How does God see you, and how should you alter your self-perception?
All Spiritual Blessings
“Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. For he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as his legal heirs through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace that he has freely bestowed on us in his dearly loved Son. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our offenses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight.” —Ephesians 1:3–8
“I pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ.” —Philippians 1:6
A New Creation
“So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away, look what is new has come!” —2 Corinthians 5:17
Ambassadors for Christ
“And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God!’ God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.” —2 Corinthians 5:18–21
Child of God
“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
“The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children.” —Romans 8:16
“In whom we have boldness and confident access to God by way of Christ’s faithfulness.” —Ephesians 3:12
“And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls Abba! Father!” —Galatians 4:6
“See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called God’s children—and indeed we are! For this reason the world does not know us: because it did not know him.” —1 John 3:1
“Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him just as he is. And everyone who has this hope focused on him purifies himself, just as Jesus is pure.” —1 John 3:2–3
“For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son he accepts. Endure your suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? But if you do not experience discipline, something all sons have shared in, then you are illegitimate and are not sons. Besides, we have experienced discipline from our earthly fathers and we respected them; shall we not submit ourselves all the more to the Father of spirits and receive life? For they disciplined us for a little while as seemed good to them, but he does so for our benefit, that we may share his holiness. Now all discipline seems painful at the time, not joyful. But later it produces the fruit of peace and righteousness for those trained by it.” —Hebrews 12:6–11
Chosen and Set Apart
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. This I command you to love one another.” —John 15:16–17
“You must be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the other peoples to be mine.” —Leviticus 20:26
Citizen of God’s Kingdom
“But our citizenship is in heaven and we also eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” —Philippians 3:20
“Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves.” —Colossians 1:12–13
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” —1 Peter 2:9
“You have appointed them as a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” —Revelation 5:10
Created for Fruitfulness
“For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them.” —Ephesians 2:10
Friend of Christ
“I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father.” —John 15:15
Heirs with Christ
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. It is reserved in heaven for you, who by God’s power are protected through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” —1 Peter 1:3–5
“And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ) if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.” —Romans 8:17
Holy Priesthood
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” —1 Peter 2:9
“So as you come to him a living stone rejected by men but chosen and priceless in God’s sight, you yourselves, as living stones are built up as a spiritual house to be holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” —1 Peter 2:4–5
Light of the World
“You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.” —Matthew 5:14–16
Member of the Body of Christ
“Now you are Christ’s body, and each of you is a member of it.” —1 Corinthians 12:27
“So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household.” —Ephesians 2:19
“But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body builds itself up in love.” —Ephesians 4:15–16
“For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body (though many are one body) so too is Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.” —1 Corinthians 12:12–13
“For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.” —Romans 12:4–5
New Birth and New Heart
“By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of first-fruits of all he created.” —James 1:18
“I will sprinkle you with pure water and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols. I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you; I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my regulations.” —Ezekiel 36:25–27
“Because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” —Romans 8:29
Raised Up and Seated with Christ
“And he raised us up together with him and seated us together with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” —Ephesians 2:6
“Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.” —Colossians 3:1–4
Saint with a New Nature
“Give greetings to all the saints in Christ Jesus.” —Philippians 4:21
“And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions.” —Colossians 2:13
“Now may the God of peace himself make you completely holy and may your spirit and soul and body be kept entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is trustworthy, and he will in fact do this.” —1 Thessalonians 5:23–24
Sealed by the Spirit
“But it is God who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed us, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.” —2 Corinthians 1:21–22
Set Free from Sin and Fear
“But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.” —Romans 6:22
“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” —Colossians 3:3
“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in their humanity, so that through death he could destroy the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.” —Hebrews 2:14–15
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” —Romans 8:1
“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” —Romans 5:1
“For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.” —2 Timothy 1:7
Temple of the Holy Spirit
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” —1 Corinthians 3:16
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.” —1 Corinthians 6:19–20
“Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it does not see him or know him. But you know him, because he resides with you and will be in you.” —John 14:16–17