A reader writes:
Have you responded to 1 John 2:26-27, and Matthew 23 concerning teachers?
The passages in question read:
I write this to you about those who would deceive you; but the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you; as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him [1 John 2:26-27].
But you are not to be called rabbi [Aramaic, “teacher”], for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren [Matt. 23:8].
From these passages, it could look like it isn’t God’s plan to have teachers in his Church. But consider these passages:
And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues [1 Cor. 12:28].
And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers [Eph. 4:11].
To find a proper solution to this question, all of the relevant biblical material needs to be borne in mind.
Since there are unmistakable passages referring to teachers in God’s Church as being part of God’s will (e.g., 1 Cor. 12:28, Eph. 4:11), since Christ himself appointed the apostles as teachers, and since the author of 1 John was–even as he was writing–teaching (!), we must recognize passages like 1 John 2 and Matt. 23 as involving an element of hyperbole.
While it is God’s will to have teachers in his Church, their role is relativized. They are not authorities in and of themselves but rather servants of God. This relativization of their role is likely part of what is being expressed by the hyperbole found in the passages you mention.
I hope this helps!
The “sola scriptura” folks are great at pulling a bible verse out of context and basing their entire lives on that because they believe that every verse of the Bible is true. True, yes, but only in the context in which it is written.
And much of the Bible is comprised of prayer, parables, psalms, proverbs, aphorisms, hyperbole (I doubt that the numbers of Canannites, genealogies, etc. killed in such a tiny country in the OT were that large) that were used as examples. Not literally true, in the sense that we always are to follow them in our lives.
Hi Jimmy,
Thanks for your comments and may I say this,it has been dangerous for us all to try translating the hidden mysteries of the scriptures literally and this seems to be the major problem the Church nowadays experiences.
We need to reflect back on the following words,the incarnated word and the trinity to be able answer that fellow well since we may not be all that 100% right.
We share with Christ in his prophetic ministry through our initiation baptismal right and this tends to make us teachers,who are vested with the responsibility of passing on Christ’s teachings to the generations to come without adding or removing even a singly word from it as received from the Church.
But it is unfortunate most teachers nowadays send / commission themselves instead of waiting upon the Holy Spirit to commission them.
I have always experienced this in my ministries and I have never prepared teachings on my own but is always prompted into what to teach and as I heed,it’s always accompanied with great signs and wonders.
I attended retreat last week and I was prompted to share on some tough scriptures I have always been able to understand,i.e Recelation5-6,and as I started teaching,the understanding and knowledge kept flowing into my mind unceasingly and which finally led us to administer Bibles to the ministers,i.e receiving the Book from the Church’s authority.This demands for a lot of faithfulness to the Church on the side of the minister.
Maybe this could be why when I shared my first manuscript with one of our priest’s here in Nairobi,who is also active in ministry,the only thing he told me was as follows,”Maurice,this is God’s and it must be done within the Church and not outside”.
And since then,it’s two years before the publication of my book and still reflecting on those words from the Lord to me as I wait upon the commissioning of the spirit.This could be why John the baptist said we must always diminish for Christ to increase in our lives and all we do.
God’s blessings and Love,
Maurice.
I have two recent books by Dr. Eben Alexander, who claims to have the most profound near death experience ever recorded. It seems to me he is teaching neo Gnosticism, where the sound om represents God as a current of energy. He accepts reincarnation as factual. There is nothing on the net by a theologian to question his views. He is also on YouTube with psychiatrist, Dr. Bruce Grayson.
For over 18 years I have been recording coadttocoastam.com nightly radio interviews. Last night George knapp,the host, had on two Vatican astronomers. When asked by a woman caller, a psychologist, iwhen God says “let us create man in our image” does he mean millions of years of genetic engineering by e.t.s who are the gods of myth and legends. Her question was not answered.
A recent guest claims that many near death survivors say that no church or intermediaries are necessary to hear from God.. With the right training, people can make their own contact with god. Another host, a proud former catholic, claims to be, as many of his callers agree, a spiritual man, not a religious one.
Have we entered the days of the great apostasy?
Jimmy, i am a Convert to the Church I came into Mother Church at age 33 i have not
regretted it one day. I sometimes wonder if in translation we sometimes lose the meaning
of a word or phrase. My understanding from reading from Paul’s writing that the greatest gift of the Spirit is the ability to Teach, i hope i understand this, everyone will not be a
scholar in Bible study, most of us take the passages on Faith.
Thank You
Larry Mandrell
I have been attending a Ruthenian Rite parish since just after Christmas, and have joined that parish. I have been told that their bishops have decided that one ought to attend for two years before switching rites. Which is fine by me, because it is a big switch. As beautiful as their Easter celebration is…I missed the fire at the Easter vigil, and the Exultet.
_______
Sami