In Ephesians 4:20, Paul says the Christians at Ephesus had “learned” Christ. By that, Paul means, the Messiah.
What Christians have learned is that Jesus is the true God of the universe. He is the 2nd person of the Trinity who is the fulfillment of all the OT promises. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He is born of the Virgin Mary. He is truly God and Truly man. He is the second Adam.
He is the fulfiller of the Covenant of Works. He is the mediator of the Covenant of Grace. He is our sin-bearer, our substitute, our propitiation. He is the one who rose on the third day from the dead. He is the Head of the church. He is coming again to judge the living and the dead. By faith in Him, we are justified – we are credited and clothed in His righteousness. In Him is forgiveness of our sins. In Him is our life, hope, joy, peace, and sanctification.
But to learn Christ entails so much more. We don’t merely understand these things in our brains, but we’ve come to embrace them by faith in our entire being. We know Christ experientially. We have learned Him personally. We have turned from our sins in repentance and placed our feeble faith in His mighty work.
By His sovereign grace, we have aligned our lives with His Will. We have sought to adjust our ways of living and thinking and doing by His impeccable Standard.
We have surrendered our entire being, mind, body, heart, and soul to His Word, that is the Bible. We believe its integrity. We surrender to its authority. We cling to its inerrancy. We are confident in its infallibility. We trust its sufficiency. We live out its clarity.
This is what it means to have learned Christ!
He is our shield. He is our refuge of mercy. He is our fountain of grace. He is our King. And we live for Him.
Friends, have you learned Christ?
Because if you say, “Well, I believe in Jesus but I don’t live under His authority” then I say to you, you have not learned Christ. And His people are only comprised of those who have learned Him. Those who reign with Him in eternity will only be those who have learned Him.
Have you learned Christ?
Has Christ pardoned your sins? Has He brought you into His fold? Has He changed your way of thinking and living? Does He dwell in you? Christ is the only hope of sinners and those who will receive Him in humble faith will learn Him, will be taught by Him, will be forgiven by Him, and will live for Him.
Will you have this Christ today turning from your sins and believing upon Him in faith as your only suitable and all-sufficient Savior?
God brings glory to His Son by bringing those who once learned the way of the pagan, who once were followers of the world, flesh, and devil, who once thought the way of idolatry and misery and wretchedness and pride, God brings glory to His Son by taking unworthy rebels like this and teaching them Christ. And here is the blessedness and sweetness and grace of the gospel. Christ learnedness is not conferred upon the wise of this world. No. Christ is taught to the fools as it were, in the eyes of the world that is. The undeserving. The least deserving. The wretches and rebels.
Oh here is Christ’s message found in Mt. 11:28-29, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Are you heavy laden today? Are you burdened by sin? Are you ignorant in the ways of God? Christ says, “Learn from me.” Oh, the grace! Here He is gently and lowly in heart and offering rest to your weary soul even now.
Have you learned Christ?
You have that opportunity even now. To turn from your sins and rest your life in His gospel.
This blog post is part of a sermon preached at Perryville Second Baptist Church on 6/26/22. You can listen to the sermon in its entirety here.