Skip to main content

Ephesians 4:20-21: The Way You Learned Christ


Ephesians 4:20–21
[20] But that is not the way you learned Christ!—[21] assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, (ESV)

How have you learned Christ?  Was it through the minister at your local church?  Was it through reading the Scriptures on your own?  Was it a friend or family member who shared with you the truth about Jesus Christ?  Paul has just been talking about those who do not know Christ, and how they are led by their own sensuality.  And he now says that it is not the pursuit of our own sensuality that teaches us about Christ.

I want to hop up on one of my soap boxes today.  I am concerned about the current church in America and how its members are learning Christ! Many of the worship songs in our churches fail to address the woeful sin nature of mankind and instead teach that God was so pathetically incomplete without us as his children that he sent Christ to die for us.  As if God needed anything. 

How have you learned Christ?  I challenge you to look deeply at some of the words in modern worship songs.  Do they elevate Man or Christ?  The Gentiles, the godless, the heathen, they elevate mankind.  Christ glorifies himself.  And if we have learned of him correctly, we will glorify him as well.

How have you learned Christ?  Is the teaching and preaching of your church focused on a sovereign God, who calls wretched sinners unto salvation through his bountiful grace?  Or do you hear from the pulpit that you can speak things into existence and God has to come running at your whim and make things happen for you?  Do you chase after so-called prophecies that tantalize you and parallel modern psychics?  How have you learned Christ?

There is a contrast between true followers of Jesus Christ and those that do not know him.  Paul has been addressing that contrast here in Ephesians 4.  Be very careful that you are found to be a true follower.  If you are elevating your own sensuality do not claim to truly know Jesus Christ.  How have you learned Christ?  If it is not in the context of an acknowledgment of your own wretched sinful nature and your absolute dependence on a holy God to save you through Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross you may have no confidence that you know him at all!

How have you learned Christ? I pray that you have humbled yourself and exalted Him.  He will not share his glory with another.  He did not die on the cross satisfy your sensuality. He died to forgive your sin and call you to a life of holiness. We are to put the flesh to death.  Are you dead yet?  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Romans 8:18: For I Consider That The Sufferings Of This Present Time Are Not Worth Comparing

Romans 8:18 [18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (ESV) Perspective. What an important word. Let's be honest. We do not like the idea of suffering. We will do almost anything to avoid any kind of suffering. Some churches have gone so far as to preach against the idea of suffering, declaring it to not be a part of the true believer's life. Paul is not shy about the topic. Paul uses the sufferings of this present time as a means to consider the greater glory that awaits us. Perspective. Paul is not in any way attempting to diminish our suffering. A view toward eternity puts our suffering in a proper understanding. Yes, our suffering is terrible. In the grand scheme of eternity it is not even worth comparison. Maybe you are thinking that Paul does not know what he is talking about when it comes to suffering. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul describes countless beatings, often near death,

Romans 11:24: For If You Were Cut From What Is By Nature A Wild Olive Tree, And Grafted, Contrary To Nature, Into A Cultivated Olive Tree . . .

Romans 11:24 [24] For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (ESV) We continue looking at the illustration of an olive tree. The root of the tree is the covenant relationship relationship of God with Abraham. Abraham's faith is what this spiritual tree is built on. The first branches would have been the faithful people of Israel, who like Abraham, placed their faith in God. They believed God, just like Abraham, and it was credited to them as righteousness. There were branches of the people of Israel who never placed their faith in God. Because these branches were not true followers of God they were broken off of the tree. Faith in God was the essential element that made the branches true branches of this spiritual tree. Some branches remained. Others, the faithless unbelievers, were removed. After Jesu

Romans 15:20-21: And Thus I Make It My Ambition To Preach The Gospel, Not Where Christ Has Already Been Named

Romans 15:20–21 [20] and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, [21] but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” (ESV) We need to be reminded continually that the message of the Gospel is intended to move all across the world. Jesus said that his followers were to preach the Gospel, starting in Jerusalem, and continue preaching the Gospel to the whole world. Christians have not always been good at delivering the Gospel message as far and as often as they should. In the first century church it took intense persecution to motivate the disciples in Jerusalem to bring the Gospel to Judea and Samaria. Once the disciples fled to new regions they shared the Gospel wherever they went. Would the disciples have preached the Gospel without the persecution? We may never know. Some probably would have stayed in their co