What is My Identity in Christ?
In today’s world, we carry a lot of forms of ID. Just looking through my wallet, I have a driver’s license, a library card, a gym tag, insurance cards, big box store membership card, debit card, store credit cards – on and on. Not to mention a birth certificate, passport, and other important documents filed away in a safe place in my home.
Looking at all of these identifiers, it’s easy to make assumptions about who I am as a person. I am an American citizen; I’m a reader; I care about exercise (at least I care enough to pay for a gym membership, regardless of if I actually workout).
But none of these identifiers tell the complete story of who I am and what I hold most dear in my life. They are just snippets of material and inconsequential things that don’t paint an accurate picture of my true identity.
Only Christ does that.
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What is my identity in Christ?
With so many forms of identification in my life, what is my identity in Christ?
I am a new person.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
When we accept Christ as our savior, we become new people in Christ. Any transgressions from our past no longer define us, and we don’t have to live in a place of shame.
We can move forward as new people – people who find their identity in Christ.
I am forgiven.
Ephesians 1:7
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace
Before becoming a Christian, I didn’t understand what it meant to be forgiven of my sins. What sins? I’m a good person.
But as I’ve grown in my faith, I’ve learned what it means to be a sinner and how to identify sin in my life. With that understanding of how I’m a sinner comes the need to be forgiven of my past sins, as well as the sins I’ll commit in the future.
When I embrace my identity in Christ, I learn that I am forgiven and redeemed. This allows me to move forward from the shame of my past and pursue the tasks that God has planned for my life.
I am a child of God.
John 1:12
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
Galatians 3:26
26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
When we receive Christ as our savior and have faith in Him, we become children of God. With that status, we have a right to our inheritance in heaven (1 Peter 1:4).
When we realize that we are citizens of heaven and not citizens of this world, we can look past our worldly desires and focus on our eternal callings. God has plans for His people, which leads us to our next point.
I am made for a purpose.
Ephesians 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Our time here on earth is limited, so when I root my identity in Christ, I know that I am here for a God-prepared purpose. It is my job to listen to God and follow where He leads me to complete the work He has prepared for me.
I am no longer a slave to fear.
Romans 8:15
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
As we recognize our identity in Christ as children of God, we are no longer slaves to fear. Instead, we recognize our place as children of the Most High and conduct ourselves as such. We don’t have to be afraid because God has us in His hands, and we can trust that His plans for us are good (Jeremiah 29:11).
Lord, thank you for the identity we find in you.
While the world offers us many different forms of ID, we know that our true identity can only be found in you.
Thank you for calling me your child. Please help me to root my identity in you.
In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
In today’s world, we carry around a lot of forms of ID, and we have a lot of different labels for who we are as people. I am a wife; mother; reader; gym-goer; and U.S. citizen. But none of those things define my true identity.
My identity in Christ is so much more important than any other form of ID I carry. No matter what anyone else labels me, I can cling to the truth of who I am in Christ: I am a new person; I am forgiven; I am a child of God; I am made for a purpose; I am no longer a slave to fear.
Blessings Friend.
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