John gets a dictated message from Jesus Himself to give to seven churches in Asia and is told to address them to the angel of the church in each case. One sound principle of hermeneutics is to heed the recipient of a message and interpret it accordingly. Note that these letters are addressed "to the angel of the church" not to the church per se; the letter was not to be circulated among members in my understanding, but read by the angel and applied by him to his church and likely read publicly. These letters are indirect to the churches, but the message relayed by their angels (which, being interpreted really refers to messengers, elders, or spiritual leaders).
Sometimes the Word falls on deaf ears and sometimes the opposite, they have itching ears and just want to hear a good word without any negative news or rebuke accompanying it. All these letters have both good and bad news, except Philadelphia, which has no rebuke explicit nor implied. It seems that Jesus says the good news first and then says, "Nevertheless, I have this against you...." At one level all the letters apply to every church and all believers as commendations to aim for and warnings to heed. None of us want to go where some of these churches are. Don't say, "That doesn't apply to me." It does apply; however, the application may be different! But one point I want to stress is that it is to the angels that the letters are sent and addressed (they may not necessarily be the elders or preachers), and the letters are to be read and applied by them. It is not what the pastor holds against the flock, but what the Lord holds against them manifest in the Word.
It is quite possible that people were not as literate in those days as they are now, and may have needed someone to read it to them, but in today's society with almost 100 percent literacy in Protestant nations, the letter might have gone into circulation. Even the Scriptures themselves were widely in circulation and there might have been only one per church that was shared among members. I do not believe manuscripts, which were hand-copied, were as likely to be privately owned, but mainly in libraries and in churches.
Sometimes the Word falls on deaf ears and sometimes the opposite, they have itching ears and just want to hear a good word without any negative news or rebuke accompanying it. All these letters have both good and bad news, except Philadelphia, which has no rebuke explicit nor implied. It seems that Jesus says the good news first and then says, "Nevertheless, I have this against you...." At one level all the letters apply to every church and all believers as commendations to aim for and warnings to heed. None of us want to go where some of these churches are. Don't say, "That doesn't apply to me." It does apply; however, the application may be different! But one point I want to stress is that it is to the angels that the letters are sent and addressed (they may not necessarily be the elders or preachers), and the letters are to be read and applied by them. It is not what the pastor holds against the flock, but what the Lord holds against them manifest in the Word.
It is quite possible that people were not as literate in those days as they are now, and may have needed someone to read it to them, but in today's society with almost 100 percent literacy in Protestant nations, the letter might have gone into circulation. Even the Scriptures themselves were widely in circulation and there might have been only one per church that was shared among members. I do not believe manuscripts, which were hand-copied, were as likely to be privately owned, but mainly in libraries and in churches.
At that time it was still thought possible to wipe out or stamp out the Bible and abolish it everywhere, making it illegal. Even though people usually graduate from high school today, many still have minimal skill in reading and find it quite challenging or difficult to read because of dyslexia or other handicap or just plain limited academic skill. Not everyone can read, and this makes them disinclined to do it--I believe this is why we have preachers and teachers who can do the homework and read for them: "Faith comes by the hearing [via preachers] of the Word" (cf. Rom. 10:17).
I have been teaching the Bible for years now, and I have been in many Bible classes, being exposed to students of the Word at all academic skill levels and natural abilities, and one thing I have learned is that some people are just not wont to read and do not enjoy it due to difficulty--not everyone finds reading fun and easy and a learning experience. They don't want to read anything mainly because it is over their head and they are not at that reading level--it's no fun for a high school student to read the college-level material unless he is a bright student and quite proficient and ahead of his years.
Some people don't realize that even Bible-reading is a challenge to some--though I believe in the simplicity of the Word and that its main salvation message is plain enough for anyone to comprehend as far as salvation goes (cf. Isa. 35:8) Part of teaching is to be able to condescend and know where people are and not preach over their heads, and also not to try to "wow" them with your scholarship, which only discourages in the end--students should be able to relate to their teacher. We don't want them to say: "You lost me." Einstein's dictum is right: "Keep things as simple as possible, but not more so."
Paul told Timothy to pay attention to the "public reading of Scripture" (cf. 1 Tim. 4:13). During the Middle Ages, people were illiterate and got most of their doctrine from artwork in the church and from the sermons on Sunday and had no direct access to Scriptures, which were even illegal to own in their own language and they were only copied into Latin. Martin Luther is credited with making Scripture accessible in Germany, and William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale in England (John Wycliffe and Jan Hus actually started the movement). It wasn't long after the invention of the printing press in ca. 1454-56 that Bibles were widely published, circulated, and available quite cheaply.
