I am certain you woke up last night wondering how much all the water in the oceans of the world weighs. I was actually sitting on a beach yesterday morning and that question popped into my mind. To my surprise, I found that people have figured that out. Let me give you the short version. There are approximately 315 cubic miles of water that cover the face of the earth. Within one cubic mile, there are 4,168,18,825 cubic meters of water each weighing approximately 2,206 pounds. Multiply that by 315 cubic miles and you get about 1.5 quintillion tons of water on the face of the earth. That is 1.5 followed by 18 zeros. That is immense and unfathomable.

The next sleep-disturbing question that popped into my mind was how many species of animals live in the ocean which led to the question of how many inhabit the entire earth. The answer iseight million, seven hundred thousand species! (Give or take 1.3 million.) That is a new,estimated total number of species on Earth—the most precise calculation ever offered—with 6.5million species found on land and 2.2 million dwelling in the ocean depths. Remember, that isnot the number of animals but the number of species. The new study, published yesterday in the open access journal PLoS Biology, says a staggering 86% of all species on land and 91% of those in the seas have yet to be discovered, described and catalogued. (I have no idea how they determine how many exist that have not been discovered). But again, that is an immense number and not only is the number staggering but the variety of shape, size, physiology, color, etc. is even more staggering. And we have not even discussed the number of plant species nor the innumerable stars and galaxies spinning through space.

What struck me as I looked over an ocean of water that could swallow up anything that challenged it was the immensity of the God who created it all and the courage it took for men to venture out on what seems to be an infinite horizon in tiny boats to face the unknown and see what was on the other side. Both the sea and men who would face it are a revelation of God.

Speaking of that, Paul states, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Rom.1:20). The creation reveals the creator. The ocean – vast, mysterious, abundant with life, powerful, refreshing, its depths still unknown – speak of our God. Man, made in his image, ventured out on that vastness with courage and a searching heart. That also marks our creator who searches all things and faced Roman torture with immense courage for our sake.

And that God lives in you. Peter says that we are partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). The word translated as “partakers” means participants or partners. What God has possessed for eternity he is sharing with you right now. His Spirit resides in you – the same Spirit that brooded over the waters of creation and brought order to the chaos. Jesus also dwells in your heart. He is the Word of God and he is the one through whom, for whom, and by whom all these things were created.

Satan labors to make us feel small and insignificant. The smaller we see ourselves the less we will ever attempt for the kingdom of God. The smaller we see ourselves, the less likely it is that we will ever venture out on an ocean of possibilities in the name of Jesus. But the same God who spoke 1.5 quintillion tons of ocean water into existence is the God who has searched for you, found you, and made you his child. How can you be small or insignificant when that God lives in you and is making you into the image of his Son? How can you be small or insignificant when that God has ordained a destiny for you, gifted you, and created angels to minister on your behalf? How can you be small and insignificant when the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work within you?

When we were children we dreamed of performing great exploits – storming castles, slaying dragons, stepping out on the surface of Mars, playing music no one had ever heard, painting pictures that stopped people in their tracks, and winning the game with last minute heroics. God put those dreams in us. He is amazing and heroic and he has made us to be the same in Christ. For many of us, the devil came and stole those dreams but the dream of doing something great and even heroic for the Kingdom of God still exists in heaven. Reclaim it. Ask the Lord to show it to you. Push out across an open sea once more with cannons blazing because that is who you are and that is who you are because that is who He is. Know who you are and be great for God today! And remember, the devil is a liar!

Jim (not his real name) was, at one time, a well-known church leader in our area who ministered  to homosexuals in our area because he was once heavily involved in “the life” himself. God had delivered him. Jim had what seems to be a standard story for men who have fallen into homosexuality. As a young boy, he was molested by an older man and as a result developed profound confusion and shame about his own masculinity and his own sexuality. He began with homosexual experiences in high school. Those accelerated in college. Jim was a Christian who attended church and served faithfully in his church. He had a leadership gift so he was expected to marry, have kids, and succeed in life. He did just that but; in addition, he had a secret life and a secret struggle in which he was not succeeding. After being married for a number of years he gave into his secret, abandoned his family, set his faith aside,  and embraced an openly homosexual lifestyle. However, his family and friends did not give up on him and neither did the Lord.

After two years of living out his homosexual yearnings he repented, returned to his faith and family, confessed everything to his church, and began to walk in sexual purity as the Lord gave him strength. If you ask Jim, it took the Lord, his family, and his church to overcome his homosexuality.

