What makes up our identity? We are born into this world with many traits, such as gender, ethnicity, nationality, and various strengths and weaknesses. Our culture and environment also influence our attitudes and beliefs, and how we respond to all these factors shapes our human identity.
When we experience a spiritual rebirth by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we receive a new identity as one of God’s children (John 1:12). We discover a whole new range of opportunities to grow and learn and to establish our identity as followers of Jesus. As we continue to grow in our faith and incorporate the teachings of the Bible into our lives, our identity in Christ continues to develop.
So how do we grow in our identity in Christ? One very important way is to study His Word, believe what He says, and apply it to our lives. The more we appropriate what Jesus has told us about who we are and what we are called to do as His followers, the more we can grow in our walk with Him and be transformed into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18).
What are the benefits to discovering and developing our identity in Jesus? There are the personal benefits of greater faith and confidence through knowing who we are in Him and that we are unconditionally loved by Him. There is, however, an even more compelling reason: the more we grow into our identity in Him, the more evident His Spirit in us becomes to others, as we “let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to God” (Matthew 5:16). This may be the starting point for those who have not yet received Jesus to desire to know Him and draw closer to Him.
So many people in today’s world wonder what their purpose is, what they’re meant to achieve, and whether their efforts will make a difference. As Christians, we have a vital mission, given to us by Jesus, which should orient our lives and pursuits. We are called to be “ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” as we implore people “on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Jesus said that as the Father sent Him into the world, even so He has sent us to be witnesses of His truth and love to others (John 17:18–21).
While many people struggle with uncertainty about the future, we can discover what God’s personalized will for our lives is. The Bible tells us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2 NIV). We also can know that God Himself will complete the good work He began in us from the time of our spiritual rebirth. “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
We have the privilege of knowing that we are each chosen and dearly loved by God. “For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you” (1 Thessalonians 1:4 NIV). We have been adopted as God’s children, and God is our “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:14–15). And Jesus is our friend. “I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
In spite of our many flaws and human weaknesses, we are “holy and blameless” in Jesus’ eyes and chosen in Him “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4). And in fact, the Bible tells us that God loves us with an everlasting and unfailing love (Jeremiah 31:3 NLT), and rejoices over us “as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride” (Isaiah 62:5). Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God in Jesus—neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor anything else in all creation (Romans 8:38–39).
As Christians, we are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20), and we have an inheritance of eternal riches. We have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” and “by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3–5). One day, we will sit with Christ in heavenly places to show the “incomparable riches of God’s grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6–7 NIV).
It’s important to recognize your identity in Jesus and to have the vision for how you are meant to grow in the future, and who you are called to be in Him. As you study and memorize God’s promises in the Bible and appropriate them personally for your life, you can develop the qualities that are part of your identity in Christ. For example, if you struggle against feeling bound by guilt and the sense that you can never be free of past wrongs, you can find freedom in knowing that Jesus says there is now no more condemnation when you are His (Romans 8:1).
If you feel you are a prisoner to your fears, you can declare in faith that things will change when you trust in Him. “What time I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3). If your circumstances make you feel small, insignificant, or worthless, you can declare with perfect assurance, “God says that I am His handiwork, His masterpiece; therefore, I know that I’m important to Him” (Ephesians 2:10). If you feel alone and forsaken, you can remind yourself that God has chosen you and He loves you unconditionally (1 Peter 5:7).
When you feel like you have nothing to offer, remember that you are God’s child, and He says He’s given you the greatest job in the world, as His ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20). If you feel anxiety and stress, or you’re in turmoil or worried, don’t just stay in that unhappy state. Take Him at His Word that says, “My peace I give unto you” (John 14:27).
Remember, it is God’s opinion about you that counts. You can choose to accept what He has said in His Word about who you are and your identity in Christ and live victoriously! Embrace what God has said about your eternal identity, agree with Him that it’s true of you, and allow Him to transform you into the person He has called you to be.
You can choose to affirm your identity in Christ by embracing the things Jesus has given you as His follower. Commit to making them a part of your life so that your identity becomes more deeply rooted in Him each day. Determine to adjust your thinking to coincide with what God’s Word says about you as His child and heavenly citizen. By doing these things, we open ourselves up to the Spirit of God working in our lives so that we can become all that Jesus promised we can be in this life and the life to come.