I have been teaching the Bible for years now, and I have been in many Bible classes, being exposed to students of the Word at all academic skill levels and natural abilities, and one thing I have learned is that some people are just not wont to read and do not enjoy it due to difficulty--not everyone finds reading fun and easy and a learning experience. They don't want to read anything mainly because it is over their head and they are not at that reading level--it's no fun for a high school student to read the college-level material unless he is a bright student and quite proficient and ahead of his years.
Some people don't realize that even Bible-reading is a challenge to some--though I believe in the simplicity of the Word and that its main salvation message is plain enough for anyone to comprehend as far as salvation goes (cf. Isa. 35:8) Part of teaching is to be able to condescend and know where people are and not preach over their heads, and also not to try to "wow" them with your scholarship, which only discourages in the end--students should be able to relate to their teacher. We don't want them to say: "You lost me." Einstein's dictum is right: "Keep things as simple as possible, but not more so."
Paul told Timothy to pay attention to the "public reading of Scripture" (cf. 1 Tim. 4:13). During the Middle Ages, people were illiterate and got most of their doctrine from artwork in the church and from the sermons on Sunday and had no direct access to Scriptures, which were even illegal to own in their own language and they were only copied into Latin. Martin Luther is credited with making Scripture accessible in Germany, and William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale in England (John Wycliffe and Jan Hus actually started the movement). It wasn't long after the invention of the printing press in ca. 1454-56 that Bibles were widely published, circulated, and available quite cheaply.
It is not true that, just because a person has graduated from high school that he can read at that level in today's day and age, or that he can read at all, and doesn't have severe difficulty, handicap, or academic deficiency to be able to read at will, even if he desires to. Those of us who are very good readers are not to look down (which is expecting a certain level of comprehension from reading is doing this) when we note those who lack this skill, nor are we to expect them to rise to our level and find reading pleasurable and rewarding. It is just as much the schools' fault to have never taught how to read, as natural ability not being inherent in everyone equally.
Jesus urged us not to lord it over one another and Paul told elders not to be domineering; we should not try to micromanage each other's lives and try to tell them what God's will for them is or what they should do to apply the Word of God. We apply ourselves to the Word of God, and then the Word to us, and then we might have something to share with others and hope they can spread the Word and apply it to themselves. Case in point: A teacher cannot say to his student or a preacher to someone in the church that it's God's will to read a certain book or go to a certain class or take a certain course--we are all stewards of our gifts and held accountable accordingly and to whom much is given much is required, etc. Preachers and teachers can make suggestions and possible applications and can express their opinion, but not to lay down the law and tell people what they ought to do in applying the Word--"Do not go beyond that what is written" (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6, NIV).
It is getting presumptuous to get sidetracked and turn the church into a college or academic institution, instead of a hospital for sinners and family of believers who are meant to do one mission: Fulfill the Great Commission--including preparation; all else is unnecessary, or in addition to this. We are not to "turn stones into bread" or be involved in the so-called social gospel, which is a misnomer. This mission is our purpose and focus, and we must let people operate and function within their gift's domain and not try to project our gifts onto others and expect them to be like us.
At my last church there was a popular two-year college-level Bible Study that the pastor encouraged members to take, but at no time did he rebuke them for not taking it--one felt accepted whether one took it or not. I'll bet that if a church offered a course at the 9th-grade level there would be some who would take it that don't feel up to the level of the average member. Some people have the deck stacked against them from the get-go and find other ways to learn the Word and do God's will. My brother is dyslexic and is hardly the one to ever read a book--I doubt he's ever read one; he didn't even graduate from high school; however, his spiritual development and maturity level, as well as comprehension of the deeper truths, is no less than someone who just reads a lot. He has gotten his knowledge first-hand while those who just read a lot have accumulated a lot of knowledge that is second-hand.
What we are to encourage people to do is to read the Bible the best they can and be faithful to what God has shown them in the Word. We cannot superimpose our standards of performance or achievement on others--God isn't looking for achievement; He's looking for obedience. Christ said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (cf. Matt. 11:30)--we are not to overwhelm our sheep and so discourage them. The yoke we have to follow is the will of God and we should walk in fellowship with Christ doing His will, in whatever capacity, a sphere of influence, circle of friends, or turf we find ourselves.
