Why so much conflict doctrinally within the Body of Christ?

Consider this fact;

2 Chronicles 15:3, “Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.”

1 Corinthians 12:28, “²⁸And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues… ²⁹Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?”

2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears”

James 3:1 “Do not all be teachers, my brothers, because we teachers will be judged more hardly than others.” BBE.

2 Timothy 1:11, “Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.”

Judging from the above scriptures, one can infer that there is a teaching Grace more especially in the area of the setting of doctrines. The answer to the question Paul asked is that ALL ARE NOT TEACHERS just as all are not Apostles.

Now for him to combine those three offices tells us that with the prophetic (preacher) Grace he gets the mind of God for His Body, with the Apostolic Grace (wisdom) he builds the Church; structuring what he has received prophetically and with the teaching Grace he breaks down what he has received divinely for all to understand. We find the same graces in Jonathan David’s uncle in 1 Chronicles 27:32 “Also Jonathan David’s uncle was a counselor, a wise man, and a scribe (teacher).”

These are the three dimensional graces the father has ordained for the building up of His church, the Body, as stated by Jesus Himself;

Matthew 23:34 “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: (teachers) and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:”

In all, while everyone can present the gospel as received, core doctrinal issues ought to be in the hands of the “teaching priest” and this is what is missing largely within the Body of Christ.

I think those who are not largely called to this Grace end up as false teachers with adverse consequences as Peter would say;

2 Peter 2:1 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction”

And because they lack this Grace, their interpretation of scripture is also way off and misleading like Peter would say of Paul’s letters.

2 Peter 3:16 “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction”

Let it be noted that an exhorter is not the same as a teacher.

Romans.12, “⁶Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; ⁷Or ministry let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; ⁸Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation…”

The exhorters are men that stir up the faith of the people and just keep them going by way of encouragement. They don’t necessarily lay doctrine as instruments of the faith, that which reveals the intent and purposes of God for His creation and that pertains to Redemption and the kingdom.

The teaching ministry as a minister needs humility so as not to err, because not all are called into it. And once he errs he will mislead many who have so believed in him and his ministry. We had this problem with William Branham as powerful as he was and used of God prophetically. He wasn’t a called teacher but a prophet who wanted to teach instead of staying in his calling and so misled many.

Stay in your grace; know who you are. Your reward is in your faithfulness to your calling not just what you think you must do because others are doing it.