Once you realize that Jesus is a quickening Spirit and not just a man in the flesh, things change how you perceive Him, yourself, and others. Paul makes this revelation come alive when he says, “From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
This new perception comes from an encounter with Jesus Christ, where you are changed from an earthly, fleshly image to a heavenly, spiritual one. For us, that means our consciousness has changed from carnal to spiritual. In Him, we become a new person. This is a spiritual experience in your life where your spiritual eyes are awakened, and the veil is removed so you can see Him as He is. It means that you no longer live unto yourself but unto Him. This matters because, in one image (the flesh), you will struggle to be taught by the Spirit, and in the other, who is spiritual, there will be no limits to what you will learn in the Spirit.
Corruption begets corruption, while spirit begets spirit. If you want to be taught of Jesus, you must see Him as He is with eyes wide open. You must become spiritually minded to receive His words. That means no veil to obscure His true identity from you. That way, when He teaches you, you correctly receive what He says. The flesh will always hear the words of Jesus in a wrong perception. That’s why the veil, which is His flesh, must be removed.
As I said, spirit teaches spirit; therefore, if Jesus is resurrected and in heaven, we must now sit with Him in heavenly places and be taught there. (Remember, heaven is within you.) In that place, it is spiritual talking to the spiritual. Flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God, so don’t try to bring your fleshly mind or perception into a spiritual conversation.
The examples in the Bible of Jesus as a man on earth are perfect for this illustration. Only those who could see past His flesh and see His true likeness could be taught by Him in the right perception. They entered a heavenly consciousness and could hear His words from the Spirit within them. Everyone blinded by His flesh heard only things that caused conflict in them. Anyone who has a true testimony of Jesus and shares in His words has had a real experience with Him. That means He has taught them, and they know Him, which is superior to just knowing about Him.
How to be taught by Jesus.
After saying all that, we need to apply it to ourselves so that we can be taught of Him correctly. The secret is understanding inward versus outward. Those in Christ can see and hear Him correctly, but those outside of Christ cannot. Let’s rehearse Paul’s words again, “From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.”
How can an earthy person accomplish such a task of perceiving everyone, including Christ, by the Spirit? Paul’s answer was simple; you need the Spirit. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Becoming new means becoming spiritual or spirituality minded. Inwardly you are a spirit that supersedes the flesh and its perception. To be new is to be in Christ.
What about being taught by my pastor or other teachers?
The good news is that every time you listen to the word of God being taught, you give your spiritual man a chance to be taught by Christ. It’s not that you’re hearing with your physical ear; it’s that the spiritual ears of your new person hear by the Spirit within you. Therefore, you want to hear good teaching so that the Spirit of Christ can quicken you and open your eyes to greater understanding.
Sometimes we need help from others to provoke the Spirit in us. If you only hear a man, it’s easy to misunderstand what he is saying. The idea here is for his words to provoke the Spirit in you so that Jesus, who is a Spirit, can teach you Himself.
Paul said, “We also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
John also said, “The anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in Him.”
It is clear that the Spirit teaches you, not physical men or women. But there is a great need for teachers and preachers to share their testimonies of the Spirit with you so that Jesus can teach you from within and not without.
The answer to how to be taught by Jesus is simple: all things are made new in Christ. Therefore, be baptized into His body and be filled with the Spirit of Christ. In this, you will find that His Spirit not only teaches you all things, but He becomes your best friend. And as His friend, He will teach you all things that the Father has revealed unto Him.