Passage Read: 1 Peter 3-4
Meditation Verse: 4:11
Thought
This is God's expectation on anyone who presumes to preach or teach the Word of God. He must speak as if speaking the very words of God. He cannot come up with his own thoughts and ideas, but must be very clear what God's will and purpose is from any passage, and teach that. He can't use God's Word to teach his own ideas, he can't ignore God's Word and preach his own or others' ideas. He stands as an ambassador of Christ and must speak what God wants spoken. He must be careful that all he says aligns with all God teaches. The church is, after all, God's church, and we need to be careful what we teach, just as surely as a son needs to be careful what he teaches his brothers in his father's house.
Application
This is what terrifies me about preaching or teaching God's people. As James says, "those who teach will be judged more strictly." I need to be careful not to come up with my own oracles and proclaim them rather than God's Word. This is a challenge to be as familiar as possible with all of God's Word before beginning to preach, so as to be careful that everything I say fits within the confines of Scripture and accurately represents what is contained within it. There's plenty of room for creativity in illustration, but not in discerning the meaning and message of the Word. God watches over everything I say and will bring me to account for every wrong word, and reward me for every accurate message.