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Saturday, May 16, 2015

Teaching Others in Order to Learn

And what things thou hast heard of me, by many witnesses, the same deliver to faithful men, which shall be able to teach other also. 2Timothy 2:2 (Geneva Bible)

Timothy's knowledge of the faith came not only from personal teaching by the Apostle himself, but the Apostle also utilized many witnesses to reinforce that instruction. This is how A.T. Robertson explains it:

 Plutarch has dia in this sense and Field (Ot. Norv.) suggests that it is a legal phrase “supported by many witnesses.” Not mere spectators, but testifiers. (Word Pictures of the New Testament)

In his Word Studies in the New Testament, M.R. Vincent concurs as he renders the the preposition to mean "through the medium of, and therefore in the presence of." You can see here the apostolic practice which made not only learning, but teaching others an important part of becoming a mature disciple.

Based on II Timothy 2:2, the Biblical model for the transmission belt of total discipleship looks something like this:


  1. Things you heard from me personally/things you heard from me by many witnesses;
  2. You teach same things to faithful disciples, personally/they teach same things to others.
Edgar Dale later rediscovered this principle, which he put into his famous "Cone of Experience". It boils down to the fact that while you remember no more than 5% of what you hear, you will remember 90% of what you teach.

Whole Brain Teaching has incorporated pupils teaching each other as an integral part of the learning process with the command/response, Teach/Okay. You can see an example of how one teacher uses it here:


The point here is that we should use Teach/Okay in our discipleship endeavors not just because it represents modern pedagogical practice, but also because it follows Biblical norms. I can see it useful in teaching Bible content and doctrine, Biblical worldview, Biblical ethics, and Biblical foundations for each discipline of the curriculum as well as curriculum content.


How well your charges teach each other the truth will inform you how well they have absorbed your teaching. This allows you immediate opportunity to correct false impressions and fill in incomplete knowledge.

It also gives you confidence that they will some day faithfully and effectually deliver the same truths to "faithful men which shall be able to teach others also."

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