Pass it on…
“The Word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.” Acts:19:20
How should the Word of God spread?
Matthew 28:18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
What does it mean to “teach?”
Greek - “matheteuo”
It means “teach,” no secret meaning. The same goes for teacher and teaching.
Is this teaching one on one?
Phillip and the Ethiopian. Acts 8 – Can someone give us a brief recap of this story?
Is this teaching accomplished during a sermon?
Peter at Pentecost. Acts 2 – Can someone give a brief recap of this story?
Is this teaching found in a bible class?
Can we agree that there are many ways of teaching and that we are all instructed to teach?
So the answer to the question “How should the Word of God spread?” is that Christians spread the word through teaching, just like we are commanded in Matthew 28:18-20?
Who should spread the word?
Romans 12:4-7 “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;
1 Corinthians 12:27-31 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
Ephesians 4:11-13 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
We are even warned against teaching.
James 3:1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”
So now the answer is that Jesus says in Matthew that we are all to be teachers, but Paul tells us that God didn’t create us all to be teachers, and James warns us against being teachers.
Is this a conflict in the lessons of Scripture?
The words that tell us to teach and not to teach use the same Greek language. The point is that we need to understand the balance between ability, responsibility, and spiritual maturity.
Spiritual maturity.
Hebrews 5:11-14 “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
We don’t all mature at the same pace or to the same level. However there is a level of maturity that we should all strive for.
Responsibility.
James 3:1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”
Ability.
See the verses above that not everyone is gifted to teach.
Once we understand that there is a balance, we have something we can measure ourselves against.
Some say, “I can’t teach because I don‘t have the gift of teaching” Does this let us off the hook?
Not at all.
Now for the lesson!
We’re all expected to teach, not necessarily in a formal setting like a bible class or group study.
Some of us can we teach in a formal setting?
Some of us can lead a small study (note – most of the men here are on the rotation for leading this class.
Some of us can teach one on one.
All of us can tell our story.
1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
We all need to be able to do this, and it’s all that we need to be able to do. Our story at it’s core is the Gospel of Christ.
Our responsibility is to tell our story whenever we can.
If we tell one, they may tell another.
2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”
Paul’s journey to Ephesus is a great example of this application to sharing the Gospel.
Acts 19:8-10, 20 “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord…. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
“The Word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.” Acts:19:20
How should the Word of God spread?
Matthew 28:18-20 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
What does it mean to “teach?”
Greek - “matheteuo”
It means “teach,” no secret meaning. The same goes for teacher and teaching.
Is this teaching one on one?
Phillip and the Ethiopian. Acts 8 – Can someone give us a brief recap of this story?
Is this teaching accomplished during a sermon?
Peter at Pentecost. Acts 2 – Can someone give a brief recap of this story?
Is this teaching found in a bible class?
Can we agree that there are many ways of teaching and that we are all instructed to teach?
So the answer to the question “How should the Word of God spread?” is that Christians spread the word through teaching, just like we are commanded in Matthew 28:18-20?
Who should spread the word?
Romans 12:4-7 “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;
1 Corinthians 12:27-31 “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.
Ephesians 4:11-13 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
We are even warned against teaching.
James 3:1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”
So now the answer is that Jesus says in Matthew that we are all to be teachers, but Paul tells us that God didn’t create us all to be teachers, and James warns us against being teachers.
Is this a conflict in the lessons of Scripture?
The words that tell us to teach and not to teach use the same Greek language. The point is that we need to understand the balance between ability, responsibility, and spiritual maturity.
Spiritual maturity.
Hebrews 5:11-14 “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
We don’t all mature at the same pace or to the same level. However there is a level of maturity that we should all strive for.
Responsibility.
James 3:1 “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”
Ability.
See the verses above that not everyone is gifted to teach.
Once we understand that there is a balance, we have something we can measure ourselves against.
Some say, “I can’t teach because I don‘t have the gift of teaching” Does this let us off the hook?
Not at all.
Now for the lesson!
We’re all expected to teach, not necessarily in a formal setting like a bible class or group study.
Some of us can we teach in a formal setting?
Some of us can lead a small study (note – most of the men here are on the rotation for leading this class.
Some of us can teach one on one.
All of us can tell our story.
1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”
We all need to be able to do this, and it’s all that we need to be able to do. Our story at it’s core is the Gospel of Christ.
Our responsibility is to tell our story whenever we can.
If we tell one, they may tell another.
2 Timothy 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”
Paul’s journey to Ephesus is a great example of this application to sharing the Gospel.
Acts 19:8-10, 20 “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord…. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
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