- Identity: The truest thing about you.
- Behavior flows from identity
- Who you are determines what you do
- The Early and Often Factor
- Successes & Failures
- In Christ
2 Corinthians 5:17 // Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
- Ephesians 1-3 – Identity
- Ephesians 4-6 – Works
Ephesians 2:1-7 // As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
- Failures: You are not who you were
- Successes:
You are not what you do.
Ephesians 2:8-9 // For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
- In Christ, your identity is given, not earned.
Philippians 3:3-8 NLT // We put no confidence in human effort, 4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! 5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ
1. Pressure to perform
2. Fear of failure
3. Constant comparisons
4. Wrecked relationships
5. Fatigue and frustration
Ephesians 2:13 // But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
- Your identity is found in what Christ did for you
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT // Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
- Nakusa
- “The 285 girls – wearing their best outfits with barrettes, braids and bows in their hair – lined up to receive certificates with their new names along with small flower bouquets.” – Chaya Babu, AP, 2011
In Christ we are:
• Chosen
• Adopted
• Redeemed
• Marked
• Purchased
