Finding Yourself in Christ: The True Identity of the Christian
In a day and age obsessed with identity, the Christian disciple must maintain a clear understanding of his real identity in Christ. Otherwise he is sure to lose his way!
Among the most pronounced features of our current times is an obsession with identity. Perhaps some future historian will call it the age of identity. Everywhere we find men and women looking for a way to define or redefine themselves. Even those who we think we know closely, we suddenly find to have become almost complete strangers. How often do we find a once close friend or beloved family memeber expressing the thought, “I don’t even know who I am anymore?”
The desire for personal meaning and definition, presupposes a prior lack of definition. We only seek to find ourselves, if in some strange way we have lost ourselves, which on the face of it sounds like an odd predicament. How did this phenomenon become so prevalent? To be sure many factors contributed to this development, but surely the postmodern rejection of all meta-narratives and metaphysics played a major role. Sadly, this crisis has even become prevalent among professing Christians, but it should not be so. For Christians are not defined by their circumstances and culture; the identity of a Christian is rooted in his relationship with God, who is eternal and immutable.
Of course Christians live in time and place. They are brothers and sons, citizens and soldiers. From this perspective, a man of faith is defined like anyone else; he is defined by his given ontology and relationships. But the true Christian is not like ordinary men. He lives in space and time, but he is radically reoriented to the one God, who is beyond space and time. Rooted in history, but in relationship with the eternal God. Such men find their true and deepest identity in recognizing that they are sons and daughters of God, adopted in Jesus Christ. This is a vast topic, but I will try to be concise. It is best to begin with a few illustrations from Scripture.
The Plan of Adoption
From before the beginning of the world, it was part of God’s plan that His people (the elect) would become adopted sons through Jesus Christ.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Eph. 1:3-6, RSV)
The passage goes on to say that this adoption is sealed by the Holy Spirit, which is defined as the “guarantee” of our inheritance in the kingdom of God. How shall we not rejoice! How shall not delight in the Lord! What an inheritance! Knowing this what is the world to us who are Christians? What of earthly trials, triumphs, and failures. To be sure, our weak flesh ever pulls us away from perfect joy in the Lord, but something akin to this joy should mark the character of every true Christian. This is reinforced by what Paul says in Romans chapter 8.
At the beginning of Romans c. 8, Paul teachers that those who are in Christ walk in the Holy Spirit rather than the flesh. This indwelling of the Holy Spirit — too often forgotten in modern preaching — is the ground, the foundation of our new position as adopted sons of God. We become sons of God because the Spirit of the Son (and the Father) is sent to dwell within us.
“So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. 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 sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. …
We know that in everything God works for good[c] with those who love him,[d] who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Rom. 8:12-30)”
The riches of this passage surpass the abilities of this scholar to explain and teach. The difficulty is not that Paul has said too little; rather he has said so much that the mind reels. To borrow a line from Aristotle, what Paul says here is to the mind like the light of the sun to the eye of the owl. The owl is blinded not by the darkness of the sun, but by the excessive abundance of its light. Nevertheless, a few things stand out that are obviously apropos the topic of identity. In this passage, Paul closely associates sonship, the Spirit, inheritance, and the hope of future glory. Those who trust and hope in Christ and repent of their sins are united to Christ by the Spirit. This union is effected by the indwelling of the Spirit, which unites us to Christ because the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Remember how Christ speaks of sending His Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Christ and we are truly and really united to Christ by the indwelling of the Spirit.
United by the Holy Spirit
“The indwelling of the Spirit” is the Spirit’s liberation of our hearts from the domination of sin. This liberation does not destroy the old man entirely (in this life), but it does mean that our hearts are free to follow Christ and imbued with a new and fresh desire to know God intimately and hope in future glory. Those filled with the Spirit identify sin, repent of sin, they are repelled by sin, and they seek to know their God; and they profess faith in Jesus. These are Spirit wrought works that speak to our new identity as adopted sons of God.
Our union with Christ makes us “co-heirs”, adopted sons with Christ. Christ is the son; we are united to Christ by the Spirit; therefore we are co-heirs and adopted sons. In this process we have literally gone from being enemies of God to members of God’s royal household. Many new effects and properties flow from this reality.
Heirs of glory: we do not just hope to avoid hell or even to see God’s glory, but to share in God’s own royal glory. We shine. We will be kings and queens fully manifest in the love of our God.
Royal dignity: not only shall we be kings, we are royal sons and daughters even now. This may not be evident, but Christ himself said that his kingdom is not of this world. Even now our royal dignity transcends our earthly circumstances, failures, disappointments, sorrow, grief, etc. This is where we find our true value. If you find your final value in anything else, your career, work, vacation, image on social media, then you should seriously consider whether you have indeed been “born again” in the Spirit.
Beloved child: as an adopted child, I know that I am loved by the Father, for He gave the blood of His own son to redeem me, even while I was still a sinner. What a generous, gracious, unmerited, and overwhelming love is this?
Intimacy with the Father: we now call the Father “abba” — an intimate way of addressing God. We are now have a childlike trust and closeness to the Father. This means that I seek his counsel and company, I rejoice in his presence, I pour out my sins, failures, and sorrow before him with an open heart and confident that he will take care of me. I go before him with the trust of a little child.
Purpose: like the royal sons of ancient kings, I am jealous for the glory of my father and the honor of his name. I fight and witness with loyalty. I expand his kingdom and contest his enemies. I avoid what bring shame on his name, and I seek to make manifest his greatness and goodness.
In sum, to find your identity in Jesus Christ means everything: the assurance of future glory, unbreakable dignity, unshakable assurance of God’s love, intimacy with the Father, and glorious purpose. Whatever my circumstances and failures, when others revile me, when my earthly hopes fail, when I am weak, this identity remains rock solid and unmovable. This creates for the Christian a heart of contentment, peace, and joy. When a Christian thinks about his identity he does not ultimately define himself by his memories (good or bad), passions, opinions, or circumstances. When discerning his way forward he does not ultimately depend only on his own thoughts and dreams, but asks what will bring glory on His father. What does God want and of course this drives him to search the Word of God.
The Christian Life
The life of a Christian is not easy. It is a cross and involves warfare. But the Christian is a happy warrior. Identity in Christ opens up a way of life imbued with confidence, joy, peace, contentment, and intimacy with God; a way of being that transcends earthly circumstances and presses on towards a better country. It is a life grounded in God and eternity and full of unbreakable dignity and purpose; the Christian man can be truly open to others and the world around him, for he has something that is not defined by earthly circumstances or passing goods — however worthy. His heart and mind are set on the things that are above.
In an age of anxiety and identity crisis, Christians stand on firm ground. We need not be lost in shifting seas of today’s crisis of identity. Rather we can stand on solid ground. Rooted in eternity and transcending our circumstances and for that very reason, happily engaged with the world. This is an identity, worthy of the greatest fidelity and highest praise.