At a recent dinnertime conversation, my children, who graduated from school 12+ years ago, were asked who the best teacher was they ever had. It could be someone from their Primary years, a Specialist teacher, or one of their Secondary teachers.
Their responses were fascinating and as varied as their own personalities! The follow-up question was, “What do you think are the qualities of an expert teacher?” Again, there were a variety of responses, but this time there was greater consistency.
Each of my children spoke of someone who cares for you, someone who wants to see you do your best, and someone who is able to help you better understand things, whether they be new or things you knew before. There was a real sense that, in their eyes, an expert teacher was able to take you on a journey of discovery and understanding. Jesus was someone often described as an expert teacher. He was able to speak with authority, but His teaching enabled people to take a journey of discovery and understand more deeply how to live for and with God.
As the Bible states in the New Testament book of 1 John 2:27, Jesus’ expert teaching was not lost on us after His death and resurrection. The verse from 1 John states, “His (The Holy Spirit’s) anointing/revelation teaches us about all things.”
When Jesus returned to Heaven to be with His Heavenly Father, He promised you and me the Holy Spirit to be our Divine Counsellor. The Holy Spirit would continue this teaching ministry, and He is able to teach us all things and bring to our remembrance everything that Christ taught His disciples when He was here on earth.
What is meant, though, by “all things”? As with many things, sometimes it is easier to discover what is meant by these words by clearly articulating what it is not. We are not thinking of, as I once read an agnostic describe this, “The difference between Christianity and Science is that Christianity is fixed, but science isn’t! Science is open and progressive, because it is not fixed in terms of absolutes and non-optional dogmas.”
This statement is not entirely true or accurate. In the Person and teaching of Christ Jesus, we have God’s complete and full disclosure. But, of course, we cannot see or comprehend all that is involved in His teachings in one classroom encounter, any more than we can say we have a full and complete understanding of mathematics after a full-day tutorial.
The revelation that God has given us through Jesus Christ is final in the sense that nothing will be taught that is different from it, but we must also see that it is progressive and unfolding. Therefore, not fixed in time and space.
This is how the Holy Spirit can minister to you and me today. The Holy Spirit brings out from the words and teachings of Jesus Christ new understanding, new challenges and new insights. As my children described earlier, He brings each of us on a journey of discovery and understanding. It is in this way the Divine Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, can teach us all Jesus taught—but not other than what Jesus Christ taught.
This is a gift that is available to each and every one of us today. This is why we believe it is so important to start each school day with devotion. As we open God’s Word in the Bible at the start of each day, the Holy Spirit, like an expert teacher, is able to take these words and take us on a journey that enables each and every one of us to come to know and experience God’s love in a deeper, more personal way each day.
May this be a source of encouragement to you this day.