First, through serious Bible study he was convinced that homosexuality is sin regardless of what the homosexual lobby declares. His openness finally took his sin out of the dark and brought it into the light so others could pray and help. His wife, who had continued to pray for him after he left her and his children, forgave him and took him back knowing that the road ahead would not be easy.

Jim will tell you that what he needed most was absolute truth and absolute love in his life and men who showed him how to have godly friendships with other men without sexual overtones. Jim told a group of pastors one time that when he was young he really didn’t understand what it meant to be a man. He said the world of men fascinated him but he just couldn’t  crack the code for entry into that world.

By nature, Jim was sensitive and artistic but didn’t find many masculine models for men with those traits. After being molested, his confusion was even greater. However, when he returned to his church and family, the men in his congregation affirmed his masculinity and began to introduce him to other parts of the masculine world that were foreign to him such as sports, hunting, fishing, etc. They made Jim part of the group, extended healthy hugs, let him ask questions without embarrassment and, in essence, let his latent masculinity develop at his own pace.

Over time, the old man diminished and the new man flourished. His yearnings for sexual encounters with men went away and he learned to enjoy a sexual relationship with his wife. He is still serving the Lord today but his “old identity” no longer defines him. Jim is a man who was set free by love, the work of the Holy Spirit over time, and learning what it meant to be a godly man through friendships with other godly men. Jim never experienced any kind of demonic deliverance but still found freedom through openness and a committed church and family.

Jim believes that, in addition to the molestation he experienced as a young man, he also had a genetic predisposition toward homosexuality. We need to be clear that God does not make us with that predisposition, rather when we live in a fallen world many things are broken and damaged as well as our genetics. Because I have a predisposition to something at birth does not make it God’s will for me  to give into those predispositions. I was born with a predisposition toward lust, lying, selfishness, and laziness. As I got older, those intensified because of my fallen nature until I submitted those sins to the cross and the Holy Spirit.

As Christians, we are called to overcome those predispositions by the power of the Holy Spirit and God’s divine weapons. If something is called sin in the Bible then God provides a way out. It may be a truth encounter, a deliverance session, a spiritual family who prays for us and models healthy gender roles, or even the supernatural healing of damaged genes.   In the meantime, God calls us to resist those temptations with his strength until we find freedom from those obsessive promptings.   As a heterosexual, I am called to live a celibate life if single or a faithful life if married. I am called to tell the truth when it seems easier to lie and to avoid drunkenness when I want to medicate some disappointment in my life. I am called to submit rather than demanding my way and to forgive those I would rather reject.  Homosexual leanings fall into the same category.

A person can have homosexual leanings or temptations, not give into them, and still be pleasing to the Lord just as a heterosexual  can have strong desires for someone to whom he or she is not married,  not give into the impulses,  and still be pleasing to God. If any temptation has become an uncontrollable obsession then the believer has fallen into some form of bondage and deliverance is probably in order.  But with every temptation the Lord provides a door of escape. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Cor.10:13).  We can find that door  if we sincerely seek it.

Homosexuality is not a new sin that has taken God by surprise. In our generation, the church must be clear that it is sin while at the same time creating an atmosphere where this sin can be confessed like all other sins and God’s remedies applied. I’m sure there are issues I have not spoken to related to homosexuality but, perhaps, some of the stories I have shared will be helpful to some. Be blessed.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.             Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Eph.6:13-18)

As Paul works through the panoply of weapons and armor the Christian is to strap on each day, he calls us to put on the helmet of salvation. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul told them to put on the hope of salvation as a helmet (1 Thess.5:8). Figuratively, the function of a helmet is to guard our minds. Again, this language reveals that the greatest part of spiritual warfare lies in our thought life. In 2 Corinthians 10, where Paul discuss “divine weapons,” he explains that the key to tearing down strongholds is to bring every thought we have captive to Jesus Christ (2 Cor.10:5). In other words, when we align our thinking with the truths of Jesus, strongholds begin to crumble.

The reality is, however, that we can believe one thing in our minds and something else in our hearts. We have all had the experience of saying,” Part of me thinks this, but another part of me thinks that.” James talks about this experience as a “double-minded” man who follows the Lord only half-heartedly. I ran across a concept at a conference in Chicago that speaks to this (I can’t remember who the speaker was). The speaker spoke about “aspirational values” versus “actual values.” Aspirational values are values or beliefs we aspire to hold because we know we should. Actual values, on the other hand, are the ones we live by. We often say one thing and do another. Our actual values can be determined by seeing what we do rather than by what we say.

