Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Crier

Home
About

Home
Evangelical
What Is The Spiritual Gift Of Teaching? Do I Have It?

What Is The Spiritual Gift Of Teaching? Do I Have It?

Last updated on: February 25, 2019 at 5:00 am by Jack Wellman

What Is The Spiritual Gift Of Teaching? Do I Have It? 2019-02-18T12:02:02-06:00 Jack Wellman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

How can you know whether you have the gift of teaching?

Spiritual Gifts

The Apostle Paul writes more about the gifts of the Spirit than any other author in the Bible, so he is the best source for finding out what the spiritual gifts are and what their purpose is. Another good question is, “How can I know what my spiritual gift is? Do I have more than one gift?” The answer to the second question is likely yes, because I know several people who have at least two observable gifts of the Spirit, if not more, so where can you find Scriptures that tell us what these gifts are?

Romans 12:6-8

In Romans 12:6-8, you’ll find Paul writing about the gift of prophecy, serving, teaching, exhortation, leadership, and mercy. These gifts all function for the betterment of the church. They are not for the individual to use on their own behalf. They are intended for the equipping and building up of the church. God uses these gifts in believers to do what Jesus would do if He were here on earth. Things like feeding the hungry, helping the poor, visiting the sick and those in prison, and being hospitable, even to strangers (Matt 25:35-36, 28:18-20, James 1:27). It is not that we do these things to be seen by others, but we do these things as unto Jesus Himself (Matt 25:40). The idea that we do nothing for Christ here on earth, and still believe we are saved, is contrary to biblical doctrine (James 2:14-26). If a person is not doing any works that have been prescribed by Christ, then there is probably no salvation in that person’s life. Doing nothing for Christ is a foreboding sign (Matt 25:41-46). Of course, many people will do a lot of good works, but if they are doing them with the idea that they’re a good person and they can make it to heaven, is anathema to the gospel (Eph 2:8-9). If they think their good works will be enough, Jesus will declare their works as evil. Many will say “Lord, Lord,” but these same many who profess to know Christ, are unknown by Him…and that’s what matters most. It’s not, “Do you know Jesus,” but “Does He know you (Matt 7:21-23) that matters most!

1 Corinthians 12:8-10

Paul adds to the list of spiritual gifts in this section of Scripture, referring to a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, faith, the gift of healings, miracles, prophecies (repeated from Rom 12:6-8), discernment (distinguishing between spirits), tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Again, these gifts are not for “Look what my gift is,” but “How can my gift help the church and others?” The gifts listed in 1 Corinthians are also intended to build up and equip the church to do what Jesus has called them to do. As the Head of the church, Jesus directs, governs, rules and reigns over His church. Part of what He does is to have each body member function as He wills it to function. When the Body of Christ functions as He intends for it to function, God may bring growth to the church (Acts 2:47).

1 Corinthians 12:28

Near the end of 1 Corinthians 12, Paul gives a list, not so much of gifts, but of offices. He writes, “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues” (1 Cor 12:28). God has appointed or dispensed both offices and spiritual gifts. This is an overriding theme of Paul’s writings. In this same chapter, Paul writes that “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose” (1 Cor 12:18). This choice is never left to us. No apostle or prophet was ever called by the will of man. No apostle or prophet ever decided to become one of their own free will. In fact, in most cases, they resisted the call. If God has not called a person to an office (pastor, teacher, etc.), they are not qualified for that position. God is the One Who “has appointed in the church” (1 Cor 12:28) those who He sees fit for a particular office, and it is “as he chose.” In both the spiritual gifts and offices, we see God does the choosing, but often He does use human instruments to do so (i.e. the local church).

The Gift of Teaching

How can you know whether you have the gift of teaching? Sometimes people confirm that gift for you. You are often hungry to learn as much as you can about a certain subject or event in the Bible. You can’t get enough of it. You may be surrounded by Bible Atlases, concordances, Bible dictionaries, and other study aids. You rejoice when you’ve learned something new. If you’re not sure if you have the gift of teaching, ask for an opportunity to teach a Sunday school class or begin your own in-home Bible study group. For sure, be in a class if you can’t teach it. Maybe you can offer to be put on the substitute teacher list, and when opportunity comes, you’ll have a better idea. If God has given you the gift of teaching, He will make a way for you to do that. God would not equip a person if He did not intend to use that gift for the local church. If you sense that you are able to explain biblical doctrines or answer difficult questions, then you may have the gift of teaching. You will also recognize the times when you say, “I don’t know.” That’s okay. At other times you recognize that if the Bible is silent on something, we must be, because it’s dangerous to speculate where the Bible is not specific or is silent. If the Bible is not clear on something, it’s God telling us, “It’s none of our business!”

Conclusion

Is it your desire to serve God by making clear the truth of God’s Word to anyone that would ask you, and to do so with accuracy and simplicity? If you find yourself clarifying and explaining the doctrines and teachings of the Bible to someone, you may be a teacher. Teachers go deeper in their explanations…teachers ask questions rather than give the answers to their students…teachers can explain interpretation, translation, or transliteration questions better than the average believer can. If the highlight of your week is a Sunday school lesson, Wednesday night Bible study, or other learning opportunity, you may have the gift of teaching. You will have a deep hunger to always know more…to dig deeper, and to have the ability to explain the difficult in an easy to understand manner. In time, you will know…and you will have little doubt that God has called you to teach…and nothing can stop that burning desire in your heart.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is a writer at Christian Quotes and also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Christian Crier or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

Previous Post

February 22, 2019

Discovering The Gifts Of The Spirit

Next Post

February 27, 2019 What Is Spiritualism?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Answers Bible Definitions Bible Story Bible Study Bible Verses Christian Books Christian Entertainment Christian Fathers Christian Mothers Christian Quotes Devotional Famous Christians Music News Parables Prayers Quotes Sunday School Lesson Uncategorized Youth Sermons

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "You shall have no other gods before me"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Joshua Moses God Aaron