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And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. ~ 2 Timothy 2:2
Yesterday, we considered what it means to be strong in God's grace. Today, the Apostle Paul gives us the first of four steps that will aid us in becoming stronger in the grace of God.
The most important word in today's verse is the word "teach." Most of the time we are teaching and we do not know it because people watch our lives more than do our lips. More is caught than is taught because people look more deeply than what we say.
Notice the succession in our verse today: Being taught, then teach and those we teach are to teach. The Lord Jesus modeled this when He taught the Twelve. And they taught the next generation, and they taught the next. We are in a living chain that takes us link by link all the way back to the Lord Jesus. We have entered a relay race where someone gave us the baton, and we are giving the baton to somebody else.
At the beginning of today's verse we read, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses."
We often find ourselves questioning what we believe is really real, really true. The fact that there were many witnesses of the revelation that God had given to Paul proves that it went through a process whereby it was proven true. The change in Paul's life was so radical and true that only God can be credited for it.
In Deuteronomy 19:15 we read, “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established."
In the Old Testament, God taught us the value of having more than one witness in a matter. In this case, there were many thousands of witnesses who confirmed the truthfulness of Paul's testimony and his subsequent teaching. So, Paul is saying, “The things that you have heard from me, not just my ideas, but the Word of God have been confirmed by many witnesses.”
The second part of today's verse reads, "entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."
This process that you and I are engaged in is discipleship, giving the truth that God has given us to faithful and trustworthy believers who want to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. We invest in the reliable and then, they pass the teaching along to others who are faithful.
If we are going to grow strong in the grace of God, we will be involved in sharing our story and the revelation that God has given us with others. This will be challenging and humbling because the truth of God reveals our flaws as we instruct others.
I am able teach others the truths that God has taught me because I sought Him in reference to what was going on in my life. Most of the time that something that was going on in my life was caused by my sinfulness or my failure. Then I sought the Lord and He taught me. And, if we are to effectively teach others, we must teach them the whole truth, including our struggle with sin and our subsequent failure. This gives framing to the real star in the show, the word of God.
So, if we are going to be strong believers, we have to see ourselves as teachers, even if we are not gifted as teachers. In our authentic walk with the Lord, we are getting to know Him personally and His truth intimately. And this means we must be diligent to seek Him as we study His word.
In addition, we must be willing to allow Him to do His work in us and through us. The Lord's primary tool for teaching us His culture is through His word with the aid of the teaching skills of the Holy Spirit. Then, we must be willing to teach others this reconstruction project that is going on in our very lives.
