“9 But you are a chosen
race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special
people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the
virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9, The Amplified Bible)
Spiritual identity is the subject of various Christian articles,
books and conferences around the world. A
close look at the way that most Christians view their walk with God gives
evidence that many are having an identity crisis in the 21st century. The following is a synthesis on the subject of
spiritual identity.
The Danger of
Spiritual Deception
Many sincere believers have been deceived by the lie that
their Christian life can be measured by their successes in terms of marital
status, financial status, vocation, wealth, health, notoriety and level of comfort. I believe that it is the Christian leader’s
God-given mandate to dispel the lies of the enemy with the truth of the gospel,
by teaching the Church to be rooted in Christ and in the Word of God. Paul says “Beware lest anyone cheat you
through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men,
according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ”
(Colossians 2:8, NKJV). Lest you be deceived, you must know who you are in
Christ.
Our Spiritual
Realities
The Scripture declares “Beloved, now we are children of God;
and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is
revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (I John 3:2,
NKJV). This passage speaks of our
identity as children of God and gives us assurance concerning our placement
into God’s family. The aforementioned
passage expresses our standing in God’s family; our identity in relation to God
in Christ is also outlined in scripture.
Acceptance of such a high calling and position is determined by the
authenticity of the one who embraced Christ by faith through “a total response
to the divine.”
Authenticity is the
Solution
I strongly believe that the Body of Christ is sometimes
guilty of elevating a form of Christianity that is rooted more in our fantasies
with superheroes (Batman, Superman, Spiderman and other human heroes) rather than
in our identity in the redeeming grace of Jesus Christ. I am convinced that we sometimes get our
vision for Christian living more from the man of steel, than we get it from the
Man of “sorrows, acquainted with grief”.
Please understand me; I know that we must never compromise in our
commitment to the unimpeachable integrity of Scripture; that we must never grow
soft in our commitment to doctrinal orthodoxy, and that we must never grow lax
in our commitment to moral purity and the pursuit of virtue. But we must also never become so good at
projecting an image of having all of that together that we make ourselves
flawless, self-sufficient or untouchable.
Friends, it is my earnest desire that you would develop a
healthy but balance view of who you are in Christ. You are God’s chosen people,
and as such, we must never become victims of identity theft. Be on guard, I love you and I am praying for
you!
