Ephesians 1:6 (NKJV) To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
John 1:12 (NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
What is your identity? Do you identify yourself as an accountant, lawyer, CFO, CIO, CEO, GM, VP, SVP, teacher, or principal? If your answer is one of these or a certain title that you hold in a particular office, then you identify yourself very much to your doing and/or the position that you hold. We feel a sense of importance when we hold such a position. Yes, we should rejoice and praise the Lord for the position that God has blessed us but we should never build our identity on it.
We will be very insecure the moment the identity that we hold onto is taken away. The fear of rejection will come into our lives and we will find it challenging to be in social gatherings. The most secure and best identity is to identify ourselves in Christ. We have a new identity the moment we are born again. We are born into a family in heaven and God is our Father. Your first identity should be a child of God who has a mighty Heavenly Father.
Have you ever imagined being born into a royal family? Being a member of the royal family enables us to dine at the King’s table, enjoy a wonderful conversation with the king on a daily basis, enjoy the castle, partake of everything that’s available to the king and receive protection of the king’s armies. When one belongs to a strong royal family, we will not be fearful of any enemy because we are well protected. We belong to a greater family than a royal family, we belong to the King of kings family and it is a wonderful position!
The bible tells us that God has given us the right to become His children, we are in His family and we are accepted because of His grace. The whole of heaven where our eternal home is found backs us up when we are a part of the family. We are the children of the King of kings.
The feeling of being secured is very important in our lives although we do not show it most of the times. Before we accepted Christ into our lives, we had a lot of insecurity because people measure us based on our net worth, credentials and accolades. We will not be fully secured because there is always someone better, smarter, wittier or wealthier than us. If the foundation of our lives is based on what we have, what we do and who we know, then when all these are taken away from us, we will feel as though we are nothing.
The greatest security that we can find on this earth will be from our Father in Heaven. Everything on this earth that can be shaken and will be shaken. God is the only unshakable and unmovable one. We have acceptance from the Father in Heaven, we are part of God’s family and we are the apple of His eye!
The person whose identity is in Christ can have everything taken away from his or her including his or her position in the corporate world, friends, fellowship, spouse and etc. Yet, he or she will still be able to rise up to the occasion and believe God for a new start and does well! This person’s faith is in God. That’s what God wants you to be because without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Your true identity is your identity in Christ. When you find your identity in Christ, you will have complete freedom to be who God has made and redeemed you to be! Until you know who you are, you do not know what you are capable of. When you become the person God made you to be, you’ll find real meaning, purpose, fulfilment, and satisfaction!
Sermon series: Inner man
你在基督里的真实身份
以弗所书 1:6 使他荣耀的恩典得着称赞。这恩典是他在爱子里所赐给我们的。
约翰福音 1:12 凡接待他的，就是信他名的人，他就赐他们权柄，作神的儿女。
你的身份是什么？你认为自己是会计师、律师、首席财务官、首席信息官、首席执行官、总经理、副总裁、高级副总裁、教师还是校长？如果你的答案是其中的一种或你在某个办公室了持有的特定头衔，那么你非常重视自己的行为和/或持有的职位。当拥有这样一个职位时，我们会自我感觉很重要。是的，我们应该欢喜赞美神所赐予我们的职位，但我们不应该将我们的身份建立在上面。
当持有的身份被剥夺时，我们会感到很不安全。害怕被拒绝的恐惧会进入我们的生活，我们会发现自己参加社交聚会时会很不自在。最安全和最好的身份是在基督里显明自己。我们重生得救的那一刻，便有了新的身份。我们进入了天家，神就是我们的父。你的第一个身份应该是拥有大能之父神的孩子。
你有没有想过出生在王室家庭？作为皇室成员，我们可以在国王的餐厅用餐，每天与国王享受美妙的对话，享受城堡，享受国王所能得到的一切，并得到国王军队的保护。当一个人属于强大的王室时，我们不会因为我们得到很好的保护而害怕任何仇敌。我们属于比王室更大的家，我们属于万王之王，这是个多么美好的位份！
圣经告诉我们，神赐给我们成为祂儿女的权利，我们在祂的家中，并因祂的恩典而被接受。当我们成为天家的一部分时，整个天家，我们永恒的家园，都是我们的靠山。我们是万王之王的儿女。
虽然大多数时间我们不会表现出来，但安全感对我们的生活非常重要。在接受基督进入我们的生活之前，我们有很多不安全感，因为人们根据我们的净资产、证书和荣誉来衡量我们。我们不会得到充分安全感，因为总会有人比我们更好，更聪明，更有智慧或更富有。如果我们生活的基础是基于我们所拥有的，我们所做的和所认识的人，那么当所有这些都离开我们时，我们会觉得自己什么都不是。
我们能够在这个世界上找到的最大平安将来自我们的天父。这个世界上的所有东西都可以动摇而且会被动摇。神是唯一不可动摇和挪移的。我们被天父接受，我们是神家的一部分，我们是祂眼中的瞳人！
身份在基督里的人可以失去一切东西，包括他或她在公司里的职位、朋友、团契、配偶等等。然而，他或她仍然能够站起来并相信神，会有一个全新的起点，并能做好！他信靠神。这就是神之所愿，因为没有信心，就不可能蒙神喜悦。
你的真实身份是你在基督里的身份。当你在基督里找到自己的身份时，你将有完全的自由成为神之所愿，得救重生！直到你知道你是谁，你才知道你的能力。当你成为神让你成为的人时，你会发现真正的意义、目标、得着和满足！
讲章系列：内在灵人
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