'''TEACHERS:

Teachers are placed third in the divine order of ministry gifts for the church (cp 1Cor 12:28). They are the New Testament equivalent to the Old Testament scribes, viewed as in a special sense acquainted with and interpreters of God's word. The scribe's duty in the Old Testament was to give progressive instruction of God's redeeming purpose, which is also the teacher's function in the New Testament (cp Mt 13:52). This is how Kenneth Wuest's "Expanded Translation of the Greek New Testament" renders that verse, "...and He (Jesus) said to them, because of this, every man learned in the sacred scriptures who has accepted the precepts and instructions with reference to the Kingdom of heaven is like a man who is a master of a house, who is of such a character that he dispenses with hearty enjoyment out of his treasure-house, things new as to the quality and also things mellowed with age by reason of use."

Teachers in the New Testament church do not teach the mere letter of the word or doctrine as such, but being blessed with revelation in the word they teach prophetically, presenting deep truth in such a way as to build up faith in the church, helping to prepare and equip it for God's service. The teacher's function is to teach, to instruct, to educate, to train, to discipline, to nurture, to influence the understanding of those being taught. The special task of teachers is to zealously guard the gospel entrusted to them. They are to vigorously contend for the truth of scripture in the face of any teaching in the church that does not conform to scripture, and faithfully point the church to the original message of Christ and the apostles (cp 2Ti 1:8-14; 2:2; 3:16).

Teachers must never forget that the letter (of the law) kills, but it is the Spirit that gives life (cp Jn 6:63; 2Cor 3:6). The supreme goal of all instruction in God's word is not Bible knowledge in itself but an inward moral transformation that expresses itself in love, purity of heart, a clear conscience and faith without hypocrisy (cp 1Ti 1:4-5). The biblical concept of teaching and learning is not primarily to impart knowledge or to prepare oneself academically. It is to produce holiness and a righteous lifestyle conforming to the ways of God (cp He 12:14). A teacher's own life must illustrate perseverance in truth, faith and holiness. Teachers should be able to speak with authority; they must be a voice and not just an echo like the Old Testament scribes and Pharisees. They must be sound theologians able to teach wholesome doctrine (cp 1Ti 6:3-4; 2Ti 1:13; 1Pe 4:10-11).

A teacher's life is one of study and personal preparation but they must always remain teachable themselves (cp Ro 2:21; 1Cor 2:9-13). If teachers are not able to be taught themselves, they will not be able to teach others. They must always beware of pride of intellect, for knowledge "puffs up" (cp 1Cor 8:1-2; Jas 3:13-18). Many Christians believe that religious education teachers and Sunday school teachers exercise the ministry gift of a teacher in the New Testament church but that is not correct. Those with the ministry gift of teacher are also qualified elders in the church, but religious education teachers and Sunday school teachers are not necessarily so. Also, there are many women who teach Sunday school and religious education, but as noted in our study on apostles and pastors they are prohibited from ever being teachers or any other public ministry in the New Testament church. There is a grim warning in scripture to Christians aspiring to be teachers in the New Testament church (cp Jas 3:1-2). Masters (KJV) means "teachers", but it also includes every leader in the church because they are all instructors in God's word - they all give instruction to a congregation - and no one has a more solemn responsibility in the church than those who teach the sacred scriptures.

James warns Christians here not to aspire too hastily to be a teacher because they increase their liability for judgement if they do. The warning about unbridled tongues in Jas 3 teaches that true faith is evidenced by the words we speak. Primarily it is directed to teachers and includes all church leaders, and secondarily to all Christians. It is very easy for teachers to sin with their tongue. Teachers have a tremendous influence over the people they teach and they must give very careful consideration to not only what they say, but how they say it (cp Jas 3:3-12).

The ministry gift of teaching is one of great responsibility and must therefore be entered into with extreme caution. There are false teachers in the New Testament church just as there are false apostles and prophets and there are many scriptures warning against them, and like false apostles and prophets they may outwardly appear to be genuine spiritual leaders and true ministers of the word, but inwardly they are ravening wolves, full of dead men's bones, given over to extortion and excess, and full of hypocrisy and iniquity (cp Mt 7:15-23; 13:25-30; Ac 20:29-30; 2Cor 11:12-15; Tit 1:10-14; 2Pe 2:1-3; Jude 4; Rev 2:20).

