A note on teaching in the local church

Second Peter 3:18, But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

From this passage we can see that we are commanded to 'grow' in 'knowledge' (and grace) of our 'Lord' and 'Saviour,' Jesus Christ. It is evident then, that Jesus Christ must be presented, exalted, and at the center of all teaching within the local church.

Local church teachers are to take the brethren beyond the basics (Hebrews 6:1-2), and into a fuller, deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ by way of accurate interpretation and presentation of Scripture. That means going beyond the typical 'preaching' of many-a church today. According to Ephesians 4:11-13, teachers in the local church are to consider the welfare of the sheep, rather than 'preaching' to those who have already been evangelized. As Scripture points us, the responsibility of the teachers in the local church is to “… teach the Word of God to the people in order to establish them in the faith and bring them into perfection (Ephesians 4:12) … [and] to train all in the local assembly to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).”

Preaching is "associated with evangelism or heralding the Good News about Jesus the Messiah." Saints cannot be evangelized (they're already saved), neither can they be preached to (they've already believed the Good News). Believers then are EDIFIED, STRENGTHENED, and BUILT-UP. And this comes about as a result of "mutually teaching, instructing, sharing, and loving one another," in addition to a firm foundation built through the apostles’ doctrine to equip ALL of the saints for the work of ministry.

NOTE: This has been an excerpt from an ongoing research into Christ-Education within the local church, to be released later this year. Statements in quotations are from other authors which can be found at: <biblicalelders.com> and <churchrestoration.org>.