For instance, a man can say that his family is the most important thing in his life yet never spend any time with them because of the immense number of hours he puts in at work or pursuing another interest. If you ask him, he will always says that his family comes first (aspirational value) but if you watch him you will know that his job, golf, hunting, etc. come first because that is what gets his quality time and effort year after year. Because of that we need to examine our own lives often to see if our actual values and beliefs are lining up with Christ. Anything less gives the enemy a foothold in our mind and then in our life.

Salvation or the hope of salvation guards our minds with the truth of who we are and what we have in Christ and motivates us to stay true to the values and actions Christ calls us to hold in our minds and hearts. The enemy nearly always attacks our thought processes first with doubt, accusation, or condemnation and we need to actively push back against these false beliefs. Too many times, the whispers of the enemy go unnoticed or unchallenged or we believe that those thoughts come from us so we don’t know what to do with them. I always encourage believers to pay attention to their thoughts and if any are contrary to God’s word then we should first assume that a spirit is tempting us, renounce those thoughts, declare what is true, and command any unclean spirit to leave us immediately and never return.

In many cases, the thought ceases immediately and does not return. If the thought actually originated with us and not a spirit, then we have lost nothing and have still spoken truth over the lie even if it came from us and have reinforced God’s word in our hearts and mind.

Salvation, biblically, is not just the forgiveness of sin and eventual life in heaven but it is the promise that God meets our every need in this world as well as the world to come – every need, not every want. Satan’s biggest lie is that we have desires which are “needs” that God won’t provide so we need to search outside of God and his will to have our “needs” met. That was the lie in the Garden and is still his favorite. Our understanding of salvation and God’s promises guards our minds against those lies. Paul said that he had learned to be content with seasons of plenty and seasons of little because he believed in each season God would still meet his essential needs. Salvation gives us that assurance and is a great safeguard for our minds. It is indeed our helmet.

Ask yourself where your thinking is about God’s care and promises for you. You may need to realign some thoughts yourself as I often do and remember to differentiate between your actual values and beliefs and those you aspire to as a believer. Where there is a contradiction renounce it and declare God’s truth over the lie. Be blessed.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “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 fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Rom.8:14 -17, ESV).

What a reversal of thought from the former defender of the Law and zealous Pharisees who saw God as so holy that his name was unpronounceable and his presence meant death! Paul was brought up in the tradition that remembered the fire and smoke of Sinai, the demise of Nadab and Abihu for offering strange fire, and Uzzah who crumpled behind the cart after touching the Ark of the Covenant. Under the Old Covenant no one could enter the Holy of Holies (the presence of God) except the High Priest and he could only venture there fearfully once a year. Fear and dread marked the relationship between God and his people before the cross.

But now, Paul describes our relationship as one with “Abba Father” which is the familiar term for Father in Aramaic. That was the term used by small children to address their “daddy” in the days of Jesus and the apostles. Saul of Tarsus would no doubt have been offended by the term and would have considered it irreverent or even blasphemous but not Paul, the follower of Jesus.

This section describes our relationship with the Father as adopted children. Don’t mistake that for some kind of second-class relationship with the Father for you have been chosen. Jewish adoption was somewhat informal but Roman adoption, with which Paul was well acquainted, was formalized. When a Roman family adopted a child or an adult, the entire past of the adoptee was legally erased and they were given full rights of the family and full rights of inheritance equal to the natural children of the family. It was as if the newcomer had always been part of the family. Paul paints that picture for the believer who has been adopted and given the status of son. I believe Paul uses that term because sons were given preference over daughters in terms of inheritance in Jewish families but sons and daughters have equal access to inheritance in the Kingdom of God.

In fact, in Hebrews we are told, “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven” (Heb.12:22-23). Interestingly, the term “firstborn” is in the plural form which means the phrase could have been translated “the church of the firstborn ones.” That would suggest that our Heavenly Father has given us all the status of firstborn sons which implies that every believer is “his favorite” and receives the blessing of being a firstborn – a significant position in Jewish families.

