“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 2:4-5
In looking up the definition of a “Great Teacher”, I found many opinions. Some said a great teacher creates a sense of community, is warm, accessible and caring. Another said that a great teacher sets high expectations for all students. Yet another said that a great teacher has his own love of learning.
The Apostle Paul was an awesome example of a really good teacher. If all I said about Paul was that he wrote a large number of books of the New Testament, some that he is credited with are Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, Hebrews, 1 Timothy and Titus and that people have been growing in relationship with and knowledge of the Lord, based on those writings, we would say he was a good teacher. But Paul was so much more.
He had an incredible love for his fellow believers and for his unbelieving Jewish brothers as well. In fact in Romans 9:3, he is so burdened by the lack of belief in his “kinsmen” that he says “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers”. He desires they have a relationship with Christ so badly that he basically says I would trade my salvation for theirs. That is LOVE!
Paul has tremendous love and burden for the church and his fellow believers as well. He says so in Philippians 1:8, 2 Corinthians 11:28, 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, Colossians 1:3.
Paul consistently gave thanks to the Father for and prayed for his brothers and sisters in Christ. We see this in Romans 1:8, 1 Corinthians 1:4, Ephesians 1:6, Philippians 1:3-4, Colossians 1:3, 2 Thessalonians 1:3, 2 Timothy 1:3, Philemon 1:4.
Paul prayed for his fellow believers knowledge of the word, for their hope in Ephesians 1:18, their peace and unity in Romans 15:5-6, that they would be strengthened in the Spirit in Ephesians 3:16, that they would love others, be grounded in love and would abide in Christ in Ephesians 3:17.
But the great thing about the Apostle Paul is that he admitted that he didn’t have it a all figured out and admitted that he had not obtained perfection. “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Philippians 3:12; He also struggled with sin, just like the rest of us, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” – Romans 7:15.
In the end (in my opinion), his teachings and his love and his prayers can all be summed up in one verse – “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ”. Paul’s desire was that we would know, glorify, serve, share and imitate The Great Teacher, Jesus Christ.
Paul was a good teacher, but he was modeling his teaching after those of The Great Teacher, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Prior to knowing Christ as his Lord and Savior, Paul was an awful man who violently persecuted Christians. After receiving Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, he became an incredible follower and imitator of Christ and, a really good teacher. It was through his relationship and study of Jesus Christ that he learned to love others based on Jesus example (John 13:34), to pray for others based on Jesus example (John 17:6-26), to teach others of the Father based on Jesus example (Luke 4:15).
Now certainly the Books of the Bible that were written through Paul are Great teachings, but as we are told in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
The Father has given us a Savior who was the perfect example and a Great Teacher. He also gave us good teachers and examples such as Paul and the disciples. Then He gave us the scriptures, containing everything we would need to know about navigating this landmine we call our earthly life.
We have an INCREDIBLE Heavenly Father who sent His Son to be a Great Teacher, example, and sacrifice so that we would have the ability to be reconciled to Him and to help others come to know Him as well.
I pray that today you would be compelled to open the Word of God and study His word. To read some of the words that He breathed out for you. I pray that when you do, you hear His voice audibly and are drawn closer to Him than ever before. And, if you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page and pray the prayer that is outlined there. Then I pray that you would reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know, so that I can be praying for you and can help you to study and grow in your knowledge of and relationship with Jesus Christ.
Luv Ya!
