Identity in Christ
“Renounce what’s been done to you and receive what’s been done for you”!
2 Peter 1:1-4 (NIV)
Simon Peter (denied him 3 times), a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Which is a better statement: Who you are is what you do! What you do is who you are!
1. Knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ
“The Sensation of Being Somebody” book by Maurice Wagner
- Good Appearance + Admiration = Whole Person
- Star Performance + Accomplishments = Whole Person
- Status + Recognition = Whole Person (Cloning, Catalog Children, Genetic Engineering)
“Try as we might by our appearance, performance or social status to find self-verification for a sense of being somebody, we always come short of satisfaction. Whatever the pinnacle of self-identity we achieve soon crumbles under the pressure of hostile rejection or criticism, introspection or guilt, fear or anxiety. We cannot do anything....to qualify for the byproduct of being loved unconditionally and voluntarily”.
You + Christ + Nothing = Whole Person …believe it and receive it
Hebrews 9:11-14 (NIV)
When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! – rituals, false piety, insensitivity, immorality, pride…of religious people doing religious things but they Missed the Messiah -Missed the invitation and sacrificial love of Jesus-they knew of him-but they didn’t know him
Who you are in Christ
You are Born Again and live in the Light :
John 3:21 (NIV)
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
You are a New Person with a New Perspective:
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. – healing/wholness isn’t the absence of some thing it’s the presence of someone
The old you is Dead and the New you is living by Faith:
Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
- Nothing you do can make you whole
- Nothing you have can make you whole
- Nothing you earn can make you whole…believe and receive
- Nothing you have done can keep you from being whole (Unpardonable Sin -Mark 3:28-30)
Banner: I refuse to live under the banner of Blame, I live under the Banner of the Blood!