"According to the Reality Which Is in Jesus" vs. "Learning Christ"

 

"According to the Reality Which Is in Jesus" vs. "Learning Christ"

Ephesians 4:20 But you have not learned Christ in this way;

Ephesians 4:21 If you had truly heard him and been taught in him as he is in reality, 

Item	According to the Reality Which Is in Jesus (Eph. 4:21)	Learning Christ (Eph. 4:20)
Meaning	Jesus' human living on earth is the embodiment and manifestation of the divine reality (truth), revealing God's intention in humanity.	To learn Christ is to experience and live Christ through an organic union with Him, not merely to imitate His outward conduct.
Reason	God first expressed the divine reality in the human living of Jesus, providing the unique pattern for believers.	God's goal is not outward imitation but inward reproduction through Christ as life.
Illustration	The Prototype—the first God-man, the original model of the divine-human life.	The Reproduction—the mass reproduction of the God-man through the indwelling Christ.
Explanation	"Jesus" refers particularly to His earthly human living, in which He depended on the Father, lived by the Father, and expressed the Father in every situation.	"Christ" refers to the resurrected and life-giving Christ who dwells in believers as the Spirit, teaching them inwardly to live Him.
Result	Believers see what genuine human living according to God truly is.	Believers live Christ instead of themselves, grow in life, and are built together as the Body of Christ.
Purpose	To reveal the standard and reality of the God-man living.	To produce many God-men for the building up of the Body of Christ and the consummation of the New Jerusalem.
Influence	Renews the believer's understanding, values, and view of human living.	Transforms the believer's life, disposition, living, testimony, and service.
Relationship	The Reality is the content revealed in Jesus' living.	Learning Christ is the experiential process of living out that reality.
Spiritual Principle	What is outwardly seen is Jesus' pattern.	What is inwardly lived is Christ Himself.
Focus	The historical Jesus in the Gospels.	The indwelling Christ experienced today.
Operation	Revealed in the Gospel record of Jesus' earthly life.	Operated through the indwelling Spirit supplying life daily.
Way of Learning	By seeing the reality manifested in Jesus' human living.	By exercising the spirit and living by the indwelling Christ.
Life Supply	Knowing the reality expressed in Jesus' living.	Receiving the continual supply of the Spirit of life.
Inner Secret	Jesus never lived by Himself but always by the Father (John 5:19, 30; 6:57).	Believers deny the self and allow Christ to live in them (Gal. 2:20).
Biblical Examples	Jesus' baptism, temptation, speaking only the Father's words, washing the disciples' feet, and obedience in Gethsemane.	Paul's testimony, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20); Peter's transformed shepherding.
Practical Application	Read the Gospels to behold Jesus as the living reality.	Exercise the spirit, pray, call on the Lord's name, and receive the Spirit's life supply to live Christ.
Ministry Burden	Help believers realize that Jesus' living is not merely a model to imitate but the revelation of divine reality.	Lead believers to live in the mingled spirit so that Christ may be formed in them for the building up of His Body.
Prophesying Guidance	"Jesus is the living pattern of the divine reality manifested in humanity."	"Learning Christ is not outward imitation but inward reproduction; not I trying to be like Christ, but Christ living in me."
Conclusion	Jesus is the prototype of the God-man living.	Learning Christ is the reproduction of that God-man living through the Spirit until the Body of Christ is built up and consummates in the New Jerusalem.
Related Scriptures	Eph. 4:21; John 1:14; 14:6; 5:19, 30; 6:57; 8:28-29; 13:1-17; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 5:8	Eph. 4:20, 22-24; Gal. 2:20; Rom. 8:2, 4, 29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Col. 3:10; Phil. 1:21; John 16:13; 1 Tim. 1:16; John 15:4-5; Eph. 3:16-17

 

Table 2. Spiritual Sequence

Step	Spiritual Progression
1	God became a man—Jesus came into the world.
2	Jesus lived out the divine reality, becoming the unique prototype of the God-man living.
3	Believers see and know the reality through Jesus' human living.
4	Through death and resurrection, Christ became the life-giving Spirit indwelling the believers.
5	Believers receive the Spirit's life supply in the mingled spirit.
6	They learn Christ—not by imitation but by living Him.
7	They put off the old man and put on the new man (Eph. 4:22–24).
8	They grow into and build up the Body of Christ.
9	The corporate God-man is manifested and consummates in the New Jerusalem.

 

Table 3. Core Relationship

Aspect	Revelation
Jesus	The Prototype of the divine reality (truth).
Christ	The Reproducer of the God-man living in the believers.
The Spirit	The Applier of the divine reality, making Christ experiential within us.
Believers	The Reproductions of the God-man through the divine life.
The Church	The Corporate God-man, expressing Christ as His Body.
The New Jerusalem	The Ultimate Consummation of the corporate God-man and the fulfillment of God's eternal economy.

 

Table 4. Summary

Topic	Summary
The Reality Which Is in Jesus	Jesus' earthly living is the unique revelation and embodiment of the divine reality—the original pattern of the God-man life.
Learning Christ	Learning Christ is the inward experience of allowing the indwelling Christ, as the life-giving Spirit, to reproduce His life in the believers.
Relationship	The reality in Jesus is the pattern; learning Christ is the reproduction. Jesus reveals the reality; Christ reproduces the reality; the Spirit applies the reality; believers live the reality; the church corporately expresses the reality; and the New Jerusalem eternally consummates the reality.
Ultimate Conclusion	God's intention is not merely that believers admire or imitate Jesus, but that through the indwelling Christ and the life-giving Spirit they become the corporate reproduction of the God-man, building up the Body of Christ and ultimately consummating in the New Jerusalem for God's eternal expression.

 

*Please refer to the 2026 Memorial Day Special Conference Theme: The Urgent Need for a New Revival, Part Five: The Apostolic Ministry Cooperating with Christ's Heavenly Ministry to Shepherd the Church as God's Sheep, for the Building Up of the Body of Christ and a New Revival.