MY TEACHING IS NOT MY OWN

PROCLAMATION

“The Jews there were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without having been taught?’  Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not My own, it comes from the one who sent Me.  Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own.  Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.’ ”  John 7:15-18 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, according to the Apostle John and written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here, John records the teaching of Jesus, The Christ, at the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles and His dialogue with the Jews who did not believe Him.  Jesus went to the feast in secret because there were those there who sought to kill Him. (John 7:1 and 7:10)  The people there murmured about Him, some saying that He was good, and others saying that He was a deceiver. (John 7:12-13)  During the festival Jesus went to the temple courts and began to teach. (John 7:14)  The Jews were amazed at His teaching.  He told them that His teaching was not His own, it came from God, The Father, who sent Him.  He also offered an explanation for His healing of the lame man on the Sabbath. (John 7:21-24)  Then He repeated that He was not there on His own authority but that God, The Father, had sent Him there. (John 7:28-29)  After that, He said that soon He would leave them and return to God, The Father, who sent Him. (John 7:33-34)

 

APPLICATION

When we present The Word of God to others, whether it be by telling them, teaching them, or preaching to them, the purpose is to glorify God and not self.  We are presenting His Word to His people as He gives us understanding of it.  We are not to seek personal glory; we are to give God the glory.  Whether we try to console or encourage someone by quoting a verse from The Bible, or if we preach a sermon, we present the will of God to the best of our understanding.  It is only after prayerful consideration that we spread The Word of God or share God’s Word with others.  We must always be mindful of the fact that it is not about us, it is all about Him.