I depend on the Holy Spirit to fully understand and faithfully teach God’s Word, while continually testing my understanding against God’s Word.
There is a very serious responsibility that comes with teaching God’s Word. It is not enough to love God, love the Bible, and have something we want to say about a particular Scripture. When we teach, we are handling something precious that did not originate with us. God’s Word belongs to God. Therefore, our responsibility is not to tell people what we think God meant. Our responsibility is to learn what He has said, understand it as carefully as we can, and then faithfully teach it.
This may sound like a small distinction, but it is not. There is a great difference between explaining God’s Word and changing God’s Word into our own message. A teacher may explain a passage in simple language. A teacher may compare Scripture with Scripture. A teacher may show how one passage connects with another. A teacher may even point out something that a reader has never noticed before. That is teaching. But the moment we add our own idea and then present that idea as though God Himself said it, we have crossed a line.
The apostle Paul gave Timothy this instruction: “Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed worker who correctly handles the word of truth,” 2 Timothy 2:15. The Greek wording contains the expression ὀρθοτομοῦντα τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, orthotomounta ton logon tēs alētheias, describing the proper or straight handling of the word of truth. The word translated “correctly handles” is connected with the idea of cutting straight. Whatever picture we use to understand it, the point is clear in the passage itself. The worker is to be approved by God, unashamed, and careful with the word of truth.
That should make every Bible teacher stop and think. Am I handling God’s Word straight, or am I bending it toward what I already believe? Am I honestly explaining what Scripture says, or am I using Scripture to support what I want to say? Am I willing to let Scripture correct me, or have I already decided what I believe and now search for verses to make my belief sound biblical?
Those are not merely questions for pastors standing behind pulpits. They are questions for anyone who teaches God’s Word, whether in a church, Bible study, book, article, website, conversation, or even a simple message sent to one other person.
James gives another reason to take this responsibility seriously. He writes, “Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment,” James 3:1. The Greek text says μὴ πολλοὶ διδάσκαλοι γίνεσθε, “do not become many teachers,” followed by the reason that teachers will receive greater judgment. James is not telling believers that teaching is bad. He is warning us that teaching carries greater responsibility.
Why would there be greater judgment? Because what a teacher says can affect what another person believes about God. If I tell you something about myself, you can disagree with me. But if I say, “God says this,” I have attached God’s authority to my words. That is a very different thing.
Peter gives us an equally serious standard. He says, “If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks the words of God,” 1 Peter 4:11. The Greek expression is ὡς λόγια θεοῦ, “as the words or sayings of God.” Peter is not giving teachers permission to speak whatever comes into their heads and then call it God’s Word. He is telling those who speak in the service of God to do so with the seriousness appropriate to speaking God’s message. The same verse says that the person who serves should serve from the strength God supplies, and the purpose is that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. That changes the question.
Instead of asking, “What do I want to say about this verse?” we should ask, “What has God actually said here?”
Instead of asking, “How can I make this passage fit my teaching?” we should ask, “Does my teaching fit this passage?”
Instead of asking, “Can I find a verse that sounds like what I believe?” we should ask, “What does the whole of Scripture teach about this matter?”
That is where the Holy Spirit becomes essential.
Paul tells the Corinthians that believers received the Spirit who is from God, “so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God,” 1 Corinthians 2:12. Then he says, “We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people,” 1 Corinthians 2:13.The Greek text specifically contrasts words taught by human wisdom with words taught by the Spirit, and then speaks of spiritual things being explained in relation to spiritual people.
That does not mean we stop studying and simply wait for “a feeling” to tell us what a verse means. The Holy Spirit does not make careful study unnecessary. He is the One who teaches us, but we are still told to examine, test, study, remember, compare, and rightly handle God’s Word.
The Bereans give us a beautiful example of this. Paul and Silas taught them, and the Bereans did not simply say, “Paul is an apostle, so everything he says must be accepted without examination.” They received the message eagerly, but they also examined the Scriptures every day to see whether these things were so, Acts 17:11. The Greek verb used for their examination, ἀνακρίνω, carries the sense of investigating, examining, scrutinizing, or carefully inquiring.
Notice what happened there: They listened, They searched, They compared, They tested. That is not rebellion against God’s authority. That is respect for God’s authority.
And this brings us to a passage that needs to be handled especially carefully: 2 Peter 1:20-21.
Peter writes, “Above all, you know this: no prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit,” 2 Peter 1:20-21. The Greek text of verse 20 contains the phrase πᾶσα προφητεία γραφῆς ἰδίας ἐπιλύσεως οὐ γίνεται. The phrase has traditionally been translated in ways such as “no prophecy of Scripture comes from its own interpretation.” The word ἐπίλυσις can carry the sense of interpretation, explanation, solution, or resolution. It is unusual because it occurs only here in the New Testament, which is one reason we should be cautious about building an entire doctrine on one English rendering of the phrase.
