Tuesday, October 17th, 2023
The last blog felt a little like unfinished business. I shared the vision God gave me regarding identity, but I believe God wants me to write a follow-up blog on the Biblical truths of our identity. So that’s where we are headed today. The Bible truly is our Instruction Manual for Life. For every season of our life, we can find wisdom on who we are, who God is and how we can live out these various seasons the way God intended. This encapsulates all the pieces of our identity. Let’s back up and look at the definition of identity. Webster’s 1828 defines identity as: “sameness as distinguished from similitude and diversity”. That leaves some digging to do. Sameness is defined as “identity; the state of being not different or other”. Those definitions almost seem to raise more questions than answers. We often focus more on the fact that our identity is something unique and different from everyone else, but the word is defined as being the same as something. So, the question really becomes, whom or what do we identify with? Are we defined by our experiences, those around us, the words of others over us, the sins we have committed, or the truths found in the word of God? Let’s look at some scriptures. In Genesis 1:27 we see the first scripture in the Bible about our identity:
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
We were literally created in the image of God. He wanted us to look the same as Him and to take on his identity. If we think about the definition of identity that we read above this really helps us to understand that word even more. Let’s look at a couple more scriptures. Ephesians 5:1-2 says:
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
1 John 2:6 says:
6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
2 Cor 3:18 says:
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
The words “imitators”, “walk just as He walked”, “reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus” and “transfigured into his very image” all speak of that identity definition of sameness. As someone who has struggled over the years with finding my true God-given identity, I can see with clarity all the times my identity has shifted over the years as I was trying to find that thing or that person that I felt safe with and/or wanted to resemble. While these things or people may provide some level of identity it will only ever be temporary. There will come a point when we are disappointed or failed by the things we are trying to reflect, and we will no longer want to identify with or have a level of sameness with them. The enemy will flash the next thing before our eyes that provides some temporary relief, and we will again be chasing another pseudo identity. The identity from, or sameness with, God is the only thing that will truly fill us. He will never disappoint us; He will never hurt us. The enemy will try to convince us that God has caused us pain or left us, but this is not His identity. And when we are reflecting the glory of God this will not be our identity either. I want to look at a few more powerful promises within the Bible of what our God-given identity looks like and the authority it gives us. In Ps 139:14-16 it says:
14 I will praise You, for [a]I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. 15 My [b]frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.
God literally formed every single one of us in our mother’s wombs. No matter the earthly circumstances of our conception, God was in every single detail. When no one else could see our creation unfolding, God was hovering over the process and ensuring it matched what was already written about us in our book in heaven. Talk about identity! We could never be an “oops” or an accident. We have an identity book in heaven and God’s desire is that we follow every word and page already written. Let’s look at a visual of our identity that Jesus provided in John 15:4:
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[a] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
He desires that we be ingrafted into the vine that is Jesus. That all of our life and substance would come from the same spirit that fueled and filled Him. Without Him, we will lose our God-given identity. Without Him, we will not bear any fruit. This passage sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. I pray that this truth sets us free. There is one more scripture that God has put on my heart. Once we understand our God-given identity, there are many scriptures highlighting the authority we have as His children. Some of my favorites are Psalms 91:13-16:
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. 15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”
Because we identify with our Creator and the King of Kings we can do all these things. In verse 14 the phrase “set his love upon me” in the original Hebrew means “to join together”. This is being in sameness with and finding our identity in our heavenly Father.
Final Thoughts…
Lord, we thank You for the identity manual that You have given us in the Bible. We pray that in all we encounter You would teach us how we can become more and more like You. We want to live out our books in heaven exactly as You intended. We don’t want to waste any time pursuing an identity that You didn’t create us for. Expose the places in our minds and souls that are clinging to an unhealthy identity. Guide us back to the vine so that we can live abundantly and bear much fruit.