Who am I? I asked myself that for several years. It was the question with the all-elusive answer. With it came many other questions such as, "what am I good at?" and, "what is unique about me?" and, "What is God's special purpose for me?"
Those are all reasonable things to ask oneself. And I think the people who were saying, "Know who you are in Christ." thought the same things that I thought: that it was the kind of answer that was different for each of us. After all, if they knew the answer, why would they withhold it from those of us who "have got to know"?
Eventually I found myself telling others the same thing, "You need to know who you are in Christ." not really understanding what I was saying, thinking I knew all about my unique calling and purpose in life.
It is important to know yourself, and to know what's unique about you, and what your talents are: what you uniquely contribute to the kingdom of God. But those things have more to do with calling and less to do with identity.
I think the answer is a lot simpler and easier to find than I made it out to be. Perhaps I'm the only one who ever thought like this, but I'm willing to bet that others for many years have thought and wondered about the same thing.
It's simple! Your identity in Christ is laid out in the Word of God; the good ole' Bible! Okay, okay, I know it can seem like the Word is more of a "how to be" guide than a "this is who you are" explanation. It seems like it's always telling you what you need to attain to. But I'm convinced that it's quite the opposite, it's just that we (or at least myself and a lot of people I know) tend to skip those parts that tell us who we already are and we tend to focus on trying to follow all the "how to's".
Let's look at the letters of Paul. He almost always tells his people who they are first and then deals with individual issues. Keep in mind that Christianity was a new thing altogether and so he first told them their actual identity and then had to explain what that looked like. He told them they were led by the spirit as a past and present tense event and then said, "don't be led by the flesh". But saying "don't do this or that" doesn't negate the person that you already are, it's just showing you what that means. What I mean to say is that we MUST believe in our identity as a finished product rather than a work in progress. You can't act like a son of God if you believe you're a dirty rotten sinner.
With all that said, let's take a look at what the Word actually says. Now I don't have all the scriptures in the Bible concerning our position in Christ, but I have a starting point (and it's a pretty good one!). Let's focus on our identity in Christ as laid out in the book of Romans
Or take the fact that you are dead to sin--that you have been united with Christ in His death and resurrection. That means sin has no power over you. What if you believed that? The one thing you always struggle with--that sin that you can't seem to get rid of--is not a part of who you are. It's been dead all this time you've believed in Christ. The only reason why you still struggle with it is because you didn't know it wasn't a part of you. Everyone told you that you're still a dirty rotten sinner. But you're not. The word clearly says you are dead to sin.
It's simple! Your identity in Christ is laid out in the Word of God; the good ole' Bible! Okay, okay, I know it can seem like the Word is more of a "how to be" guide than a "this is who you are" explanation. It seems like it's always telling you what you need to attain to. But I'm convinced that it's quite the opposite, it's just that we (or at least myself and a lot of people I know) tend to skip those parts that tell us who we already are and we tend to focus on trying to follow all the "how to's".
Let's look at the letters of Paul. He almost always tells his people who they are first and then deals with individual issues. Keep in mind that Christianity was a new thing altogether and so he first told them their actual identity and then had to explain what that looked like. He told them they were led by the spirit as a past and present tense event and then said, "don't be led by the flesh". But saying "don't do this or that" doesn't negate the person that you already are, it's just showing you what that means. What I mean to say is that we MUST believe in our identity as a finished product rather than a work in progress. You can't act like a son of God if you believe you're a dirty rotten sinner.
With all that said, let's take a look at what the Word actually says. Now I don't have all the scriptures in the Bible concerning our position in Christ, but I have a starting point (and it's a pretty good one!). Let's focus on our identity in Christ as laid out in the book of Romans
- You:
- are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ (3:24)
- are credited as righteous... by faith! (4:11)
- are heirs of Abraham (4:16)
- have gained access to grace by faith (5:2)
- have been given the Holy Spirit (5:5)
- are justified by His blood (5:9)
- are saved from wrath (5:9)
- are reconciled to Him (5:11)
- are dead to sin (6:2)
- have been baptized into Christ's death (6:3)
- were buried with Christ (6:4)
- were raised from the dead (6:4)
- are alive in Christ (6:4)
- have been united with Christ in His death and resurrection (6:5)
- are no longer slaves to sin (6:6)
- have been freed from sin (6:6)
- are not under the law, but under grace (6:14)
- are dead to the law (7:4)
- are no longer condemned (8:1)
- are living according to the spirit (8:4)
- are controlled by the spirit (8:9)
- are NOT controlled by the sinful nature (8:9)
- are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ (8:17)
- have the first fruits of the Holy Spirit (8:23)
- are called, justified, and glorified (8:30)
- are so loved by God that nothing can separate you from that love (8:35)
- are more than conquerors (8:37)
- are a son/daughter of God (8:14-15)
- Your old self was crucified (6:6) [old self meaning your sinful nature]
- The Spirit of God is living in you (8:11)
- Holy Spirit intercedes for you (8:26)
- Holy Spirit helps you in your weakness (8:26)
- In all things God works for your good (8:28)
- God is for you [who can be against you?] (8:31)
- God graciously gives you all things (8:32)
- Christ himself is interceding for you (8:34)
Or take the fact that you are dead to sin--that you have been united with Christ in His death and resurrection. That means sin has no power over you. What if you believed that? The one thing you always struggle with--that sin that you can't seem to get rid of--is not a part of who you are. It's been dead all this time you've believed in Christ. The only reason why you still struggle with it is because you didn't know it wasn't a part of you. Everyone told you that you're still a dirty rotten sinner. But you're not. The word clearly says you are dead to sin.
How would you act differently if you actually believed you are not controlled by the flesh?
What if you believed that God's love is not dependent on your performance? How would you see God differently?
What if you believed that God's love is not dependent on your performance? How would you see God differently?
People like to say, "what you believe isn't important, it's what you do that counts." Yes, it's our actions that speak to others, but our beliefs dictate those actions.
I've said it a million times before: what you believe you are is what you will be. You have an identity in Christ that is true and constant and you must believe in it in order to act it out. It's crucial! And it's not an all-elusive mystery. It's laid out in the word of God.
I've said it a million times before: what you believe you are is what you will be. You have an identity in Christ that is true and constant and you must believe in it in order to act it out. It's crucial! And it's not an all-elusive mystery. It's laid out in the word of God.
