Who are you? I don’t mean your name, I mean your identity. Do you identify yourself as a wife, a husband, a mother, or father? Do you identify yourself as a businessperson, or nurse? Are you a retiree? We often identify ourselves with these terms. These words shape our identity and we make decisions from that identity. Who we are affects what we do.
As important as those words are to our identity, those things can change. Every one of them. When that happens, we may go through an identity crisis. We don’t know who we are or how we are to live. If you are a follower of Jesus, you have a different identity. As a follower of Jesus, you have an identity that never changes. This new identity when you come to Christ should affect how you live and the decisions you make.
In Ephesians chapter 1 the Apostle Paul writes about our identity in Christ. This chapter is packed full of words to describe this new identity. They tell us the truth of who we are in Jesus. It is so important for us to know who we are at all times. We have an enemy that wants to confuse and distort our identity. But we must know the truth and find freedom in the truth of our identity.
In this chapter the Bible uses words like, “saints, blessed, chosen, holy, blameless, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, knowledgeable, wise, sealed with the Holy Spirit, and recipients of God’s power.” This tells us who we are in Jesus. What an incredible list!! Take time to read this chapter and soak in the truth of who you are as a follower of Jesus.
In the final chapter of this letter Paul will remind us that we have an enemy who lies to us to destroy our lives. We must stand with the truth of who we are so that we live the lives God has called us to live!
“Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might” Eph. 1:18-19
A Pastor's Thoughts 