Identity in Christ - Part 1

Identity in Christ

The topic of our identity in Christ is certainly something I will come back to a lot. Why? Because every day it becomes more apparent to me that people who profess to be Christian prove that they are ignorant of what it means and may or may not even want to be educated on it. To me, I can't understand that once you are saved from sin and death and become a citizen of Heaven because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, why wouldn't you want to know your Savior? God plainly tells who He is in His holy word and it's His desire for us to know Him. So let's take a look at a few things.

First, the real definition of a Christian is something I already alluded to. It is someone who is of THE faith, that is, who obeys God at His word for today. It is important to look at the article around the word faith when we find it in scripture. We see references to "your" faith,  the faith of (fill in the blank), just "faith", or sometimes "the" faith. A couple of references of "the" faith are found in 2 Timothy 3:8 and 2 Tim 4:7. So what is "the" faith for today according to the bible? It is the doctrine centered around the gospel of the glory of Jesus Christ as committed to the apostle Paul. It is most plainly found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4:

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures

Why is Christ Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection good news? I'll get to that in a moment. First consider that it certainly wasn't good news at the time of Pentecost where Peter gives his first apostolic address. After explaining the purpose of God to send the Messiah, he says this:

Acts 2:36 - Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

And then after the healing of the lame man in Acts 3:12-16:

12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom YE DELIVERED UP, and DENIED HIM in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

14 But YE DENIED the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;

15 And KILLED the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Note the negative context of the cross. Peter and the other apostles are under the influence of the Holy Spirit with these words, pointing the finger at their brethren saying, "You killed the Messiah." In reality, it was Jesus who laid down His life and took it up again (John 10:18). Jesus was so marred and broken, yet would not die until the appointed time. Still, Peter was telling those Israelites that they were the ones who murdered the Messiah. Where is the glory of the cross here? It is not to be found. Why? Because it was still a secret hidden in God until the due time. Observe what the apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:5-7

5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in DUE TIME.

7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.

Does Peter have anything to say about this? Certainly. Look at 2 Peter 3:15-18

15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom GIVEN UNTO HIM hath written unto you;

16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Why were the things of Paul hard to be understood as Peter says in verse 16? Because it was a big change in doctrine at that time. I would encourage the reader to study the book of Acts and see the transition of gospel of the kingdom which is salvation by faith plus works through the ministry of Peter to the gospel of grace which is salvation of faith apart from works through the ministry of Paul. (See Acts 10:35 and Acts 13:39 especially and compare with Romans 11).

Where am I going in all of this? That to be Christian, you must rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15) and test the things that differ (Phillipians 1:10). I say this because being circumcised or being baptized or doing other things in the Law does you no good concerning salvation from sin and death. Don't take my word for it, look at what God says:

Galatians 5:2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

1 Corinthians 1: 14-17
14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15 Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16 And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
17 For Christ sent me NOT to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

I won't get into how baptism in the bible is all about washing and not immersion at this time, but again, search the scriptures for that. What I want to emphasize is what God is saying here. Following any part of the Law is scoffing at the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, as if He didn't do it well enough. In all of Paul's epistles, Jesus Christ and His finished work is the main subject. It is because of His grace that we are saved (Eph 2:8-9) and that we are no longer under the Law (Rom 6:14). So we must ask ourselves the question, why go back under the Law when Christ has done away with it? God asks the very same thing:

Galatians 4:21 - Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
In other words, don't you see how difficult and burdensome the law is? Do you really desire it?

Galatians 5:1-6
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be NOT entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the WHOLE law.

4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love (agape).

Those are pretty strong words. And let's keep in mind that it is impossible to keep the whole law at this time because there is no temple in Jerusalem to perform any sacrifices. How about another example?

Colossians 2:20-23
20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.

So clearly we see that God has declared the Law fulfilled in Christ Jesus and we should no longer be under any part of it, nor should we keep traditions that were not given in the gospel of His grace. I feel the need to lay all this groundwork out before I even start talking about our identity with our Lord and Savior because without this foundation on the correct doctrine, the faith of the believer will fall apart.

