Who does God say you are now that you are in Christ? How does He see you since you have been born again spiritually?
According to the Bible, you are now God’s child, a co-heir with Christ, a saint with a new nature, a member of the body of Christ, and a citizen of His kingdom. Your identity in Christ is sure — you belong to God and He cares deeply about you!
God is your Father! The same God who has the power to speak the universe into existence claims you as his child! Our finite minds are not capable of comprehending the incredible implications of being a child of God, and yet God states it as a fact! John 1:12 says, “But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children” (John 1:12). (See More)
When was the last time somebody called you a saint? We don’t often think of describing anyone as a saint, even those whom we know with good moral character. But we are wrong! We are looking at outward appearances. God is looking at who we are in him. When the apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he said, “Give greetings to all the saints in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:21). God sees us as holy saints.
Unfortunately, many Christians still view themselves as sinners. This is a critical error in self-perception because we have been given a new righteous nature in Christ. If you continue to see yourself as a sinner, then it is only logical to continue to sin, because that’s what sinners are expected to do. However, when you begin focusing on your new righteous nature as a saint, then you will begin to realize that to continue in sin is incompatible with who you now are in Christ. So you no longer see yourself as a sinner, but rather as a righteous saint who still sins occasionally when deceived by the old nature. (See More)
When we were born again (accepted Christ in our life as Savior and Lord), we actually became part of Christ’s spiritual body, of which he is the head. As members of the body of Christ, we not only belong to Christ, but we also belong to each other.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:27, “Now you are Christ’s body, and each of you is a member of it.”
God never intended for us to live the Christian life alone. As believers, we are a community of brothers and sisters in Christ who are interdependent. We are a holy family that is to be characterized by love and unity. We need to be committed to one another’s well-being. You are part of a large, close-knit, extended family where everybody is interdependent.
In our society today, most families do not reflect a spirit of love and unity. And as you look at most church families, they are often not much different. However, the apostle Paul did not choose to use human families as an analogy for how God’s kingdom family should function. Instead, he compared the body of Christ to the human body. Think about how differently the parts of our physical body interact with each other as compared to most human relationships in the Church.
In Christ, we are members of His spiritual body. It is a body that has been designed to function in love, unity, and responsiveness to Christ’s direction. But we will not function as we should within the body if we continue to model society’s dysfunctional family behavior within the Church. (See More)
Our citizenship has been changed. It is a fact that we now belong to God’s kingdom. Philippians 3:20 tells us, “But our citizenship is in heaven.” We simply have temporary work visas here on earth so we can accomplish God’s purposes while we are here. Because we haven’t physically moved out of the earthly kingdom, it is easy to have confused loyalties. However, we now serve a different King. We are citizens of a new Kingdom. And as such, we must be careful to pledge our allegiance where it is rightfully due. (See More)
