Category Archives: About Bible Teaching

When we teach from the Ultimate Text, aiming toward the Ultimate Goal, having the Ultimate Motivation, pulling on the Ultimate Source of power, with the Ultimate Teacher at the helm, we’ll undoubtedly end up with Ultimate Results.

What are the Ultimate Results of Bible Teaching

Teaching that leads to the ultimate goal of people getting to know God better, not just about Him, changes lives. People become more and more Christ-like.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Cor. 5:17)

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:22-24)

… have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. (Col. 3:10)

Examples of How Knowing God Changes Lives

Look at Isaiah. He had undoubtedly heard much about God but when He “saw” the glory of God, that moved him first to repentance, not just to worship, and then to service. –“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isa. 6:5) Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isa. 6:8)

Also consider Job. He held true to what He knew about God through His pain, suffering, and loss. Yet, after encountering God in the midst of it, he admitted, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6) He recognized that his limited head-knowledge wasn’t enough. He encountered an all-knowing, all-wise, and all-powerful God beyond his comprehension and that changed his perspective.

Finally, look at the Apostle Paul. Described as “a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee”, he was faultless when it came to the law. He was so zealous for the Jewish faith that he persecuted Christians (Phil. 3:3-6). Then He met Jesus on the road to Damascus and his life changed to the extent that the persecutor became the persecuted. He said, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ … (Phil. 3:7-14)

Next Steps in Teaching for Changed Lives

Are you seeing these kinds of results through your teaching? If not, pray over each of the “ultimates” in Bible teaching. Ask God to show you where your teaching isn’t reaching the ultimate. Ask Him to help you better grasp these realities and align your teaching with them.

Use this free PDF with an acrostic to reflect on the kinds of change God wants to bring in people’s lives as a result of your teaching of His Word. Let it guide your prayers about the impact your teaching has.

Also consider working through the Teaching for Changed Lives Workbook to go deeper into how to teach for these kinds of results.

God’s Word exhorts us, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:11). Do we approach Bible teaching with this kind of passion? We can list a number of reasons why we might lack this kind of enthusiasm. What will alleviate that which holds us back from experiencing this kind of excitement in serving the Lord? The answer: Get out of the driver’s seat and let the Holy Spirit take the wheel. When we view the Spirt as the Ultimate Teacher, rather than ourselves, our perspective changes.

How Viewing the Holy Spirit as the Ultimate Teacher Changes Our Attitude in Serving

While “spiritual fervor” in this verse mainly refers to that which is within our inner being, our spirit, we could also view it as fervor from the Spirit of God.

1) Knowing the Holy Spirit is both in us and with us alleviates fears and insecurities. — How reassuring to know we aren’t alone!

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. … But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (Jn. 14:16-17)

2) Viewing ourselves as conduits through whom the Spirit works alleviates stress, anxiety, and undue striving. — How exciting to know that the Almighty God works in and through us!

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Cor. 2:4-5)

3) Acknowledging that God is the One who must bring the growth through the Spirit’s work alleviates the need to compare and compete with others. — How encouraging to know that results aren’t dependent on us!

So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Cor. 3:7)

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. (1 Cor. 2:12-13)

Results of Yielding to the Spirit in our Teaching

When we live in light of the above realities, we won’t have to self-generate fervor. Yielding to the Spirit as the Ultimate Teacher leads to hope, joy, and peace. With these inner qualities, our spirits are free to serve the Lord with zeal.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 15:13)

Teacher Training Resource: The Holy Spirit and My Teaching Devotional

Do you want a good reason to teach a Bible class? Do you need motivation to prepare a Bible lesson? Do you feel there’s little difference between teaching from the Bible and teaching from any other text? If you answer any of these questions with a “yes”, consider how God’s Word is the ultimate text. No other book or teaching compares.

How God’s Word is the Ultimate Text

1) No other book comes with the same level of authority.

Scripture claims to be “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). By definition, God is the One of whom there’s none greater. If the Bible makes an erroneous claim about its own origin, none of it can be trusted. If true, however, Scripture must have supreme authority since it was inspired by the One of whom there’s none greater. This reality greatly affects how we teach it. We can’t pick and choose what we want to believe.

2) God’s Word has a power unlike any other.

Because an all-knowing, all-wise, and all-powerful, eternal God authored Scripture, it is “alive and active” (Heb. 4:12). It’s as useful now as it was when He first moved people to write down His words. It has the power to penetrate “even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). It’s “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). And, “truth will set you free” (Jn. 8:32). What other book can do all that?

3) The Author backs up His Word with promised results.

Some authors may promise results but can’t guarantee them. God, on the other hand, says, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isa. 55:10-11)

4) The Bible holds its teachers accountable.

We’re exhorted, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Because it’s the Word of our Almighty, Sovereign God, it matters how we teach it. Authors of other textbooks can hope we stay true to what they’ve written but undoubtedly will never know if we do. The Author of the Bible knows all and sees all. We must stay true to what He’s written, knowing that “we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1).

Also read: A Teacher’s View of the Bible Matters

Get further help from this teacher training resource: A Lesson Worth Teaching Workbook

What’s your goal in teaching the Bible? Perhaps you want people to know what the Bible says about God and His will. That’s great but is head knowledge enough? Maybe you desire your students to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. You have a biblical objective but is it the ultimate goal?

What Scripture Identifies as the Ultimate Goal

The Word prioritizes personally knowing God, not just knowing about Him. To truly know Him is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37-40). Consider what the Apostle Paul said about his quest to know the Lord. –“I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him …” (Phil. 3:8-9)

Colossians 1:9-10 shows us that head knowledge is merely the starting point. We need to know about God and understand the implications of that for our lives. With that understanding we’re then ready to apply truth to our lives. Prayerfully, as a result, we’ll bear fruit. That could include impacting others’ lives but also growth in our own lives. These verses don’t end there. Seeing God at work in and through us grips our hearts, causing us to know Him better. We realize He is enough. We come to love and trust Him even more.

Bible teachers, how high of a priority
is this objective in your teaching?

What Bible Teachers Need to Do to Reach This Objective

We must acknowledge our own need to get beyond mere cognitive awareness of God. Before commanding the Israelites to impress God’s Word on their children’s hearts, He said, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts” (Deut. 6:6). Then it would take consistency and repetition in pointing them in the right direction (Deut. 6:7-9).

To reach this objective, all we do in preparation and presentation of our lessons must purposefully align with it. Ask yourself these questions:

• How far in the process does my lesson take students? Does it get beyond mere head knowledge? Am I desirous of people gaining heart knowledge as well?
• What purpose do the methods used in my teaching hold? Do they get beyond simple creativity? Am I concerned with helping people experience God?
• Where does the application of my lesson take people? Does it get beyond mere outward conformity, just doing something with what they’ve learned? Am I also focusing on inner growth in their relationship with the Lord?
• What’s my aim in classroom management? Does it get beyond mere order and crowd control? Am I using every opportunity to model God’s heart and purposes?

Yes, we should teach about God in creative ways and help students become doers of the Word as we foster an environment conducive to learning. God, however, wants more. He wants us to help people get to know Him personally and intimately, to better love and trust Him with their whole being.

Think about it: We have the awesome privilege of helping people get to know the Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, the One of whom there is no greater or wiser, in a personal way. This God loves us so much He made a way for us to not only have eternal life in heaven with Him but also a life worth living here. What better purpose can we have as teachers?

Helpful Teacher Training Resource: What Bible Teachers Need to Know About God’s Word To Help Students Find God in the Scriptures