Ephesians 4:20 20But you yourselves did not learn Christ this way, 21if indeed you heard and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,
In verse 20, Paul makes a major shift from the negative of the sensual life to the positive of the informed life. The type of giving in to sin from verse 19 is not the gospel he preached to the Ephesians or anywhere he traveled. His message was a call to transformation, from the old ways that lead to pain, sorry, alienation, and, eventually, judgment, to a new way of faith, hope, and love. If the Ephesians had heard any other type of message, it was heresy. There is some teaching today that is self-focused and only serves to satiate the flesh and pride. This does not always need to be blatant and obvious but it can be in multiple shades of subtlety.
Verse 21 implies one of the big challenges in the mission of the early church. Not everyone preached the same message. As other letters Paul wrote indicate, there were false teachers who preached a message of self-righteousness through obedience to certain regulations. These have been given the label “Judiazers.” Others preached a message of self-gratification with the idea that this world of materialism does not matter; only the spiritual realm. These later became labeled as “Gnostics.”
The Ephesians needed to focus upon the truth in Jesus. They were taught in him, which could imply by whom they were taught–by teachers who put themselves under Christ’s sovereign direction, or what they were taught–the key Pauline message of new relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord. Paul clearly identifies the source of truth as being found in Jesus. Jesus said that he is the “way, truth, and life” (John 14:6). Jesus defines and embodies truth. Any other so-called “truth” is only a derivative of the truth found in Jesus. This is an exhaustive claim and not just in matters of spirituality. Even matters of science all find their origins in the claim of Jesus as the source and sustainer of creation.
The Ephesians had heard this truth and respond to it in faith. This message still goes out today. There are two crucial responses to the call about which Paul has been writing in this chapter (4:1). First, those who teach the gospel must make sure that their message is accurate. The leaders in verse 11 are responsibility for the maturity of the church. Second, those who hear the message must respond to it with faith remain true to it with obedience. They must grow in their knowledge of this message in order to discern any shades of falseness when someone shares it.
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