In the Eyes of God, what is my Identity? Does He see me as being a son
(a daughter) or does He see me as a person enslaved by Religion?
Three important questions: 1. Who am I? 2. Why am I here? 3. Where am
I going? These three questions have plagued man throughout all
humanity. There is something inside of us that is continually crying out
for the answer to these questions. In truth, The only people on the face of
the earth who know the answers to these questions are “born-again”
believers. Because as a born-again believer I know who I am and it is not
an Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, or Lutheran, nor any other church
denomination. I am a child of the living God. That is who God called me
to be. The philosophy (religion) makes me a person of religion but not a
child of God.
Who am I God called me out of my religion and gave me Sonship. “To
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children
of God (John 1:12).” That is our new identity when we are born again of
the Spirit of God. Now, you know who I and you are if we are in Christ
Jesus. Personally, I am retired from marketing and sales. Selling is what
I did, but that is not who I am. I am a child of the living God just like any
other born-again believer. I just happen to be a child of the living God
who happens to be retired from marketing and sales. You might be a child
of the living God, who just happens to be a housewife, a doctor, farmer,
or any other occupation you might be in. So, we must understand that our
identity is not in what we do. Our identity is not in the various
denominations or religions. Our identity is in who God called us to be. So
now you have the answer to that question. So, you do not have to wonder
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who you are; you know. If Christ is in you, then you are a child of the
living God.
Why are you here? We are here to make our bodies available for the
living Christ to live His life in and through us. Do you remember when
Jesus told His apostles, “It is to your advantage that I go away ” and you
may say to yourself; how can that be to our advantage, for Jesus to go
away? Jesus answered that same question to His disciples, saying; “Unless
I go away, then I cannot send My Spirit to live in you (John 16:7).” So,
He’s saying it is good for you that I am going away (physically) because
when I do, I am going to send My Spirit to live in you and you are going
to be My body (of believers) here on earth. If He remained with us rather
than ascending to heaven, we would never be born again of the Spirit (It
is the Holy Spirit that confirms Jesus into our lives). He continued, I am
going to go away and send you My Spirit who will infuse in you My very
life, My mind, and you are going to be My body and My representative
here on this earth.” (Every believer is indwelt by the Spirit of God, that is
what it means to be “born-again” of the Spirit).
What was Jesus here for? To be available and represent His Father! “I
don’t do anything unless the Father tells Me to do it. I do not say anything
unless the Father tells me to say it and incidentally as the Father sent Me,
so send I you.” So why are we here? To be available to the living Christ;
to live His life in and through us! Consider, for comparison. a tree branch.
Why is a fruit tree branch there? To bear fruit! To be available to the life
of the vine; to produce fruit in the branch and to allow the branch to bear
fruit to others! “The branch that bears fruit (Jn.15:2)” is the believer who
is growing more like our Lord Jesus. John 15:8 says, “By this my Father
is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you be My disciples.” What it is
saying is; as the children of God exhibit the likeness of Christ to the world,
the Father is glorified. We have been transformed from being sinners
separated from God into being children of God. Others who have known
us can see this transformation, this change in our lives, in how we behave
and in how we act. People start to notice that there is something different
about us, a real positive change of attitude and love towards others.
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Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and selfcontrol.” Please notice that in the three previous verses, Paul describes the
works of the flesh as such: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentious, jealousy, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murderers, drunkenness, revelries,
and the like……..such people will not inherit the kingdom of God.” It is
significant that Paul distinguishes between the works of the flesh, and the
fruit of the Spirit. Works are produced by human energy. The fruit is
grown as a branch abides in the vine (Jn.15:5). They differ as a factory
and a garden differ. Note that the fruit is singular, not plural. The Holy
Spirit produces one kind of fruit that is Christ likeness.
These virtues are pleasing to God, beneficial to others, and good for our
selves. But how is this fruit produced? Is it by man’s efforts? Not at all!
It is produced as believers live in communion with the Lord. As they gaze
upon the Savior in loving devotion, and obey Him in daily life, the Holy
Spirit works a wonderful miracle. He transforms believers into the
likeness of Christ. They become more like Him by beholding Him (2 Cor.
