How should our identity in Christ affect the way we live?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Identity is defined as "the collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognizable or known." If our identity is in Christ, we should display characteristics that are recognizable as belonging to Christ. Our identity in Christ should fundamentally transform the way we live. As new creations in Christ, we are called to leave behind our old sinful ways and embrace a life that reflects God's character. This means living with integrity, kindness, humility, and love, striving to follow Jesus' example in our daily actions. Our identity as children of God empowers us to live by the Spirit, producing the fruit of the Spirit. Our identity in Christ also compels us to live in community with other believers, collectively reflecting God's love and truth to the world.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• Our identity in Christ is found in the New Testament.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• The word "Christians" means "followers of Christ." As the apostle John points out, we should follow in His footsteps: "By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked" (1 John 2:5–6).
• Second Corinthians 5:17 declares, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." When we put our faith in Jesus, we are given a new identity.
• Our identity in Christ includes being adopted as a child of God (John 1:12; Romans 8:12–17; Ephesians 1:5), being "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17; Ephesians 1:11; 1 Peter 1:4), being redeemed and forgiven (Ephesians 1:7), being lavished with "the riches of [God's] grace" (Ephesians 1:7–8), being "born again to a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3), and being eternally secure in God's rescue and promise (John 10:28–30; 1 Peter 1:5; Jude 1:24–25).
• Our identity in Christ includes being part of the family of God—being brothers and sisters of one another in Christ (Galatians 3:27–29; Ephesians 2:18).
• We also become citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20).
• We "are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
• We are invited into God's work in the world, tasked with reflecting His image and sharing His truth (Matthew 5:14–16; 28:18–20).
• We have received God's love and thus we love Him and love others (1 John 4:13–21).
• When we are saved, we still retain our sinful nature (Romans 7:18), but we also receive the indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16) who helps us know, love, and obey God and who will bring our salvation to completion (Philippians 1:6).
• Although our identity changes when we are saved, we are called to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12–13). We must actively seek to live out the reality of our new identity (1 Peter 1:13–25) through the power of the Holy Spirit, our minds being transformed by and conformed to truth (Romans 12:1–2), intentional effort in setting aside sin (Romans 6), intentional effort in living God's ways (Ephesians 4:17–32), and with the aid of other believers (Hebrews 10:24–25).
• Galatians 5, Ephesians 4, and Colossians 3 reveal how our identity in Christ should affect the way we live: We "must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. … [but] put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:17, 22–24). The new self is characterized by things like speaking truth, not allowing anger to become sinful, honest labor, generosity, forgiveness toward others, and kindness.
• We are also to "put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other … And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony" (Colossians 3:12–14).
• We are to "walk by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16) and be characterized by His fruit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22–23).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

The way we are to live comes as a result of who we are in Christ, which first requires us to know Him. The more we know God, the more we will love Him. And the more we love Him, the more we will be like Him (John 13:34–35; 1 John 1:5—2:6; 4:7–12). How do we get to know God? A primary way is through studying the Bible. It is "breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16–17). The Bible tells us who God is, what He does, who we are, and how God desires us to live. It tells us the grander plan of history—God's perfect creation, the disastrous effects of sin, God’s promise of rescue, and His unfolding plan of redemption and restoration. We also get to know God by spending time with Him in prayer, obeying Him, spending time with others who know Him, appreciating creation, living in worship as a response to who He is and what He does, and more.

Our identity in Christ is not merely lived out personally, but in community. Many of God's commands relate to how we are to live with one another, so to obey Him necessarily implies being with people. But it is much more than that. The church is referred to as the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11–16), the household of God (Ephesians 2:19), and "a dwelling place for God by the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22). Not only do we need one another to be reminded of our identity and equipped to live it out, but together we image or reflect God to the world (Matthew 5:14–16; John 17:20–23). Identity in Christ is not only about who we are as individuals before God but also about who we, together, are as God's people.

UNDERSTAND

• Our identity in Christ transforms us to live with integrity, love, and humility.
• Our identity in Christ calls us to live by the Spirit, not by the flesh.
• Our identity in Christ changes how we live in community and treat others, reflecting God's love to the world.

REFLECT

• How does understanding yourself as a new creation in Christ influence your daily choices and actions?
• What are the implications of your identity in Christ in your personal relationship with God and in the way you engage in your life? How does your identity in Christ impact your values?
• How does your identity in Christ shape the way you treat others?

ENGAGE

• How does living out of our identity in Christ impact those around us and reflect Christ to the world?
• How can we make our identity in Christ more visible in our workplaces, schools, or other communities?
• What is the connection between the work we do to understand and grow in our identity in Christ and the work that the Holy Spirit does?