One Teacher

At this very moment, the Roman Catholic Church is experiencing a crisis. The Pontiff, Pope Francis I wrote a document in 2016 called "The Joy of Love," urging Catholics to let their conscious dictate as it wills on controversial matters such as homosexuality, abortion, divorce and remarriage, contraceptives, and more. This document has had such polarizing effect, the Roman Church is poised to tear in two, to schism and create two separate churches. While the Vicar tries to do damage control, this serves as reminder to us to never trust in man, save for Son of Man, Jesus Christ our Lord who is both God and Man. The problem the Pope is dealing with is not alien to us Protestants, there are many great leaders who have fallen into error Among them is Martin Luther who while in gripes of the Reforming zeal wrote "Freedom of Christian" and denounced all idolatries including the Madonna, the Cult of the Saints, and more; but then slide later back to the middle way between Reform and Catholicism with Transubstantiation and other strange spiritual tastes and appetites. I am grateful that Luther loosed the Gospel from the "Babylonian Captivity," along with help of William Tyndale, Zwingli, Calvin, and others; but we must be careful to cling to any documents of men, weither they be pope or preacher, for we have but One Teacher and Instructor.

Our Lord and God Jesus Christ did warn us to call no one rabbi, teacher, master, leader, father, and pastor, "But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors and leaders and teachers, for you have one instructor and one leader and one teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant." (Matthew 23:7-11, ESV, NASB and AMP combined). Most translations take the verses, "For you have one leader or teacher, the Christ," rather than all three titles, but the Greek New Testament actually says all three, "For you have one teacher [καθηγητής, ου, ὁ, kathégétés, kath-ayg-ay-tace', a leader, teacher, guide, master,  properly, a leader; someone bringing others "down the road of learning" by giving needed instruction; a master-teacher], the Christ." (Matthew 23:10). Our Lord is making it clear that He is the only Teacher, He and his Father whom he mentions in full paragraph of Matthew 23:7-11, for Jesus said, "I don't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it," (John 12:49), "Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, carrying out His work," (John 14:10), "My teaching is not My own," Jesus replied. "It comes from Him who sent Me," (John 7:16), "Jesus gave them this answer: "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does," (John 5:19), Not only if Christ the Leader and Teacher, and Father the Instructor and leader, so is the Holy Spirit the Teacher and Leader, "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26), "However, when the Spirit of truth comes [Jesus is Truth John 14:6, and Holy Spirit also comes from Him see John 20:19-22), He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come," (John 16:13), and "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father--the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father--He will testify about Me." (John 15:26), and "Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:21-22). For the Godhead, The Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One God and Three Persons. Why would we disciples turn to mere mortals, men with fallible thoughts, instead of Holy Trinity to teach us? Have we not learned that wisdom and understanding are in Christ alone?, "to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," (Colossians 2:2-3), and that Christ has become Wisdom itself as well as Love?, "It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption." (1 Corinthians 1:30). Why are we compelled to seek out other teachers, when the Divine Trinity waits to teach us Himself? Why would we go to creature, rather than the Creator? It is like going to one who works concrete for a building being built rather than Architect who knows the whole plan, the concrete maker and spreader only has his part of blueprint, and can error if he does not consult with architect! In the same way, teachers often error who do not turn exclusively to the Holy Trinity for guidance, and for this reason the Apostle James warns, "Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly." (James 3:1). 

We as Christians are meant to go to Christ, the Father, and Holy Spirit! We have free access to Him now through Christ (Romans 5:2, John 14:6, Hebrews 10:19),  and His blood (Hebrews 10:19, Ephesians 3:11-12). For we are now temples of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Hebrews 3:6, 1 Timothy 3:15, Romans 8:9), and Christ lives in us (Colossians 1:27, 1 John 4:15); why then do we pretend to listen only to other men? The Holy Spirit abides in us, and we abide in God (1 John 4:15, John 17:20-22), so then why do we seek wisdom from leaders who so often contradict themselves? The answer is that we crave knowledge (gnosis), but seldom crave to know-personally (ginosko). There is nothing wrong with knowledge (gnosis), but we will be tested at judgement day over if we know Christ in personal and intimate relationship (Matthew 7:22-23, Matthew 25:12, and John 17:3). We are suppose to learn at feet of our Great God and Teacher, not only academically, but as you would learn from your closest friend or someone you feel at ease around and comfortable with (a counselor, or etc). The wisdom from Christ is meant to be living, not just words and thoughts, but active and alive, as He is alive. There is nothing wrong with listening to learned preachers or even reading profitable Christian wisdom from a blog or book, but we must always be prepared to test it against what Christ the Word (John 1:1-17) has said to us personally and what is found in The Scriptures (Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments). For our instruction from Christ is in the Scriptures and by the Spirit of Truth, we learn from Christ both from what He said and what He is saying to us individually and personally right now in this day and age; the two are always in harmony, Scripture and Spirit of God speaking to us; for God never contradicts Himself, but mere mortal men can. So I do not discourage reading scholars, so far as in that they don't contradict the Savior or mislead you from learning at His feet. For Apostle Paul, the Apostle Peter, and Apostle John shared the words the LORD gave to them, and those words have not only been sealed by Holy Spirit as drops from divine fountain of the Trinity, and are infallible, but they did come from men who in obedience to Spirit shared the Truth without adding to it. This is challenge to us all, to share without adding iota to what Immanuel has told us to say weither in prophecy, writing, or oration. This requires discipline in Spirit, to submit to God (James 4:7) and let Him speak without us meddling with our  instruments of reason, interpretation, and dissection; at least not until the words of God have prevailed and gone forth and then He tells us to interpret and reason them to others who struggle to understand His Spirit. Even then, our aim should be to teach people to go to the Teacher, Christ (Matthew 23:10) and to rely on Christian teachers only as tertiary aid, but not the horse's mouth itself, but the echo of our understanding can sometimes sound different than the voice intended and to this we must test with Spirit (1 John 4:1-3) and the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16) to discern if the teaching be sound or unsound. 

The balance between gnosis (know about) and ginosko (know personally) is a dance on tight rope spiritually. Fall on either side of the rope and we can fall into error, too much gnosis and you become puffed up with men's doctrines (1 Corinthians 4:18), too much ginosko and you become elemental (Colossians 2:8-23)and no longer turn to Scriptures and Reason God has given us. The right balance of gnosis and ginosko, creates a sound mind that reasons, and tests with Scripture, but also knows Christ personally in a intimate relationship of prayer, visions, third heaven experiences (2 Corinthians 12:1-14), and more. The ideal balance is reason and relationship; intellect and emotion, learning and love, Truth and touch. The only way to properly learn balance is from Balance Master, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, One God, and Three Persons. Who but Trinity, the One True God, can teach us best and help us walk that tightrope between reason and relationship? For the Godhead is in perfect harmony, having all knowledge and wisdom, and reason to the full, and yet having a relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the Trinity our God we see the model for perfection, One God, Three Persons, Three Intellects, Personalities, Persons, and Unique Natures, yet One in essence, substance, mission, purpose, and relationship. He is the perfect Teacher because He is God and knows all things, and in addition He wants to know us in a personal relationship, for He made us for relationships, "He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself," (Luke 10:27), and "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35). Our quest for learning should begin and end with the Holy Trinity, God the Father, God Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit, One God and Three Persons. For He is Alpha and Omega, the A to Z, the Beginning and End, Forever and Amen.