False teachers, again like false apostles and prophets, may not always be immediately recognisable but their doctrine will betray them to Christians who test their teachings against the pure word of God, as we are commanded in scripture to do (cp 1Th 5:21; 1Jn 4:1-6; 2Jn 7-11). Christians must never just accept any teachings at face value, even those handed down in the church, unless they have been tested against the revelation of God's truth in scripture (cp Ac 17:10-12). The Bereans only believed because scripture confirmed that what Paul and Silas taught was correct (cp 2Pe 1:16-19). Here Peter stresses the importance of scripture as the only sure proof of anything that has to do with God. If it cannot be confirmed in scripture we must disregard it completely (cp Rev 2:1-2).

There is one more thing that should be noted here: while there are many false teachers in the church, there are also many false Christians willing to receive them (cp 2Ti 3:1-7; 4:1-4). However, the judgement that will be passed upon false teachers will be much more severe than that upon other sinners (cp Lk 12:41-48; He 10:26-31). These scriptures teach that just as there are degrees of glory in heaven according to our earthly works, so there are degrees of punishment in hell and the worst will come upon false teachers. True teachers and all other spiritual leaders in the church must guard and defend the gospel committed to them even when others depart from the faith. They must defend it against attack and challenge the church if it is tempted to lay aside the truth. This is essential to ensure their own salvation and the salvation of those who hear them (cp 1Ti 4:16; 2Ti 3:12-17). That concludes this part of our study.

The effectiveness of the church depends upon whether or not it acknowledges and receives all the ministry gifts of Eph 4:11. They are all essential to God's purpose for the church and it cannot function as God intended unless they are all acknowledged and received. Many Christians believe that the contemporary church is generally ineffective in its witness in the world and devoid of power over the works of darkness because it esteems the ministry gift of one man over all the others, and while ever it does God's purpose for the church cannot be accomplished. The church needs to recognise, as scriptures clearly teach, that one-man rule is not God's order for the church. That is why Christ gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some teachers to collectively and co-equally pastor the church: to govern, to guide, to gather, to guard, and to ground the church in the ways of God; to prepare and equip it for God's service (cp Eph 4:11-16).

No one ministry gift is more important than another. Each has its own special value which adds a dimension and supplies an emphasis that is not present in any one of the others. As noted earlier in this study, all these ministry gifts were embodied in Christ and He gave them all to the church as an extension of His own earthly ministry to bring Christians to maturity, so that they will each acknowledge their individual responsibility to be an effective witness for God, and minister His word in the world. Let us now look at other gifts and ministries in the church which God also works through to reproduce the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ in the church. These are called the gifts of the Spirit (cp 1Cor 12:4-7). Diversities of gifts but the same Spirit in V4 means that there are different gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit - the visible and tangible evidence of His activity - operating through individual members of the body (the church), to edify (build up), and sanctify (set apart), the whole body.

Differences of administrations but the same Lord in V5 means that all the ministries in the church are intended to serve the church in one form or another, reflecting the servant ministry of Jesus Himself. Paul's assertion that there are "diversities of operations but it is the same God that worketh all in all" in V6, signifies that all gifts of the Spirit are direct operations of the power of God in believers producing sure results. Kenneth Wuest's "Expanded Translation of the Greek New Testament" puts it like this:

"And there are different distributions of various kinds of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different distributions of divine energy motivating these gifts in their operation, but the same God who by His divine energy operates them all in their sphere."Every member of the church has a spiritual gift, and the Holy Spirit displays God's power through each member as a means of helping the whole church. All the gifts of the Spirit contribute to the common good - the life and growth of the church. They are distributed among the members of the church as the Holy Spirit sees fit (cp 1Cor 12:8-11). Let us have a closer look at these gifts.

Word of Wisdom is a wise utterance applying the revelation of God's word or a flash revelation given by the Holy Spirit for a specific situation or problem that may already exist or which will arise in the future (cp Ac 27:27-44). This is not to be confused with the wisdom we are to seek from God for our daily living (cp Jas 1:5).

Word of Knowledge is an utterance inspired by the Holy Spirit that reveals certain knowledge about people or circumstances which the speakers could not possibly know by themselves. It is often connected closely with prophecy (cp Mt 16:13-17; 17:24-27; Lk 22:10-12; Jn 4:5-19; Ac 5:1-10; 27:8-26). Faith, as a gift of the Spirit, is the supernatural ability to believe God implicitly without human doubt, unbelief or reasoning, for the extraordinary or the miraculous to happen (cp Ac 3:1-8; 14:8-10; 28:1-6).

