26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. – John 14:26
Don’t Stop
I remember the sense of relief I felt once I graduated college and passed the CPA exam. I felt like I could finally set the books aside and get on with real life. After all, isn’t the only reason we read and study is to satisfy our teachers and prove what we know? Or at least what we can retain and regurgitate for a short period of time? I seemed to think so. But I was quickly challenged to do some rethinking!
I can still clearly remember the day a dear friend challenged my attitude towards learning. It was only appropriate that I was standing over my gas grill at the time. Although I thought I was grilling him dinner, in actuality he was grilling me. As he was asking me questions about life direction now that I had my CPA license, I distinctly remember sharing with him how I was happy to be freed from the books and the boredom of study. At the time I didn’t really care to look at another book. Books meant work and I had a job now. So who needs books? We all do. And my dear friend was wise to challenge me and convict me on the importance of continuing to read and learn. I accepted his challenge and have never regretted it.
Books and Authors
It is amazing how our perspectives are influenced by our attitudes. When I was a student, my textbooks seemed somewhat tyrannical. For the most part, they were cold and sterile vaults filled with facts. I read them because I was forced to if I wanted to get a passing grade. Unfortunately, enjoyment is too seldom derived from obligatory acts.
By way of contrast, I now read because I want to. No longer obligated to read, I find a sense of enjoyment in books and view them much more like friends than tyrants. As they take me to times and places that I otherwise could not experience I often wonder what it would be like to spend time with the authors if they were still alive.
What would it be like to discuss Hamlet with Shakespeare himself? Wouldn’t it be a privilege to interview Dickens and allow him to share his inspiration for some of his colorful characters? How about sitting down with Tolstoy or Dostoevsky to have them elaborate on some of their web-like plots? How much more would a good book come alive if we were able to share it with the author himself? Because of the Holy Spirit, such is the case when it comes to the Bible.
Paideia
The authors of the New Testament lived during a time in which the view of education could be described by the Greek word paideia. Paideia comes from a Greek word relating to children and it refers to the process of developing children into mature adults through education. However, it is more than teaching or disseminating facts. Under paideia, the goal of education is to train and develop the whole person – body, mind, and soul, in bringing them to maturity.
Instead of producing parrots who merely repeat facts, “paideia is consciously shaping the young to understand and appreciate the beautiful and the good, always pursuing excellence or virtue. The end goal of whole-person education is understood as the satisfied life of flourishing that the mature alone can experience.” This state of perfection is often referred to in the Bible as “perfection”.
As is evidenced in the Scriptures, such education is concerned with investing in people not simply informing them. To be effective, an educator not only provides information but facilitates transformation. This takes great commitment. Thankfully, God is the most committed paideia educator.
Pedagogue
When Adam and Eve walked in the Garden of Eden, God joined them in their fellowship. Who knows what kind of wisdom the all-knowing Creator shared with His creation in the cool of the day. As much as they completed each other, they were dependent upon the teaching of God.
When Israel broke the bonds of Egypt and entered the Promised land, they too were accompanied by the presence of God. Like Adam and Eve, God’s chosen people were dependent upon his guidance. Moving from childhood to adulthood is not an easy task. We need God’s help to arrive at perfection.
Because of our sin nature, God has shown his mercy by leaving us help. In the form of the Law, God gave us a form of teacher. Specifically, Galatians 3:24 tells us that the Law served as a guardian (pedagogue) until Christ came. Paul tells us that the role of the Law was to hold us captive and imprison us until Christ set us free.
As our temporary pedagogue, the Law was responsible for “teaching” us God’s moral will for us and convicting us of our sins. Although the Law could open our eyes to our shortcomings, it could not transform us or bring us to perfection. We needed more than a teacher, we needed an educator.
Paracletes
Once great teachers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle dominated Greece with their teaching. As they “practiced” paideia, these men influenced their students not only with words but by their actions as well. Although there would be times of formal teaching, much of what was gleaned from these men was done by extended periods of interaction. These philosophers and their students shared many life experiences together, much like Christ and His disciples.
Jesus, our first Paraclete, didn’t “just” come to impart wisdom and knowledge, He came to sacrifice His life for us. But before He did, He completely invested His life into His followers. During His short life, Jesus lived out Deuteronomy 6:7. Regardless if He was sitting in Matthews home or walking through Samaria, Jesus was constantly teaching about the Kingdom of God. In the upper room before His death and on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection, Jesus was practicing paideia as He was transforming His followers.
Jesus is now at the Father’s right hand until He returns for His bride. But we have another Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, to assist His bride to perfection until He returns to bring us home.
Teaching and Reminding
Until the 20th Century, paideia drove educational philosophy through most of Western civilization’s history. We can only speculate how differently our society might be if we hadn’t abandoned it. But unfortunately, we did. However, God never will. He knows we are sinful creatures in need of transformation. We need to be brought to maturity; body, mind, and soul.
With the Holy Spirit indwelling us, we have the Bible’s author residing with us full time. As helpful as they may be, we are not dependent upon the church or any man to teach us. As we open the Word in prayer and humility, the Holy Spirit is willing to open our eyes to Truth. The most important requirement for understanding the Bible is not the knowledge of Hebrew or Greek, but having the Spirit as our divine educator.
The Holy Spirit not only teaches us Biblical Truth, but as we need it He reminds us of Christ’s teachings. Perhaps it will be an encouraging parable like the prodigal son when the enemy is trying to discourage us. Or maybe it will be a stern warning about worldly temptation when the enemy is trying to allure us with his lies. Whatever circumstances we might face, we will not face them alone. The Holy Spirit is our faithful Helper, who will never give up on us or stop working on us. God loves us too much to leave us as we are. He loves us too much to leave us alone. Never stop reading His Word. The greatest Author wrote it with you in mind.