to Jesus Fellowship

From Moses on, the main responsibility of teaching seemed to be with the priests, at least until
the time of Babylonian captivity (2 Chron. 15:2-5). From the time of the captivity, however, the
teaching ministry came into its own through the scribes. The scribes were to become the official
interpreters of the Law, and were the experts at expounding the Scripture. In the days of the
captivity when there was no temple, the local synagogue became the center of learning and
instruction. The synagogue was not a place of sacrifice, it was a rallying place for the people
where the Law could be expounded. It was here that the ministry of the scribe really began to
flourish. During Christ’s day this ministry was held in very high esteem.

C. JESUS AS THE MASTER TEACHER

Since the ministry of teaching is included as one of the gifts of Christ, it is good to look at the
pattern for the ministry in Christ’s experience. In many places Jesus is called a teacher.
Nicodemus, a man of rank among the Jews, indicated that He was recognized by many as a
teacher come from God (John 3:2; 13:13). This was not difficult to see because Jesus spent so
much of His time teaching the multitudes of people. (Matt. 4:25; 5:2; 9:35; 11:1; 13:54; 21:23;
22:16; Mark 10:1; Luke 20:21).

The Ministry of the Teacher / Committed to Jesus Fellowship

THE MINISTRY OF THE TEACHER:
O.T. Hebrew word “YARAH” – to teach N.T. Greek word “DIDASKO” – to teach

THE GREAT COMMISSION OF CHRIST – involves teaching ministries-Matt. 28:18-20. The teacher
is to teach faithful men who can teach others also. 2 Tim. 2:2.

1. A teacher should have anointing on his teaching.

2. A teacher should learn to depend on the inner teacher, the HOLY SPIRIT as well as the
teacher, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST above. John 14:26
3. A teacher should be a sound theologian, and be able to give wholesome doctrine. 1 Tim.
6:3; Acts 2:43
4. He should be a sound hermeneutician and know both the science and art of richly dividing
the word of Truth and interrupting the Scriptures.
5. He should be creative in his teaching to maintain interest and communicate well.
6. He is always teachable.
7. He should be able to reproduce other teaching ministries. 2 Tim. 2:2
8. A teacher should be a living example of what he teaches. A teacher teaches a less of what
he says, more by what he does and most by what he is.
9. A teacher should be characterized by the spirit and knowledge understanding and wisdom.
a. Knowledge – possession of truth
b. Understanding – interpretation of truth
c. Wisdom – application of truth
10. He should aim at balance in his teaching to avoid his hearers taking any areas of his teaching
to extreme.
11. A teacher must possess a sound mind and a sound judgment. 2 Tim. 1:7
a. Well balanced – not extreme not hasty in judgment
b. Quick and clear in perception
c. Acute in intellect
d. Good judgment and reasoning ability
e. Able to communicate clearly
f. Always studies the word

The Ministry of the Teacher / Committed to Jesus Fellowship