who am i

We fail to act because we don't know who we are.

I am convinced that a key to fulfilling the calling of Christ and to living a flourishing Christ-like life, is to know, and walk, in the new creation Christ redeemed us to be.

Neil Anderson in his book Victory over the Darkness said it like this:
"Being a Christian is not just a matter of getting something; it is a matter of being someone. A Christian is not simply a person who is forgiven and goes to heaven. A Christian, in terms of his or her deepest identity, is a saint, a spiritually born child of God, a divine masterpiece, a child of light, a citizen of heaven. Being born again transformed you into someone who didn't exist before. What you receive as a Christian isn't the point; it is who you are. It is not what you do as a Christian that determines who you are; it is who you are that determines what you do.

Understanding your identity in Christ is essential for living the Christian life. People cannot consistently behave in ways that are inconsistent with the way they perceive themselves. You don't change yourself by your perception. You change your perception of yourself by believing the truth. If you perceive yourself wrongly, you will live wrongly because what you are believing is not true. If you think you are a no-good bum, you will probably live like a no-good bum. If, however, you see yourself as a child of God who is spiritually alive in Christ, you will begin to live accordingly. Next to a knowledge of God, a knowledge of who you are is by far the most important truth you can possess.

The major strategy of Satan is to distort the character of God and the truth of who we are. He can’t change God and he can’t do anything to change our identity and position in Christ. If, however, he can get us to believe a lie, we will live as though our identity in Christ isn’t true.”

So who am I and who are you in Christ? Here are some clues:

You are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13)
You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)
You are sent by Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20; John 17:18; 20:21; Acts 1:7)
You are a child of God, born of God (John 1:12)
You are in Christ and he in you (John 14:20)
You are part of the true vine, a channel of Christ's life (John 15:1,5)
You are Christ's friend (John 15:12)
You are chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit (John 15:16)
You are dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11)
You are free from all condemnation (Romans 8:1,2)
You are a son of God; God is spiritually your Father (Romans 8:14,15; Galatians 3:26; 4:6)
You are a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him (Romans 8:17)
You are being transformed into the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49; 2 Cor. 3:18)
You are a temple - a dwelling place - of God. His Spirit and His life dwell in you (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19)
You are a member of Christ's body (1 Cor. 12:27; Ephesians 5:30)
You are equipped by God for the work of ministry (2 Cor. 3:4-6, John 14:26-27)
You are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17)
You are reconciled to God and are a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18,19)
You are Christ's ambassador (2 Cor. 5:20)
You are a saint (1 Cor. 1:2; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:1)
You are a God's workmanship - His masterpiece - born anew in Christ to do good works (Ephesians 2:10)
You are a fellow citizen of God's kingdom and a member of his family (Ephesians 2:19)
You are a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven with Christ (Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:20)
You are loved by God (Ephesians 3:17-19)
You are righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24)
You are a child of light and not of darkness (Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5)
You are empowered by God to all things (Philippians 4:13, 2 Timothy 1:7)
You are forgiven of all your sins and have been made alive with Christ (Colossians 2:13-14)
You are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)
You are chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4)
You are a partaker of Christ; you share in His eternal life (Hebrews 3:14; 1 John 5:11,12)
You are one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5)
You are a member of a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God (1 Peter 2:9,10)
You are an alien and stranger to the world (1 Peter 2:11)
You are an enemy of the devil (1 Peter 5:8)
You are a participant in the divine nature and able to escape the world's corruption (2 Peter 1:4)
You are born of God, and the evil one - the devil - cannot touch you (1 John 5:18)

If you believed these things about yourself, wouldn't it drastically change the way you live?