Learning Christ: 12 Key Qualities Of a Teachable Christian

Learning Christ: Called To Be Disciples

As believers, our primary calling is learning Christ. This is the whole point of us being called disciples of Christ. It is crucial that this truth of us being primarily disciples be clear to us, and that we remind ourselves of it continually, lest we get carried away by fanciful designations and titles, such as Christians.

The term “Christian” has become the designation for every Tom, Dick, and Harry who goes to church or bears a Jewish or Latin name, even if they do not know Christ. But the term occurs only 3 times in the entire Bible, in Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28, and 1 Peter 4:16. 

People get shocked to learn that the term “Christian” originated from unbelievers. In fact, two out of its three usages in the Bible were by unbelievers. The early believers did not use it much to refer to themselves. Peter was the only apostle who used it in his epistle, and only once. Christian scholars say it was originally a derogatory term that made mockery of followers of Christ. 

But before the term “Christian” was coined, the first believers called themselves by other terms like saints and brethren. But their most used designation was disciple. That was what Christ called them. 

John 13:34–35:

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 15:8:

“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

And, that was what they gladly called themselves.

Acts 1:15:

“And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said.”

Acts 6:1:

“Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.”

Recommended: Growing Up Spiritually: 10 Crucial Reasons for Christian Growth

Sent To Make Disciples

And, disciples are what Christ sent them, and us, to make. In Matthew 28:19–20, the resurrected Christ in His farewell speech to His apostles made this very clear.

Matthew 28:19–20:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Firstly, we are called to be disciples. Then, we are called to make disciples, not merely church members, and definitely not fans. Indeed, disciples will be members of churches. But being in a church does not necessarily make one a disciple. People go to church for different reasons. But the primary biblical reason to belong to a church is to be a disciple. 

Understanding Who A Disciple Is

The word disciple, translated from the Greek mathētēs, which means “leaner”, “student”, refers to one who follows and learns from a teacher. The central activity of a disciple is learning! To be a disciple is not to just like a teacher and hail him, but to enlist to learn under the teacher. 

Mathētēs is a secondary word from the root manthanō, a verb that primarily means to learn. This term appears in texts like Matthew 11:29, where Jesus says:

“Take My yoke upon you and LEARN from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” [Emphasis added]

Romans 16:17:

“Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you LEARNED, and avoid them.” [Emphasis added]

2 Timothy 3:14:

“But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.” [Emphasis added]

The Greek manthanō has six meanings which bring deeper clarity to who a disciple is. 

1. To consistently hear and be informed.
2. To learn. Note that hearing is not the same as learning. One can hear but not learn. One is only deemed to be learning truly when what one hears affects one’s living.
3. To increase in knowledge.
4. To learn by use and practice. 
5. To move from knowledge to habit.
6. To be appraised.

Observe that five out of the six meanings center on learning. This emphasizes the fact that a disciple’s core activity is learning. You are only truly a disciple if you are learning.

Recommended: Union with Christ: 10 Powerful Meanings It Holds For Believers

Learning Christ: The Task of A Disciple 

Our primary task as disciples of Christ is learning Christ. Friends, the object of our learning is Christ. Indeed, Christian learning is wide. We learn faith, prayer, service, giving, honor, and many other subjects which are critical for correct Christian living. But we learn them through the lens of Christ—who He is and what He has accomplished through His death and resurrection. 

No one comes into Christ with the knowledge of right conduct in the Christian life. We don’t get the knowledge of Christ at the point of new birth. What we received at new birth is a new heart which is capable of understanding the truths of God. Unlike our old sinful heart which was hardened and incapable of knowing the truth of God (Ezekiel 36:26), the new heart which we received in the new birth has the capacity to know the truth of God.

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬-‭15:

14 But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated. 15 But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things]…” [‭AMPC‬‬]

1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭20:

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true…”

Now, having been born again and being given a new heart—which is capable of knowing the truths of God, we must subject ourselves to learning Christ. Everything that we will know about Christ we will have to learn.

Ephesians 4:20:

“But you did not learn Christ in this way!” [‭AMP.]

Our primary activity is learning Christ! It is crucial that we come to terms with this truth. Christ—and by this I mean the totality of the revelation of His person and of the ways of life in Him—is learned. The kingdom of God to which we belong has an education system, called discipleship, where the learning of Christ happens. Every aspect of the life in Christ—faith, prayer, service, giving, honor, etc., is learned.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭4:

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

Romans 16:17:

“Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬:

“The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”

2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬:

“But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them.”

