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