New Identity in Christ

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:20

During yesterday’s service, a question was asked: what is God’s pronouncement over you? What is your identity in Christ?Jacob’s identity changed from supplanter and deceiver to Israel, chosen of God. What is yours? You have cried out. You have asked the Lord what he calls you. You have chosen to believe his report above every other label. Now the question becomes: what does that actually mean? How do you live as someone who has been renamed?

Most of us have tried to answer the question of who we really are by looking at the wrong things. We look at our job, our family background, our mistakes, our achievements, or even other people’s opinions. When those things shift, our sense of self shifts with them.

The gospel calls us to something far deeper. Our truest identity is not found in what we do or what has been done to us, but in who we are in Christ. That little phrase, “in Christ”, changes everything. Our text says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” The old self, defined by sin and self-rule, was nailed to the cross. Now Christ lives in us.

Then he writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” You are not a repaired version of the old you. You are a new creation. Your past may explain you, but it does not define you.

The Lord told Israel in Deuteronomy 7:6 that they were a special people unto himself, a treasured possession. Same carries over to us today. You are not an afterthought. You are treasured. The cross proves it. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8. You were worth dying for. That is not sentiment. That is substitution. Many believers struggle here. We say we are forgiven, yet we still live as though we are on probation. But Ephesians 1:7 says we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. 1 John 1:9 promises that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive. Romans 8:1 declares there is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.

The world sees your surface. God sees you as crucified with Christ, raised with him, seated with him. You are God’s workmanship, his masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, Ephesians 2:10. Your value does not rise and fall with applause. Achievements are nothing compared to being his child.

It is easier to build identity on what we do because then we feel in control. But identity in Christ is received, not achieved. You do not earn being loved. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love him, because he first loved us.” His love is not a reward for good behaviour. It is the starting point.To accept that you are chosen, forgiven and secure means laying down pride and also laying down shame. Pride says, I can define myself. Shame says, my failure defines me. The cross silences both.

There is a difference between living for identity and living from identity. If you live for identity, you are constantly trying to prove yourself, every decision driven by fear of losing worth. If you live from identity, you make decisions with quiet confidence. You are already loved. Already chosen. Already secure.

Kay Alli