Didaskw

1. It means that God has ordained a classroom. Teaching must occur in a classroom. It can be anywhere, but wherever there are three believers and a pastor-teacher that is a classroom. The public assembly of the local church is the classroom for this dispensation.

2. It means authority, to communicate with authority — monologue, no dialogue, no sharing.

3. It means moral courage, the courage to teach what is said no matter what anyone thinks. Once you know you have the truth you communicate it.

4. Function. Function is communication. It demands that you concentrate, it demands that the pastor gets your attention and holds it. While it is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to give you concentration it is a part of the gift of pastor-teacher to illustrate, to lend colour to, and hold attention.

5. Observation. The pastor observes the congregation, he knows what is going on. This is important. There are times when the teaching must finish a little early because the congregation has had all it can take at the moment and it is no longer listening. Or it is getting restless.

6. Didaskw means a system of discipline in the association of the royal family. Not only does it mean academic discipline in the classroom, it means a system of discipline in the royal family.

7. It means a system of priorities for the royal family of God. Priority #1 is Jesus Christ, a priority you cannot achieve until priority #2 is fulfilled in part — doctrine. So priorities must be kept straight. Jesus Christ must be first, but that is simply a principle without practice when you are born again. The only way that it becomes a principle with practice is for priority #2 to come. Priority #2 during the early stages of your spiritual life is really priority #1, for all we know about the living Word we know from the written Word. Priority #1 is Bible doctrine until you reach supergrace and then occupation with Christ puts a mature system of priorities into operation: Christ is #1 and doctrine is #2. Next in your priorities must be the assembly in the local church to learn the Word of God.