Consider the following scriptures.
Ga 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.
2Co 5:15 and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf
Ga 6:14 But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Php 3:7-14 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from [the] Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which [comes] from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained [it], or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of [it] yet; but one thing [I do]: forgetting what [lies] behind and reaching forward to what [lies] ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Joh 1:3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Job 33:4 “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Eph 4:21-25 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in [the likeness of] God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. 25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH, EACH ONE [of you,] WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.
Ro 12:5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, Thou art our Father, we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and all of us are the work of Thy hand.
Isa 2:22 Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?
The first statement about identity in my blog with the same name says identity is important because it gives us a sense of being an individual. So if my identity is in Christ alone, does this mean I no longer stand out as an individual?
Consider:
We are to live in holiness. A reasonable amount of thinking on this concept will lead us to realize we will stand out as individuals amongst a lost and corrupt world.
Le 11:45 ‘For I am the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, to be your God; thus you shall be holy for I am holy.'”
Ro 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
1Pe 1:15-16 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
My life has been predestined for good works. Likewise, yours has also. These works may not be exactly the same as another. God will use each of His children for His purpose in His unique way.
Mt 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Php 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
“For us the name to which we trace our identity is Jesus Christ. We hold up that name whenever we identify ourselves as Christians. Because Christ’s name is so honorable, it is vital that everything we do makes it shine even brighter. And that nothing we do tarnishes a single letter.” Lawrence Richards
Another factor in having an identity, as stated by Reference.Com, is it promotes the sense of well-being or importance. If my identity is in Christ alone, will I lose my sense of well-being or importance?
Consider:
Well-being is a contented state of being happy and healthy and prosperous. WordWeb
Importance is the quality of being worthy of note, having a prominent status; grandness. WordWeb
Ps 37:16 Better is the little of the righteous Than the abundance of many wicked.
1Ti 6:6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.
Heb 13:5 Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,”
1Ti 6:8 And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
Php 4:11-12 Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
Well-being includes the state of being happy, healthy and prosperous. Again, according to psychiatry, contentment leads to these things and they are a product of having an individual identity.
The above scriptures clearly say I can be content in Christ. But can I be happy? Healthy? Prosperous?
A term for happiness in the Bible is blessedness.
Ps 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.
Ps 146:5 How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God;
Pr 16:20 He who gives attention to the word shall find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
God’s word brings healing. It is a deliverance from the power of sin and death.
Pr 4:22 For they [God’s words] are life to those who find them, And health to all their whole body.
Pr 3:5-8 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body, and refreshment to your bones.
To be prosperous in the world is to be financially comfortable. A business may be profitable as it grows. A person may be prosperous in circumstances. If our identity is in Christ alone, therefore not in our individual selves or accomplishments or worth, do we lose our chance at prosperity?
Consider:
Re 3:20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Ge 33:11 “Please take my gift which has been brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have plenty.” Thus he urged him and he took it.
Ps 128:1-2 (A Song of Ascents.) How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways. When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you.
Job 22:23-27 “If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent, and place your gold in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks, Then the Almighty will be your gold and choice silver to you. “For then you will delight in the Almighty, and lift up your face to God. “You will pray to Him, and He will hear you; and you will pay your vows.
Pr 15:6 Much wealth is in the house of the righteous, but trouble is in the income of the wicked.
Mt 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
There is an additional part of our definition quoted in my blog “Identity Crisis” that states having a personal identity is important in order to “fit in with certain groups and cultures”. Does this mean that having my identity solely in Christ will make it impossible to be a part of some groups and/or cultures?
Consider:
No one person is able to have any significant difference in their identity and fit in with all entities or members of a group of people. Groups are often closed whether they are meant to be or not. They are based on having things in common. For instance, a mom with three young children will often naturally navigate towards other mom’s with multiple young children. An 80 year old may not be able to keep up with the activities presented in a much younger group. On the other hand, that same group of younger families may not feel comfortable in an atmosphere where the major concern might be to keep things in place and the noise level down.
What is interesting here is that those with their identity in Christ might be more likely to cross these social barriers because they do have something in common – Christ! We cannot all be a part of everything. Our interests, concerns, families, neighborhoods, jobs, experiences and backgrounds are diversified.
Having your identity in Christ is an open door to relationships with nothing in common whatsoever except Christ. How fun is that?! I am able to have conversation and fellowship with all ages because of my identity in Christ. With God being the common thread of interest, I am able to experience vital relationships with those who are very young (compared to myself ) and those who are much older. I am invested in friendships with those who are single, married and widowed and divorced. My close contacts include women who have no children and many children of all ages. I absolutely did not enjoy this type of diversity before I knew Christ. Instead of closing doors and losing some all-important personal identity, the salvation I have through Jesus has increased my opportunities by numbers I am unable to count.
So who am I in the middle of this big world? Have I lost my identity? By all means, a resounding NO! Rather, I have found it! Changingminds.org says we have a basic need to be in control. Been there, done that – it’s not pretty, at least in my case. I’d rather place control of my life in The Someone who has a perfect plan already set up for me. Years ago, the first scripture I hung onto as a personal promise was Jeremiah 29:11. These words were written to those exiled to Babylon. Leading up to verse 11, God basically says (in my words) bloom where you are planted, I have not forgotten my promises. Then we read these words: Jer 29:11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. God has things under control, no one is able to hack into His plan and His plan is good.
Are you having an identity crisis? Do you feel as if you’ve lost your identity to something or someone else? How would you define yourself?
There is a perfect answer to experiencing a loss of identity: thank God and go with it! Lose it completely in the One who knows you better than anyone. The One who created you as an individual with a specific purpose. The One who offers you the position of heir to His kingdom. The One who is the only source of lasting contentment and happiness; the One who provides freedom from the control of sin and provides wealth beyond measure in things that are truly important and everlasting.
Identity: “the individual characteristics by which a person is known”
Identity in Christ: an individual characterized by God’s love and so well known by Him that “the very hairs of their head are all numbered”.
Lu 12:7 “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Identity Crisis/Identity Fraud/Identity Protection
Crisis – a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something
Fraud – intentional deception; pretender; imposter
Protection – a covering intended for protection; security
Turn towards God who is perfect and therefore unable to deceive and He will protect you in His love. Identity Crisis solved!
