Your Christian Identity
That the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. [Philemon 1:6]
Does the communication of your faith acknowledge the goodness of Christ that is in you?
Recently, the Lord has been dealing with me regarding an identity crisis within the body of Christ--one that focuses on our past sinful nature instead of our born again one. Over the past few weeks, the Lord has made my ears and eyes more sensitive to what Christians are saying, especially when referring to themselves. And to be honest, I was shocked at what I was hearing. Christians were referring to themselves as "sinners", "bunch of sinful losers", "as filthy rags", and even the oxymoron "sinners saved by grace".
Since I hadn't been a Christian for very long, I asked some others if this sentiment was common throughout the Christian community. They confirmed that many people feel this way, and also that many churches unconsciously teach this doctrine for one reason or another. We agreed that this occurs primarily for the believer to understand the need for a savior--and consequently the verse from Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God is hammered into their hearts.
New Creatures in Christ
When we examine God's word, we learn that before we gave our lives to Christ, we were sinners. But once we were born again, sanctified, washed with the redeeming blood of Christ, and filled with the Holy Spirit, we became new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). According to 2 Corinthians 5:21, we have been made to be the righteousness of God. Since we have been born again and have the Spirit of God living inside us, claiming that we are sinners speaks against this truth--and also against the power of God.
I want to point out here that I am in no way asserting that we are capable of living lives completely absent of sin in our flesh. Our flesh didn't get born again--our spirit did--and according to the Scripture, God sees us through what Jesus did and through our new spirit (John 4:24; Colossians 1:22). However, Jesus commands us in Matthew 5: 48: Be ye therefore perfect as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Is this an unreasonable command? God forbid. Although the context is referring to the perfection in our spirit, let us consider this scripture from 1 Corinthians 10:13: Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer [allow] you to be tempted above that you are able. But will make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.
Once we are born again, we are capable of living holy lives before God and through a revelation of the grace of God and the truth of the new creature, we can get to the point where sin will not reign in our mortal bodies (Romans 6:1-14). In other words, we're not perfect in the flesh, but by identifying with our born again nature--the nature of God--we will bear fruit of dominion and freedom over sin. The apostle Paul wrote very clearly, Likewise reckon yourselves also to be dead indeed unto sin and alive unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [Romans 6:11] The results of this 'reckoning' or being fully persuaded of your death to sin comes in the next verses, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield your members instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Therefore, it is impossible for you to realize the newness of life the Bible promises if you still see yourself as a sinner, or still possessing what some translations of the Bible call a "sinful nature." You were a sinner because you were born a sinner, which is why you must be born again righteous. Your "old man" or sinful nature was crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20) and is dead and gone! With the new born again nature, the Christian now actually desires to live a godly life--not out of obligation or obedience to a commandment, but because his nature has changed or as the apostle John wrote, Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you; because the darkness is past and now the true light has shines. [1 John 2:8] In context, John is writing about the commandment to love one another, but indicates that it was an old commandment, but now there is a new application to it--because the true light of God now shines in us when we are born again. When before, we were commanded to love; now we are to love one another because it is our very nature to love one another.
Who We Are in Christ
There are a number of references in the Bible that tell us who we are in Christ. Because this is who God says we are, we should be eager to identify with these characteristics. Faith in what God says about you is what will come out of your mouth. So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. [Romans 10:17] I encourage you to study these scriptures and seal them in your heart.
In Christ, we are:
~part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people [1 Peter 2: 9]
~partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust [2 Peter 1: 4].
