Don’t you love the feeling of new?
New clothes. New shoes. That new car smell.
How about the feeling of clean?
A hoodie right out of the dryer. Sliding into clean sheets on a newly made bed. Coming home from a long trip to a clean kitchen.
These are great feelings! We know some of them very well.
However, there is a feeling and experience that many of us are still not so familiar with. That feeling is the experience of embracing our new identity as a follower of Jesus.
What Does That Even Mean?
Recently someone asked me, “What does it even mean to ‘put on your identity in Christ?’ Is that like putting on a new pair of pants? Or a jacket?”
I want to pretend you are that person who asked me that question. Here’s how I would describe putting on your identity in Christ.
1. It means taking God at His word.
In John chapter 4, Jesus encounters a government official whose son is very sick. After speaking to the man, Jesus sends him home and tells him his son will be made well. John 4:50 reads, “And the man believed what Jesus said and started home.”
Putting on our new identity in Christ means we take God at His word; we believe what He said and we act on it. You are not your past. You are not what you have. You are not what you do. You are not what other people say about you. You are what God says about you. You are His beloved daughter or son.
Putting on your new identity means believing what God says about you is the truest thing about you and acting as if that is true.
2. It means seeing yourself from an eternal point of view.
In 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, we read “So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
Putting on our identity in Christ means we see ourselves differently than the way the world sees us. We see ourselves today on earth as we will be one day in eternity. In his famous book, The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis wrote, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”
3. It means living from God’s approval.
It’s so tempting to live for the approval of other people - to make our identity a daily battle to win their approval. But, we don’t need to fight for what is already ours in Christ. In 1 Thessalonians 2:4, the Apostle Paul declares, “For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people.”
Paul was living from the approval of God. Whenever I think of what it means to put on my identity in Christ, I think of the difference it makes. As Craig Groeschel has said, “You can live for the approval of others or you can live from the approval of God.” Every day, we get to make this choice. What we decide changes everything!
4. It means what God says is enough.
In the weeks leading up to writing this article, I’ve had to deal with a lot of disappointment in myself. At times, I’ve felt shame. Writing about how God sees me when I’m honestly struggling to believe it myself is not easy.
But I’m so glad for the opportunity. Because I get to write about this stuff, I get to practice what I’m preaching. I get to meditate on these passages. Just today, I was reflecting on Romans 8:1, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” I’ve had to ask myself, “Even though I want to condemn myself, is it enough that Jesus doesn’t?”
I always associate the word “enough” with the movie Cool Runnings. Yes, that masterpiece of cinematography from the 1990s which told the story of the first Jamaican bobsled team. In my favorite scene in the entire movie, one of the bobsledders asks his coach what it’s like to win the gold medal. The coach replies soberly, “If you’re not enough without it, you’ll never be enough with it.”
Is who you are in Christ enough for you, or have you been looking for soul satisfaction in something else?
When we put on our identity in Christ, we’re declaring that what God says is true and that it’s enough.
A Practical Next Step
When I’m really focusing on putting on my new identity in Christ, I have an exercise I practice each morning.
My alarm goes off and I roll out of bed. If a child hasn’t snuggled up next to me and I remember, I’ll pause as my feet hit the floor. In that short pause, I’ll close my eyes and see myself standing up, planting my feet in who God says I am - in who I am in Jesus Christ.
It’s a simple practice. Sometimes I’ll do it multiple times.
Roll over, pause, plant feet, stand up, in Christ. Lay back down.
Roll over, pause, plant feet, stand up, in Christ. And then move into my day knowing that because of who I am in Christ, I have nothing to lose and nothing to prove.
That little process makes a big difference.
Scott Savage is a pastor and a writer who believes he has the best last name ever. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona. Scott is married to Dani and they are the parents of three “little savages.” He is the creator of the Free to Forgive course and you can read more of his writing at scottsavagelive.com.
