Do you remember Jesus’ parting command in Matthew’s gospel? Look closely in the middle of this command from Jesus, where he tells his followers to teach others to observe all that he has commanded them.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19–20)
As soon as we see that word teaching, many of us immediately think, Since I’m not a preacher or don’t have a gift for teaching God’s Word, this is not for me. And yes, the Bible does talk about gifts and callings related to teaching God’s Word, but that’s not the only way it talks about God’s people passing on his Word to others.
A Word for Every Follower of Christ
Hear what God says to all of his people (not just the ones who are gifted to preach or teach):
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6–9)
These instructions from God in the Old Testament lay the foundation for Jesus’ instructions in the New Testament. Jesus is telling each of us as we make him known—remember, this is the purpose of our lives as Christians!—to constantly pass God’s Word on to others in a way that helps them know and obey it.
Are you a Receiver or a Reproducer?
This command from Jesus—and purpose for our lives—means that what we see in God’s Word is not intended to stop with us. It’s intended to spread through us. I have often asked followers of Jesus this question: Are you a receiver or a reproducer of God’s Word?
What we see in God’s Word is not intended to stop with us. It’s intended to spread through us.
The illustration that always comes to my mind involves a group of persecuted brothers and sisters I once spent time with in Sudan. Imagine walking with me into a thatched hut with a small group of Sudanese church leaders, where we sit down to study God’s Word together. As soon as we begin, we notice that each of them is writing down all that we’re discussing. They come up to us afterward and say, “We are going to take everything we have learned from God’s Word, translate it into our languages, and share it with our tribes.” They are not just listening to receive; they are listening to reproduce.
Spreading through Sharing
So what about you? I think most of us, at best, are prone to stop at receiving God’s Word. Even if we desire to learn God’s Word, our default is still to listen with a self-centered mindset that asks, What can I get out of it? But the second-greatest commandment is to love others as ourselves. That means we need to reframe this question—and our entire mindset—so that we ask, What can I get out of God’s Word and how can I share it with others?
This is how God’s Word spreads in the world: Followers of Jesus share what they see in the Word with others. So before you finish your time studying the Bible, I challenge you to ask, With whom does God want me to share what I’ve seen in his Word?
This is an excerpt from David Platt’s New Book, “How to Read the Bible”.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
