I think the discovery of our identity can be a complicated process. I am not talking about our name, social security number, or nationality. I am talking about our God-given identity. This is difficult, in part, because we live in a world that often denies there is a God. I believe all of us understand that our pursuit of knowing who we truly are is clouded by the hurtful words of others, poor self-talk, and the destructive words of our enemy, the devil.
People will resort to drastic measures to discover their identity. I had a friend invest a year traveling the world to “find himself.” In the end, he returned more confused than when he left. Since God created us, it only makes sense that we ought to look to Him for the answer.
We learn in the first chapter of the Bible that we have been made in the image of God (see: Gen 1:26-27). This means that humanity is unique among all God’s creations, having both a material body and an immaterial soul. Having the “image” or “likeness” of God means, in the simplest terms that we were made to resemble Him. This likeness is mental, moral, and social. When Adam chose to reject God as Lord of His life and placed himself in God’s rightful place, sin entered the world. One of the consequences was the marring of our likeness to our Creator. The good news is that through Jesus’ finished work on the cross He has redeemed us making us a new creation (see: 2 Cor 5:17). In Christ, a believer is transformed and enabled to be rightly identified with Christ as well as reflect Him to others.
In Scripture, we discover that in our new identity in Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin. Paul writes: “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Rom 6:6). The death of our old self happened spiritually when we identified with Jesus’ death at our salvation. The old self speaks to our identifying with Adam to sin and its devastating consequences (see: Rom 3:23 and 6:23). The crucifixion of the old self is something God did for us, replacing it with a new self identified with Christ, allowing us to know Him and reflect Him to others. We are reconciled to God (see: Rom 5:10). We once were enemies of God, doing life our own way, rejecting Him. Now, in Christ, we are His, not only forgiven but also made right allowing us to live in fellowship with Him. This new identity, a return to our original identity before the Fall, completely changes our relationship with God, others, and our view of the world.
Our new identity in Christ means we are children of God (see: Rom 8:15-16). We are joint heirs with and friends of Christ (see: Gal 3:29 and John 15:15). We can approach God with confidence as our Heavenly Father (see: Heb 4:16). We can approach confidently but are not to do so arrogantly. In other words, we are not to demand anything from God, but we are to expect to be welcomed and cared for by Him. For instance, we can ask for His guidance and wisdom (see: James 1:5). Our new identity in Christ gives us the assurance that we are secure in Him (see Rom 8:38-39). This allows us to rest in Christ as Lord of our life and trust obediently in Him, understanding that such rest and trust is a vital part of remaining close to our Lord (see: John 14:23).
The believer has a rich identity in Christ. This identity is not just positional, but practical allowing us to know Him and make Him known as we walk in the relationship for which we have been created. It is so important to look to God to gain an understanding of our identity. Only our Creator has the ability and right to reveal our true identity to us.
I am honored to serve our Lord with each of you. I am so thankful to be found in Him. Let’s encourage one another to celebrate our wonderful identity in Christ and reflect Him to the world around us. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!