~sons of God [John 1: 12; 1 John 3: 2]
~more than conquerors [Romans 8: 37]
~overcomers of the world [1 John 5: 4]
~joint-heirs with Christ [Romans 8: 17]
~the head and not the tail; [Deuteronomy 28: 13]
~not of this world [John 17:14]
~sanctified or set apart [Acts 26:18; 1 Corinthians 1:2]
~saints [1 Corinthians 1:2; Acts 9:13]
~ambassadors for Christ [2 Corinthians 5:20]
~the elect of God [Colossians 3:12]
~his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works [Ephesians 2:10]
~fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God. [Ephesians 2:19]
None of these verses even remotely indicate our previously sinful nature, but rather reinforce the fact that when we are born again, we take upon the nature of Christ. Because as he is, so are we in this world. [1 John 4:17]
The Power of Words
Jesus taught us in Matthew 12: 34: For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Your identity in Christ is based on what comes from your heart--and therefore from your mouth and your behavior. We also see in Proverbs 23: 7: For as he thinks in his heart, so [is] he. Although the context of this verse isn't referring to us as Christians specifically, but the general inference is significant. For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is.
And from 2 Corinthians 4: 13: We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore I have spoken. We also believe, and therefore speak.
The fruit of our hearts is therefore reflected in our speech and manner of life. Just as living holy lives is important to our "witness and testimony", our speech and words are equally important. Not only must we talk the talk, but we must also walk the walk. Anything less is either hypocrisy or double-mindedness.
Proverbs 18: 21 says: Death and life are in the power of the tongue. And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof. This is a strong indictment on the power of our words. Anyone who denies that words have no power--either in the natural or supernatural realms--have never experienced the pain from a poisoned tongue, or the life-giving power of words filled with love. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 12: 37: For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.
We must speak words of faith. When we speak words of fear, poverty, sickness, weakness, condemnation, and unrighteousness, we are in essence sending an invitation to spirits operating in these powers to come to us. If you say you are sick, then you will be sick. If you confess your fears and dwell on them, they will come upon you. If you speak condemnation on yourself, condemnation will come to you. If you say you are unrighteous (a sinner) then you will never conquer sin.
Words of fear, sickness, etc. are not from God--but are lies from the devil himself. If we give in to the lies of the devil, we are placing our faith in him, rather than in God. We are taught to neither give place to the devil [Ephesians 4:27] and to resist the devil and he will flee from you [James 4:7]. This truth is more strongly illustrated in Ephesians 6:16: Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. The devil will always throw temptation, fear, sickness, and torment your way and without the shield of faith, these things will manifest in your life.
I know the story of a Christian woman who was obsessed with the fear of being raped. Each day the bondage to this fear continued to grip hereven forcing her to work from her home in fear that she would be attacked if she left the house. This fear had completely consumed her life, virtually making her a recluse. Not only did this bondage of fear ruin what was once a normal life, but to make matters worse, the root of this fear eventually came upon her. Late one night, a man broke into her home and her greatest fear had come true.
Similarly, by teaching that we can never have true victory and complete deliverance from sin, many Christian men are still struggling with addictions to pornography, gambling, and alcohol. By the same token, our words of faith have greater power than words of fear, etc. If you believe the word of God that says, By His stripes we [are] were healed [Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 3:24], and speak these words, you are walking by faith--and not by sight or circumstance [2 Corinthians 5:7].
Therefore, you believe in your heart that you are healed--and consequently, words of faith and wellness come out of your mouth. In the same way we speak words of faith concerning healing, we are to also speak words of edification. In Ephesians 4:29 we are commanded: Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Our righteous communication not only edifies us, but also ministers grace to anyone who hears you. So let us also remember that what we speak to others can amount to prophesying to them.
