Dakota Community Church
February 17, 2013
Grace at Work - 14
Pastor Teacher
The fourth and final gift listed in our passage is the gift of pastor-teacher.
Ephesians 4:11-13
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
From: Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words:
Pastor - Poimen - <1,,4166,poimen>
"a shepherd, one who tends herds or flocks" (not merely one who feeds them), is used metaphorically of Christian "pastors," Ephesians 4:11. "Pastors" guide as well as feed the flock; cp. Acts 20:28, which, with ver. 17, indicates that this was the service committed to elders (overseers or bishops); so also in 1 Peter 5:1, 2, "tend the flock ... exercising the oversight," RV; this involves tender care and vigilant superintendence. See SHEPHERD.
Whenever you see the word shepherd in your Bible, you are seeing this Greek word poimen, or shepherds, the same word God used to identify the men He was giving to His churches in Ephesians 4:11
Acts 20:17,18, 28-30
Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them:
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
1 Peter 5:1-4
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Teacher - Didaskalos - <1,,1320,didaskalos>
is rendered "teacher" or "teachers" in Matt. 23:8, by Christ, of Himself; in John 3:2 of Christ; of Nicodemus in Israel, John 3:10, RV; of "teachers" of the truth in the churches, Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 12:28,29; Ephesians 4:11; Hebrews 5:12; James 3:1, RV; by Paul of his work among the churches, 1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11; of "teachers," wrongfully chosen by those who have "itching ears," 2 Timothy 4:3. See MASTER, RABBI.
1 Timothy 2:5-7
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man[a] Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Why am I combining the two terms, pastor and teacher into one category?
John Calvin argued that Paul was designating two distinct offices in Ephesians 4.
The pastor preached, counseled, administered the sacraments, etc., while the teacher or doctor did not.
Quote:
“...there is a distinct class of teachers, who preside both in the education of pastors and in the instruction of the whole church. It may sometimes happen, that the same person is both a pastor and a teacher, but the duties to be performed are entirely different.”
“Next come pastors and teachers, whom the church can never go without. There is, I believe, this difference between them: teachers are not put in charge of discipline, or administering the sacraments, or warnings and exhortations, but only of Scriptural interpretation–to keep doctrine whole and pure among believers. But the pastoral office includes all these functions within itself.” - John Calvin
Well that makes sense and it is also the way that the ministry gifts were presented to me in Bible College as “the five fold ministry” like the fingers on a hand.
Definitely a disputable matter as we discussed last week, though I don’t think any churches will be splitting up over this one.
Here is why I am leaning toward the four fold position:
In the sentence that lists the various gifts, each particular gift is preceded by the word “some”. Yet the recurring “some” is omitted before the word teacher. Pastor and teacher are connected by the simple conjunction “and”.
“We would expect to read, “He gave some apostles; some prophets; some evangelists; some pastors; and some teachers,” - but Paul writes, “some pastors and teachers,” linking the two together; and generally speaking, these two gifts are found in the same man.
It is possible that Calvin was reading a development of his own time into the New Testament.
The university professor was a development of the middle ages.
The seminary professor came into being even later after the Protestant Reformation.
Even if we take “pastor - teacher” together as one gift, the use of two words is significant.
The What
The pastor, elder, overseer, is to shepherd God’s flock; an underling of the Chief Shepherd.
The complete care - shepherding - of the congregation will involve counseling, discipline, prayer, protection from false teachers, etc.
The How
The “pastor teacher” title indicates that teaching is the primary method by which God’s flock is shepherded.
In other words shepherding God’s flock is primarily accomplished by the teaching of God’s Word.
Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This emphasis on teaching makes perfect sense considering that Christians are dependent on the Bible for everything related to salvation, faith and life.
Whether preaching or counseling or reaching out to the lost, all of a pastors exhortations should based on an exegesis of Scripture.
It only stands to reason then that one of the characteristics of an overseer is teaching ability.
1 Timothy 3:1-3
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
Titus 1:7-8
For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
What about all of these requirements?
Is anyone above reproach? Is there anyone who does not fall short in at least one of these?
This is another example of the crucial nature of understanding law and gospel.
To “give instruction in sound doctrine” is to teach the gospel, it is to continually hold up Christ as the solution for sin. No pastor, overseer, or elder is always holy, always hospitable, or always disciplined. When sin happens - refer to sound doctrine. Repent and find forgiveness.
Every Pastors favorite verse (not really):
Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
Question: "Are we supposed to obey our pastors?"
Answer: Yes, but there complications and exceptions.
Pastoral preaching and teaching is supposed to be based on a careful explanation of Scripture.
The pastor’s personal opinion, the speculations of psychologists or sociologists, the views of politicians, movie stars, or news media have no place in the Christian pulpit unless they are used sparingly to help understand or illustrate the text.
The preacher is to take what Christ has spoken in His Word and faithfully convey the meaning of that Word to the people. The Bible describes preaching as reasoning from the Scriptures
Acts 17:1-3
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”
Acts 28:23-24
When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24 And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.
We are not to obey if the pastor is mishandling the scriptures.
Examples:
1.) Using a text as a springboard to unrelated topics.
Judges 16:4-6
After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”
I recently heard this text used as the basis of a sermon on the importance of community. (This happened to samson because he did not surround himself with good community)
2.) Indulging in the highly popular practice of narcissistic eisegesis.
3.) Expounding on insights gained from pop-psychology, business leadership or other popular media.
Continued next week
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
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