Our Identity in Christ (Who does Jesus say I am?)

/ Nick Watts

If you think you’ve blown God’s plan for your life, rest in this: You, my beautiful friend, are not that powerful.

 

Charles Spurgeon rightly proclaimed,

You may not understand all the doctrines of the Bible, but you can understand this — that if you trust in Jesus Christ, you will be a child of God… It is true that every person who has believed in Jesus is perfectly pardoned. There is against them no sin in God’s book.” – 

 

Why is the truth of scripture so vital to our spiritual health?  Jared Wilson, in his book, The Gospel According to Satan, offers an answer:

“Before there was death, there was the lie. But before the lie, there was the Liar.” 

The only way to defeat the lie is to respond with truth – which is “what God says in his Word.”  Jesus prayed, “Your word is truth.”

This is precisely why, describing the “armor of God,” Paul begins with truth.

 In the The Bondage Breaker, Neil Anderson writes,

Freedom from spiritual conflicts and bondage is not a power encounter; it’s a truth encounter. Satan is a deceiver, and he will work undercover at all costs. But the truth of God’s Word exposes him and his lie. His demons are like cockroaches that scurry for the shadows when the light comes on. Satan’s power is in the lie, and when his lie is exposed by the truth, his plans are foiled.

 All of that said, allow me to remind you of who you truly are in the sight of God.

In the letters of the NT, believers are always addressed as “saints.”

If you’re struggling with feeling rejected, unloved, dirty, or shameful:

  • John 1:12 – I am God’s child.
  • John 15:15 – I am Christ’s friend.
  • Rom 5:1 – I have been justified (my record of sin has been wiped clean.)
  • 1 Cor 6:17 – I am united with the Lord and I am one spirit with Him.
  • 1 Cor 6:19-20 – I have been bought with a price: I belong to God.
  • 1 Cor 12:27 – I am a member of Christ’s body.
  • Eph 1:5 – I have been adopted as God’s child.
  • Eph 2:18 – I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.
  • Col 1:14 – I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
  • Col 2:10 – I am complete in Christ.

 

If you are feeling guilty, unprotected, alone, or abandoned:

  • Rom 8:1-2 – I am free from condemnation.
  • Rom 8:31-34 – I am free from any condemning charges against me.
  • Rom 8:35-39 – I cannot be separated from God’s love for me.
  • 2 Cor 1:21-22 – I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God.
  • Col 3:3 – I am hidden with Christ in God.
  • Phil 1:6 – I am confident that the good work that God has begun in me will be perfected.
  • Phil 3:20 – I am a citizen of heaven.
  • 2 Tim 1:7 – I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.
  • Heb 4:16 – I can find grace and mercy in time of need.
  • 1 Jn 5:18 – I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

 

If you feeling worthless, inadequate, helpless, or hopeless:

  • Matt 5:13-15 – I am the salt and light of the earth.
  • Jn 15:1-5 – I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life.
  • Jn 15:16 – I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
  • Acts 1:8 – I am a personal witness of Christ’s.
  • 1 Cor 3:16 – I am God’s temple.
  • 2 Cor 5:17-20 – I am a minister of reconciliation.
  • 2 Cor 6:1 – I am God’s coworker.
  • Eph 2:6 – I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm.
  • Eph 2:10 – I am God’s workmanship.
  • Eph 3:12 – I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
  • Phil 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

“We can no more catch a hurricane in a shrimp net or Niagara Falls in a coffee cup than we can grasp the infinity of God’s love for us.”  – Brennan Manning