Today Kwan Porter and I continue our conversation on identity.
A lot of times when we think about identity we associate it with the things we do. We tend to think of our sin as a bag of stuff that we did that Jesus had to carry on the cross. However your identity was: you were sin. It wasn’t just the things that you did, it was what you were.
To recognize the greatness of what Jesus did means to recognize He gave us a new identity. He transformed us from what we were, not just a sinner, but sin. And now we are not just living as a saved person but we are the righteousness of God.
Do not let your identity, even in your own mind, be defined by the things you do. We think things like, “I’m a good golfer because I can golf.” We think about the things we do well and we associate those identities to ourselves. That’s not how God works. He speaks into you who you are. And the more you embrace that truth, identify with that truth, and believe that truth, you start to live out that identity and then you will do those things that you are.
Our identity shapes our behavior. However, the world and too often the church teaches and imparts that our behavior gives us our identity.
If I say to a man, “You are a man of God.” Most men think, “Today I wasn’t a man of God because of the things I did.” However, that isn’t true if you are born again. The enemy wants to confuse us and get us to base our identity on our actions.
If you are born again, then you are a child of God. If you are male and an adult, then you are also a man of God. That is who you are! Some days you are a more Godly man of God than other days, but every day you are a man of God. In English the suffix -ly simply means “like”. So some days your actions are more God like (more Godly) than other days. But your identity remains the same. You are His child, His son or daughter.
Kwan shares a story about how he wrestled with the question, “Am I a son?” Watch the video to hear how God responded to him.
Ask the Holy Spirit this week to remove every false concept you have about your identity in Christ and to show you who you are in His eyes. Then listen and see what He says!
