Your True Identity
It’s important that our identity is based in reality, and not just on our feelings. I can feel like Mariah Carey, think that I look like her and even claim that when I sing everyone cries. But that’s not the reality. People cry when I sing, but for all the wrong reasons! We just need to see a couple of bad X Factor auditions to illustrate my point.
What makes you who you are?
Often, when someone meets us for the first time and they are trying to find out who we are, they might ask questions like:
- What do you do?
- Where do you live?
- What hobbies do you have?
These are concrete things, not feelings, but do these define us? Is your identity achieved because of your performance, either through success or moral behaviour? If so, have you ever felt that you compare yourself to those around you? Do you try to strive for the approval of others or try to be the best that you can?
Also, can other people’s comments shape the perception of how you feel about yourself. Can this shape your identity?
Our Identity in Christ is different…
When we become a Christian, that is ‘born again’, we become adopted into God’s family. We are given our new identity when we give up our old selves, our old strivings, and follow Jesus. Our new identity is given, and not earnt. We no longer have to strive to try and impress those around us in order to be accepted. God, whose character is completely trustworthy, unchangeable and reliable, gives you a new identity when you become one of His children. You may not feel different straight away (although you might), but that doesn’t change the reality of who you have become. Your identity in Christ is not based on feelings. And it’s not achieved, but received.
Who does God say you are?
We are going to look at some verses from the Bible, and what they say about your new identity in Christ. It’s a good idea to look these up in your Bible and read what comes just before and after each quote. This will help you understand the quotes in context. As you read, think and pray about each verse. All these quotes are taken from the New Living Translation (NLT).
You are a Child of God, adopted into his family.
Firstly, if you are a Christian, you are a child of God. Everyone is loved by God, but not everyone is a child of God. Those who have accepted Jesus are adopted into God’s family, chosen by Him. There are so many verses and parables in the Bible that try to explain the incredible love that God has for His children. God, a perfect father, can now welcome his children into his presence. You are one of those children, if you have accepted Jesus. This is not a position where you need to pass a test or perform certain religious rituals. Your Heavenly Father loves you for who you are, not because of what you do. And other Christians are your brothers and sisters. How does that make you feel about them? How do you feel about those who have not yet been adopted?
You are a child of God
John 1:12
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
1 John 3:1
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!…
You are adopted
Romans 8:15-17
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
You are completely forgiven, restored and your freedom obtained. God now sees you as holy and blameless. You are a new person.
We all like to think that God is loving, and he is, but he is also righteous. He can’t let anything that isn’t completely holy and blameless into his presence.
As Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom (Matthew 28:51). This is highly significant. The curtain separated off the holy of holies, where God’s presence was, from mankind. No one was allowed to enter, except for the high priest, once a year. Jesus’ death tore that curtain down. It is now possible for anyone to enter God’s presence, Jew or Gentile, through Jesus. You can now come to God with confidence, because Jesus’ death has bought your freedom. He has paid your debt. You were alienated and separated from God, but now, because of Jesus, you are now reconciled to your heavenly father.
You can confidently come into God’s presence
(Hebrews 10:19-22)
19 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
(Ephesians 3: 11-12)
11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.
12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.
Your freedom has been purchased. You’re completely forgiven:
(Colossians 1:14)
who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
You are reconciled to God. You are holy and blameless.
(Colossians 1:22)
Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
You are no longer condemned by God
(Romans 8:1)
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
You are a new person
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
You now have peace with God, are his friend and can now go to him as you are.
God wants peace with us, but our natural inclination is to go our own way and to do our own thing. This means a state of hostility, conflict or antagonism towards God- really a declaration of war. Our ways are not His ways. But the Bible describes a God who is knowable- not distant and vengeful. Jesus’ death brought us peace with God. Jesus, God incarnate, even called us, his obedient followers, his friends.
You are Christ’s friend
(John 15:15)
I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.
Through Christ, you have peace with God
(Colossians 1:19-23)
19 For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ,
20 and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it. This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
(Romans 5:1-5)
5 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
In Romans 5:1-2 we read that Jesus’ death has also brought us peace with God. We can stand confidently before Him. We don’t deserve this, it is a privilege and brings a huge amount of joy!
We are saved- it’s a done deal, but we are also being transformed, and becoming more like Jesus- being saved. But verses 3-5 warn us that we will run into difficulties. Although things may get tough, we can still find joy in these times. God has given us his Holy Spirit.
God gives you His Spirit to help you and guide you. He will give you wisdom, if you ask for it.
God gave you the Holy Spirit when you accepted Christ and became a Christian. In John 14:26, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit to His believers. He said the Spirit would teach them everything and remind them of what he has taught. In Galatians 5:19-26 there are descriptions of 2 very different life-styles, the flesh and the spirit. Although we should try and live a more holy life, it is The Spirit that empowers us to do so. We are saved, and also being saved. Our old life “the flesh” becomes less, and the evidence of the Spirit living in us (the fruit of the spirit) becomes more. I’ve said already that God doesn’t promise us an easy life. When things get difficult though, God invites us to ask Him for wisdom.
You have been given the Holy Spirit
(Ephesians 1: 13-14)
13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
You have been sent the Holy Spirit to help and teach you
(John 14:26)
But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
The Holy Spirit will lead you, and your life will produce godly fruit
(Galatians 5:19-26)
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
In challenging times, God will give you wisdom, if you ask for it
(James 1:5)
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
You are part of God’s extended family, a member of His Church, one in Christ with all believers and a citizen of Heaven.
All believers are equal- we are one in Christ. We are all equal inheritors, and no one is more privileged than another. God shows no partiality. This means that no one can boast or put another down. We can lovingly correct each other’s behaviour, but we are not proud or boastful of our own achievements. We can only boast of what Christ has done. In the Church (that is, Christian people) everyone has an equally valuable role to play. 1 Corinthians 12:12-29 describes this as ‘one body, many parts’. We will have different gifts and abilities, but we are all in Christ’s body and are equally valued. Each has their own part to play.
You are one in Christ with all believers
(Galatians 3: 26-29)
26 For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.
Your new life comes through Christ, so you can not boast.
(1 Corinthians 1: 26-31)
26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”
You have a valuable and unique part to play in the Church- that is God’s plan worked out through God’s people
(1 Corinthians 12:27)
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.
Ephesians 5:29-30
29 No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. 30 And we are members of his body.
You are a citizen of Heaven
(Philippians 3:20)
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Saviour.
Next steps:
Do you go to a church? Do you spend time with other Christians to encourage each other and pray for each other? It’s really wise to do this. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have any non-Christians friends, but going to a Church is important for lots of reasons. Remember, part of your identity is in the church, you have a unique role to play. Also, Christians should have someone to encourage them, and to be answerable to. You might want to talk to someone at church about being baptised.
Think and pray:
- Are there any aspects of your new identity that you find difficult to belief or accept? Could this be because of an old mind-set or old life-style?
- Is there anything that you are valuing more than Christ (your career, a human relationship, social status).
If so, bring these before God. Do you have a trusted Christian friend that you could pray with?
Christian truth brings both information and transformation. So, understand who you are, and then be that person.
Where Next?
Frequently asked questions…
We will always have questions, and it’s good to ask them. God does not mind us asking challenging questions.
Here are a few questions that people often ask.
Have you been here?
There’s a page where the Christian message is explained. There’s a short video. If you haven’t watched it, please do. Your identity in Christ will really only make sense if you understand the Christian message.