1 Tim 3:14-16 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit, Beheld by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory. 
	As we continue with this letter of the Apostle Paul to his young comrade in the Lord, we begin to understand some of the concerns of both the early church and today’s church. There is an ongoing admonition at the heart of this letter to become all that would please the Lord. Paul is instructing Timothy as to the inner working of the church, with constant regard to that which will please God in every situation and human dealing within the body. Christ is always at the forefront. As the body and the bride of Christ, the church, we must always be on guard to live lives that only serve to bring honor to Him. Those lives are lived as we are instantly obedient to the Holy Spirit and fully in line with His Word.
	With this heart in view, we will spend a couple of weeks in consideration of some of the aspects of guidance that are given to the church in this writing of the Apostle Paul. We want to see our source of instruction and the revelation of the heart of Christ opened intimately into the heart of His church, our hearts, and our lives. We will use this chapter of Paul’s letter as a reference and a means of delving into a bit more of what God has, is, and will continue to develop in the church as He teaches and instructs in the paths of His Righteousness and His Holiness. 
	Our Lord Jesus Christ is our prime example of the instruction that is needed within our corporate and individual living by His Word. Let us consider the manner in which He taught as He was on this earth. In Matt 5:1-3, we read the following, And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He then continued with the beatitudes of which we should be very familiar. We will not examine them in detail at this point, although it would mightily behoove us to delve into them regularly in our personal studies of the Word. 
The key at this point is that Christ saw a need, a need to express in a deeper and understandable manner the very heart of God. He had the compassion and the desire to open up the life, the truth, and the love of God unto His disciples and followers. He did not hesitate to teach, to instruct in the manner in which our lives are to reflect the very love and purpose of God. His is a call unto the innermost being of His listeners in order to instill in each of us the ever increasing knowledge of the great Love of God with which He so loves us. 
	Consider the exchange that took place between Christ and the two disciples as they were walking on the road to Emmaus, very soon after the resurrection. Luke 24:25-32, And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He would go farther. And they urged Him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over." And He went in to stay with them. And it came about that when He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" They knew it was the risen Lord Jesus Christ because of the manner in which He taught them. He did not hesitate to open up the scriptures and to instruct in the manner in which truth becomes life.
	That is the great key of spiritual, scriptural instruction. Anyone can spout history. Anyone can drill grammar and vocabulary and philosophy and facts. When we teach and learn the Word of God, however, it must be life that is imparted, not merely ideas and concepts. It must be life in every sense and operation of the Holy Spirit. It must be spiritual truth and life abundantly and vividly active to bring into our hearts an increasing understanding of what it means to live by faith - to learn how to live by the every Word of God. It must be the life that infuses us to live in service unto others as Christ so served us. The instruction of the Word of God is never to be taken lightly. The ministry of God’s Word is to be regarded as highly treasured and valuable and essential because it is the means by which God imparts the decisive difference between eternal death and eternal life. When we are before the entire fellowship, or the men, or the women, or the young people, or our children and grandchildren, in our homes and at work, it is, very literally, a matter of life and death. That is the greatest lesson to be taught and learned. That requires a heart that will willingly lay itself down for the sake of others. That is how Christ taught and still teaches through His Church, His Body, on this earth.
	Another tremendous aspect of the encouragement that Paul relays to Timothy is that there is a dire need for this heart of instruction within the world today. Consider, for a moment, the manner in which God used Philip to open His Word to the Ethiopian eunuch. Acts 8:30-35, And when Philip had run up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: "He was led as a sheep to slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He does not open His mouth. "In humiliation His judgment was taken away; Who shall relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth." And the eunuch answered Philip and said, "Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?" And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him….The eunuch’s dire need for the teaching of Christ is declared in that statement  "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?"  
	That is the telling statement of the condition that surrounds us in the world today. There is a need for instruction in the Word. There is a cry coming forth from the lost of this age, a cry for the salvation of God. They do not understand it. They do not recognize it, but they are living in a manner which shows forth the truth that they need something more than they have. There is a vast void and emptiness within them which they are trying to fill with all the lies of this world. That emptiness can only be filled by Jesus Christ. How can they know unless they are guided into the truth by one whose heart is that of complete service to God and to man? They need to have Jesus preached to them, not in judgment, not in a high and lofty manner, not in condemnation and disgust of their need. They need to be guided, lovingly, openly, and heartfeltly guided into all truth. We are the living testimony of Christ, used by the Holy Spirit for His purposes in that instruction. As our lives reflect the Living Word of God today and everyday, so will those people seek to find the truth as did that eunuch in the desert. …how could I, unless someone guides me?" That utterly seeking cry should echo in the deepest recesses of our hearts.