A key to living triumphantly on this tattered planet is knowing who you are and what is available to you from the vaults of heaven. As a child of God, you have an inheritance, a birthright, and rights associated with being sons and daughters of the King – now. Too many of us assume that the blessings of the kingdom (health, provision, power, standing, relationship, protection, etc.) are available only after we depart this life but aren’t they even more needful on this planet while we live in enemy territory attempting to extend the Kingdom of God?

Jesus constantly accessed the provisions of heaven for healing, feeding the multitudes, protection, raising the dead, preaching anointed messages, prophetic words, and casting out demons. He modeled life that is ultimately available to every son and daughter of the King who live on this planet. It comes to us through an audacious belief in who we are and who He is and the faith to live as one who is already seated in heavenly places with Jesus. I encourage you to ask the Father daily for a full revelation of who you are and what is yours in Christ so that you may live up to the privilege purchased by the only begotten son for every adopted child. Be blessed in Him.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesusbecause through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. (Rom.8:1-4)

The certainty of our standing with God empowers us to live for him. In the days of the Old and New Testaments, Kings were absolutely sovereign and their declarations became law – standing orders from the King himself. Once it was law, all the forces of the kingdom would be brought to bear to enforce what the King had declared. Once it was law it was unchanging unless it was superseded by another law issued by the king due to a change in circumstances.

Paul tells us that those in Christ stand without condemnation because through Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life has set us free from the law of sin and death. There was once a law, a standing order, that those who sinned must die – the wages of sin is death. Sin was a manifestation of rebellion and rebellion was a capital crime in the kingdom. The consequence of sin for every man was separation and alienation from the Father and death was the prescribed penalty. But a change in circumstances occurred. God himself put on flesh and paid the penalty for all men who would accept his sacrifice and his Lordship in their lives. When that circumstance shifted a new law was declared – the Law of the Spirit of Life. God has declared and established an unchangeable law that for those who have faith in the word of God and the saving work of his Son, there is life imparted by the Spirit and all condemnation has been removed forever as long as there is faith. The assurance of our standing with God based on what Jesus did rather than the shortcomings of man should embolden us to take hold of every promise of heaven.

Jesus said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it” (Mt.11:12). I like that. Forceful men are those (both men and women) who believe aggressively in the promises of God and grab hold of every promise with the assurance that comes from knowing who they are in Christ. These are the folks who run over the devil to get to Jesus. These are the folks who stand on the Word of God and call the devil a liar to his face. This standing of righteousness and acceptance in heaven is not just for some but for all who believe – mature and immature, rich and poor, gifted and not so gifted, saintly or struggling and is the unchangeable law of heaven.

To be clear, the Holy Spirit does convict his children but that is vastly different from condemnation. Conviction is the work of redirecting our hearts, thoughts and actions while condemnation is the work of rejecting us. God does not reject those who trust in Jesus because for them there is no condemnation. The result is articulated in the Book of Hebrews. “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb.4:16). Later, in Romans 8, the apostle Paul confirms our sure position with the Father when he declare, “If God is for us who can be against us?” Several translations instruct us to come before the throne not just with confidence but with boldness. I believe God wants his children to live with a boldness that confronts the enemy and scatters him. We can do so because by one sacrifice we have been made perfect forever while God is making us holy. Know who you are. Know what Jesus has done in your life. Know your standing in heaven and live with the boldness of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. It is God’s will for your life!

I want to add one more thought in this short series about who we are in Christ. Our church staff just completed a planning retreat in the hill country of Texas at a beautiful sight on the Guadalupe River. A gorgeous country chapel made of Austin stone stood serenely on a hill just above here we were staying. Each morning we hiked up the hill to have a devotional. One of the prominent features of the chapel was its tall stained-glass windows depicting saints who were always dressed in flowing robes with angelic faces. Some were notable while others were not recognized by us since we do not honor “the saints” in the same way in our community church.

I was reminded, however, that the title of “saint” has been reserved for a few outstanding men and women of faith in many branches of the Lord’s body leaving most believers with the impression that the term is only applied to a few “super-Christians” in each generation. However, that is not the biblical use of the term. The term “saint” is used about 60 times in the New Testament but never attached to the name of an individual such as St. Paul, St. Peter, etc. Those accolades were attached decades and centuries later by the church –especially the Catholic Church.