This is not be to be confused with the faith we received to believe for our salvation (cp Ro 10:14-17). Neither is it to be confused with the faith given by God to every Christian with which to appraise or measure the character and extent of any spiritual gifts they have (cp Ro 12:1-3). Nor is it to be confused with the faith we have to exercise to believe that whatever we ask according to God's word, He will do it for us (cp Mk 9:23; 11:22-24; 1Jn 5:14-15).

Gifts of Healing are supernatural powers bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon certain individuals, empowering them to heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases or any physical ailment whatever without any human aids or the use of any medicines (cp Lk 13:10-13; Ac 28:7-9). Gifts of healing are not to be confused with the authority of believers to lay hands on the sick or to pray over them for their healing, or to stand in agreement with other Christians believing for someone to be healed (cp Mt 18:19; Mk 16:18; Jas 5:14-15).

Working of Miracles is a supernatural power to alter the normal course of nature and to counteract natural laws (cp Mk 4:35-39; Jn 2:1-11; 6:1-14, 15-21; Ga 3:5; He 2:3-4). Working of miracles manifested many times in the Old Testament too - when Moses held out His rod toward the Red Sea (cp Ex 14:15-29), also Elijah performed 16 recorded miracles, and Elisha recorded 32 (cp 1Ki 17:1-2 - 2Ki 2:12 with 2Ki 2:13-9:3; 13:20-21), etc.

Prophecy is a supernatural utterance in the speaker's native tongue. It is a spontaneous utterance of a revelation directly from God under the impulse of the Holy Spirit to strengthen the faith of the congregation and to build up their spiritual life and moral resolve to remain faithful to Christ and His teachings. It can also expose the condition of an unbeliever's heart and bring him or her to a conviction of their need for God. It is the gift of the Spirit believers should covet the most (cp 1Cor 14:1-12, 22-26, 39). The gift of prophecy here should not be confused with the ministry gift of prophet in Eph 4:11 which Christ gave to the church to prepare and equip it for God's service. That is a ministry gift given only to certain ones in the church whereas the gift of prophecy as a manifestation of the Holy Spirit is potentially available to everyone baptized in the Spirit (cp Ac 2:17-18, 19:1-6).

Discerning of Spirits is a special ability to properly discern and judge prophesies and to distinguish whether or not any utterance is inspired by the Holy Spirit, demon spirits, or the human spirit. It is also the ability to detect the spirits behind certain human activities (cp Mt 24:4-5; Lk 9:51-56; Ac 8:18-23; 13:6-12; 16:16-18; 1Jn 4:1-6).

Divers Kinds of Tongues are supernatural utterances in other languages not known to the speakers. The speakers are communicating directly with God under the influence of the Holy Spirit, completely bypassing their minds. They may be offering up prayers, praise, blessings or thanksgiving to God, or they may be bringing a message for the congregation from God. Speaking in tongues must be regulated in meetings. Tongues are a sign for unbelievers to know that God is present in the midst of the congregation, but they will also put unbelievers off if the congregation does not regulate their use (cp Isa 28:11; Mk 16:17; Ac 2:1-11; 1Cor 13:1; 14:1-23, 27-28). Interpretations of Tongues is the ability bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon individuals in the congregation to understand and make known the meaning of an utterance spoken in another language.

This ability may be given to the one making the utterance or to someone else. Those who have the gift of tongues should also pray for the gift of interpretation. Tongues in the congregation must be accompanied by an Holy Spirit inspired interpretation that communicates the content and meaning of the utterance to the congregation. This is to edify (build up) the church. Tongues plus interpretation equals prophecy. Tongues on their own do not edify but prophecy does (cp 1Cor 12:10; 14:5-13, 27-28). These are what the contemporary church calls the nine gifts of the Spirit. Some of the gifts may manifest through individual believers on a regular basis, and some believers may have more than one gift manifest through them, but it is unscriptural to assume that because someone exercises a spectacular gift that they are more spiritual than someone else with a less spectacular gift. Neither does having a gift mean that God approves of all the possessor does or teaches (cp Ac 10:34-35; 1Cor 12:20-25).

There are many other gifts, graces, talents, ministries and functions in both natural and spiritual areas to minister to the body of Christ, and it is the responsibility of every believer to find their gift and minister accordingly (cp 1Cor 12:28-31). The gift of helps here does not refer to the function of deacons in the church as many suppose but to the practice of those who devote themselves to helping others in need in the church (cp Ac 20:34-35; 1Cor 16:15). Addicted in 1Cor 16:15 (KJV) means "devoted". The household of Stephanus was devoted to ministering to both the material and spiritual needs of other Christians. While Christians are expected to help all in need for God to be glorified in their works (cp Mt 5:16), other Christians needing help must come first (cp Ga 6:10). Governments in 1Cor 12:28 (KJV) is derived from a Greek word kubernesis, which means to pilot, to steer, or guide a ship. Here it is used metaphorically of those who constitute the governing body of the church - the elders or presbyters (cp Ro 12:3-13).

