What’s the Difference Between TEACHING and PREACHING?

The New Testament speaks of both teaching and preaching God’s Word, whatever the topic might be:

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

Matthew 9:35 (NKJV)

And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Acts 5:42 (ESV)

But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Acts 15:35

The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

1 Timothy 5:17

Teaching and preaching are not one-and-the-same, but they are both necessary in effectively ministering to people. Let’s look at each…

Teaching

‘Teaching’ in the original Greek is didaskalia (did-as-kah-LEE-ah) and refers to the careful instruction of God’s Word. It’s more detail-oriented than preaching and less lively, although it’s certainly exciting when an anointed teacher opens up the Scriptures and you see things in God’s Word you never saw before. This was the reaction of people who heard Christ teach from the Scriptures (Mark 6:2).

It is teaching from the Scriptures that feeds people spiritually (Matthew 4:4).

Of course spiritually-regenerated believers can feed themselves through studying the Scriptures with the help of the Teacher, the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27). It’s best to maintain a balance between these two — feed from God’s Word through skilled ministers and your personal devotional times.

Preaching

There are a few different Greek words translated as “preaching” in the New Testament. In Matthew 9:35 the word is kérussó (kay-ROOS-so), which means “to proclaim.” Another one is euaggelizó (yoo-ang-ghel-ID-zoh), which means “to announce good news or glad tidings.” Understandably, these two Greek words are sometimes translated as “proclaiming” in some English translations.

So when a minister or any believer preaches the Word of God they are proclaiming it, announcing it, whether the topic is the gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) or any other subject that the Spirit leads one to proclaim.

**Teaching AND Preaching**

Both teaching and preaching have to do with the “ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:1-4), which is homiletics. Whereas teaching spiritually feeds the listener/reader, preaching exhorts them to action, whether that is to practice what’s being taught (if it’s a practical truth) or to change one’s mindset (if it’s a revelational truth). For instance, walking in the spirit is a practical truth whereas the nature of eternal life is a revelational truth. The first one you practice while the other changes your mindset and therefore your attitude; for instance, the truth about eternal life in Christ had a profound impact on my thinking about death, grief and life in eternity.

Positional truths are also revelational in nature in that they reveal who the believer is in Christ and therefore how God sees him or her. This naturally has a positive impact upon the believer’s life because it deals with his/her identity. You can learn about positional truths in this video.

Obviously people need to be exposed to both teaching and preaching, not just one or the other. Some fivefold ministers (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) are more adept at teaching the Word of God whereas others are more skilled at preaching. Some might be good at both. Prophets and evangelists are usually preachers whereas teachers obviously excel at teaching.

Apostles and pastors could lean one way or the other. I’ve been to assemblies where the pastor is an outstanding teacher, but not a preacher. I’ve been to other fellowships where the pastor is a great preacher, but a lousy teacher. However, in both cases the pastors had an anointing to oversee a local group of believers. Needless to say, pastors who aren’t good at teaching are going to have to schedule teachers to feed their congregations while pastors who aren’t good at preaching are going to have to bring in some preachers to inspire their people to action. All five offices of the fivefold ministry are necessary so that believers will be fully equipped for service in God’s kingdom (Ephesians 4:11-13). Believers shouldn’t be half-equipped or a third-equipped, but rather fully equipped; and both skilled, anointed teaching and preaching of God’s Word are necessary to accomplish this.

Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation

What Does “Do Not Go Beyond What is Written” Mean in 1 Corinthians 4:6?

What’s the Diff between “Milk” and “Solid Food” (or “Meat”)?

Prophets — New Testament and Old Testament (There’s a Difference)

Official Prophets (Ministers) and Independent Prophets (Ministers)