Now then, if one believes in the gospel, that Christ Jesus died, was buried, and rose again the third day to reconcile the world to Him and offer freedom from sin, what does that mean for the believer moving forward? God mentions the words "in Christ", "in Him", or "in whom" referring to Jesus Christ many times, but I would like to focus on the book of Ephesians in a moment. These terms are important to understand because at the moment of belief, you are baptized by the Holy Spirit INTO Christ. There is no water involved here, but you are washed clean of sin by the Holy Spirit and you put on the righteousness of Christ Jesus. Observe:

2 Corinthians 5:21 - For he (God the Father) hath made him (Jesus Christ/God the Son) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Ephesians 4:4-6
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

What is this "one" baptism in verse 5? Where did I get the idea of the one baptism by the Holy Spirit into Christ Jesus? Right here:

1 Corinthians 12:13 - For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Again note all the uses of "one" because this great mystery of Christ and the church, which is his body, is unified as defined way back in Genesis 2, but see it here in Ephesians 5:31-32
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church

We already saw the phrase "in Him" in 2 Corinthians 5:21. Whew, after all of that, now look at Ephesians chapter 1. I'll emphasize the "in" phrases.

1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places IN CHRIST.

Upon accepting the gift our our Savior's grace, you have all the spiritual blessings. He will explain what this means in the ensuing verses.

1:4 - According as he hath chosen us IN HIM before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.

Here's where some people misinterpret God's Word in verses 4 and 5. Please search the scriptures, but here is the short story. God kept secret His desire to have all people come to him by faith alone. The secret was the rules that man would follow to be reconciled to Him which come by faith and not works. He didn't choose particular people ahead of time, otherwise He would be a liar when considering 1 Timothy 2:3-4

3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have ALL men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth

"All" in this context does not mean some chosen people. Anyway, back to Ephesians 1:

1:6 - To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted IN THE BELOVED.

That phrase "in the beloved" is a direct reference to Jesus Christ. We are accepted back into right relationship with our God upon belief of the gospel.

1:7 - IN WHOM we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace

1:8 - Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

1:9 - Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed IN HIMSELF

Wasn't it nice of our God to reveal this secret to us in all it's fullness? The Word of God is completed through the revelation of this mystery. Here's where God says so:

Colossians 1:25-26

25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

25 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints

Back to Ephesians now, let's consider verses 10-14 at once. These are full of the "in" phrases and speak volumes of the mercy and grace of our God through Jesus Christ.

1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things IN CHRIST, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even IN HIM

11 IN WHOM also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will

12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted IN CHRIST.

13 IN WHOM ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: IN WHOM also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

There are lots of amazing things in these verses.First, note what verse 10 is saying. According to God, this is the last thing we need to know about to "fill up" the times or seasons. He's told us everything that will happen before eternity future with the revelation of the mystery. It is through His grace that he will gather up together all things unto Himself through Jesus Christ. When we trust in Christ, we get an inheritance and it's a heavenly one (Philippians 3:20-21, 1 Cor 15:50-54, 1 Thess 4:13-18). This inheritance again is not for a select few, but for all those who will trust in Christ.

Now consider verses 13 and 14 because this is different than any other promise God has given. Once we trust in Christ we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. That word for seal has the idea of a signet ring and God authorizing us for His gift. God goes further than this though and says that His Holy Spirit who sealed us is the guarantee of our Heavenly inheritance until we're taken to be with him as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Let that sink in a moment. Once you trust in Christ you are saved from sin and death and there is no going back. No matter what you do from then on, you are still saved, and this is according to what God says.

Does this mean we should live our lives any way we want to? Hardly. God exhorts us to "walk worthy in several places in the Pauline epistles. Remember it's God's will that all men be saved. Can they see the difference in you today, you who call yourself a Christian? Do you walk in the Spirit and not according to the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-26)? God created you unto good works that you SHOULD walk in them (Ephesians 2:10) but if you don't you will not lose salvation. The loss suffered is made evident in 2 Corinthians 5:10

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

This is not a judgement of sin. That has been dealt with when you trust in Jesus Christ's finished work on the cross. Further study shows this judgement will either produce reward or loss. Think about the concept of reward here (1 Cor 3:10-15). God has already given us all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies and granted eternal security. What else could be more awesome than that? Aren't you encouraged to "walk worthy" and find out?