We have come to our last of the 5 Fold Ministry gifts: the teacher: 

According to the Blue Letter Bible a teacher is: in the NT one who teaches concerning the things of God, those who by their great power as teachers draw crowds around them i.e. John the Baptist, Jesus by preeminence used of Jesus by himself, as one who showed men the way of salvation, of those who in the religious assemblies of the Christians, undertook the work of teaching, with the special assistance of the Holy Spirit

Strong’s Definitions:; an instructor —doctor, master, teacher.

A teacher is one who instructs groups of people the truths concerning the things of God. They have a way of communicating these truths in a way that draws people into what they are saying. They rely on the Holy Spirit to teach them the lessons they teach to the groups of people. 

Jesus As A Teacher

We see Jesus as a teacher most often in the Bible. Everywhere he went crowds gathered around to learn the lessons he was led by the Holy Spirit to teach. 

What did he teach? A huge amount of his teaching was on the Kingdom of God. Jesus wanted people to know about his kingdom and he even taught us to pray that his kingdom would come to earth just like it is in heaven. 

In ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭44‬-‭50‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬ we see Jesus explaining the kingdom of heaven using three different pictures. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

Lesson #1

In these pictures Jesus is showing how valuable his kingdom is. It’s like hidden treasure. This treasure is so valuable the man is willing to sell everything he already owns to buy the field. This treasure is more valuable than all that he had already obtained, and he joyfully sells all he worked for to own this treasure. 

Lesson #2

In the second story Jesus compares the worth of his kingdom to a precious pearl. In this story the man was searching for a pearl of value, and when he found it he sold everything he owned to buy this valuable pearl. Again, Jesus is teaching us the worth of his kingdom. All that we work so hard to acquire and store up is worthless compared to the worth of his kingdom. His kingdom is something you search for like both men in the first two stories. The first guy searched a field and found great treasure while the second guy went searching for pearls and found one of great value. 

Lesson #3

In the last story Jesus compares his kingdom to a group of men fishing. They threw a net out and caught all sorts of creatures from the sea. They then sorted through their catch into good and bad. Jesus says this is how it will be at the end of the age. He will send angels out and they will separate the evil people from the righteous people. They will throw the evil people into the fiery furnace and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Jesus used what his audience is familiar with to show a foreign concept. There is no way these guys could understand what his kingdom is like, but in his wisdom and gifting Jesus took things in his audience’s everyday life to describe the goodness of his kingdom. In the last story he even went on to explain why they needed salvation, why you and I need salvation. You see it’s only through his blood that anyone can be made righteous. Before surrendering your life to Jesus we are all evil. However, when we make Jesus the boss of our life he takes his blood and cleanses us from all our evil deeds, past, present, and future.

 So the angels will be looking for the blood of Jesus on the people to determine if they are good or evil. I can imagine them going through the whole world with a magnifying glass that is equipped to spot the blood of Jesus. When they look at a person through the magnifying glass and see his blood they will put them on one side, and those who don’t have his blood will be thrown into the fiery furnace. Though that is just how I imagine it might go.

Are You A Teacher

You may be gifted with teaching if you find yourself always explaining to others the truths you have learned as you study your Bible and talk with God. Do you find you have other believers coming to you with questions? Are you supernaturally able to answer most of their questions in a way that makes sense to them? Do you find yourself saying things like, “It’s like this…” and then you use something you know they understand to explain what you mean? 

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I have been blessed with a gift of teaching. Even when I was a kid I found myself always loving to teach younger kids things that I was learning. When I was 16 I was in nursing school. I remember teaching the kids I would babysit the names of all the bones in the body. Each time I saw them I would quiz them on the bones to see how well they remembered what I taught them. For me teaching is just a part of who I am. I can’t not teach. I want everyone to know what I know and I try my best to explain those things in a way they will understand. In fact, I started with teaching children, and now I primarily teach adults. However, I still love to teach kids when given the opportunity. 

What To Do Now

If you find yourself identifying with the teaching gift, ask the Lord to continually teach you more things about him. Ask him to make scripture come alive for you. Seek out the lessons the Holy Spirit is teaching you and then go out and share those lessons with others. You may feel awkward at first, but I promise with a little time and repetition you will find yourself longing to learn that next lesson so you can teach it.

 Above all guard your heart and mind. Be mindful of what you fill your mind with. If you fill your mind with the things of God you will find it much easier to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit to learn those lessons. However, if you choose to fill your mind with the things of this world, you may find it much harder to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice. Ask the Lord to renew your mind each day just like it says in Romans 12:2. 

Signs Of A Mature Christian

Everyone can and should flow in each of these five fold ministries throughout their life. You may identify more with one and find it easier to work in that particular ministry. However, as you mature in your walk with Jesus, you will find there are times he asks you to work in a ministry you feel apprehensive about. This is when we learn to trust his calling and choose to not worry about what we will say. 

We will experience what Jesus said in Luke 12:11-12 (ESV), “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

You Will Be Amazed

 If you are like me and comfortable in the role of teacher and pastor but find yourself being led to talk to someone about Jesus, go with it. I promise you will be amazed at the result of this type of obedience. This is called maturing in the faith. You have been faithful in the ways that are easier for you, things that come more naturally for you. Now God is wanting to trust you in “bigger” things. Things that may not come naturally for you. It’s in these times you get to grow spiritually. You will look back and think, I have no idea how I did that, but all I know is I could never do that in my own power. It was all because of Jesus I could do such a thing! 

This my friend is what this whole five fold ministry is all about. It’s about doing things that could only be done through the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. You see apart from Jesus and the Holy Spirit all these works are meaningless and dead. Why take care of others, tell them about Jesus, or show them signs and wonders if Jesus isn’t involved? In fact we can’t truly do any of those things without Jesus living and working in us. Lives aren’t truly changed or even helped without the power of Jesus. Our works are all dead without Jesus. So let’s all keep our focus on Jesus, listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit, and act.

Apostle — Prophet — Evangelist — Pastor — Teacher