We kicked off the Fall Bible Studies this past Sunday. I have the great privilege of teaming up with Hugh to teach the Christian Essentials class a second time. We had a good start and I’m looking forward to the rest of our study. In the introduction, I offered a definition of Christian teaching…
“To teach is to come alongside another, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to seek an encounter together with the Truth: taking aim to perceive it more clearly, consider it more critically, embrace it more passionately, obey it more faithfully and embody it with greater integrity.”
I came across this while listening to Dr. Parrett’s Educational Ministry of the Church class on BiblicalTraining.org. It’s too long for a bumper sticker, but I like this definition. Here is how it breaks down…
To teach is to…
come alongside another – Real teaching is an up-close and personal endeavor. We can transfer information from a distance, and that can be profitable. However, it doesn’t compare to the up-close, life-on-life teaching that we see Jesus doing as He and His disciples traveled through Palestine for three years.
in the power of the Holy Spirit – As we see throughout the Scriptures (e.g., 1 Cor. 2:10-12), it is the Holy Spirit that transforms the heart and brings life-changing learning. We always recognize our dependence (as teachers and learners) on God’s grace though the giving of His Spirit.
to seek an encounter together with the Truth – Both the teacher and the learner come to the Scriptures as learners to be mastered by them. The Truth has a capital ‘T’ because it is not just any truth but the Truth that gives life (John 14:6) that God reveals through the Scriptures.
taking aim to perceive it more clearly – The first step is to get a clear fix on what the author (and ultimately God) means in any given area within the Scriptures.
consider it more critically – The next step is to meditate on the Truth and apply the reasoning ability that God has given us to see how various truths intersect and how they apply to us in our situation.
embrace it more passionately – Intellectual apprehension is not enough. We must accept and embrace the Truth as a matter of the will. And this is not a begrudging acceptance, but we come to love the Truth as we find our very life there. (1 Pet. 2:2)
obey it more faithfully -That acceptance leads to our obeying the truth. (John 8:31, 51, Matt. 28:20)
and embody it with greater integrity – As the Truth permeates our whole being (Col. 3:16), we become ever more conformed to the likeness of Christ. (2 Cor. 3:18)
I find this to be a great reminder of what teaching (and learning) is all about as we start our new classes.
“obey it more faithfully” – I am not sure that this is clear. How does one obey the truth? For example it is true that Jesus is the Son of God. In fact, it is part of the Truth. But how does one obey that truth? Or for that matter how does one disobey that truth? I think it is better in some cases to say that we should act on Truth. Frist, the teacher can act on a truth and his testimony will be part of the teaching process. Second, the teacher and the studenting can act together on a truth and learn together.
Knowning that Jesus is the Son of God has a deap impact on how I act, expecially in context with other scriptures. I am not saying that some truth is not ment to be obeyed. I am only saying that sometimes it is more clear to look at both obedience to the truth and acting on the truth.