Biblically, the word translated “saint” is from the Greek word hagioi and refers to all believers as “holy ones.” To be holy is to be sanctified and to be sanctified is literally to be “specially set apart for service unto God.” In the Jewish temple, items were set apart and often labeled for use in either sacred ceremonies or for profane or ordinary circumstances. Those set apart for sacred used were termed “Holy Unto Jehovah.” Once designated for sacred service, they were never again to be used for profane, ordinary, or secular functions.

As a believer, you are a saint. You have been especially set apart for service unto Jehovah. You are Holy Unto Jehovah and your life should reflect that special position. Remember, Jesus told his disciples that they did not choose him but that he had chosen them (Jn.15:16). You have been chosen by God and having been chosen you have been separated from the world and declared holy in his sight. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Col.3:12).

The temple of God in Jerusalem was holy and everything in it was sacred because the presence of God dwelt in the Holy of Holies. But now, you are the temple of God and his presence dwells within you. As a believer, in the eyes of God you are different from all other men or women in the world. I think it is likely that in the spiritual realm there is a designation on you that marks you as belonging to Jehovah and, perhaps, the very phrase Holy Unto Jehovah identifies you as one who belongs to him. That sets you apart from all those in both the natural and spiritual realms who have no faith in God and who are not in Christ Jesus. You are one of his Saints. Maybe your condition does not yet always reflect that sacredness as much as it should, but your position in the kingdom is definitely a saint of the Most High God.

Remember who you are and the next time you step into a chapel or a cathedral full of stain glass depicting “the saints” you may sincerely ask, “So…where is my window?”

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. (Gen.1:26)

It was always the Father’s intention to rule his creation through his representatives on earth. Adam and Eve were created by the hand of God and then placed in a geographic setting where they could learn the art of ruling and then were told to, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen.1:28). The idea of “subdue” is to conquer or to bring under one’s control. Apparently, outside the Garden environment the earth was not all it could be. The concept was that representatives of heaven would rule or govern the earth as the Father himself would do if he were physically present. In a sense, Adam and Eve were given charge to extend the culture of heaven across the earth. They were to not only cultivate the earth but to make sure that all cultures springing up from their offspring would be aligned with the Father’s will.

In addition, they were not just going to rule as political appointees but would rule with the status of sons and daughters. In Luke’s gospel he gives the genealogy of Jesus in reverse listing from Jesus back to Adam. Notice the finishing language. “the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (Lk.3:38). Adam was not the Son of God in the sense that Jesus is but, like us, was given the standing of a son. So, God intended to rule the earth through sons and daughters who were given dominion over his creation. They were rulers who had been attached to God’s household and were, therefore, royalty. David put it this way. “You made him (man) a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet.” (Ps. 8:5-6). Man, Adam and Eve, were crowned with glory and honor and given rule. They were king and queen of God’s physical creation.

Here’s what every believer needs to know. Although Adam sinned and forfeited his rule to Satan, God’s original intent was reestablished through Christ. John declares, “Yet to all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband’s will, but born of God” (Jn.1:12-13).

So we, like Adam and Eve have been given the standing of children of God – sons and daughters of the Great King. Not only that, but you are a priest and not just a priest but a royal priest. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Pet. 2:9). John phrased it this way. “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev.1:5-6, KJV). Additionally, Paul tells us in Ephesians that, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Eph.2:6).

In summary, you are a child of God, a priest and a king, already seated with Christ in heavenly realms. This is your position in Christ. Through Jesus, the Father once again established his plan to rule the earth through his representatives – sons and daughters who would extend the culture of heaven across the earth. In Christ you are royalty. You are a son or daughter of the Great King. You are his personal representative on the earth and have been given authority and power to rule. You have even been given power over demons and sickness. Whatever Jesus did with the authority he was given while on the earth you can do. This identity is not just for preachers of mega-churches or men and women with extraordinary spiritual gifts. It is your identity as well. If you then are a son or daughter of the King and his royal representative on the earth, then you should know that all the resources of heaven are available to you when you ask in faith.

Bur how do we rule? For the most part we rule with prayer and by declaring the word of God over situations. We pray – heaven establishes. We declare – heaven enforces. We do not establish our will but his will. We exercise authority over demons and disease. We, like Jesus, heal broken hearts and set captives free through the authority of Christ. You have such standing in heaven that Paul tells us that, in time, you will even judge angels (I Cor.6:3).

All of that makes you a very significant person on this earth. Knowing who you are, you should walk in holiness, confidence, power, authority and love. You are not an orphan or a nobody. You are a king and a priest and an ambassador of Christ. Now, by faith, begin to live up to who you are!

