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They Shall All Be Taught of God
Salvation involves God providing what man could not and man responding to that which God provided. This is seen from John 3.16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Consider: For whom did Jesus die? Perhaps the question should be, For whom did Jesus not die? Didn’t he die for everyone? The Bible declares that God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3.9). Thus, he “gave his only begotten Son” for everyone. Now, consider this: Is everyone saved by virtue of the fact that Christ has died for them? If not, why not?
We are told in Titus 2.11, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men…” If we are saved by the grace of God, and the grace of God has appeared to everyone, why isn’t everyone already saved? It is because of what is stated in 1 Peter 2.24 (and elsewhere) about God’s eternal purpose for man. The latter part of 1 Peter 2.24 says, “…that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.”
Titus 2.12 says that grace “teaches.” Grace came by Jesus (John 1.17), and Jesus taught (John 6.63). Salvation is dependent upon the things taught by Jesus. He gave commands never before preached, and these commands must be obeyed. Notice Peter’s words in John 6.68: “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.” Jesus had earlier said of his teachings, “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6.63).
Jesus had earlier spoken of the necessity of being taught in connection with salvation in John 6.44-45: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” One must learn how (i.e., be “taught” (John 6.44-45)) in order to come to Christ. The prophets prophesied of this very thing in regard to the Messiah.
This is why preaching is crucial. Jesus’ sacrifice was necessary to reconcile man unto God and the message of reconciliation explains how and why. Thus the apostle Paul would call his preaching a “message of reconciliation” in 2 Corinthians 5.18-20: “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”
Uniting people from all nationalities into one body, the church, was God’s eternal purpose. How could such a great feat be accomplished? By recognizing and abiding by the authority that was given unto his Son, and by following the same doctrine that he (and they) taught.
This is why teaching is crucial. It is what separates truth from all else. It is unique. Let us go back to the text of 1 Peter 2.24: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” Notice the last part of this verse: Jesus bore our sins for a reason: “…that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” This is stating why Jesus “bore our sins in his body” (i.e., the purpose for which God sent him into the world). Titus wrote of the purpose for which Jesus died in this way: “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2.14). So we were redeemed for a particular reason or purpose. That reason/purpose is here stated: To “live unto righteousness” and to be “zealous of good works” (these are one and the same).
In this same chapter (Titus 2.11-12), this purpose for which we were redeemed is stated again by the apostle Paul: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.”
Now let’s compare Peter and Paul’s language: “live unto righteousness”; to be “zealous of good works”; “deny ungodliness and worldly lusts…live soberly, righteously, and godly.” God’s grace is said to teach how to live in this manner. Grace appeared for this purpose (i.e., it was God’s purpose to show grace to man for a particular reason).
God’s grace taught us through the things taught by the Lord. We can know how to overcome ungodliness and worldly lusts and how to “live soberly, righteously, and godly” in this way. His teachings on how to “die to sin and live unto righteousness” are as much a part of God’s eternal purpose as was his sacrifice. They are inseparable, for no one can receive the benefits of God’s grace without dying to sin and living unto righteousness. This must be taught. This is why the things that are taught from the Bible are so important. It is why the doctrines of the Bible must be “rightly divided”: To teach the eternal purpose of God.
