Getting Started:
(1) Who are you? How would you describe yourself?
(2) How does your self-perception affect the way you live? More specifically, how does the way you see yourself affect the way you dress? How you talk? Who you date? With whom you make friends?
(3) What informs your self-perception or your identity? In other words, what influences you to see yourself the way you do?
(4) Do the things that shape your identity make you more like Jesus? Do they honor God? Do they bring glory to God or self? Do they bring true lasting peace to your life?
Digging In:
What does God’s Word say about your identity?
If you are not a Christian, the Bible says you are an enemy of God. That may sound harsh, but Romans 8:6-8 states: “For to be carnally minded is death, but spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity (or at war with) against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” In other words, if you reject Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are rejecting God and His Son who was given as a sacrifice for your sins; you are rebelling against God and setting yourself in opposition or at war with Him. That identity is not one God wants for you. God desires for you to become His child by faith in Jesus Christ.
On the other side, if you are a Christian, what does God’s Word say about your identity? Romans 8:14-17 states, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may be glorified together.” What does this passage say about your identity?
(1) You are a child of God.
(2) You have been given the Holy Spirit as God’s way of proving that you are His.
(3) The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of adoption in which we long for our Father.
(4) We have not been given a Spirit of bondage to fear.
(5) We are God’s heir alongside Jesus (not that we are God as Jesus is, but we receive an inheritance as God’s children just as Jesus receives an inheritance from the Father). Therefore, not only does God say we are His children, but He gives us multiple proofs that He has forever accepted us as His.
Some other passages that speak of our identity in Christ:
• Ephesians 1:4-6: God not only chose me and accepted me, but it pleased Him to do so.
• Ephesians 2:20: I am God’s workmanship created for good things.
• Ephesians 2:19: I am a member of God’s household.
• 1 Corinthians 1:2: God has called me to be a saint (not perfect, but set apart for His holy work).
• Romans 12:5: I am a part of the body of Christ.
• 1 Corinthians 6:19: I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.
• Philippians 1:20: My citizenship is in heaven.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17: I am a new creation.
• 2 Corinthians 5: 20: I am Christ’s ambassador.
• 1 John 3:1; 4:10, 16: I am loved by God.
• Revelation 1:6: I am a part of a kingdom of priests made to worship and serve God.
• Ephesians 4:32: I am forgiven.
Bring it Home:
(1) According to the Bible, is understanding your identity more about you or more about God?
(2) Thinking back to the other things in this world that shape your identity. Are they more about you or God?
(3) How does a transformed identity look?