As Jesus is alive in His church, so will this world see and realize its need for Him in truth and in life and in reality. It is so easy for the world to relegate Jesus of Nazareth to the pages of history in its attempts to minimize His influence in the lives of the lost. Against this vile travesty, we are called to instruct, to teach, and to live forth Jesus Christ. We are the cognizant and inherently living testimony of His resurrection power. Our witness is seen in the breathing and conscious reality of Christ in us, the hope of Glory.
	Acts 18:24-28 opens another vein of our hearts before the Lord. We read something key about Apollos as a teacher of the Word. Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia (A key a), the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he helped greatly those who had believed through grace; for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. 
	Please notice something very key concerning teaching and instruction in the Lord. No matter how much we have learned, we can never claim to know it all. As we progress in the Lord, He will be very faithful to continue teaching us His ways. As ministers and teachers of the Word, it is vital that we remain learners of the Word. We must be open, constantly seeking for the Holy Spirit to establish ever more deeply, the truth and realty of Jesus Christ. If we ever get to the point that we say to ourselves that there is nothing more to learn, then we loudly and demonstrably proclaim our ignorance of the ways of the Lord. Apollos was a very learned man in the scripture, and yet he was humble enough to know that he was not sufficiently versed in the Lord. Priscilla and Aquila were able to explain the Word and the way of God more accurately. They were able to teach the teacher, and that is the way that all of our hearts must be open. We will never know all the fullness of Christ in this life-time or in eternity.
All of eternity will be spent dwelling on and learning of the excellencies and the glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Never allow ourselves to become complacent. Do not fool ourselves with the idea that we know all that we need to know. Always seek after the Lord to continue His good work in each one of us. Hold one another in the prayer before God that He will ever more deeply reveal greater and deeper truths to all of us. Constantly desire to be fed by the Word of God and to find nourishment and growth in its every proclamation of Jesus Christ. Do not say that I have heard all this before, that there is nothing for me in this instruction. Rather seek the Lord with all our heart. Seek to know Him ever more clearly each day. Seek and we will find Him.
	The Apostle Paul faced the seeming futility of dealing with those who felt that they knew it all. In Acts 28:22-31, as he was dealing with the Jewish leadership in Rome, they made inquiry as to Christianity, but they were not open to it as the truth worth knowing. "But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere." And when they had set a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. And some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, "The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, 'Go to this people and say, "You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes; Lest they should see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I should heal them. "' "Let it be known to you therefore, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen." [And when he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.] And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered. 
	The Apostle Paul recognized the attitude of those Jewish leaders as declared by the Prophet Isaiah. He also realized that as shut as their hearts were to Christ, the Gentiles were yearning for the Word of God’s salvation. He was enabled to preach and to teach of Jesus Christ in an unhindered fashion because he was dealing with a people who desired to learn, who were desperately seeking after the truth of God in Jesus Christ. This is the major key to learning, to teaching, to instruction, and to life in Christ Jesus. We must seek to know Him ever more greatly every day. We must yearn to hear and to obey. We must never be satisfied with anything other than the Word of God proclaimed, taught, and lived within our individual and corporate lives. 
	The instruction of the Word is two-fold, and is vital in both capacities. We will be taught directly by the Holy Spirit in our individual seeking after the Lord through our personal times of Bible study and prayer. And, just as importantly, we will receive instruction and admonition and truth in our corporate gathering together in fellowship before the Lord. He will meet every need, every desire, and every heart that seeks after Him. Do not become complacent in the limited knowledge that we have. Rather, open our hearts to the Lord in our every time of prayer, our every time of scripture reading, and in our every time of gathering together as His body. Be taught by the Word as ordained through the Holy Spirit in the words of His instruction and teaching. Hold our teachers up before the Lord that He would have His Word proclaimed in our assembling together. Join together, as one heart, in seeking to know Him more. 
	Join our heart with that of the Apostle Paul, as he writes to us in Phil 3:7-11, But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. To know Christ more, that is our eternal quest of life now and forevermore.
	Lord willing, next week, when we continue with this chapter, we will look into both the teachers and the means of our instruction in the Word of God. As we proceed, let it be in that earnest prayer for the Holy Spirit to develop in everyone of us the unceasing desire to seek an ever-increasing knowledge of Christ. To know Him in that intimate relationship as His Church, His Bride, and His Body on this earth. Amen  
	I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Beheld by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory. Amen

Benediction   Ps 145:1-13 I will extol Thee, my God, O King; And I will bless Thy name forever and ever. Every day I will bless Thee, And I will praise Thy name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Thy works to another, And shall declare Thy mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty, And on Thy wonderful works, I will meditate. And men shall speak of the power of Thine awesome acts; And I will tell of Thy greatness. They shall eagerly utter the memory of Thine abundant goodness, And shall shout joyfully of Thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The Lord is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works.  All Thy works shall give thanks to Thee, O Lord, And Thy godly ones shall bless Thee. They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, And talk of Thy power; To make known to the sons of men Thy mighty acts, And the glory of the majesty of Thy kingdom. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Thy dominion endures throughout all generations. Amen