Gifts of grace are inward desires as well as abilities given to believers by the Holy Spirit. In V3-4 Paul exhorts believers to stay within the sphere of service for which the Holy Spirit has fitted us. We are to avoid self-exaltation and render mutual service in the measure of the gift we each have. Our estimate of our gifts is to be governed by how much faith God has given us. Office in V4 means "function". The list of gifts both here and in 1Cor 12:28 is not exhaustive, but representative of ministries in the church.

The gift of ministry in Ro 12:7 refers to every sphere of service in the church: ministering to both the physical and spiritual needs of others in the church (cp Ac 6:1-6); visiting sick Christians and those in prison (cp Mt 25:31-40); older women ministering to younger women (cp Tit 2:3-4); being given to hospitality (cp Ro 12:13; He 13:2). It also includes music ministry, teaching religious education in schools, personal evangelism, handing out tracts, etc, the list goes on.

The gift of exhortation in Ro 12:8 is the special ability and power to proclaim God's word in such a way that it encourages the hearers and stimulates and strengthens their faith in God's word so as to produce in them a deeper dedication to Christ. Paul had the gift of exhortation and he is exercising it in Ro 12:1-20 where he delineates - shows by describing - our responsibility to God. In Ro 12:1-2 he exhorts us to place our whole being at the disposal of God as a living sacrifice separated from the world and totally conformed to the way of God. In Ro 12:3-8 he exhorts us to find our function in God's work and in V9-21 he exhorts us to fulfil our function in holiness (cp Ro 12:1-21).

The gift of giving is the virtue of one who is free from pretence and hypocrisy, with an openness of heart manifesting itself in the liberality of the giver who generously supports the work of the gospel and contributes to the physical and financial needs of others in the church. This was undoubtedly one of the spheres of service in the church at Cenchrea for which Paul commended Phebe in Ro 16:1-2 (cp Ro 16:1-2; 2Cor 8:1-8; 9:10-15).

He who sheweth mercy – the gift of mercy, also in Ro 12:8, defines those who are called to function specially in the sphere of Christian relief or acts of charity to the sick, the poor and the afflicted in the church. It is a gift that has to be exercised with a readiness of mind, joyful eagerness and gladness of heart (cp Ac 9:36). Dorcas' "almsdeeds" here were the outward expression of her gift of mercy. Almsdeeds means active compassion or mercifulness. All these scriptures prove that every Christian has a gift or a sphere of service in which to minister to the church. The important thing is to find our gift or sphere of service, and minister in it (cp 1Pe 4:10).

But it is also important to remember that Christians have a measure of responsibility in all spheres of service; to the unsaved as well as the saved. Every Christian is a servant sent of God, whether it be to other members of the church or to the unsaved. The fact that we may not be an evangelist does not free us from the responsibility of personal evangelism (cp 2Cor 5:17-19). We may not be a teacher but that does not exempt us from teaching God's word (cp Mt 28:18; 2Ti 2:2). We may not have the gift of exhortation but that does not prevent us from ministering to those in need of exhorting (cp Ga 6:1-2; 1Th 5:11; He 3:12-14; 10:23-24). We may not have the gift of giving, but we are all responsible for giving liberally into the work of the gospel and to those in need (cp Lk 3:9-11; Ga 6:6-10; Eph 4:28; Jas 2:14-17; 1Jn 3:16-19). Finally we may not all have the gift of mercy, but we are to show mercy nonetheless (cp Pr 14:31; 21:13, 21; Mt 5:7). There are many more scriptures designating our responsibilities to God but these will suffice for now.

This concludes our study on the church. It is not expected that everyone who reads this study will agree with its findings completely. Sincere Christians disagree on many important issues in the church and it is quite likely that some of the issues raised here will also be the subject of some disagreement. In that case let us agree to disagree in love. Sometimes though it is only when we find something difficult or disagreeable in the Bible that we discover our real understanding of the inspiration and the authority of scripture, and it is what we do with the passages which contradict our convictions that reveals whether we consider ourselves above or below scripture – judges of it, or judged by it. This could be one of those times.