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Pet.1:23)

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Rom.6:4)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor.5:17).

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. (Gal.6:15)

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph.4:22-24)

As I said in my last blog, your identity or your self-image is essential to living the life that God has ordained for you. We live up or we live down to the expectations we have for ourselves and our identity determines those expectations. Typically, our biggest hindrance to being like Jesus, other than our fallen nature, is our past which was directed by our fallen nature. This isn’t true for every believer but is probably true for the vast majority. Somewhere in our past is a trauma or a season of sin that defined us in our own minds. Whether we see ourselves as a gross sinner, a victim, an addict, a loser, etc. that self-image was created in the past and the enemy whispers confirmations of shame, accusation, condemnation, and rejection daily in an effort to reinforce that broken, inadequate view we hold toward ourselves. When we carry that identity into our Christian life we never feel adequate to serve or worthy of blessing.

The first thing you must settle on in your heart is that when you came to Christ you were born again and that the only power your past has over you is the power you give it. You are a new creation. In Christ all things are new. But we must also understand that the “newness” is in the form of potential. Many things come to us in the kingdom in seed form. That seed of a new creation has to be watered, nurtured and prayed over. That new creation will begin to blossom and bloom when we do the things that nurture spiritual life – Bible study, quiet times with God, obedience, prayer, fellowship with people who encourage us and stretch us, and stepping out in faith to do scary things in the name of Jesus. Those are the things that water and nurture the capacity in us to leave our past behind and become a truly new creation.

Many of us continue to do what we have always done except for an hour of church on Sunday morning. Doing what we always did will not cause this new and transformed life to emerge. Doing what we always did reinforces our old identity rather than enforcing our new identity in Christ. Even ceasing to do what we used to do will not change our old ways of thinking and feeling. We must actually take on new ways of doing things and new ways of thinking in order to overwrite our old habitual lifestyle.

God wants us to take on a new, vibrant identity but it takes some effort. Here’s the thing. God will not do that for us but will do it with us. Just know that because the Spirit of God lives in you, the capacity for a brand new life and a break from your past is present. It won’t take years. You can experience that in months but you must take God at his word and then do the things needed to nurture that new life. Remember – Jesus called us to be doers of the word not just hearers.

Your past has no legal claim on you. Being born again is a positional promise in the sense that God has actually delivered you from the dominion of darkness into his kingdom of light. You have a position of being a new creation but your condition will need to come alongside that position. A slave, even though released, will continue to feel like a slave until he begins to act and speak as a free man. The beginning of your new identity in Christ is to declare each day that you have been born again, that you are a new creation, and that your past no longer has a hold on you. You are free to walk into your destiny because when “the Son sets you free, you are free indeed” (Jn.8:36).

On several occasions I have talked about the essential need to know who we are in Christ. Our view of ourselves – our self-image – either places limits or lifts the limits on what we believe we can do in life or even receive in life. There is a concept in social sciences called “ the self-fulfilling prophecy.” It is the idea that we act in ways that confirm our already existing beliefs about ourselves.

For example, if a young woman grows up in a home where she is ignored or even abused she will likely believe that there is something wrong with her and that she is unworthy of love or success in life. Otherwise, why would her parents or other significant people in her life have neglected her or treated in in such hurtful ways? Because she experienced so much rejection at home she will anticipate experiencing the same rejection in all of her relationships because, as a child, she will believe that she is the problem rather than broken parents.

Lets say that she carries that view of herself to her first day at school. Believing that others won’t like her and fearing some level of rejection, she will probably find a seat in the back, she will avoid making eye contact with the kids coming in her class, she will be anxious and her “non-verbal’s” will telegraph those feelings. She will probably look unhappy or sullen. As the other new kids come into the room they will sense all of that but will interpret her actions and her body language as someone who is unfriendly and maybe a little hostile. From their perspective all those things say, “stay away” and they will probably honor that message. They will avoid sitting next to her until no other seats are available and may not even start a conversation with her when they have taken their seat. At the end of the day, she will go home having her beliefs confirmed that something is wrong with her and that she is unworthy of love and friendship because the other children were “so unfriendly” to her. In actuality, she was the unfriendly child but her own preconceived beliefs about herself caused her to act in ways that confirmed those beliefs and she is now even more convinced that her destiny is to be friendless and loveless.