Any course should have a purpose: We don't increase knowledge for knowledge sake. If it is your calling to be a teacher, then God requires more knowledge--that is the tool of the trade. Knowledge must not remain theoretical or be a basis of pride. It is not an end itself, but a means to an end. A little knowledge can be dangerous; therefore, we must be careful not to half-educated our sheep give them overconfidence that they know something--knowledge should humble a person and make him realize what he doesn't know. Today, we have too much knowledge to know what to do with it. Wisdom is sen as the good application of knowledge or learning.
Even believers must realize that the cliche is still valid that "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion" (list of dos and don'ts). You can't just tell people to read the Bible and make them feel guilty if they don't; you have to instill a love and appreciation for the Word, which must come naturally from God, and not conjured up. I always read the Bible because God gave me a love for it, not because someone told me I had to. Religion says "have to," while Christianity says, "want to. "Jesus said that eternal life is to know Him (cf. John 17:3) and this should remain the focus. It is often tempting to tell others what they ought to do (unless the Bible admonishes it). We all have an inner sense of "ought." The end result may be that they stop listening or don't think you know what you're talking about.
Pastors advice from Paul is "not lording it over those entrusted to [them], but being examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3, NIV). We are not out to make clones of ourselves nor set up ourselves as the standard to emulate; God doesn't want cookie-cutter Christians. Paul urged young preacher Timothy to "preach the word" in 2 Tim. 4:2 and we must realize that truth endures and is unchanging, but applications may or may not apply and are different for different people. Paul told Titus to "teach what accords with sound doctrine" (Titus 2:2, ESV).
In the final analysis, knowledge (except knowledge of God) puffs up (cf. 1 Cor. 8:1), and it is not what we know, but what we apply--viz., faith expressing itself through love (cf. Gal. 5:6, NIV). It is not in the knowledge of Scripture that the power is, but in the doing of it (cf. James 1:22). Our aim is to know the Lord, not getting a big head, and in this should we boast (cf. Jer. 9:24). It is not knowing the Scriptures, but knowing the Author! One great teacher may be a great scholar but hardly know his Lord.
The aim is not to know about the Bible (or be educated in it), nor even to familiarize yourself with it, but to get acquainted with the AUTHOR and be at peace with Him (cf. Job 22:21). Anyone who knows the Lord is all right in my book and I would never attempt to throw stones and try to bring guilt at not meeting my own personal standards of scholarship--I know God's will for me, but not for someone else. We can know who we are in the Lord, but not necessarily for someone else.
Personally, I believe you can learn from anyone, even a child, but there comes a coming of age spiritually when you venture out on your own studies and not become dependent on someone else if you have this gift. The same can be said about a lot of endeavors: I know that God loves music and brings him glory; however, I'm not musical and cannot carry a tune or sing in key, so I depend on the talents and gifts of others; I don't need another book on prayer--I just need to pray; I don't have a deep theology on prayer--I just believe in prayer!
In summation, we must find out who we are individually in the Lord and what our own calling is and what we can do, not thinking we have to be like someone else or compare ourselves with others, as is the manner of some; or, conversely, that others have to be like us and minister similarly. We can all strive to be angels or messengers in the church. Soli Deo Gloria!
Jesus urged us not to lord it over one another and Paul told elders not to be domineering; we should not try to micromanage each other's lives and try to tell them what God's will for them is or what they should do to apply the Word of God. We apply ourselves to the Word of God, and then the Word to us, and then we might have something to share with others and hope they can spread the Word and apply it to themselves. Case in point: A teacher cannot say to his student or a preacher to someone in the church that it's God's will to read a certain book or go to a certain class or take a certain course--we are all stewards of our gifts and held accountable accordingly and to whom much is given much is required, etc. Preachers and teachers can make suggestions and possible applications and can express their opinion, but not to lay down the law and tell people what they ought to do in applying the Word--"Do not go beyond that what is written" (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6, NIV).
It is getting presumptuous to get sidetracked and turn the church into a college or academic institution, instead of a hospital for sinners and family of believers who are meant to do one mission: Fulfill the Great Commission--including preparation; all else is unnecessary, or in addition to this. We are not to "turn stones into bread" or be involved in the so-called social gospel, which is a misnomer. This mission is our purpose and focus, and we must let people operate and function within their gift's domain and not try to project our gifts onto others and expect them to be like us.
