Someone once said to me, the bible could be information or revelation.
People can take the words of scripture and then teach from their own understanding – this is information. Jesus Christ will take the words of scripture and teach from His understanding – this is revelation.
Jesus as our Teacher
There is a profound moment in the Gospel of Luke, which reveals the need to have Jesus as our teacher.
Jesus was teaching a crowd using the parable of the sower to illustrate. Afterwards the disciples came to Jesus to seek understanding.
His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the…”
Luke 8:9-11
What did the disciples have that the crowd did not have? Jesus, explaining the meaning of His words to them.
So, how does Jesus teach us today?
We can be taught by someone who is passing on the revelations that Jesus has first gifted to them, and we can receive His revelations directly as we seek Him on what is written in the bible.
Jesus teaching you through others
The teaching from others is a foundational and important part of how the Lord prepares you for your position, job and inheritance in the body of Christ. He will use mature men and women of God to prepare the way, so that you are able to move from the world in to the Kingdom of God.
> Teaching should always be discerned
When you listen to teaching from others you need to also be listening to Jesus. When people speak words of revelation for you, the Spirit in you will rise up in agreement. When the teaching is not for you, or not from Him, you will experience a lack of life as His Spirit withdraws. After recognizing the Spirit’s withdrawal, the Lord will often show you the reasons why.
> A lot of teaching is not revelation
There is a lot of teaching available that is strongly grounded in the bible and affirms Jesus as Lord, yet it is not from Him. The nature of this teaching usually keeps you in a state of toil and never leads you in to His rest.
> A lot of teaching is based upon recycled revelation
This teaching is good and from Him, yet it is out of season. The source was Jesus, yet it was for a long time ago and has constantly been used and recycled, a little bit like holding on to moldy manna. The characteristic of this teaching is it prepares you to live in summer when it is actually winter.
If you find yourself at a dry well, then maybe it is time to find some water.
Jesus teaching you directly
As your knowledge and understanding of God is established, your Father in heaven will increase the independence of your relationship with Him. He will start to teach you directly by His Spirit, building upon the foundations that have been given to you. John describes this as the ‘anointing’ starting to teach:
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.
1 John 2:27
As His anointing starts to teach you, there can be things to overcome.
> You do not need to go to Bible College to let Jesus teach you the bible
Peter was a fisherman; He walked with Jesus for three years. After His resurrection Jesus opened his eyes to the scriptures. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came and if you look at the content of Peter’s speech, he is quoting scripture after scripture, as He proclaims their fulfillment and explains their meaning.
> Do not try to understand things He is not revealing to you
When you read the scriptures you will keep bumping in to things that do not make sense to you. If He is not choosing to gift you understanding, move on. Don’t try to unlock a scripture that He is not unlocking for you, for you then run the risk of imposing your own interpretation out of a desire to create exhaustive understanding.
> Truth has an order
There is an order to how truth is built within your heart. The foundations need to be put in first, then the walls, and then the roof. The Lord will open your eyes to the truths that you need at the correct time and in the correct order. He will release the foundations first, then the walls and then the roof. Often you will find a scripture that previously has been hidden to you will suddenly be opened because the Lord has moved on to the next stage of construction.
> Everyone receives different revelation
Because we all have different positions in the body of Christ, we have different jobs to do in the Kingdom. God will equip us for the specific task He has given us, which means we all receive different revelation, teaching and insights. There is not one man or woman who has exhaustive revelation and understanding of the Kingdom; Jesus intentionally distributes this across the body of Christ.
> There are different seasons of reading the bible
Jesus often directs you with what type of reading you need to do. There is not one mode of operating and it will change depending upon what work He needs to do in you. He might designate a season of exhaustive reading from Genesis to Revelation, to fill you with His words. He might send you around the bible connecting threads of truth from the Old Testament through to their fulfillment in the New Testament. He might focus you on a particular book or maybe a particular passage for a long length of time. When one season of reading comes to a close, let go of it, and move on to the next, without expecting it to be the same as what you left behind.
Remember, we were never called to a relationship with the bible; rather we were called to a relationship with God. We were never called to be a disciple of man; rather we were called to be a disciple of Jesus.