On the other hand, if a young girl grows up in a home where she is affirmed and encouraged and given lots of opportunities to face appropriate challenges and succeed, she will go to her first day of school with entirely different expectations. She will expect others to like her and value her and will expect to do well in school. Her openness and confidence will invite others to start conversations and even sit next to her so that at the end of the day her positive self-image will also be confirmed in her mind. We act in ways that confirm our beliefs about ourselves so that belief becomes more ingrained than ever.

How we view ourselves and how we feel about ourselves sets us up for success or failure in many arenas of life. Our view of our worth, our significance, and our competence will encourage us to embrace life or hide from it. It’s not that a negative self-image or identity cannot be overcome but it must be overcome in order to fulfill our God-given potential. Knowing that, God has said many things about us that are intended to shape our identity or our self-image in Christ. For the next few blogs, I want to explore some of the specific truths about who we are in Christ to help us further accept the identity that is ours in Jesus Christ.

In my next blog I will begin with the truth that we have been “born again” and that we are “new creations.” If we can believe that, then who we used to be no longer has power over us. More about that on Monday. Be blessed and know who you are in Jesus.

God keeps bringing me back to our great need to understand who we are in Christ. I have been involved in pastoral counseling for over thirty years and with few exceptions every problem I have seen (including my own) can be reduced to broken identity and shattered self-esteem. Notice Adam and Eve’s response to a loving Father once they had broken the covenant by eating from the tree. Overcome with a never-before-experienced sense of shame, they both hid themselves and tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. In response to the Father’s questions they immediately began to blame God and one another for what had happened.

Shame was the driving factor for Adam and Eve. Guilt is the sense that we have done something wrong. Shame is the unrelenting sense that there is something wrong with us that makes us unacceptable and unworthy. Once Adam and Eve had been overrun by that feeling, their assumption was that the Father would no longer love them and would abandon them to a hostile world.   So they hid, covered up, and tried to shift responsibility to everyone else in the Garden. Most of us live with our own sense of defectiveness and do the same things as our forefathers. Additionally, we creatively find a number of ways to medicate our own self-loathing and fear of rejection – drugs, alcohol, sexual addictions, serial romances, affairs, power, fame, money, etc.

We could go on but you know the issues that flow out of that empty hole in our soul and all the ways that man has attempted to fill it. God understands our dilemma and so has gone to great lengths to restore our identity – our sense of self – and has placed us in a process of once again becoming who we were meant to be. Paul declared, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor.3:17-18). God made us in his image. Sin distorted that image but, in Christ, we are in the process of having that image restored.

God’s goal is to reclaim his children not just in a legal sense but to make us again into his glorious representatives on this planet. When the Logos entered this world through the womb of a virgin, he became Jesus, the Son of Man. He came to represent man as he was meant to be. In Jesus, we see not only the Father but also Adam before sin distanced man from God. As a believer, God has placed his divine nature within you through his Holy Spirit and his Spirit is now transforming you into the image of Jesus Christ.

As a child of God, born again as a new creation, you are no longer the person you used to be. Whoever you were before Christ you are no longer that person. You are now an adopted child of your heavenly Father, an ambassador of Christ, a royal priest in the household of God, the temple of the Creator of the universe, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, the carrier of God’s divine presence as a living Ark of the Covenant, the righteousness of God, one who tramples on snakes and scorpions, the beloved of the Father, and the bride of Christ. (That’s just a start)

God speaks those truths to his children day after day but the enemy hurries to snatch up the seed before it can take root and form our new identity within us. Too often we listen to the enemy and the world and reject God’s truth for us and go on unchanged by the power of God because we have little faith that his truth is for us. Jude encourages us to “contend earnestly for the faith.” To contend is to fight, to battle, and to go to war for the faith. That not only includes doctrines but truths that we must claim for ourselves and plant in our hearts.

Beyond the gospel, our identity in Christ is the most transformative truth I know. When we and the rest of the church understand who we are and the glory and authority that rests on us in Christ, the gates of hell will certainly not prevail against us. Meditate on who you are in Christ, memorize who you are in Christ, pray that the Holy Spirit will give you a deep revelation of that truth in your heart and begin to relentlessly say about yourself the things that God says about you. Contend for that truth and it will change your world by changing you. Don’t contend occasionally or for a few days but commit to contend for the truth of who you are until it is unquestionably in your heart!