“If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:”
My Notes
What Does Ephesians 4:21 Mean?
Paul assumes his audience has already encountered Jesus through teaching: "if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus." The phrasing implies direct encounter with Jesus through the teaching ministry — not just hearing about Jesus but hearing him, being taught by him. The teaching was the medium; Jesus was the teacher.
The phrase "as the truth is in Jesus" anchors the teaching in a specific person, not an abstract concept. Truth isn't a philosophical category; it's located in Jesus. The truth the Ephesians received isn't a system of ideas — it's a person whose reality defines what's true and what isn't.
Paul uses the human name "Jesus" (not "Christ" or "the Lord") deliberately. The truth is in the historical, incarnate, specific person Jesus of Nazareth — not in a cosmic principle but in a man who walked, taught, died, and rose. The truth has a name and a biography.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What's the difference between hearing about Jesus and hearing him — and which describes your experience?
- 2.How does truth being 'in Jesus' (a person) differ from truth being 'in a system' (a philosophy)?
- 3.Why does Paul use the human name 'Jesus' rather than a title when locating truth?
- 4.Where has your theological knowledge about Christ replaced actual encounter with Christ?
Devotional
You heard him. You were taught by him. Not just about him — by him. Paul describes the Ephesians' conversion as a personal encounter with Jesus himself, mediated through teaching.
The distinction between hearing about Jesus and hearing him is the distinction between information and encounter. You can study Christology your entire life and never hear Christ. You can accumulate theological data about Jesus without ever being taught by Jesus. Paul assumes something deeper happened in Ephesus: the teaching they received wasn't just instruction about a person. It was instruction from a person. Jesus was the teacher, using human voices as his instruments.
"As the truth is in Jesus" locates truth in a specific person, not in a system. The truth the Ephesians received isn't Christianity-the-philosophy. It's Jesus-the-person. When truth has a name — when it's embodied in someone who can be known, followed, and loved — it functions differently than when truth is abstract. Abstract truth can be debated indefinitely. Personal truth demands response.
Paul uses the name "Jesus" — the human name, the Nazareth name, the name his mother called him. Not Lord (though he is). Not Christ (though he is). Jesus. The truth is located in the specific, historical, human person who walked through Galilee. The incarnation isn't a theory. It's where the truth lives.
Have you heard Jesus — or just heard about him? Have you been taught by him — or just taught about him? The difference determines whether your faith is information or encounter.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
That ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man,.... Which is the corruption of nature; why this is…
If so be that ye have heard him - If you have listened attentively to his instructions, and learned the true nature of…
If so be that ye have heard him - Ειγε, Seeing that, since indeed, ye have heard us proclaim his eternal truth; we have…
The apostle having gone through his exhortation to mutual love, unity, and concord, in the foregoing verses, there…
if so be The Gr. interrogative (used also above, Eph 3:2) does not imply any doubt, necessarily, but calls the reader to…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture