You didn't read Eph. 4:11-12?
There's gifted teachers perfecting saints, and saints being perfected by the gifted teachers. It really can't be more clear.
I realize nobody takes this passage serious.
Do you?
Yes, I read Ephesians 4:11–12, and I take it seriously. But you are proving something that I never denied.
Ephesians 4:11–12 says:
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”
I believe that passage is absolutely true. Christ gives gifted teachers to the church, and those teachers have an important role in helping to perfect and edify the saints.
But that was not my question.
My question was: Where does the passage say that because someone is a gifted teacher, the saints should simply trust that teacher’s interpretation rather than search the Scriptures and examine whether what he is teaching is actually true?
Ephesians 4:11–12 does not say that.
In fact, Acts 17:11 gives us an inspired example of how believers are supposed to respond to teaching:
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
Notice why the Bereans were called “more noble.” They received the teaching with readiness of mind, but they also “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
And who were they checking? Paul.
Paul was not merely an ordinary Bible teacher. He was an apostle of Jesus Christ. Yet the Bereans were not rebuked for checking what Paul taught them against the Scriptures. They were actually called “more noble” for doing so.
That directly supports the principle I am talking about.
A gifted teacher can certainly teach me things I do not know. He may understand certain subjects far better than I do. He may have spent decades studying a particular doctrine, language, historical issue, or passage of Scripture, and I can benefit greatly from that work.
But “gifted teacher” does not mean “infallible teacher.”
Finding a gifted teacher who is completely accurate or perfect in everything he teaches has not been my experience so far. I have learned valuable things from different teachers, but sooner or later I generally find some point of doctrine or interpretation where I disagree with them.
I also believe we are living in the last days, and Scripture itself warns us:
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” (2 Timothy 3:1).
Because of that, I think the chances of finding a teacher today who somehow “checks every box” in his understanding of the Bible are very slim. Granted, there may be broad agreement among believers on many of the major and most important doctrines, but there is almost always going to be something where sincere Bible teachers differ.
That does not mean I cannot learn from them. I may agree with a teacher on the overwhelming majority of what he teaches and benefit tremendously from his studies. But I still cannot surrender my responsibility before God to examine what he teaches by the Scriptures.
In fact, Ephesians 4 itself goes on to explain that the purpose of this teaching is spiritual maturity:
“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine...” (Ephesians 4:14).
The goal of a gifted teacher should not be to create lifelong dependence upon himself. The goal should be to help believers become mature, grounded in the truth, and capable of recognizing error.
Paul also says:
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
So yes, I absolutely take Ephesians 4:11–12 seriously.
Ephesians 4 establishes that Christ gives teachers to help perfect and edify the saints.
Acts 17:11 establishes that the saints still have a responsibility to search the Scriptures and determine “whether those things were so.”
Those two truths do not contradict one another. They work together.
A good teacher teaches you the Scriptures. A good student receives that teaching with readiness of mind, appreciates what he can learn, and then searches the Scriptures for himself to see whether those things are so.
So the ball is still in your court.
Show me the verse that says the qualification or function of a gifted teacher includes the kind of authority you are assigning to him, where his interpretation is supposed to be accepted simply because he is the gifted teacher.
Ephesians 4:11–12 does not say that. And Acts 17:11 actually praises believers as “more noble” for doing the very thing I am advocating.
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