The nightly news is a perfect example of fear and unbelief mongering. In the name of informing the public, they plant seeds of fear, disease, poverty, and all things of unbelief into the hearts and minds of people. Your words too can have the same effect. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man. [Colossians 4:6]
Finally, don't claim possession to disease, fear, weakness, or circumstance. When you say "My diabetes" or "I'm afraid that" you are taking possession of something God hasn't given you. Rather speak faith to your circumstances by using the word of God. Jesus gave us the example how we are to fight the devil and it is with His word. God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. [2 Timothy 1: 7]
Satan's Strategy
Satan's desire is to keep us in bondage to our iniquities and shortcomings, and prevent us from truly knowing who we are in Christ and realizing what Paul described in Philippians 3:9-15 as "the high calling in Christ Jesus", which is perfection or holiness. By continuing to quote Romans 3:23: "We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God" as a justification for our own failures, we will never truly realize and seek the vision of the fullness of Christ. Yes, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but this describes our position prior to receiving Christ, and in a greater way, illustrates that our redemption is not a result of our own righteousness, but the righteousness of God [v. 21]. In other words, we're all guilty, but Christ has made us blameless and consequently our righteousness is by faith in Jesus. [1 Corinthians 1:8; Romans 3:22]
The devil's primary strategy to destroy you is to first try to get you to doubt who you are in Christ. Satan's only tool or weapon against us is deception; therefore, he wants to plant seeds of doubt in your heart. This is not something new as this strategy is what brought Adam and Eve into sin. If you read in Genesis, God had created man in His own image and likeness. After creating Adam, He gave him dominion and control over everything in the world. So, in essence Adam was the god of this world. When the serpent told Eve that when they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would be "as gods", this was a direct attack on who Adam and Eve already were. They had need of nothing; they controlled and subdued the world; they were made in the image and likeness of God, so why would they want to be "as gods"? Adam and Eve eventually ate and catapulted the entire world into sin because they failed to recognize who the really were.
Satan also tried the same tactic on the Lord Jesus in the wilderness. In Matthew 3: 16- 17, we read about the baptism of Jesus. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. God had confirmed the identity of Jesus as being His beloved Son. However, in chapter 4, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. The first words out of the devil's mouth were, If you are the Son of God, command these stones be made bread. [v. 3] Then again, in verse 6, the devil said, If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down... As God had confirmed Who Jesus was, the devil sought to place doubt in Jesus and provoke Him to utilize His power to prove Who He was. The devil didn't say, "Because you are the Son of God." No, he said, "If". As I said before, brothers and sisters, this is an old trick and the devil still uses it today on every Christian.
While Adam and Eve failed because they did not realize who they were, Jesus was victorious because He knew and walked in what the Father had said about Him. God's Word says we are now the sons of God [1 John 3: 2] and we must continue to walk in this truth--despite what others may say and what lies the devil may spew from his mouth. For most Christians, the devil tries to get you to doubt that you're even saved, by getting you to focus on your own works and righteousness instead of what Jesus did on the cross.
Another strategy is for the devil to tell you that in order for God to love you, you must obey His commandments. God's love is unconditional and is not based on your performance. I know this flies in the face of what religion has taught for many years. This truth is illustrated in these two verses of Scripture: But God commended his love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [Romans 5: 8] He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not freely give us all things? [Romans 8: 32] God first loved us [1 John 4: 10] and will always love us--regardless of what we do. By receiving a true revelation of God's love, you will obey His commandments. Your holiness is not a root of God's love, but a fruit of it. [Galatians 5: 22-23]
It's Your Choice
Therefore, it is your choice to identify yourself with your old sinful nature instead of the Christ in you. If you choose to see yourself as a worthless sinner, saved by grace, that you can never measure up because of your own weaknesses, then you never will. But do not blame God for your failure. Christ set the example, paid the price to give you victory, and the Bible teaches us who we are in Christ. You can either walk in God's truth or the devil's lies. Yes, in our own strength, we will never measure up, but we don't attain Christ-likeness in our own strength, we do it because of the Holy Spirit--the same Spirit that Christ received and that raised Him from the dead--the same Spirit that comes to live inside us when we are born again. How can we say that we are saved and know that the Holy Spirit lives inside us, but deny His ability to transform us?
Many Christians avoid referring to themselves as the righteousness of God, holy, or even a partaker of the divine nature because they think it's prideful. When we say these things, we are not speaking of ourselves, we are simply speaking what God has already said about us. If we are going to move in any of the anointing that God has given us, we must know who we are in Christ before we can be Christ to anyone else.
