DIVINE TEACHING

J. Strachan

John 6: 44–46, 60–69; 16: 12–15; 2 Timothy 3: 10–17

I have in mind to say a word on divine teaching. It is a great matter that divine Persons have taken in hand to teach believers. We are thankful that we have come to know the Lord Jesus as our Saviour and as our Lord. I think it is intended that as brought into this pathway in relation to God we should get the benefit of divine teaching. It is a very wonderful thing that divine Persons themselves have taken in hand to provide such teaching, as the Lord Jesus says in John 6, “they shall be all taught of God”. He is quoting from the prophet Isaiah which had been written many years before, and it is clear that as we are regarded as His people we should be taught of Him. I think it has taken on a very wonderful character in this dispensation; there is teaching from the Father which draws us to Christ; and from the Lord Jesus Himself. He has become the Teacher; and the Holy Spirit too, it is said, “he shall teach you all things” (John 14: 26); and teaching mediately by others, the apostles having been brought in to extend the thought, then being continued through faithful men.

So, I started with John 6 because the Lord Jesus says it is a matter of the Father drawing us to Him in the first place, “No one can come to me except the Father who has sent me draw him, and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every one that has heard from the Father himself, and has learned of him, comes to me”. The Father would draw us into this great matter of divine teaching, as being taught of God. I think it would make it very attractive to us; not to go through some college or seminary, but to learn from divine Persons, by the Father drawing us to Christ. In this chapter the Lord has a good deal to say about teaching, and He had much to say on the subject of food, the kind of food that would build us up morally and spiritually. He goes over it very extensively. So we need to be taught as to food that is for our benefit as believers. The Lord Jesus has undertaken to show the food. The bread of God has come down from heaven in Himself; then the kind of food that is involved in His flesh and blood, that is referring to His death; and the kind of food that is involved in where He is now. It is a very extensive subject and enters into the matter of divine teaching.

Some thought the word was hard and went away, but we are not intended to give up; this is for our benefit and it is a matter of getting the point of what the Lord is saying. Many murmured and gave up, but the Lord says to them, “If then ye see the Son of man ascending up where he was before? it is the Spirit which quickens”. We need the Spirit for understanding these things, we shall not understand divine teaching apart from the Spirit. It is as simple as that. We begin with the Lord, who says, “there are some of you who do not believe”, the Lord knew who they were, when He says “no one can come to me unless it be given to him from the Father”. That is, the Lord is recognising the Father’s activity in drawing persons to Himself, to become attached to Himself, and these disciples go away and walk no more with Him. Well, it is a sorrowful matter if persons give up on divine teaching because it seems too hard, because it is intended to be possible for us to take in. Then the Lord raises the question with the twelve, “Will ye also go away?” That was to the twelve, those who were so near to Him. Is any one minded to give up and go back? Well, you are going to lose the benefit of the greatest things. The Lord has many things to open up, and things that He was going to count on the Spirit opening up, and those who go away are going to lose the benefit of these wondrous things. Peter answered, saying, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” Peter understood something, at any rate, of what the Lord Jesus was conveying to His disciples, he said, “thou hast words of life eternal”. What a wonderful thing that is, words of life eternal, words relating to a life that will not be terminated by death; a life that relates to an order of things beyond death, life eternal. So Peter says, “thou hast words of life eternal”.

You are able to help us about the detail of that. Well, that is a very fine thing; we are very much accustomed to life in the natural sense, and very much engaged with things that relate to it in all its detail, but the words of life eternal relate to the detail of an order of life beyond death. So the Lord Jesus has gone into death, and He has come out of it victoriously in order to open up for us this wonderful order of things. Peter realises this, he says, “we have believed and known that thou art the holy one of God”. It is an important thing for us to believe in the first instance, but also to know, to be sure in our souls about these things. We need to have not only faith about these things but real conviction in our souls about the certainty of them. The Lord would help us about that, to come into the assurance of enjoying these things, these words of life eternal; and the Lord has given us the Spirit, it is the Spirit that quickens, the flesh profits nothing. The flesh could be occupied with all sorts of things that relate to the first order of man and that is terminated by death; but the Spirit quickens. Someone asked Mr Darby what he should study. Mr Darby said, Study well those four words—‘the flesh profits nothing’. It is important for us to come to that. As young we may be looking out on the prospects of life, but let us realise that the flesh profits nothing. There is what will not continue beyond death, but we can be occupied with an order of things that death cannot touch; it is a great thing, and to be known in our souls as a real thing.

Not only did the Lord set out things by word but He set things out by example, and that is an important thing in relation to divine teaching; you not only have doctrine but you have example. The Lord washed the disciples’ feet. He took a wash-hand basin and washed their feet, wiped them with the linen towel with which He had girded Himself, and then He says, I have left you an example; “If I therefore the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet; for I have given you an example”, John 13: 14. Now you notice the Lord reverses the order there. He is not only the Teacher but He is the Lord, so He says, “If I therefore the Lord and the Teacher”. So, if we are going to learn in divine things we need to be subject. We need to be submissive in our spirits; subject to the Lord in the first place, subject to the Spirit, and subject to one another.