3:18). Just as the branch derives all its life and nourishment from the vine,
so the believer in Christ derives his strength from the True Vine and is
thus able to live a fruitful life for God. Now that we are free from the law,
we can bear fruit to God (Rm.7:4).
Where am I, where are you going? Heaven – to be with God for all
eternity. There is no doubt, it is already assured. We are told with all the
assurance that one can get….”Absent from the body is to be present with
the Lord.” The moment we die physically we are immediately present
with the Lord. The moment our eyes close and we open our eyes we are
in the presence of God.
So, now all those age-old questions that people are seeking and searching
for throughout their lives are answered in becoming a child of God.
Personally, I know who I am. I know why I am here, and I know where I
am going. Now, if this reality does not bring you peace; then you are in
sad shape because that is where peace comes from. My past is over and
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done with and I can’t change it. Whatever happened has happened; now
let us go on to this new life in Christ Jesus.
The future is God’s country and so Jesus said to us…”Live one day at a
time.” The only time that you can experience faith is right now. You
cannot exercise faith yesterday; it is gone. You cannot exercise faith
tomorrow – it is not here yet. But you can exercise faith right now and
without faith it is impossible to please God.
Let’s Recap – “Who Are We In Christ?”
Our identity is determined by who or what we are identified with.
Discovering who we are is a basic need of every human heart. God has
given you a new identity. If you are in Christ, you are a CHILD OF GOD
(Galatians 3:26)! Because we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we are
children of God. That is our new identity. In this world there are all types
of people with all types of different labels attached, but from God’s
vantage point there are only two kinds of people: those who are in Adam,
and those who are in Christ. To “be in” someone may sound strange to
you. But to be in someone means that he is our family head. As such, he
has left us his name, his nature, an inheritance, and a destiny. The twofamily heads in this world are Adam and Jesus Christ. They determine
who we are, our nature, our inheritance, and our destiny. The two stands
in total contrast to each other. Through spiritual baptism, God has changed
our identity. In Adam, I was Oscar Leske without God’s spirit – spiritually
dead and a guilty sinner. Galatians 2:22 tells me that I have been crucified
with Christ. That old person is dead and gone. Today, I am a new creation
in Christ. Today I am Oscar Leske with God’s spirit living in me –
spiritually alive and totally forgiven.
If you are in Christ Jesus, you, too, are a new creation in Christ – not
because of what you do, but because God has placed you into His Son.
In Christ we are children of God. We are loved perfectly, accepted totally,
and seen as perfect in God’s eyes not because of what we do, but because
of what Christ has done for us. This is our identity in Christ. When we
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grasp who we are, we will go free. We will be free to serve others and to
look after other people’s interests; not just our own. There we will find
true meaning and purpose to life.
Our Relationship With God Churchgoing Christians sometimes get
confused about living the Christian life? They go to church and often hear
messages from a performance-based speaker as he speaks about the socalled “Does and Do nots” of Christianity but it is time to blow off all
these barnacles and just re-discover the real thing. What Jesus has called
us to is a personal, intimate, dynamic relationship with the living Christ.
And when we are in a relationship with Jesus our lives get transformed
and that is just the way it is. All those years that we spent time in this
world apart from Him we were being was conformed to the world’s
philosophies But now when we are spending time with Jesus and getting
to know Him, growing in His love and grace, we’re going to see a
transformation that takes place in our hearts and souls. We are going to
begin to think differently. We are going to begin to believe differently.
We are going to begin to look at life from a totally different perspective –
through God’s eyes, not man’s eyes and when we do that, then our actions
are going to follow suit and we’re going to experience peace. We are going
to experience unbelievable joy. We are going to experience a whole new
outlook on life. And if that is something that you are interested in, then I
would say to you, “Start off by reading the New Testament – ask God to
open your eyes to His truth and go to a bible believing church or study
group to learn, interact and fellowship with other believers.”
Life is too short to miss the real thing….an everlasting relationship with
God.
Oscar Leske
F/B – Signs Of Our Times
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