INTRODUCTION
But by the grace of God I am what I am.
1 Corinthians 15:10
Soon after being called into the ministry, the Lord inspired me to begin studying about our identity in Christ, and its importance to the believer. God revealed to me that His Church is in an identity crisis—a crisis that has been successful in keeping the saints of God from the fullness in relationship and from revealing who the Lord has called them to be; and consequently, has also rendered the church impotent and of marginal effect in the world today.
This has occurred because many Christians have stumbled over what the word of God teaches concerning who they are in Christ. Because many have no idea who they are, they are living a life of vulnerability to the enemy that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. As the Lord spoke in Hosea 4: 6, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, many Christians are not experiencing the benefits of relationship with God, walking in fear instead of faith; depression instead of joy; sickness instead of divine health; and defeat instead of victory.
The primary reason for this is because they have been blinded from seeing who they are in Christ, in spite of what the Bible teaches. Thus, the purpose for this book By the Grace of God, I Am What I Am—to point you back to what the word of God teaches about the most foundational of truths, answering the question: “Who am I?”
Despite many other issues and subjects pertaining to God’s word, the Lord has always led me back to these foundational truths: Knowing and understanding the true meaning of eternal life (John 17:3); Knowing and comprehending His unconditional love and grace (Ephesians 3:18-19); Knowing and understanding the truth of the new birth (2 Corinthians 5:17) and our true identity in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). Since then, the Lord has given me a deeper revelation—not only of these truths, but also in their importance in breaking the strongholds of what has been traditionally taught in many churches. Before beginning, I’ll repeat the prayer of the apostle Paul from Ephesians 1: 17-20. Please read this carefully as this is God’s desire for you in Christ Jesus:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places…
For the past several years, much of the body of Christ has concentrated its efforts on discovering “purpose” for their lives. While searching for “purpose” many have failed to realize the fact that in order to fully understand purpose, one must first know and embrace their identity. Then, once one knows what they were created to be, their purpose is revealed naturally, or albeit supernaturally. Because of this, the Lord led me to share the following parable.
There was once a hunter who came across an eagle’s nest perched high upon a cliff. Inside the nest were three eggs left orphaned by their parents. Wanting to preserve the eagles, the hunter removed the nest and brought the eggs back to his farm in the country where he had several dozen chickens. After placing the eggs with one of his hens, several weeks went by and the eggs hatched.
Months went by and as the eagles grew, one eagle began hearing a voice inside, telling him that he was different from all the rest. He went to his brothers, the two other eagles, and told him what the voice had said. His brothers laughed at him and said that they were born chickens and they would remain chickens for the rest of their lives. They took him over to a large dusty mirror inside the hen house and the eagle looked at his distorted reflection. They said, “Our mother has feathers, you have feathers; our mother has wings, you have wings. Our mother is a chicken, you are a chicken.”
“Their reasoning makes sense,” the eagle said. “I seem to look like a chicken so I guess I am a chicken.”
A year went by as the eagles lived as chickens. They pecked the ground for grain, hunted for worms and bugs, and most importantly, they never flew.
One day as the eagle wandered to the edge of the farm, he found himself under a large tree. He heard a deep soft voice from above. “What are you doing here, young eagle?”
The eagle looked up to see a wise old owl perched on a branch. “I’m not an eagle; I’m a chicken, and I’m looking for bugs to eat.”
The owl had a sad look on his face. Just then, his large wings began to open, and in a flash, the owl landed on the ground next to the eagle.
“Wow!” the eagle said. “I wish I could do that.”
The owl sadly shook his head and removed a book from under his wings. He opened the book to a page and showed it to the eagle. The picture was of a large majestic bird, flying high in the sky.
“This is who you are,” the owl said as he pointed at the picture. “You have allowed your circumstances and others to tell you that you were a chicken, when all along you were an eagle.”
“But what about the mirror?” the eagle asked. “I have feathers and wings like all the other chickens. Why am I not a chicken like the rest of them?”
“Because the image you saw in the mirror was distorted. Yes, you possess the same physical qualities as a chicken like feathers and wings, but inside, you were created to be an eagle. Only until you can see who you really are will you be able to live the life God intended you to live.” The owl held up the book. “Young eagle, this book tells us who God created us to be, and because you have seen your image inside, and I have told you the same, you must embrace it and fly.”
“Fly?” the eagle asked.
The owl smiled and nodded. “Yes, fly. All you have to do is believe that you are an eagle and you will fly as God created you to.”
With a frightened look on his face, the eagle began to spread his wings.
“Don’t be afraid, young eagle. Just believe.”
With a tear in his eye, the young eagle believed and in an instant he was airborne, flying and soaring in the sky.
Many Christians today are in the same boat as that baby eagle. They come to Christ, but like the baby eagle, they are limited by what they see in the natural and know only what they’ve been taught. Their Christians “brothers” can only tell them that they’re in essence just like the rest of the world. Only until they receive wisdom and truth do they look into the special mirror that tells them exactly who they are. This is what the Lord wants to accomplish through this book—to provide the body of Christ the truth that will set it free from the constraints placed upon it through religious tradition. When the apostle Paul proclaimed, “But by the grace of God, I am what I am,” (1 Corinthians 15: 10) he wasn’t displaying a superiority complex, but rather, he was admitting that he had fully submitted to the grace of God, which made him who he was. It is my prayer that you, too, will be able to see who you really are in Christ, and by acknowledging these truths, you give glory to God. Amen.
