One of the things we have been stressing this week as we talk about spiritual maturity is that a mature Christian is able to respond to the word of God and to the needs around them. They are responsible. When Jesus was just about to ascend to heaven He left specific instructions to the disciples, which is what we have called the great commission.
Matthew 28:19-20 AMP
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually–regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”
One important aspect of the great commission is to raise disciples through teaching. God expects each one of us to teach someone or others for that matter. The question then is,
“Who are you teaching?”
Hebrews 5:12 AMP
For though by this time you ought to be teachers [because of the time you have had to learn these truths], you actually need someone to teach you again the elementary principles of God’s word [from the beginning], and you have come to be continually in need of milk, not solid food.
The expected progression of a believer is that though you come in as a baby, you are expected to feed on the milk of the word and then grow from there to a place where you are able to feed on the meat of the word. It does not end there because the great commission applies to you too. God expects you to make disciples, He expects you to teach. No wonder Paul would say that by this time you ought to be teaching.
So the question once again;
“Who are you teaching and what are you teaching them?”
We need to awaken the sleeping potential in our pews and unleash it into a needy world. The fivefold ministry is there to equip the saints for the work of ministry and once they have been equipped we need to unleash them to go into the world because they are the light of the world.
One thing that intimidates many people and causes them not to go out and teach another is because they feel inadequate and they are afraid they do not have enough knowledge of the Bible to be able to confidently teach another. The reality is that a child in class two may not be able to teach much to a child in class eight but he has a lot to teach a child in class one. Begin with the little that you know and teach it to one who knows nothing. When you do that you will realize that God will then begin to entrust you with more knowledge and confidence.
As my friend Anthony Gitonga once told me, “To teach another is to learn better.”
Mature Christians teach others and make disciples.
