Learn Christ

This is the phrase that I learned some twenty years ago. My understanding of this phrase has grown so much through all these years; not merely in doctrine, but much more in life and experience. This two words together means a lot. It eccompases the entire Bible in truth, and perhaps, our entire human life-span, in life. There are so much truth and revelation in this power-pack phrase, "Learn Christ!" The ministry has helped me understand this phrase in a very specific and practical way.

But you did not so learn Christ, Ephesians 4:20

This is the living needed in the daily life of a Christian: Learn Christ. 

Note from the Recovery Version on "learn Christ":Christ is not only life to us but also an example (John 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:21). In His life on earth He set up a pattern, as revealed in the Gospels. Then He was crucified and resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit that He might enter into us to be our life. We learn from Him (Matt. 11:29) according to His example, not by our natural life but by Him as our life in resurrection. To learn Christ is simply to be molded into the pattern of Christ, that is, to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

The Bible also narrated the detail of learning Christ in our daily living in many aspects. This time in my personal study of this portion of the word, I was enlightened to see the humanity that is needed for living Christ. It entails many practical things that are very human, not the natural humanity but the humanity of Jesus. 

In Ephesians 4 and 5, there are practical ways of learning Christ; walking worthily of the calling with which we are called, lowliness and meekness, long-suffering, bearing one another in love, being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace, the reality is in Jesus(the reality of learning to live Christ is in Jesus Himself), renewed in the spirit of your mind(a very practical way of learning Christ), put on the new man(to live by the life of Christ), speak truth each one with his neighbor, working with his own hands in that which is respectable, no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but only that which is good for building up that it may give grace to those who hear, kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ also forgave you, walk in love, walk as children of light, redeeming the time, understand the will of the Lord, be filled in spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father, being subject to one another in the fear of Christ....Many of these virtues can be lived out only in the life of Christ, by being Jesusly human. This is indeed to learn Christ. And I am learning them one by one.

Even as the Lord spoke this portion of the Bible subjectively to me today, coincidentally, the morning revival portion that I am enjoying today is on the same line of thought too. Learning Christ to live Christ by putting the body to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus may be lived out in the our mortal flesh.

Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor. 4:10-11 

For the testimony of Jesus we need the highest human life, a life lived out according to the divine life given to us by God. By the divine life we need to have a human life that reaches the highest standard. In our living we should be “Jesusly human.” We should aspire to have a glorious testimony of the Christ in whom we believe and whom we serve and honor. Then we shall be a shining, golden lampstand. This is our declaration concerning human living. (Life-study of Titus, p. 29)

These are on the truth side of learning Christ from the Bible and also from the ministry portion. Now the experience of learning Christ is being carried out day by day; these days, it has been more intensified. Not by outward imitation of Christ, but by exercising our spirit and turning to our spirit. To learn Christ, we must love Christ; as we love Christ, we will learn Christ and the issue will be to live Christ. So love Christ, learn Christ, and live Christ. In fact, this was the statement I wrote on the book of a classmate sitting next to me in a classroom on the first day of my MCA class at MCC, Chennai, in 2000. The result of this statement I wrote was that he became my friend, brother, prayer partner and a brother in the church-life today. Learn Christ!