Doing Church 4 - Teach (Acts 2:37-47)

     For full message, see link at bottom 

Ephesians, chapter 4, starting in verse four gives us a sense of who teaches in the Church.  

There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us [within that all-ness, within that great big one-ness] to each of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.  

Skipping forward to verse 11: 

Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers. He gave them to equip his people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity, becoming mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 

Paul, writing this passage, starts by talking about the oneness of us, the unity of us: the singleness of mind, the singleness of focus, the singleness of where we begin and where we end. Then he moves our focus down to each individual one of us within that whole great big all-ness. Then he turns our eyes back to the unity and the knowledge and the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  

Paul sets out for us what are often called the “fivefold gifts,” naming 5 gifts given by Christ to people—to individuals in the Church—so that we can, as individuals, serve the Church.  

    First: apostles. In its general meaning, the word indicates messengers. Apostles are ones who are sent. We can imagine, in our culture, missionaries who leave home and go to another country to serve the purposes of God in the world. People who we send. Those who go out from among the Church to serve God in new contexts.  

    Second: prophets, who have always, throughout scripture, been the people who speak God's truth to God's people, whether those are words of encouragement, or words of correction. Cheering believers on, or telling them, “Whoa! You are not going in a good direction. Fix it or you're going to be sorry.” Those are the prophets. 

    Third: evangelists. This is a gift that I sometimes wish I had, but I just don't. Evangelists have that particular capacity, that particular heart for speaking God's truth to people who haven't yet met Him. My mother-in-law had this gift. She'd get into conversations with people in line at the grocery store and tell them about Jesus between being third in line and checking out. That doesn't happen to me. Evangelists have that gift for introducing people to Jesus.  

The final phrase in the passage is where I particularly want to look: pastors and teachers. 

Different people understand those three words in different ways. In the NET Bible (New English Translation) the translators (who are theologians who study the truths of scripture, not just translating words from one language to another, but prayerfully interpreting as they go) provide notes on quite a few passages on which they discussed and made decisions about translation and interpretation. This is what the translators of the NET Bible say about this phrase: 

Some interpreters have understood the phrase pastors and teachers to refer to one and the same group. This would mean that pastors are teachers and teachers are pastors. This position is often taken because it's recognized that both nouns, pastors and teachers, are governed by one article in Greek. (Ruth’s note: That would be like if I said, “the cats and dogs.” You would understand that I was talking about a set of cats and dogs together as a single unit.) But because the nouns are plural, it's extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the author is linking them closely together. It's better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers. Not all teachers are pastors. 

I enjoy having access to a number of wonderful teachers, whose teaching I appreciate. Some are academics, some just love to teach. They are not all pastors.  

So when we talk about a ‘pastor,’ what do we mean by that? The original Greek word means ‘shepherd’—the image of someone who guides, leads, protects, and provides for a group.  

In the best of the Baptist tradition (because when you say ‘Baptist,’ it's like saying ‘pizza:’ There are a few basic things we have in common, and on top of that, lots of different perspectives and traditions) the pastor is one of the saints equipped for ministry. One of the saints gifted and called to build up the body of Christ, as in Paul’s words to the Ephesians. ‘Pastor,’ in the best tradition of the Baptists, is not an office per se. It is a role. It is an identity within the family.  

The way I picture it is this: the gathering of the Church looks like a family get-together, with groups of people scattered around the room. Chatting and laughing, weeping and serving. Holding each other up, making room for each other, opening the door to welcome new members. In the centre of the room, in the centre of the gathering, is a chair. 

The family entrusts to one person—who has been examined, vetted, tested, and acknowledged—the responsibility of standing on the chair. They give that one person, with the support, the balance, and the accountability provided by other leaders in the Church family, a perspective from which to see and be seen, to hear and to be heard, to deliver messages over the noise and through the scrum, to guide individuals through the room as they seek their place in the crowd. Hearing and answering questions as best they can from where they stand on the chair. In other words, the pastor is entrusted with the job of teaching their people. 

Not all teachers are pastors, but all pastors are teachers. So what's the difference?  

I would say that teachers pass on knowledge, and I'm very, very grateful for my teachers. I'm grateful for my seminary professors and their lectures. I'm grateful for people like NT wright, writing books. I'm grateful for the the bible project guys, making videos and podcasts. I thank God for teachers who teach truth, who clarify concepts, who explain history and provide context.

I would suggest that teachers teach information and skill... And I would suggest that pastors teach people. 

 

  To hear the full message: