A Series on Identity

Who am I?

Who does God say I am?

Last time we talked about the struggle of questioning who we are and our purpose here on earth. I’d like to take a closer look at how the Bible defines Christians. Let’s dive into the scriptures to see what God says.

I am loved.

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—“

‭‭John‬ ‭3:16‬ ““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:8 “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:9 “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:10‬ “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:38‬ “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:16 “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”

‬ ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:19 “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

God loves you so much that He allowed His one and only son to take your place as the consequence for your sin. He loves you so much that He orchestrated an elaborate plan from the beginning of time just to take care of you and show that he cares for your well being. God’s love for you is so strong that absolutely nothing can separate us His love except our own rejection.

I am a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” All the mistakes of your past are forgiven, they are gone. You have been given a clean slate and a new life. You have been granted a full pardon for your past mistakes. Mistakes will still happen but you’ve been given a wipe erase marker for your white board, should you choose to mark it, God will wipe it away when you confess and repent of your sins.

I am God’s masterpiece, fearfully and wonderfully made.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:10 says “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” I was created with a purpose and plan. I am perfectly formed the way I am. I have been created exactly how God wanted me. God does not make mistakes and there is not a single thing about me that is imperfect. Psalm 139:14 ”I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” We are wonderfully made and we know it deep in our souls. Every aspect of our being is made wonderfully.

I am created in the image of God.

Genesis 1:27 says “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” We are created in the image of God. We are created in the likeness of God. We are created to be a reflection of God on earth. Our presence on earth shouts the glory of God and His love for us. We are here on earth to represent God.

I am a beloved child of God.

John 1:12 says “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” If we receive Christ as our savior we are adopted by God as his children. That means He will love us and treat us as the perfect parent would their child. 

Romans 8:14-15 says “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 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!””  If we are Christians and allow the Spirit to lead us, we have been granted access to the best Father ever, one in whom we can cry out to when we feel overwhelmed, one in whom we can confide all our troubles and burdens to. One who we can ask for help from instead of falling back into the pattern of sin.

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:1‬ says “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.”” We have a special relationship with God that others do not understand nor do they recognize the significance of how truly wonderful having a loving father is. The world cannot explain this relationship between the Father and His children, they have no earthly model to mimic the significance.

Galatians 4:7 says “So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” Because we have chosen to follow God rather than the world, we have been freed from the slavery of sin and granted royalty as His child, so that we can be kings and queens of the Lord in His future Kingdom..

I am set free.

John 15:15 says “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” The Bible says we were slaves to sin “We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:6‬ but because we have died to our old selves, we are no longer slaves to sin, but rather sin has lost all power over our lives. “For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:7‬ 

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ‭‭John‬ ‭8:32‬ Knowing the truth sets us free from the power of sin and ignorance. “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:1‬ Just because we have been set free, doesn’t mean we are out of the woods yet, we must stay vigilant in living a Christ like life so as not to get caught up in the politics of Christianity or even let ourselves slip into sin. “Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:18‬ We have been set free from the bondage of sin which leads to a miserable life. Though now we are slaves to righteousness which now means we are free from the consequences of sin but obligated to do what is right out of the gratefulness of our hearts.

I am a citizen of heaven.

Philippians 3:20 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Because we have accepted Christ we have been granted citizenship into heaven, no strings attached, we simply await the return of our savior to cash in on our ticket to glory.

Ephesians 2:19 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” We are no longer outcasts and strangers to God, but rather citizens in heaven and a friend of God. “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:11‬ 

I am a temple of God.

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” We are holy and set apart for God. When we accept Christ as our savior, we become the very dwelling place of God. That means our bodies are to be dedicated to the Lord and treated as a magnificent architecture that holds the very breath of God.

I am chosen.

Ephesians 1:4 ”Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”

1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” God set us apart for His glory. He chose us, He wants us so He called us out of darkness so that we can be a part of His chosen race. He thought about me before the beginning of time, before the foundation of the world.

I am the light.

Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Because we have the presence of the Lord living in us, then we have the light of God shining through us. Our light is so bright that we shine as bright as a city sitting on a hill. If we allow God to shine through us it will be impossible to not see the light. How does that light shine? Through the love we show to others and the way we act differently than the rest of the world.

I am a prized possession.  ‭‭

James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.” 

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭26‬:‭18‬ “The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭14‬:‭2 “You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.”

God, the immortal, Omniscience, Omnipotent, One true God, who created the universe and never changes, chose you. Out of all created things on this earth, he chose you. He wanted you. You are chosen, God lined up everything on the planet and he chose you. He chose to move in your life, he chose to reveal himself to you and form a relationship with you. He didn’t pick you out because he didn’t have options, he had options and still chose you. You are worthy because God paid for you in full through the cross. Making you his highest and most prized possession.

There is so much more in the Bible that tells us who we are to God, so much that it would take me forever to find every verse in the Bible describing who we are to God. So here I am summarizing and paraphrasing the magnitude of God’s love for us and the thoughts he has for us. There is no possible way for me to sit here and describe God’s love that would even scratch the surface of the depth of His affection towards us.

So what, God loves us, what does that mean for me? That means that God has mapped out a plan from the beginning of time to bring us back to him. With each new baby he takes his time to carefully and lovingly mold you. He watched over you and thought about you before you even took your first breath. He created a plan for your life. ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭13‬-‭18 says “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” God does not make junk, he carved you, knit you together in your mothers womb. Every inch of you is perfect from your head to your toes. God thinks of you so much that his thoughts outnumber the sand. How marvelous is that? Scientists estimate that Earth contains 7.5 sextillion sand grains. That is 75 followed by 17 zeros. That means God’s thoughts of you outnumber that! Oh the magnitude of God’s love!

This means that not only are we loved and cared for, but God does indeed have a plan for our life which gives our life a meaning and a purpose.