Focus: Assured Identity

Text: 1Pet.2:9

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light."

In Christ we have assured identity and sure destiny. Too many people in our world are suffering from identity crisis. They are confused concerning who they are. They lack a sense of identity.

Identity crisis leads to false claims and imitative lifestyles. People are lost both in themselves and in the crowd. In fact they are lost everywhere. A demon possessed person said to the sons of Sceva, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?" (Act.19:15). Who are you? That's the question that demands an answer. The Lord Jesus Christ asked His disciples, "What do men say that I am?" You just can't afford to be ignorant of who you are. Knowing who you are inspires confidence and audacity.

The truth is that the believer has no identity outside of Christ.

Paul says, "For in him we live, move and have our being." We are accepted or graced in Christ, and in Him we are complete. We are who He says we are. We are one with Christ.

The fundamental truth of our identity is that we are the children of the living God. We are a royal priesthood. We are a holy nation, a chosen generation, and a peculiar people. We are the people of God. We belong to the family of Christ. We belong to the household of faith. We are God's image bearers.

Apart from knowing who we are in Christ, we also need to know what we are. Paul says, "I am what I am by the grace of God." As I have said before, we are God's image bearers. We are God-made men. 

We are the beloved of the Lord, the light of the world, the salt of the earth, and the followers of Christ.

Apart from knowing who and what we are, we have to also know what we can do. Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." We are capable of anything and everything through Christ. We are warriors and winners. Daniel says, "The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." We know God. We are strong, and we do exploits. We have capacity for great things. We do incredible things because we are marvellously helped by the Lord.

Finally, apart from knowing who we are, what we are, and what we can do, we have to know what we have or possess in Christ. Paul tells us that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 

The unsearchable riches of Christ belong to us. We have the sufficiency of divine grace. We possess the power of God in abundance.

Jacob said to his brother Esau, "Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it" (Gen.33:11). Esau was refusing to accept Jacob's very costly present, because of his great wealth and material assets. Esau said to Jacob, "I have enough." In the Hebrew, Esau was essentially saying, 'I have enough of these things. I need nothing more. I need nothing else.' But Jacob was saying to him, 'Go ahead, take my gifts, because I have enough of everything - things material and things spiritual. I am blessed up and down and inside out. I lack nothing of everything.' While Esau had enough of something, Jacob had enough of everything. And Jacob acknowledged the grace of God as the secret to all he had. He understood that the success or greatness of this life is first given from above before we achieve it down here.

In this 8th month of the year I pray you become concretely sure of who and what you are in Christ, of what you can do, and what you possess for being in Christ, and I pray that you live in the reality and power of what you know! Remember that it is the truth you know that sets you free! Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter