Many are searching for identity in today’s world. “Who am I?” isn’t just a question asked by teens and 20-somethings but by nearly everyone at any stage of life. When you ask, “What is my identity in Jesus Christ?” the answer should bring you…
- Clarity
- Freedom
- Newness
- Confidence
- Understanding
- Love
- Wisdom
- Boldness
and much more!
What Does “My Identity in Jesus” Mean?
In short, “my identity in Jesus” means that you see yourself the way God sees you.
Genesis 3 describes the fall of man. In this chapter, Adam and Eve made a disastrous decision to disobey God. After disobeying, they saw themselves as naked.
But weren’t they always naked?
Yes, but after they disobeyed God, their minds became a spiritual battleground where shame and fear set in. Before that, their covenant relationship with God protected them from entering the battle.
After they disobeyed, they no longer saw themselves the way God did, as…
- Good
- Made in His image
- Unashamed
Their worldview shifted as if peering through a broken lens. Because of their decision, the covenant they had with God was broken.
- “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?’”—Genesis 3:8-11 (emphasis added)
So then, to see your identity in Jesus, you must…
- Believe who Jesus says He is (Lord and Savior)
- Believe Jesus came to do what He said He would do (die for our sins and be resurrected)
Who Did Jesus Say He Was?
Pause for a moment and ask yourself, “Who have I believed Jesus to be?” Some will say just a man, and others will say a great prophet. The truth is He is the Creator, Redeemer, and Deliverer—the only One who can fix the broken lens through which we peer and see life. He restores us so we see what God sees—including how we see ourselves.
Jesus Is
The Father Revealed
- “’If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him… Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.’”—John 14:7, 10 (emphasis added)
- “’I and the Father are one.’”—John 10:30 (emphasis added)
The Way to the Father and Freedom
- “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”—John 14:6 (emphasis added)
- “’Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’”—Acts 4:12 (emphasis added)
- “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”—John 8:31-32 (emphasis added)
The Word Made Flesh
- “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”—John 1:1-5, 14 (emphasis added)
The Great I AM and Creator
- “’Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’ Then the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.’”—John 8:56-58 (emphasis added)
- “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”—Colossians 1:16-17 (emphasis added)
There are thousands of verses reflecting the deity and identity of Jesus, and the ones written above tell us this…
- Jesus has authority.
- Jesus is the Creator.
- Jesus makes us free.
What Did Jesus Come to Do?
- Forgive, save, and deliver (1 John 4:14, Matthew 1:21, Luke 19:10, John 3:16, Ephesians 1:7)
- Give abundant life (John 10:10, Ephesians 3:20)
- Restore and redeem (Colossians 1:20-22, Titus 2:14, Galatians 3:13, Acts 3:19-21)
- Give light and revelation (John 8:12, John 12:46-48, John 14:26)
If Jesus, the Creator, and Deliverer, has the authority to do all He came to do, then who He says we are must be true.
Your Identity in Jesus
The book of Romans lays out the transformation Jesus brings for all those who want the broken lens of their worldview (and self-view—identity) completely restored. As mentioned, the brokenness introduced with Adam has been restored through Jesus….
“’The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”—1 Corinthians 15:45-46
The book of Romans says this…
- We all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10-18, 23)
- As a result of our brokenness and sin, we die. But God gives us another option. We can choose the gift of eternal life—complete restoration from the brokenness—through Jesus (Romans 6:23).
- We simply believe who Jesus said He was and believe and confess what He said (Romans 10:9-10). He is the King who came to die for our sin!
Is this where it stops? No!
Once you receive the gift of salvation, unwrap and enjoy it from now into eternity. Grow in your new relationship with Christ!
In Christ, You Are…
Completely forgiven
- “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’”—Hebrews 8:12
A co-heir with Christ
- “And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”—Romans 8:17
Given authority to overcome the enemy.
- “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.’”—Luke 10:19
Given His Spirit
- “He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”—John 14:16-18
Given a new home.
- “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”—John 14:2-3
Made into a new creation
- “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”—2 Corinthians 5:17
Chosen
- “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…”—1 Peter 2:9
Never alone
- “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”—Hebrews 13:5
The Takeaway
As Jesus continues to reveal more of who you are in Him, meditate on Colossians 3:3, “For you [that is the old you] died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
It can be difficult to see your identity in Jesus during trials but know this: If you have given your life to Him, your mindset doesn’t change your identity. Rest in His Word. His promises are true. He is creating a testimony through you and will finish what He started.
