| An Alphabetical Analysis Volume 10 - Practical Truth - Page 175 of 277 INDEX | |
(Song of Sol. 5:13), and when we realize that the mouth speaketh out of the
abundance of the heart, we may well pray that our 'meditation of Him shall be
sweet', for only so shall we become sweeteners of others.
Teachers and Teaching
Among the gifts given by the ascended Lord to His church in Ephesians 4
we find 'pastors and teachers' mentioned (Eph. 4:11), and the apostle Paul on
two occasions couples the office of 'teacher' with that of 'preacher' and
'apostle' (1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11). Even in Old Testament times the teacher
had his place. We are apt to think that the Levitical priesthood was wholly
taken up with offerings and ceremonials. These certainly occupied a great
amount of time, but the value of these offerings and ceremonials lay in their
typical teaching, for the blood of bulls and goats could never in itself take
away sin. Consequently we find that the Levite was a teacher as well as a
priest or server of the tabernacle:
'He said unto the Levites that taught all Israel ... Put the holy ark
in the house' (2 Chron. 35:3).
'And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one
... They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they
shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine
altar' (Deut. 33:8 -10).
The close association of ceremonial and teaching is evident; the holy
ark, the incense, the burnt sacrifice, and teaching are all spoken of in the
same context. The words of 2 Chronicles 15:3 are significant in this
connection:
'Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and
without a teaching priest, and without law'.
It is possible to have a life full of ceremonial, offerings, incense,
washings and fasts, and yet to be without 'the true God'. Only as these
ceremonials and offerings are explained and their meaning appreciated will
God be really known.
Further, we must recognize that Ephesians 4:11 does not indicate that a
teacher today is endowed with any supernatural gift, such, for instance, as
prophecy or tongues. Nevertheless, the teacher himself was a gift to the
Church and as such must have possessed some fitness for his work. When the
apostle instructs Timothy in the difficult task before him, he writes:
'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
Tim. 2:2).
'The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men,
apt to teach' (2 Tim. 2:24).
'A bishop then must be blameless ... apt to teach' (1 Tim. 3:2).
It is only reasonable to believe that anyone sent by the Lord to teach
will have an 'aptitude' for teaching. If he has to speak, he will be able to
speak plainly, and will be able to make himself heard and understood.
However good the message may be, it is valueless if it is inaudible or
unintelligible.