IDENTITY IN CHRIST: BEING DEFINED BY WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE

God spoke to me about this topic when I was walking home from work. I was walking past a lot of cars, stagnant on traffic. Then I thought about how great the drivers felt in their cars; of course not because they were enjoying the traffic but because they had cars, especially those with prestigious ones.

Then God directed me to the topic on identity; what defines you and I or the things people say or the things people are defined by.

Various people are defined or define themselves with various things. Some people are defined by the cars they drive; the likes of Porsche, Lamboghini, Chrysler, you name them (guys help me here!!! I'm not a car fanatic!) Others define themselves by dressing (ladies some of us are victims of this!!); Others by the jobs they do or the businesses they run- I'm a CEO, MD, owner of a chain of businesses, and so on-; others by the money they flash around, the malls they have built, the list is endless.

Well, I'm here to talk about a different kind of Identity...(wait for it...DRUMROLLS...)   IDENTITY IN CHRIST-THE TRUE IDENTITY!!!! BEING DEFINED BY WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE!!!
So, WHO DOES GOD SAY WE ARE? HOW DOES HE DEFINE US? WHO DOES HE CALL US?

First off, one thing I believe we all know is that we, as humans, are made in the image of God, as in
 Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
So, we are God's own image therefore, we ought to reflect God's image in all we think about, say and do (just a reminder!)

Secondly, God calls us His children.
John 1:12: "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God;"

Also, Jesus calls us His friends!!!! This means that we are not far from Jesus and God;God has humbled Himself and has come down to the level of human beings and He, in all His glory and splendour, calls us His friends!!!!! We really don't deserve this title, but God chose to giver this title to us! How marvellous!
John 15:15: "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." 

Furthermore, we are the righteousness of God. We are no longer defined by sin, even though we were born into a sinful world/in sin (Psalms 51:5)
2 Corinthians 5:21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

In addition, our bodies are the Temples of the Holy Spirit! Do you know what this means???? Our bodies literally HOUSE the Holy Spirit!!!! How cool is that????!!!!! However, remember, that we should keep our bodies pure and clean, with the help of God because the Holy Spirit can only be hosed by a purified and clean body, a body that is being used to glorify God!
1 Corinthians 6:19: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?"

Jesus further calls us His chosen ones. Out of His mercy, God chose us!!!! We are very privileged, as believers, to have been chosen by God, out of His mercy and grace, not out of merit or because we deserve to be chosen, or because we are special!!!! Not because of what we have done but because of God's mercy and grace upon us!
John 15:16: "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you..."

Also, God calls us new creatures in Him!
2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come."
However, for one to be a new creation, as the Bible says, we have to be in Christ!!!! Being in Christ is a condition! Being a new creation means that God has rid us of our past life before we accepted Him as Lord over our lives, and has given us a new Identity and Image in Him.

One would ask, Why the Identity in Christ the true Identity and why is our Identity in Him important?
The truth and reality of life is that identity in worldly thing is temporary; it ends with the ending of these worldly things. For example, if today Bill Gates lost all his money in unclear circumstances, being one of the richest men in the world, he would lose his identity in the worldly eye! (Apart from the fact that he is the founder and owner of Microsoft!) But Identity in Christ? It sticks with you forever, it's permanent, it's for life, it does not change with life's circumstances or life's events; it remains the same!!!!(Unless of course, one allows him/herself to forget who God says she/he is, due to the effects of life's blows and storms) Our identity in Christ is constant and never-changing as the existence and mercy, love and grace of God and His Word!

So, in conclusion, tell and constantly remind yourself of the following: You are blessed, you are the first and not the last, you are the head and not the tail, you are loved and highly favoured, you are highly treasured and valued by the Most High, you are above and not beneath, you are not a mistake but a blessing, you are planned for, your name is engraved in the palm of the hand of the Most High, you are God's child (yeah, you can call Him DADDY!), you are God's chosen one, He knows your name, He has good plans for your life (Jeremiah 29:11), you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, nothing can separate you from Him, NOTHING! (Romans 8:38-39), No weapon formed against you shall prosper!  All this through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, who loved and gave His life for us! 

AMEN!!!!