The Lord goes on to speak about the Spirit in chapter 16 where He says, “I have yet many things to say to you, but ye cannot bear them now. But when he is come, the Spirit of truth, he shall guide you into all the truth”. The Holy Spirit has been made available to those who believe because the Lord Jesus has died and has been glorified. So, He says, When the Spirit of truth is come, He shall guide you into all the truth. What a Person we have to help us in relation to being divinely taught, the Spirit Himself! The Lord said, “he shall not speak from himself; but whatsoever he shall hear he shall speak; and he will announce to you what is coming”. Divine teaching has not stopped because the Lord Jesus has gone to heaven; there is another divine Person down here who is in touch with heaven and He is able to communicate things first-hand to the saints down here, “whatsoever he shall hear he shall speak”. What things He must hear from that realm where the Son is in the presence of the Father, and communicates these things to persons down here.

What an advantage we have of this kind of speaking from a divine Person come here and retaining this contact with heaven. The Lord Jesus says, “He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall announce it to you”. What a thing that is, to have the service of a divine Person who is here to glorify the Man who is in the Father’s presence; the Man who is at the right hand of God. He would bring about this effect in our hearts that Christ becomes greater to us; He will glorify Him in our hearts. He is glorified in heaven but it has in mind in the Spirit’s service that Christ will be glorified, made greater, in the hearts of believers. So it is a matter of giving place to the Spirit; this One who is the Spirit of truth will guide us into all the truth—I like that expression, He will guide you into all the truth. I think He would do it very tenderly and graciously, guiding us into the truth, into all the truth. You just think therefore of what He is able to open up to us and the Lord says, “All things that the Father has are mine; on account of this I have said he receives of mine and shall announce it to you”. Think of those things that the Father has, things that were divinely purposed before time, and we have the means of the communication of them by way of teaching through the presence of the Holy Spirit here.

How thankful we can be for the fact that the Lord Jesus has been received up in glory, and the Spirit has come, and we can put ourselves in the way of receiving these divine communications. That is a provision that the Lord Jesus has made, not only in His own teaching but in the presence of the Spirit. So, He says, “when he is come, the Spirit of truth, he shall guide you into all the truth”. Now I think he has used in a particular way the apostles to do this. The Spirit came and there were persons who were ready to receive Him; He came in Acts chapter 2 and the apostles were engaged, I believe, immediately in this matter of teaching. So it says of believers at that time, “they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread and prayers”, Acts 2: 42. If we want to go in for divine teaching we shall find that there are things that will be against us in relation to that, things that will be adverse to our occupying ourselves with these things. That is why it uses the word ‘persevered’. These are all things that have been opened up to us through divine teaching; the fellowship of the apostles, they had what was distinctive to themselves, and the breaking of bread and prayers. There is a great scope of things that we can be engaged with in divine teaching and much help has been brought to us in regard to these things. Now that particularly related at that time to the twelve, the apostles who had companied with the Lord Jesus in the days of His flesh. They had companied with Him and they had received the benefit of His teaching and of His example; the things that Jesus began to do and to teach, and they were acquainted with these things. Then when the

Spirit came there was a further opening up to them of things that remain here that the saints were to continue with, the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, the breaking of bread and prayers.

Now, when we come to Paul I think we have a further extension of these things. It is very interesting that the names of the twelve apostles are on the foundations of the wall of the heavenly city; I think there was a certain protective element connected with the twelve, but I think for the inward side of the city itself you have to glean things from the ministry of Paul. He was largely used to open up the truth of the assembly and the teaching connected with it.

It is very interesting that Paul and Barnabas taught these disciples at Antioch; they were there for a whole year and they were in the assembly teaching these disciples and it says, they “were first called Christians in Antioch”, Acts 11: 26. That was the product of such teaching; there were persons who were so much like Christ that they called them Christians. It was not just that they called themselves that; persons were impressed that these were persons like Christ, and so they called them Christians. That was the result of the teaching of Paul and Barnabas.

Well, as we go on we find Paul teaching the word of God at Corinth, and what came to light there was a company of persons, the assembly of God at Corinth, which was capable of representing God. What a wonderful thing that is, that God should be represented in a company of persons down here who, as a result of divine teaching, have taken on features that are expressive of God. It is good to think of the way divine teaching brings about formation in local gatherings; we need to keep that in mind, although we are in broken days, that divine teaching is involved in how we come to an understanding of the truth of the assembly and its applicability to our local gatherings, our local companies. Beyond that Paul had in his mind and heart how he would present them as a chaste virgin to Christ; something that had undivided affection for Christ. Paul went on to Ephesus and he spent more time there. He taught them publicly and in every house, repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. These were the basic elements of the gospel, repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. He taught them publicly and in every house. But he did not stop there, he went on to announce to them the whole counsel of God; what God had in His mind in divine operations to bring men into, in the enjoyment of Himself and His things, so that men should be secured as divinely enriched and capable of answering to God, to divine thoughts of blessing. Paul brought that out at Ephesus, so it is clear he had a very distinctive place in relation to divine teaching.

