There is a persistent claim among some believers that, because we are under the New Covenant, we have no need for human teachers. They point to Jeremiah’s promise—repeated in Hebrews—that “they shall all know Me, from the least to the greatest” (Jer 31:34; Heb 8:11), and insist that direct knowledge of God eliminates the necessity of any ministry or instruction. But this is a fundamental misreading of the times and a confusion of God’s promises with present reality.
The New Covenant Promise: Not Yet Fully Realized
The New Covenant, as described by Jeremiah, is a glorious promise: God Himself will teach His people directly. No one will say to his neighbor, “Know the Lord,” for all will know Him. In that day, the office of prophet will be obsolete—anyone presuming to prophesy will be exposed as a fraud (Zech 13:3-6). God will write His laws on their hearts and minds, causing them to walk in His ways and never depart from Him (Jer 31:33). The result is unbroken fellowship, unshakeable loyalty, and immunity from deception. This is not merely a better system; it is the final, perfect arrangement—God’s own work, requiring no human mediation.
The Present Age: God’s Provision of Ministry Gifts
Yet, when we turn to the New Testament, we see that God has not left His church without human ministry. On the contrary, Christ Himself has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers (Eph 4:11). These are not relics of a bygone era, but God-ordained gifts for the equipping of the saints, the building up of the body, and the maturing of believers “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Eph 4:12-13). The presence of these ministries is not a sign of spiritual immaturity, but of God’s ongoing care and provision in the church age. If the New Covenant were fully realized now, these gifts would be unnecessary. Their very existence is proof that the promise is not yet fully manifest.
The Error of Premature Fulfillment: Exposing the Consequences
Some attempt to shortcut this process by appealing to 1 John 2:27: “You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know… you need not that any man teach you.” They claim this is the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy. But this is a shallow reading that ignores the context and the apostolic logic. John was writing as an apostle and teacher, correcting those who were being seduced by false doctrine. If the anointing alone were sufficient in this age, John’s letter—and all apostolic instruction—would be redundant. The very fact that believers were being led astray, and that John had to intervene, demonstrates that the New Covenant’s promise is not yet literally fulfilled.
To accept this error is not a minor misstep. It leaves the door wide open to deception and bondage to men. If you reject God’s appointed means of instruction, you forfeit the protection and equipping He has provided. You become vulnerable to every wind of doctrine, every cunning scheme, every seduction that would move you away from the finished work of Christ and into spiritual slavery. What is lost is not merely “good teaching,” but the very safeguards God has established to keep you abiding in Christ, rooted in sonship, and walking in the liberty of your inheritance.
The Apostolic Safeguard: God’s Wisdom for the Present
The apostolic epistles are not relics—they are living instruments of God’s care. Their warnings and corrections are necessary precisely because the New Covenant’s final terms are not yet in effect. Today, God’s people still need to be guarded against deception, still need to be built up, still need to be brought into unity and full knowledge. The ministry gifts are God’s answer to this need. To despise them is to despise God’s wisdom and to expose yourself to the very dangers the New Covenant will one day render impossible.
The Glory Yet to Come
There is coming a day when God’s people will need no teacher, no warning, no correction. God Himself will be their light, and His law will be their delight, written indelibly on heart and mind. They will not be led astray, nor brought into bondage, nor depart from Him. But until that day, let us not presume upon the promise. Let us receive with gratitude the ministry gifts Christ has given, knowing that they are the means by which He preserves, matures, and unites His people in this present age.
To confuse the promise with the process is to undermine the very foundation of our assurance, our inheritance, and our sonship. This is not a secondary matter. The distinction between covenantal promise and present provision is salvific. Hold fast, therefore, to the apostolic doctrine, and do not cast aside the gifts God has given for your good. The day is coming when all will know Him directly—but that day is not yet. Until then, let us walk in the wisdom God has supplied.
