In This Edition:
Learning Christ: A 3-Part Series
Top Picks: This Week’s Recommended Resources
Learning Christ: A 3-Part Series
In three prison letters, Paul sketches out what it means to “learn Christ.” Below are excerpts from my 3-part sermon series on this theme.
Learning Christ in Ephesus (Ephesians 2:20)
In Ephesians 2:20, Paul inserts this remarkably beautiful line—and it’s virtually the same in the King James, the New King James, The English Standard, the New Revised Standard, and the New American Standard: “But you didn’t learn Christ that way.” It doesn’t say “you didn’t learn about Christ,” as if he is the subject and we gain information about him. No, just as the thirsty hiker learns the refreshing nature of a drink of water, just as the Olympian learns victory the moment she crosses the finish line and looks up at her score, you, believers, learn Christ: a new way of seeing the world, a gush of refreshment and a new lifestyle of habits that re-orient your life. If you have an NIV, the verse is actually translated that way: instead of “you didn’t learn Christ that way,” it translates “but that is not the way of life you learned.” When you learn Christ, says Paul, nothing about that old way of life fits within the vision you now see before you, so it all has to go. Just as you are a new creation, behold everything becomes new, as God moves inside, reworking the gears, rewiring the senses, replenishing your soul, and renewing your mind, and your life becomes radically different as God, through His spirit, “reproduces his own character in you” (MSG).
Having the Mind of Christ in Philippi (Philippians 2:5)
Do you remember how our Lord said to his disciples “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have [already] received it and it will be yours” (Mk 11:24)? That the Christian life is often asking for more of, a better understanding of, a deeper connection with, an activation of what we already possess in Jesus Christ? Well, according to Paul, you believers in the Lord have the mind of Christ!
You want Bible for that? Try 1 Corinthians 2:16, where Paul assures the Corinthians Christians of their ability to discern spiritual things because “we” Paul writes, “have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). With slight variation, Paul will end his letter to the Philippians by assuring them that the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding, will keep your minds “in” Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7). And you see the idea once more in Romans the 15th chapter, where Paul is laboring to instill a sense of togetherness among a divided people, and he says “may the God who gives encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 15:5-6 NIV).
Did you catch that? In three passages, we are told we Christians have the mind of Christ, he’ll keep our minds in Christ, and God—by his power—will give us the same mind as Christ toward each other. And when Paul claims that Christians “have the mind of Christ” or challenges us to “adopt the mind of Christ”, he’s not talking about how high is your intellect, or how well your reasoning, how quickly you are moved to tears, or how moved you are by emotional appeals. He is asking about what you want; he is challenging what you desire; he is questioning what you will. Paul wants us to want what Christ wants. And the good news is…you do! Remember who you are.
Living Like Christ is All in Colossae (Colossians 3:11)
Paul pushes us beyond simply putting Christ in the center. He tells us that for the believer, “Christ is all.” We don’t let Christ get first dibs in church, in our marriage, or in our job. For the believer, Christ is the church, Christ is our marriage, and Christ is the job. Paul once said “for me to live is Christ.” Imagine what your colleagues would think, imagine what they would say if you no longer thought of your job as something you do, primarily for God, but rather as a way of getting to know Christ. For us, to work is Christ. To raise children is Christ. To go grocery shopping, to plant trees, to play in the yard simply is to live and bask in the glory of Christ. It becomes hard to say “I hate my job,” “my marriage is boring,” or “my town has nothing to offer.” Has Christ become these things to you? You did not learn Christ that way.
Imagine if we believed that Christ is all. But secondly, Paul says “Christ is in all.” The only way to understand these two phrases is to translate it this way: “for the believer, Christ is every thing, and in every one.”
No…we say. Christ is not in that demon child. Christ is not in those classmates out to harass and abuse me. He can’t be, can he?
What happens if you see Christ in your next door neighbor? Let me push a bit further. See Christ in that high school bully you can’t stand. See Christ in that job on the honey-do list you just don’t want to do. See Christ in the political party you think is barely American. See Christ in the boss you loathe, the father who never loved you, the Starbucks barrista who never gets your name right, the person in the Ford F150 who cut you off without looking, and the little league coach who never plays your son enough.
What would we call it if we were able to see—truly see Christ in all? Well, we’d begin to understand what it means to love.
Because these two points—that Christ is all, and in all—is in the context of a love chapter. In verses 5-9, we have a list of those attitudes of the heart and actions of the body that are devoid of love; put these away, Paul says. Instead, he tells us in verse 12, put on that very description we know so well—compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. And above all these, writes Paul in verse 14, “put on love.” But Paul gives perhaps the richest description of the power of love I’ve ever seen: “love binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Do you know why? Because there is no better description of God than this: God is love. And Christ is all and in all. If God is love, and God, through Christ, is all and in all, then love binds everything together in perfect harmony.
“Learning to love” is “learning Christ.” And for the believer, we are loving to learn; loving to grow; loving to be, and to become what Christ is forming us into. In every relationship he gives us, every job we hold, every person we meet, Christ is all and in all.
Excerpts from a 3-part sermon series preached at the West Side Church of Christ titled “Learning Christ.” These lessons also appear on the Life on the West Side podcast (Season 2, Episodes 3-5). Available on all podcast platforms.
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If you are interested in catching past sermons (in video and manuscript format), you can find these on my website or on the church YouTube page. On the church page, they are listed as “Sermon Highlights.” If you wish to read the sermon transcript or find the notes, visit my website. Once you click on a sermon title, the video of the sermon will appear. Below the video, choose “bulletin” for a manuscript of the lesson, or “notes” for the sermon notes & devotional study guide.
Get Sermon Notes, Devotional Questions, & Recommended Resources
Each Sunday, members and visitors to West Side are encouraged to visit this page to get this week’s sermon notes & study guide. These include outlines of the lesson, a list of all Scriptures cited, some devotional questions for small group, family, or private devotional, and links to recommended resources to dig deeper into the message. On most Sunday, we have notes for the kids as well!
Top Picks: Recommended Resources For This Series
Listen: Audio/Podcast
Dallas Willard, Workshop on Spiritual Formation, Lesson 2: “Anger, Contempt & Cultivated Lusting.”
Hear Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers Sing “Christ Is All”
Read: Books
Michael J. Gorman, Inhabiting the Cruciform God and Cruciformity: Paul’s Narrative Spirituality of the Cross.
Lynn H. Cohick’s commentaries on Ephesians and Philippians.
George Hunsinger’s commentary on Philippians.
N. T. Wright’s commentary on Colossians.
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My name is Nathan Guy, and I serve as the preaching minister for the West Side Church of Christ in Searcy, Arkansas. I am happily married to Katie and am the proud father of little Grace. You can find more resources on my website over at nathanguy.com. Follow me: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.