Your identity in Christ
When you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you receive a new identity. In Christ, you are a new creation: the old has gone, and the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17).
In Christ, you are forgiven, accepted, secure, and significant. This isn’t a statement based on your feelings or circumstances but on the facts of God’s Word and his redemptive work. You were bought at a price, with the precious blood of Jesus (1 Peter 1:18-19).
In Christ, you are no longer a sinner but a saint (Romans 1:7).
There is no longer any condemnation over your life, only conviction and comfort from Christ that is restoring you to become more like him and who he created you to be (Romans 8:1).
In Christ, you are adopted and grafted into God’s family, carrying his name, and receiving his imperishable inheritance, both now and to come (Ephesians 1:5, Romans 11:11-31, 1 Peter 1:4-7).
You are God’s child and co-heir with Christ (Romans 8:16-18).
No matter what kind of parents you have/had, no matter if you are rich or poor, young or old, you are now a son or daughter with full access to your perfect Heavenly Father.
God has rewritten your genealogy, and it begins with Christ. God will fully supply whatever you need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). You lack for nothing!
You are not a victim but more than a conqueror, making what once enslaved you now serve you for the kingdom of Jesus and glory of God (Romans 8:37).
There is nothing that can separate you from his love (Romans 8:38-39). This is profound security!
Christ calls you his friend (John 15:15). This is profound intimacy!
You have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound judgment (2 Timothy 1:7). This is profound moxie!
You are God’s masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus to do good works God has prepared in advance for you (Ephesians 2:10). He is the author and perfecter of your faith and is writing your story, equipping you for the future, and directing your steps.
You are a minister of reconciliation, part of the priesthood of believers chosen to show others the goodness of God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19,
1 Peter 2:9).
You, yes you, are an ambassador for Christ, his mouthpiece to proclaim his good news (2 Corinthians 5:20). This is profound agency!
This may be hard to believe. You may be thinking, I don’t deserve nor am I qualified to be and do any of these things for Christ. And you would be right!
But our identity in Jesus isn’t earned, it’s received as part of the free gift of salvation by grace through faith in him.
How my new identity in Christ changed me
For the first half of my life, I lived with an insecure identity but didn’t realize it. I tried all kinds of ways to feel safe, seen, and significant. I drew upon worldly achievements, appearance, and the approval of people for my security.
But it was always short-lived and disappointing.
I tried on identities like a woman desperately searching for the perfect bathing suit on a hot July day. Not surprisingly, none of the identities fit or were very flattering!
Jesus offers us a better way.
Living from a Christ-given identity means living from a supernatural place of security, stability, and strength.
When Jesus describes our abiding relationship with him, he says that he is the vine, his Father is the vinedresser or gardener, and we are the branches (John 15:5). We are grafted into Jesus as our life source. God the Father oversees our growth, pruning our hearts to ensure we produce maximum spiritual fruit.
Like a family tree, we draw our name and identity from Christ. Apart from him, we will not flourish or find joy, peace, purpose, or contentment.
When days, weeks, or maybe even months roll by without an intentional rhythm of abiding in Jesus, we will notice old habits and hangups rearing their ugly heads. We will operate as a parched and lifeless branch. We will start trying on our ill-fitting, old identities and try to produce our own spiritual fruit.
Not abiding in Jesus doesn’t mean we’ve lost our new identity or are no longer saved, just that we need to do as the Apostle Paul encourages:
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).
We need to embrace and live in the reality of who we are in Christ.
As Neil Anderson says in his book, Your Identity in Christ, “Nothing is more foundational to your freedom from Satan’s bondage than understanding and affirming what God has done for you in Christ and who you are as His child…If you see yourself as a dearly loved and accepted child of God, you will likely start living like one.”
It’s not enough to stop seeking identity in things like your career, relationship status, achievements, affiliations, appearance, or possessions. That’s a good start! But you must also replace that void by putting on the new self, the identity Christ has given you when he called you to himself.
You do this by abiding in him and practicing who you are in him.
“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience...” (Colossians 3:12).
Our identity in Christ affects how we love others
When we abide in Jesus and His Word, there will be a marked difference for the better in the way we live and respond to others. We will operate from our secure identity in Christ, rather than striving for it. We won’t seek the approval of others when we already have God's approval. We will have an abundance mindset rather than a scarcity mindset, believing that, as God’s children, our good Father has provided all that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), and that he withholds no good thing from those who are his (Psalm 84:11).
“Our identity and position in Christ is not only the basis for living a liberated life in Christ, but the foundation upon which we minister to others. We can’t impart to others what we don’t possess ourselves,” writes Anderson.
When we know we have God the Father’s approval—not because of what we do but because of whose we are—then we will live from our secure identity in Christ, which cannot be changed or altered. We are his. We can’t and don’t need to earn his love.
This produces a Christ-centered confidence that the world cannot crack!
So when we don’t get what we’ve prayed for, or life isn’t going the way we’d like, we can trust that God has a higher plan, even if it hurts at the time.
We can go into the world already filled with the love, grace, and truth of God, instead of searching for them elsewhere.
We will be able to love others with the love of Christ.
Because we have a secure identity and know Jesus has a specific purpose for our lives, we have the freedom to collaborate with and cheer for our brothers and sisters in Christ rather than compete with them. When it seems like an unbeliever or someone unethical is winning or getting ahead, we can rest in the knowledge that God has the final say.
Our mindset can be, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
We will start to see setbacks as setups, with the sovereign God at work, weaving his plans together to give us a hopeful future (Jeremiah 29:11).
From this secure identity, we will be able to process the rejection of man as the protection and redirection of God.
Understanding this will protect our barren seasons from bitterness. We can know God is working out all things for our good and his glory, even if we can’t see it (Romans 8:28).
Live from your secure identity in Christ that was received, not achieved, the day you confessed Jesus as Lord. Stop trying to earn your identity; enjoy it and the freedom it gives. Put on your new self every day as you abide in Christ. Believe you are who God says you are: Loved. Planned for. Wanted. Pursued. Chosen. Forgiven. Redeemed. Accepted. Rejoiced over.
And being restored day by day as you abide in him.