A Crucial Possession for Learning Christ 

If our primary activity as believers is learning Christ, then a possession that is very crucial for every believer to possess is a teachable spirit. This is the only way that we will ever be able to properly lay hold of the knowledge of Christ. 

Spirit, in this context, is not literal, but refers to a disposition of the mind. Consider the sentence, “The man is in a high spirit”. Here, spirit is not literal, but is figuratively used for a frame of mind. Thus, a teachable spirit denotes a mind that is rightly disposed to learning. We have a classic illustration in Acts 17:11. 

“They found that the Jews of Berea were of more noble character and much more open minded than those of Thessalonica. They were hungry to learn and eagerly received the word. Every day they opened the scrolls of Scripture to search and examine them, to verify that what Paul taught them was true.” [TPT]

People wrongly call these people Berean Christians. Truly, some believed  afterwards. But at first, they were just unbelieving Jews. But Luke highlighted their teachable spirit. In vv. 1-9, Luke had written about Paul’s preaching at Thessalonica. But the Jews at Thessalonica, like all Jews, were opposed to the message of Jesus, and attempted to kill Paul. 

But among the Jewish community at Berea, Paul’s team found a different, better attitude. The Jewish community at Berea (1) were open to hear Paul’s argument about Jesus being the Messiah promised in Old Testament, (2) listened to the teaching of the Scripture with eagerness, and (3) searched the Scripture to ascertain the truth of Paul’s claims. These are qualities of people with a teachable spirit.

Thus, for the task of learning Christ to truly happen and be effective, we must cultivate the right disposition to be taught. Learning Christ requires being teachable. This is very crucial.

12 Qualities of a Teachable Spirit

If a teachable spirit is crucial for learning Christ, then we should get to understand what a teachable spirit really looks like. 

1. A teachable spirit means that you are willing to be taught the word of God. 

Being teachable starts with the acknowledgement that you do not know, or know as you ought to know (correctly, to the degree that you ought to know), and that you are willing to submit to be taught. 

Luke 11:1:

“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.””

2. A teachable spirit means to have strong eagerness to be taught the Word.

Luke said about the Jews at Berea, in ‭‭Acts ‭17‬:‭11:

“And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message…”

Your eagerness to learn will show in how you seek out opportunities to be taught. A believer with a teachable spirit will never hear of occasions to be taught—believers’ meetings, Bible conferences, camp meetings, etc.—and refuse to attend.

3. A teachable spirit means that you are humble to be taught the Word.

James 1:21:

“So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.” [‭NLT‬‬]

Humility is an essential virtue for learning. Pride is a powerful enemy of learning. Jesus said, in Matthew 16:24:

“If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself…” 

To deny oneself is to lose sight of what one is. In the church in Acts, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was not in the leadership of the church. She was under the leadership of the apostles, and was being taught. 

4. A teachable spirit means that you submit to the word of God for life. 

There are certain basic activities of the Christian life that believers don’t outgrow, regardless of the status we attain. One of them is learning the Word. We never outgrow the need to be taught the Word. The believer is to continue to learn Christ all his or her days. In John 15:4, our Lord commands us to abide—stay, continue—in Him.

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

5. A teachable spirit is seen in your attitude to teaching,  instructions, and corrections, regardless of how it is passed across. 

The believer with a teachable spirit receives every word of God and instructions, not as words of men, but as the word of God and from God, and as God’s mercy to him or her, regardless of how the preacher passes it down, even if it is harsh.

1 Thessalonians 2:13:

“For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”

6. A teachable spirit is seen in how you listen when being taught the Word.

A believer with a teachable spirit will sit under the teaching of God’s word with rapt attention on the teacher of the Word. He or she doesn’t allow himself or herself to be distracted. He or she listens with such a focus as one who wants to catch every word of God even if it is spoken in whispers. 

You must discipline yourself to not sleep off or walk around in teaching meetings too frequently. This is what you must train your mind and body for. 

7. A teachable spirit is seen in how you give yourself (commitment) to learning.

A teachable spirit is seen not just in desire, but more importantly in continuous commitment—a readiness to unlearn, learn, adjust, and improve under God’s guidance and the wisdom of others.

A teachable spirit is revealed by a willing, humble heart that gives itself fully to learning, correction, and growth. It is not merely the desire to know more, but the commitment to be shaped by truth—especially God’s truth.

