I love the church, the body of Christ, don’t you? From the seven-year-old little boy who just surrendered his young life to Christ at home in his bedroom, to the elderly woman, who in her eighties, has walked faithfully with the Lord for a lifetime - every true believer has a place and a purpose in the body. One of my favorite passages of scripture that speaks to this is found in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 where Paul stresses the importance of each member, regardless of spiritual giftedness or maturity. Here are a few verses from this passage:
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body……... But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-15, 18-20 (ESV)
“But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:24b-27 (ESV)
Of course Jesus also spoke of the coming power of the church when, just prior to His death and resurrection, He told His disciples that “whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 ESV). How would that be possible? They soon found out on the Day of Pentecost when God the Father sent God the Holy Spirit just as God the Son had promised! And on that day, the church was born. As the gospel spread from Jerusalem, churches were birthed throughout the known world. Then and now, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit within every believer, is the fuel for the greater works of evangelism, teaching, and good deeds – all those things that have been and are still today the ministry of the church to the entire world.
Having just recently become a grandmother, I’ve been reminded of how quickly a baby grows and develops from week to week as the parents provide nourishment and care to their little one. I guess I didn’t have time to notice those things as much when I was raising my own children! The baby church was no different, changing and growing from day to day as new believers were added by the thousands. Facing persecution, false teachers, and pagan cultures, these baby churches needed guidance and instruction to grow and thrive in truth. And just like our loving Heavenly Father would, He equipped the churches and their leaders through the Spirit-inspired writings of the Apostles recorded for us in the New Testament.
As a Christian woman writing a few words that other women may read, I want to call your attention to a very important command that the Lord has given directly to us. Over the last few months, I’ve had the joy of walking with a group of ladies through the second chapter of the book of Titus. Titus was a coworker of the Apostle Paul and a leader in the young church on the island of Crete. In this letter from Paul to Titus, Paul deals with some issues related to false teaching within the church, but in doing so, he also provides a portrait of a healthy church. That portrait includes older women training younger women in very practical matters related to self-control, relationships, home life, and kindness, “that the word of God may not be reviled.” (Titus 2:5b ESV)
While studying this chapter, the phrase I chewed on the most was, “They are to teach what is good” (Titus 2:3b ESV). Older women are commanded to teach younger women what is good. So, the question I had to ask is – what is good? For me, the best place to start in answering that question was to address what “good” is not. As a disciple-maker and teacher and mentor to other women, my responsibility is not to teach them:
· what is popular or trendy or cool or clever, · how to embrace the latest cultural fad, · what tickles their ears, · the latest buzzwords and phrases, · or how to promote themselves.
My responsibility and my mandate from scripture is to teach them what is good, to be a teacher of good things:
· Call good what God calls good. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 ESV
· Teach what God says. “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.” Titus 2:1 ESV
· Acknowledge God’s Word as the absolute source of truth. “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6 ESV
· Love those you teach. Commentator H.A. Ironside says, “Doctrinal correctness will never atone for lack of brotherly love.” “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Ephesians 4:15 ESV
· Train younger women in godliness for everyday life. “Training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” Titus 2:12 ESV
T. Kim, wife, mother, and writer says it well in her article Every Woman Needs Another. She says, “Spiritual mothers know the truth, the times, and their daughters — and they teach them diligently. They read and study Scripture together. They give them counsel. They spend unhurried time with them, speaking and applying God’s word at every opportunity (Deuteronomy 6:7). Not all their teaching is formal and structured; some of it comes simply as a result of sharing life with the younger women.”
Every day, every activity, every circumstance, and every phase of life can be an opportunity to teach others. The truth is - I’m always teaching, simply by the way I live. My conversation in unguarded moments, teaches. My response to gossip, teaches. My reaction to an unexpected problem, teaches. My words of praise to God for His provision, teaches. We, like the women of Crete, come face to face on a daily basis with persecution for our faith, false teachers, and a godless culture, so no matter your age, I urge you to open your Bibles and teach those in your circle of influence what is good. And love them as Christ does. When you do, lives will be transformed, and God and His gospel will be glorified!
Dear Lord, help us, enable us, and put within our hearts the desire to teach what is good. Amen.
If you’re looking for a Biblically sound resource to walk through Titus 2, I highly recommend Adorned, Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.
Love you and this!