CENTRAL TRUTH: The more we reaffirm (repeat; endorse) who we are in Christ, the more our behavior will begin to reflect our true identity!MEMORY VERSE: 21... it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. ESV
INTRODUCTION: How would you answer the question, Who Are You? Before Jesus' public ministry, the Father proclaimed Jesus His beloved Son in Whom He Is well pleased (Mt 3:17). As soon as Peter recognized who Jesus was, Jesus announced to Peter: "You are 'Rock,' and on this rock I will build My Church" (Mt 16:18).
The first question in life is: "Who is Jesus?" The second is: "Who am I?" All the questions of life are based on these two. Jesus asks each one of us, "Who do you say that I am?" (Mt 16:15) When we recognize Jesus as Lord and Messiah, we reverse the situation and ask Him, "Who do you (Jesus) say that I am?" We tell Jesus who He is, and then He tells us who we are.
The Christian life is a struggle to believe in our God-given identity. It is an identity crisis. Our heavenly Father tells us the truth about Jesus and ourselves while the devil tells us lies. For example, after the Father proclaimed from the heavens that Jesus is His beloved Son, the devil's first words in tempting Jesus was, "If You are the Son of God..." (Lk 4:3). In the same way, the devil tempts us to doubt our identity. He substitutes question marks for God's periods and often adds the word "if," but the Father through Jesus tells us who we are, and this is confirmed by the Spirit.
We might wonder why we so often don’t live in the manner described, even though we have given our lives to Jesus Christ and are sure of our salvation. This is because: 1. We don’t know who we are in Christ. 2. Our new nature is residing in our old fleshly body and these two are at war with one another (Gal. 5: 17). Evil and sin are still present, but the believer now sees them in a new perspective and they no longer control him. Now we have the choice whether to feed the new nature through the Word, prayer and obedience, or to feed the flesh by neglecting those things and engaging in sin. Understanding our identity in Christ is absolutely essential to our success at living the victorious Christian life.
We must know who we are before we know what to do, when to do it, where to go, and how it's done. Identity is a first step in the Christian life.
GOD TREASURES US! The Word of God says that because of Jesus Christ. I am a new person and I have a new identity. One of the most important things we can do is to embrace our new identity and see ourselves through Jesus' eyes . . . i.e., who you and I are "in Christ.
The Word of God Says Since I am in CHRIST, by the grace of GOD...
I am a new creation in Christ 2 Corinthians 5:17 Galatians 3:26, 28
I am God's child. Ephesians 1:5; John 1: 1 : Romans 8:14,15; Galatians 3:26; 2Corinthians 2:14
I share in God’s divine nature (I am a partaker of god’s divine nature) 2 Peter 1:4 NLT
I am an heir with the Father and a joint heir with Christ Galatians 4:6.7
I am righteous, holy, and blameless hence, I am a saint 2Corinth. 5: 21; Eph. 4:24; 1: 1, 18; 1 Corinth. 1:2, 8; Phil. 1:1
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19
I am hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3
I am a friend of Jesus Christ John 15:15
I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19
I am hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3
I am a friend of Jesus Christ John 15:15
I have the mind and Spirit of CHRIST.( 1 Cor. 2:12, 16 )
I have been established, anointed and sealed by GOD , and I have been given the HOLY SPIRIT as a pledge guaranteeing my inheritance to come. (2 Corinth. 1:21 Eph.1: 13-14)
I have been rescued from the domain of Satan's rule and transferred to the kingdom of CHRIST.( Colossians1:13 )
I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. The debt against me has been cancelled. (Colossians 1:13-14, 27) CHRIST Himself is in me.
I have the spirit of power, love and self discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7 )
I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6)
God's power works through me (Ephesians 3:7)
I am a light to others, and can exhibit goodness, righteousness and truth (Ephesians 5:8-9)
I have God's power (Ephesians 6:10)
I am blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3)
I am given God's glorious grace lavishly and without restriction (Ephesians 1:5,8)
am God's coworker (2 Corinthians 6:1)
I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ. Hebrews 4:14-16
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