At my last church there was a popular two-year college-level Bible Study that the pastor encouraged members to take, but at no time did he rebuke them for not taking it--one felt accepted whether one took it or not. I'll bet that if a church offered a course at the 9th-grade level there would be some who would take it that don't feel up to the level of the average member. Some people have the deck stacked against them from the get-go and find other ways to learn the Word and do God's will. My brother is dyslexic and is hardly the one to ever read a book--I doubt he's ever read one; he didn't even graduate from high school; however, his spiritual development and maturity level, as well as comprehension of the deeper truths, is no less than someone who just reads a lot. He has gotten his knowledge first-hand while those who just read a lot have accumulated a lot of knowledge that is second-hand.
What we are to encourage people to do is to read the Bible the best they can and be faithful to what God has shown them in the Word. We cannot superimpose our standards of performance or achievement on others--God isn't looking for achievement; He's looking for obedience. Christ said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (cf. Matt. 11:30)--we are not to overwhelm our sheep and so discourage them. The yoke we have to follow is the will of God and we should walk in fellowship with Christ doing His will, in whatever capacity, a sphere of influence, circle of friends, or turf we find ourselves.
Any course should have a purpose: We don't increase knowledge for knowledge sake. If it is your calling to be a teacher, then God requires more knowledge--that is the tool of the trade. Knowledge must not remain theoretical or be a basis of pride. It is not an end itself, but a means to an end. A little knowledge can be dangerous; therefore, we must be careful not to half-educated our sheep give them overconfidence that they know something--knowledge should humble a person and make him realize what he doesn't know. Today, we have too much knowledge to know what to do with it. Wisdom is sen as the good application of knowledge or learning.
Even believers must realize that the cliche is still valid that "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion" (list of dos and don'ts). You can't just tell people to read the Bible and make them feel guilty if they don't; you have to instill a love and appreciation for the Word, which must come naturally from God, and not conjured up. I always read the Bible because God gave me a love for it, not because someone told me I had to. Religion says "have to," while Christianity says, "want to. "Jesus said that eternal life is to know Him (cf. John 17:3) and this should remain the focus. It is often tempting to tell others what they ought to do (unless the Bible admonishes it). We all have an inner sense of "ought." The end result may be that they stop listening or don't think you know what you're talking about.
Pastors advice from Paul is "not lording it over those entrusted to [them], but being examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3, NIV). We are not out to make clones of ourselves nor set up ourselves as the standard to emulate; God doesn't want cookie-cutter Christians. Paul urged young preacher Timothy to "preach the word" in 2 Tim. 4:2 and we must realize that truth endures and is unchanging, but applications may or may not apply and are different for different people. Paul told Titus to "teach what accords with sound doctrine" (Titus 2:2, ESV).
In the final analysis, knowledge (except knowledge of God) puffs up (cf. 1 Cor. 8:1), and it is not what we know, but what we apply--viz., faith expressing itself through love (cf. Gal. 5:6, NIV). It is not in the knowledge of Scripture that the power is, but in the doing of it (cf. James 1:22). Our aim is to know the Lord, not getting a big head, and in this should we boast (cf. Jer. 9:24). It is not knowing the Scriptures, but knowing the Author! One great teacher may be a great scholar but hardly know his Lord.
The aim is not to know about the Bible (or be educated in it), nor even to familiarize yourself with it, but to get acquainted with the AUTHOR and be at peace with Him (cf. Job 22:21). Anyone who knows the Lord is all right in my book and I would never attempt to throw stones and try to bring guilt at not meeting my own personal standards of scholarship--I know God's will for me, but not for someone else. We can know who we are in the Lord, but not necessarily for someone else.
Personally, I believe you can learn from anyone, even a child, but there comes a coming of age spiritually when you venture out on your own studies and not become dependent on someone else if you have this gift. The same can be said about a lot of endeavors: I know that God loves music and brings him glory; however, I'm not musical and cannot carry a tune or sing in key, so I depend on the talents and gifts of others; I don't need another book on prayer--I just need to pray; I don't have a deep theology on prayer--I just believe in prayer!
In summation, we must find out who we are individually in the Lord and what our own calling is and what we can do, not thinking we have to be like someone else or compare ourselves with others, as is the manner of some; or, conversely, that others have to be like us and minister similarly. We can all strive to be angels or messengers in the church. Soli Deo Gloria!