Ephesians 4:11
Ephesians 4:1111And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
JWs acknowledge that Christ gave "some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelisers, some as shepherds and teachers" but funnel all teaching authority through the Governing Body. Local elders teach only what the organisation provides; independent Bible study apart from Watchtower publications is discouraged and can lead to judicial action if it produces conclusions that contradict official teaching.
Paul lists a diversity of gifts given to the church — apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers — for "building up the body of Christ" (). The gifts are plural and distributed, not concentrated in a single governing body. The existence of teachers does not create an interpretive monopoly: affirms that the anointing "teaches you about all things," and commends the Bereans for testing even an apostle's teaching against Scripture. The Watchtower's 1981 admission — that independent Bible reading leads people back to the Trinity and the deity of Christ — reveals the organisation's fear of what Scripture says without their interpretive filter. reinforces the point: "one is your Teacher," the Christ, not a governing body.