◄ Learning Christ ►

Two Instructions

Jesus said during His earthly walk, "take My yoke upon you and learn of Me.” Paul later challenged us when he was sharing about the risen Lord to “learn Christ”.The indwelling Spirit of Christ is to be our life in everything that we do. There is an enormous change and challenge between these two instructions. It is important to know about Christ, but for a victorious life, we must learn Him.

Earthly Life

During His earthly walk, the disciples were encouraged to learn about Jesus. They were to watch His walk; to witness His character; to observe His attitude. They were to obey in His commands, abide by His teachings and they were to hear Him. During Christ’s earthly walk, His followers were challenged to learn about Jesus.

Identification with Christ

But through the leading of the Holy Spirit, Paul challenges each of us to learn Christ… an outward, objective observance was to become an inward, subjective service. It was no longer to be an imitation of His life but an identification with Him. Not just know about Him but know Him – not just learn about Him but learn Him. The permanently indwelling Spirit of Christ is to be our life in all that we are.

Objective to Subjective

What a tremendous shift from objective learning to its subjective counterpart. Before they could 'learn' Christ they first needed to learn about the Lord Jesus. Before being commissioned as apostles, His followers must first be His disciples. Early in Christ’s ministry, the disciples believed the Lord because of His signs, but to develop into mature believers, they were to be participators of His life.

Victorious Christian Life

Today, objectively imitating Christ will result in a stunted Christian life. Today, subjective participation in Christ’s life will avail a victorious Christian life. We are to identify with the indwelling Spirit of Christ, Who is our life.

Learned Obedience

Christ’s earthly life was a pre-cross life of humiliation – a life of learned obedience. In His humanity, He was a man of sorrows – acquainted with rejection, pain, and grief. He walked, in humble obedience from cradle to grave.. with the Cross in His sight. He set His face as a flint throughout His earthly walk, to endure to the very end. If He were to break the power of sin and death in Adam’s seed, He must suffer and die. Before His resurrection was the earthly walk of shame - a walk to the cross and death.

Submitted to God

And so His life was one of submission to the Father, for He prayed "Thy will be done". His life was lived in subjection to the Spirit, so the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him. Christ lived a perfect life and was the perfect example of perfect humanity. And so it must be with you. And so it must be with me.

Identify with Christ

During His earthly walk, Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew, "take my yoke upon you and learn of Me.” Mattew 11:29. After His glorification into heaven, Paul set the standard to Learn Christ. It is not an imitation of the life of Christ but an identification with Christ Who is life. We cannot imitate Him, for to do so we would fail – but we can identify with Him.

Governed By His Spirit

To learn Christ, we must first 'see' Christ, 'know' Christ, 'identify' with Christ. To learn Christ is the mark of a life governed by the Holy Spirit. To learn Christ is a life that delights to say to the Father, "Thy will be done".  To learn Christ, is a life that is continually, and evermore occupied with Jesus.