Every Christian has experienced what today’s post is about. God uses others to teach us important lessons about our faith, about ourselves, and about others around us. There are times when we will be the one that God uses to teach others. In either case, we must be ready to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and to seek out what it is that the Lord wants us to learn. The apostle Paul, a person that the Lord still uses to teach Christians about the faith, wrote: Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things. (Galatians 6:6). In the end, with every lesson that is taught to us, the Lord will always get the glory.
God will often bring people in our lives for us to gain some understanding about ourselves, our relationship with the Lord, and our relationship with others within the body of believers. According to various research groups, roughly 85% of all people are visual learners. Yes, they may read about something, but real understanding comes from watching. They need to be shown for the lesson to become real and to truly understand what the Lord is teaching. I think what the apostle Paul wrote, And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works (Hebrews 10:24) actually fits into this area nicely. No person who ever accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior ever learned how to minister and teach others immediately after they were saved. We can, however, learn what it means to truly minister to other people by watching how older-in-the-faith Christians minister to others. By watching them, we are being provoked to do the same good works, just as the apostle Paul wrote. No one instantly knows how to be a servant of Christ simply because they have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. It is learned behavior.
Paul also writes that as Christians, we have an obligation to teach other Christians that may not be as mature in their faith the things that we understand. He wrote, Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men (1 Thessalonians 5:14). Exhort means to encourage or to teach through encouragement. Again, we are to minister to the needs of others by teaching those who may not be as strong in the faith as we are, or who may not fully understand how they are to behave as Christians. we must be ready at any time to teach the things that we know about the Lord to others without stumbling or confusion. There are those who we will come across in our lives who are saved but may have not developed a close relationship with the Lord or those who are lost that the Holy Spirit has been ministering to bring them to salvation. When we are asked questions about our faith, we are placed in a teaching position: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15) Just as God uses others to teach us, God will also use us to teach others.
There are several places within the writings of Paul where he encourages those who are more mature in the faith to become teachers of those who are still young. In his letters to Timothy, Paul encourages him to accept the responsibility of teaching what he understands about his faith. Paul writes in his first letter: If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained. But refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. These things command and teach (1 Timothy 4:6-11). In several verses of his second letter to Timothy, Paul continues to encourage him: And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2) and And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient (2 Timothy 2:24). Not only does Paul encourage Timothy to teach others, but he reminds Timothy to be patient and to teach others so that they will be able to go out and teach what he teaches them.
When we are led learn, we must realize that we are not to discard the person teaching us because they do not fit into what we think they should look like. The Lord is very clear that those who will teach us may not come from a position of authority above us, but may come from among us, or maybe in a position subservient to us. He also clearly teaches us that when it comes to the leading of the Holy Spirit, those who teach us may even be younger than us, which is not what many people expect. Even Job found this out the hard way in the form of a rebuke from a young servant boy: And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion. I said, Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding (Job 32:6-8). Paul even waned Timothy not to allow people to discredit his message because of his age: Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity (1 Timothy 4:12). He also instructed Timothy to not consider social status when teaching others: And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort (1 Timothy 6:2).