Now there were those who benefited from Paul’s teaching. I read about Timothy because he was one of them; Paul speaks of him as my beloved child. That section in second Timothy is very interesting; you might say, Well, we are in broken days, what is going to happen to divine teaching now? Paul has in mind that it should continue and he says, “thou hast been thoroughly acquainted with my teaching, conduct”—thoroughly acquainted with Paul’s teaching and the conduct that went with it, the manner of life that was produced was a result of the teaching. And he adds, “purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what sufferings happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, in Lystra; what persecutions I endured”. So Timothy had been acquainted with the manner of life of the teacher who brought these things to him. Paul says, thou hast been thoroughly acquainted with that, and adds, “And all indeed who desire to live piously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”. We have to accept that; it is the normal order of things, if we are connected with the name of Christ we will be under reproach. The Lord Jesus Himself said if the world has hated me, know that it will hate you too; it will hate persons who are like Christ.

Now, he says in verse 14, “But thou, abide in those things which thou hast learned”, this brings it right down to each one of us individually. The teaching is available, but are we going to abide in the things we have learned? We have been in the privileged position, dear brethren, of being brought up in a day of recovery, a day of revival of the truth through the Lord’s servants, Mr Darby, Mr Stoney, Mr Raven, Mr Taylor and others. We are in such a day and we have had the opportunity of coming into the revival of the truth. The revival of the truth has not only been to what was apostolic in the twelve, but also to the truth that was brought out in its fulness through the apostle Paul; that is the day we are in. Paul is contemplating a time when things will get very bad. He says some will not bear sound teaching, they will turn away their ear from the truth; that is very solemn, they will not bear sound teaching, but turn away their ear from the truth. Well, his advice to Timothy in the presence of this happening is, “thou, abide in those things which thou hast learned, and of which thou hast been fully persuaded, knowing of whom thou hast learned them”. He had learned them and he had been fully persuaded.

You know, dear brethren, I think we have to have relations with the Lord Jesus Himself and with the Spirit, so that we become fully persuaded about things. We may be at a meeting, but what are we going to do after the meeting? Are we going to go into the presence of the Lord and let Him work with us so that we become fully persuaded of the things we have heard? I think it is a very important thing for us; not to hold things superficially or lightly, but have to do with the Lord in such a way that we become fully persuaded, knowing of whom we have learned them. That is another important thing, “knowing of whom thou hast learned them”.

Timothy had learned them from Paul, and I think it is important for us to know the source of things and to be convicted, fully persuaded of the things we have learned and the source from which they have come. To begin with it must come from divine Persons, the Father’s teaching, the teaching of the Lord Jesus and the teaching of the Spirit, and Paul who himself says he had been appointed to be a teacher of the nations. He had a distinctive place and teaching of that character has come down to us. I think we ought to be preserved from turning aside to other teaching that has not been accredited in the same way.

So, he says, “from a child thou hast known the sacred letters, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus”. Well, it is important that children should be brought up to read the Scriptures and to hear them being read; the Scriptures have a very valuable place in the teaching and education of our young people. He says, “which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus”. It is important for the young ones to be brought up in the knowledge of the Scriptures, and we are counting on this taking place so that they will be made wise to salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. That is, that through faith in their own souls they will come into the benefit of the things they have been taught. This expression “in Christ Jesus” is used over and over again in this epistle, which is really intended for the final days of the testimony. It refers to the Man who is in the glory, and we are hoping young persons will put their faith in the Man who has been glorified in the presence of God; that will prove to be for their salvation.

He says, “Every scripture is divinely inspired, and profitable for teaching”. Profitable for teaching, so we can use every scripture in this way, but there may be times, of course, when certain scriptures may be more applicable than others. “Every scripture”, he says, “is divinely inspired, and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. Instruction in righteousness is an important thing; righteousness in this epistle is to be our leader; we are to pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace. So, we are to be instructed in righteousness; that is a great matter with God. With Him things are based on righteousness, and believers are to be instructed in righteousness. God is having the gospel go out on a righteous basis in this dispensation, His relationships with men are founded on righteousness. In the millennium righteousness will reign; in eternity righteousness will dwell, God will have an order of things where He will be eternally satisfied and complacent.

Then he says, “that the man of God may be complete, fully fitted to every good work”. I just say a word to young brothers in connection with this. It is very important that young brothers apply themselves to the good teaching; teaching that has been fully accredited; teaching that has resulted in features of the assembly coming to light; features of the service of God being wrought out and answered to. I would encourage young brothers to apply themselves to the Scriptures and to the teaching. Paul says, “that the man of God may be complete, fully fitted to every good work”. The idea of being complete is that he is fully qualified. Well, it is a great matter to get qualifications of this kind in the school of God. People go to school, college and university to get secular qualifications, but it is a great matter to get qualifications in the school of God, and this is the kind of qualification you need if you are going to be serviceable to the Lord, serviceable to the Master. I think the Lord would have in mind that young men, specially growing up in the surroundings where these things are known, should seek to have such a qualification so that they are able to serve the Lord Jesus according to His mind. May the Lord bless the word.

Address at Havering
3 December 2005