I don’t know about you, but I am constantly inundated with messages about who I am.
Messages from within:
I can’t do anything right.
No one likes me.
I will never be able to overcome this.
Messages from others:
You’re not worth my time.
I can’t believe you did that.
If you don’t see things my way, I want nothing to do with you.
Messages from our culture:
You’re brainwashing your children when you teach them about your faith.
Aging gracefully means trying to look like an 18-year-old for the rest of your life.
What do you do at home all day?
Do any of these sound familiar? (Or maybe it’s just me.)
Thankfully, we don’t have to rely on skewed truths and outright lies from inside and out about who we are.
We don’t have to wonder which messages are true, and which ones are false.
God has given us everything we need in His Word to form a rock-solid identity that’s built solely on the Solid Rock. That’s the only identity you and I need to claim. The one He has secured for us now and forevermore:
By His grace, I am a child of God, a saint who has been made righteous in Christ.
As a believer, this identity encapsulates the very core of who we are. Let’s spend some time examining each beautiful, powerful part of our identity.
4 Pillars of Your Identity in Christ
1.)Your identity is secured His grace.
Ephesians 2:8 tells us plainly that it is by God’s grace that we’re saved through faith, and not of our own doing. This is because our very best efforts on our very best days amount to filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Not only that, but in Jeremiah 17:9, God tells us that our hearts are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.
Can you see why it’s impossible to have a healthy identity based on your own merit? God knew that apart from His intervention, we are utterly without hope. It’s only because of His grace that we’re able to claim our new identity in Christ.
2.)You are a child of God.
Being a daughter or son of God has a multitude of implications that we’ll keep on learning our whole lives long. Here are three that are particularly pertinent to our identity:
1.)I have a Father. Romans 8:15 tells us that we have received a the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” We are not orphans without the provision and protection of a loving Father. Hallelujah!
2.)I am part of a family. In John 1:12 we see that all who receive Jesus Christ are given the right to become children of God. According to Ephesians 2:19 we are members of the household of God. We have brothers and sisters who support us, work alongside us, and encourage us in our faith, as we do the same for them.
3.)I am an heir. The child of a king is an heir to his kingdom, and the Bible informs us that’s the case for the daughters and sons of the King of Kings. In Galatians 4:7 we read that if we are sons of God, we are also heirs of God through Christ. This means that we will enjoy the riches of Christ for eternity.
3.)You are a saint.
Our culture has twisted the term “saint” from its biblical meaning. We often think of a saint as someone who is perfect, which can make us hesitant to claim that identity for ourselves. But I Corinthians 1:2 reveals that a saint is simply one who is in the process of being made holy because God has set her apart from the world.
4.)You are made righteous in Christ.
“Righteous” is another word we frequently misdefine. Here’s what God has to say about it:
For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
The Greek root of the word translated “righteousness” in this verse also appears in Romans 5:1 with the English translation reading “having been justified.”
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)
“Righteousness” refers to our position before God. Because Jesus lived a perfect life, those who believe in Him are no longer objects of God’s wrath, but are instead declared right with God because we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness.
A rock-solid identity built on the Solid Rock
As we’ve unpacked this definition, have you noticed that none of your identity – not the smallest iota – is dependent on you? Your identity as His child started with Him and is sealed by Him; your identity as a saint started with Him and is sealed by Him; and your identity as being righteous started with Him and is sealed by Him.
We’re a rather unstable bunch, aren’t we? Which means that placing our identity in ourselves – our performance, our feelings, or any other aspect of our humanity – is bound to be sinking sand. Rejoice in the Lord today that your identity is secure! It is safe! It is unchangeable now and forevermore!
By His grace, I am a child of God, a saint who has been made righteous in Christ.
Not quite sure whether this identity applies to you? These posts will clarify this important question for you.
Jennifer,
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for writing on this! I also read your “Be True to Who You Are” post.
I have had the topic of identity in Christ on my heart for many years and have researched and written on it (privately) in answer to people (whom I love!) who cling to “sinner” identity rather than “saint”. I attempt to speak to others about it (a lot) as there is a counter identity that is being promulgated and expressed too often from the mouths of professing Christians and even from the pulpit; the “I am a great sinner and a mediocre Christian” mantra, or the “I can’t help it, I’m human, I am a sinner”. I always think of 2 Timothy 3:5 when I hear this type of talk. We are to make no provision for the flesh (and I believe that includes excuses!) as it says in Romans 13:14. When people grab hold of the victim mentality in regards to sin it sets them up for failure. They never “pick up their mat”, climb out of the mud so to speak and walk after Christ having been cleansed! (Thinking of Psalm 40:2-3 here). I get it that we get dirty sometimes and that can cause feelings of despair (again Lord?!). Paul even had his moment in Romans 7, but then we repent and get up in the power of the Holy Spirit and press on toward the goal in Christ Jesus! I honestly do not come across many who grab hold of the identity of “saint”, which seems so vital to me! I do experience push back as people think of saint in the wrong way and also from the enemy (who do you think you are to tell people these things… look at this {fill-in-the-blank-failure} in your life – you are a hypocrite!). I so appreciate your writing about this here on your platform. It was a breath of fresh air and one that needs to continued to be put out there for the edification of the saints – for the edification of the Church! Eph. 4:12. Sorry for the length here – it is just wonderful – truly refreshing and uplifting to my spirit and a tremendous blessing to find someone who speaks the same ‘language’! Thank you dear sister in Christ! Blessings!
Trisha, I praise the Lord for allowing our paths to cross and for granting that we should be a mutual encouragement to each other, as iron sharpens iron. This topic of identity in Christ is so vital, and so misunderstood. I’ve actually written a Bible study on this topic that will be available here on the website in the next few months, so I welcome your prayers for that endeavor, that it would impact many believers for the glory of God and for the edification of His Church.