We have all attended schools, some more, others less. When we finish our schooling, we think that we know enough that we need for our life journey. We may have studied languages, science, history, geography and perhaps many other topics. Yet there is much more to learn. In the Harvard University library there are over seven million books. If you read one book each day it would take 20,000 years to finish them all. So then our life is not long enough to learn everything that is available. But if we start reading in the order of importance, then the first book to us would be the Bible, the word of God. This one book will benefit us more than the millions of other books that men have written.
There is one school where the Bible is used as the text book every day, and that is in the school of Christ.
Jesus is the teacher in this school. We read in John 3:2, “The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto Him, Rabbi, we know that Thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God is with him.”
What are the subjects that Jesus wants to teach us? Are they not how to live, how to serve God, how to be saved, how to have a happy life, and how to have peace and joy? His teaching is done by His words, by object lessons, and by His own example.
How many are willing to enroll in the school of Christ? It is free, yet it costs something. How many are attracted to His life, to His character, and to His work? Not many want to live a life as Jesus lived. When He was on the earth, people saw His goodness, but very few admired Him and wanted to follow His example. His perfect life bothered them, and therefore they wanted to do away with Him, and finally nailed Him to the cross to die.
Today only few people are in the school of Christ, learning by His example on how to live. Therefore, many do not read the Bible because it shows them the life of Jesus, and of the prophets, how they sacrificed, and endured persecution.
Daily, God is teaching us lessons to develop our characters, and this takes our whole lifetime.
The twelve disciples joined the school of Christ, and after three and a half years in His company they had not learned everything yet. Jesus said to them, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” John 16:12. After Jesus left them, the Holy Spirit continued to teach them. “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.” John 16:13
Jesus said to them also, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26
In the school of Christ we also learn practical lessons, and the end result will be Christlikeness. We will live as He lived, we will work as He worked, things that were important to Him will be important to us, things to which He put no value, we will not put any value, we will sacrifice for others as He sacrificed, we will love as He loved, and we will be meek and lowly as He was.
Satan also has many schools, and many of them have religious names. He teaches how to rule others, how to gain money, how to gratify flesh; he also teaches religion, but not correctly. Christ and Satan came from the same school, from the presence of God. But their teachings are completely the opposite. The school of Christ makes us holy, but the school of Satan makes us sinners.
The first lesson to learn in the school of Christ is to know God, who He is, His character. If we learn to know God truly, then we also will learn to love Him above all, even more than ourselves.
The second lesson to learn is to know ourselves, our weaknesses, our helpless, lost condition, and that without God’s help we will perish. We need His help every day, every moment.
The third lesson we learn is the character of sin, how terrible and evil it is. This will make us hate sin, that we would rather die than commit even the smallest sin.
Then the next lesson we learn is that through Christ we can do all things, even move mountains. Then we are no more weak, but strong, faithful Christians.
We also will learn how to pray, even without ceasing, and how to forgive, how to love, even our enemies. We learn to do missionary work, to save souls. We will learn to suffer fiery trials and also to deny ourselves—things that we used to love.
Some lessons are hard, difficult, which may take weeks, months, or even years to learn.
One difficult lesson is to learn to live in unity with others. The reason why it is so difficult is because we are so different, and faulty, and often irritating, getting on each other’s nerves. David writes, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” Psalm 133:1
It is sin that broke this unity. But once we become Christlike, then we will all be united in perfect love. This love brings tolerance, forgiveness, and meekness. These characteristics we learn from Christ in His school.
Judas was in the school of Christ, but did not learn the lessons He taught. Today there are many students in His school, and yet remain selfish, and unchanged. On the other hand, John, James, and Peter, who were quick tempered and revengeful did change and became like their Teacher, Jesus.
In the school of Christ we face new lessons every day. One lesson that is very important is how to control and overcome the desires of our weak flesh. Jesus said, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41. Jesus was born with this weak human flesh, but He controlled and overcame it. How did He do it? Was it not by fasting and praying, sometimes spending the whole night in prayer? If we learn of Him and follow His example, we also will be overcomers. Also our health reform helps us to keep our body under, e.g. Paul learned how to keep his body in subjection to the mind.
He writes, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” 1 Corinthians 9:27. In this school of Christ, Paul is also teaching many lessons to us. He writes, “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.” Hebrews 12:4
Jesus said, “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:29–30
“God is also helping us to reach the perfection of character. There calamities were sent for their purification.” –Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1144
“Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a great special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth.” –The Great Controversy, p. 425
“Trial is part of the education given in the school of Christ, to purify God’s children from the dross of earthliness. It is because God is leading His children that trying experiences come to them. Trials and obstacles are His chosen methods of discipline, and His appointed conditions of success. He who reads the hearts of men knows their weaknesses better than they themselves can know them. He sees that some have qualifications which, if rightly directed, could be used in the advancement of His work. In His providence He brings these souls into different positions and varied circumstances, that they may discover the defects that are concealed from their own knowledge. He gives them opportunity to overcome these defects and to fit themselves for service. Often He permits the fires of affliction to burn, that they may be purified.
“God’s care for His heritage is unceasing. He suffers no affliction to come upon His children but such as is essential for their present and eternal good. He will purify His church, even as Christ purified the temple during His ministry on earth. All that He brings upon His people in test and trial comes that they may gain deeper piety and greater strength to carry forward the triumphs of the cross.” –The Acts of the Apostles, p. 524–525
These are things that we need to keep in our minds, and meditate upon. God has given us His law, including the Sabbath, as mediums for our purification and sanctification.
“Purified by obedience to the law of God, sanctified by a perfect observance of His holy Sabbath, trusting, believing, patiently waiting, and earnestly working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, we shall learn that it is God that worketh in us to will and to do His good pleasure.” –Evangelism, p. 290
May the Lord help us to learn the lessons in the school of Christ. If we graduate from this school with honour, then we shall receive the reward of eternal life and heaven. But already in this earthly life we will receive the fullness of joy and happiness that sinners have never felt.
My dear fellow students in this school of Christ, let us put out all our efforts to learn the lessons and also to put them into practice; nothing else is so important to us. Amen.
Timo Martin