28 Et Dieu a établi dans l'Eglise premièrement des apôtres, deuxièmement des prophètes, troisièmement des docteurs, ensuite ceux qui ont le don des miracles, puis ceux qui ont les dons de guérir, de secourir, de gouverner, de parler diverses langues.
The gift of teaching is communicating the truth of the Bible to other people. This gift, of course, begins with understanding Scripture ourselves. We cannot communicate what we do not know. Someone with this gift will be someone who studies the Bible, who meditates on it, who reads books about it, and who grasps the content of the Bible for themselves. Someone who knows nothing cannot be a good teacher.
Then having grasped in greater or lesser measure the teaching of Scripture, this person will communicate that teaching to others. Now, there is a host of ways in which the gift of teaching can be exercised. It is exercised from the pulpit. Christ gives the church men who are qualified and able to communicate his Word and to teach. It is exercised in a Sunday School class, a Church Youth Society, or in campaigners as young people are taught. Those who are responsible for them, who have been entrusted to their welfare by the church, have a duty to communicate to them the teaching of the Word of God. It might be in leading a study group. It might be just sitting down one‑to‑one and talking with a friend about the teaching of Scripture, explaining to them even very informally what you understand of God’s truth. Some people teach by writing; not the spoken word but the written word. God has given them the ability to put down on paper the teaching of God’s Word. So, there are many, many ways in which the teaching gift can be exercised. But it means communicating the teaching of the Bible in an accurate, clear, attractive way, so that people are both interested and understand what you are saying. If someone then has the gift of teaching, they will be able to communicate the Bible or parts of it in an accurate, clear, interesting, and memorable way.
There is something more than that. This is where biblical teaching differs in a way from ordinary teaching because biblical teaching is always related to real life. Biblical teaching is always aimed at producing change; it has a practical purpose. The gifted teacher will be used to bring about change in those who listen to him or her.
This gift is given to both men and women. The spheres in which they are called to exercise this gift are different in some cases, but the gift is equally given to men and women in the body of Christ. Of course, in a way, the most important and most fundamental arena for teaching is the family. Every parent has been called by God to be a teacher of their children. Every father and mother—it is your enormous privilege to be the main channel by which God’s truth enters your children’s lives.1
Edward Donnelly
11 Si quelqu'un parle, que ce soit comme annonçant les oracles de Dieu; si quelqu'un remplit un ministère, qu'il le remplisse selon la force que Dieu communique, afin qu'en toutes choses Dieu soit glorifié par Jésus-Christ, à qui appartiennent la gloire et la puissance, aux siècles des siècles. Amen!