8. A teachable spirit is seen in how you go the extra mile, making efforts beyond other learners, to gain knowledge. 

A teachable spirit doesn’t settle for the minimum; it goes the extra mile in pursuit of understanding. It shows itself in a learner who is willing to invest more time, energy, and discipline than others—reading further, asking deeper questions, seeking clarity, and practicing what has been taught. 

A learner with a teachable sport is hungry for growth, diligent in effort, and intentional about gaining wisdom. Such commitment reflects a heart that truly values knowledge and is willing to stretch beyond comfort to attain it.

Proverbs 4:7:

“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” [NIV]

9. A teachable spirit means that you are not selective about what you want to learn. 

A teachable spirit means that you are open to receive the whole counsel of God. A true learner of Christ cannot be selective about what he or she will hear. The learning of Christ is not a buffet that you can pick what you want from. The learning of Christ must be holistic. We take all!

This also implies that you always take advantage of every opportunity to be taught. Being selective about the services you attend, especially when you can be present at all services is an indication of being unteachable. 

Live streaming services are good. It is God’s provision through technology to fill in the gaps when we cannot be present physically. But that must not become a norm. Indeed, grace flows, whether on-site or online. But it is on-site that true discipleship that births formation happens. You cannot be discipled online.

10. A teachable spirit means that you are not selective about who can teach you. 

A believer with a teachable spirit is open to receive instructions and knowledge from anyone, regardless of the age, social status, tribe, etc., as long as what they carry is the truth based upon the revelation of Scripture. You must never allow personal bias to get in the way of being taught. “I cannot sit under a Pastor who is not from my tribe” is a saying that must never be heard from the mouth of a true disciple (1 Corinthians 11:1ff).

11. Openness to unlearning and relearning.

A teachable spirit is marked by its readiness to unlearn and relearn—the willingness to let go of old assumptions, wrong perspectives, or incomplete understanding in order to embrace clearer truth. A teachable believer is willing to subject what he or she has held on to for long as being true to examination, and to drop them and embrace clearer truth if what he or she has thought to be true is proven to be wrong.

This quality requires humility, because it admits, “I may not know as I thought I did,” and it requires courage, because change is never comfortable. A person who can unlearn and relearn stays flexible, growing, and open to God’s ongoing work of transformation. Such a learner is not rigid or defensive but continually adjusting to the truth as God brings greater light. This is how wisdom deepens and character matures.

A powerful example of this spirit in scripture is seen in Acts 18:24–26. Apollos was a man who was “mighty in the Scriptures” and eloquent in speech, but he did not know the revelation of Christ as he ought to. When providence brought Aquila and Priscilla, who understood the revelation of Christ more deeply and accurately his way, Apollos humbly submitted to be taught by them. 

12. A teachable spirit operates with discernment.

A believer with a teachable spirit does not accept teachings blindly. Instead, he tests every word against Scripture, seeking to confirm the truth for himself. Being teachable does not mean swallowing everything that anyone dishes to you hook, line, and sinker.

Again, the Jewish community at Berea is a model of this spirit. Luke described them as “more noble” because they received the word with readiness, yet also searched the Scriptures daily to verify what Paul and Silas taught. Their example shows that a teachable spirit combines openness with discernment—eager to learn, but committed to confirming truth by the standard of God’s Word. Such believers grow strong in faith because their convictions are rooted not in human opinion but in the authority of Scripture.

Learning Christ is our primary task as disciples of Christ. But being teachable is crucial to that task. Being teachable is not optional for a disciple—it is essential. The posture of your heart determines the depth of your spiritual growth. 

When you cultivate willingness to be taught the word of God, eagerness, humility, submission, openness, consistency, and a hunger for God’s Word, you position yourself for divine wisdom, spiritual growth, and greater usability in the kingdom of God. 

These ten qualities are not a checklist; they are a lifestyle—one that reflects the character of Jesus and keeps you growing daily into His likeness. May your heart remain open, flexible, and teachable as the Holy Spirit works in you.

If you truly desire to grow as a disciple, begin today by praying for a teachable spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to soften your heart, correct your attitudes, and help you walk in humility.

And if this article blessed you, why don’t you share it with someone who needs encouragement on their discipleship journey, and consider exploring more teachings on spiritual growth and Christian maturity.

You can also drop your thoughts in the comments section. I’d love to hear from you.

I love you with the love of Christ!

Further Resources:

• Desiring God—A Teachable Heart
• GotQuestions.org—What Is a Teachable Spirit?
• Bible.org—The Teachable Heart
• Ligonier Ministries—Humility: The Foundation of Christian Character