But Peter immediately explains his statement in verse 21. Prophecy did not come by human will. Human beings spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. That is the point Peter is making about the origin of Scripture’s prophetic message. It did not begin as someone’s private idea and then become God’s Word. It came from God through men as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
So we should not misuse 2 Peter 1:20 by turning it into a statement that Christians are forbidden to study or explain Scripture for themselves. The Bereans did exactly that. They examined the Scriptures to test what they were being taught, Acts 17:11.
There is another distinction we need to make. Explaining Scripture is not the same thing as inventing Scripture. Nehemiah gives us a wonderful picture of legitimate explanation. The people read from the Book of the Law, and the Levites helped the people understand what was being read. The text says that they gave the sense so that the people understood the reading, Nehemiah 8:8.
That is what a teacher should do: Read the Word, Understand the Word, Explain the Word, Help people see the sense of the Word, Do not replace the Word with yourself.
There is nothing wrong with saying, “Here is what this passage means,” when what follows is a careful explanation grounded in the text and its context. The problem comes when a teacher takes an idea that Scripture does not actually state, adds it to the teaching, and then speaks as though God Himself revealed that particular conclusion. I’ve heard that done too many times. That’s just wrong. Period.
That is where we need to be very careful with the phrase, “The Holy Spirit told me.”
The Holy Spirit absolutely teaches God’s people, yes. Jesus called Him the Spirit of truth and said that He would guide His disciples into all the truth, John 16:13. The Greek text says that the Spirit of truth would guide them into all the truth and that He would not speak from Himself but would speak what He hears.
But Scripture also tells us to test spiritual claims. John writes, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world,” 1 John 4:1. The Greek command is δοκιμάζετε τὰ πνεύματα, “test the spirits.” Therefore, saying that something came from the Holy Spirit does not remove the need to test it. It makes testing even more important. The standard is not, “I strongly felt it.” The standard is not, “It sounded spiritually deep.” The standard is not, “A respected teacher said it.” The standard is not, “This interpretation makes sense to me.” The standard is God’s revealed Word.
Paul told Timothy that “all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” 2 Timothy 3:16. The Greek text uses the word θεόπνευστος, theopneustos, meaning God-breathed, God-inspired. Scripture is therefore not something we are free to reshape according to our own desires. It is the very thing given for teaching, correction, and training.
Think about what that means. If Scripture is supposed to correct us, then sometimes our interpretation must be corrected by Scripture. If Scripture is supposed to teach us, then sometimes what we thought we knew must be replaced by what God actually said. If Scripture is supposed to train us in righteousness, then our personal opinions have to take the lower seat. The teacher sits under the Word before the teacher ever stands over an audience. That may be one of the most important principles a Bible teacher can ever learn. We are not called to make God’s Word sound like us. We are called to make sure that when people hear us, they can find what we are teaching in God’s Word.
There will be times when Scripture leaves a matter open. There will be places where faithful believers understand a passage differently. There will be difficult passages that require study of language, history, culture, grammar, context, and the relationship between passages. We should not pretend that every question has an easy answer. But uncertainty is not permission to invent certainty.
When Scripture says something clearly, we should say it clearly. When Scripture gives a principle, we should teach the principle. When Scripture leaves something unstated, we should be honest enough to say, “The Bible does not tell us.” That is not weakness. That is faithfulness. And perhaps the simplest test is this: Can I take my teaching, lay it beside the Word of God, and allow God’s Word to correct anything I have added? If the answer is yes, then we are teachable. If the answer is no, then we are no longer merely teaching God’s Word. We are defending our own interpretation of it.
The goal is not to have people say, “What a brilliant teacher.” The goal is for people to open their Bibles and say, “Look what God said.” That is where the authority belongs. Not with us. Not with our opinions. Not with our traditions. Not with our favorite commentators. Not with our clever explanations. With God.
So when we teach God’s Word, we need to do it carefully. We need to study deeply, compare Scripture with Scripture, and examine the original language when necessary. We should always pray for understanding and depend upon the Holy Spirit. We should remain willing to be corrected. And above all, we should never put words into God’s mouth that He did not speak. Because when we teach, we are not merely sharing our thoughts about God. We are handling His Word.
And that is something we should do as unto the Lord God Almighty, YHWH.
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Prayer:
Holy Father, I worship You and give You all glory, honor, and praise. You alone are God, and Your Word is true. I thank You for giving me Your Word and for giving me Your Holy Spirit to help me understand it.
Help me to faithfully teach what You have said and not my own thoughts about it. Keep me humble and teachable, and help me continually test my understanding against Your Word. Show me when I am wrong and give me the wisdom and courage to correct it.
Father God, never let me put words into Your mouth that You did not speak. Let everything I teach point people back to You and Your Word, and let You receive all the glory.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Don’t take my word for it. Like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, search the Scriptures daily to see whether these things are so. Open your Bible, study God’s Word for yourself, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth. Don’t simply accept my conclusions. If what I’ve written agrees with Scripture, hold fast to it. If it doesn’t, let God’s Word be your final authority.
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