This week instead of focusing on who we believe we are, Dan reminded us of who our Creator says we are and why we were made to begin with. Returning to the basis of humanity’s creation is the best way to understand and discover our God-given identity. Learn who you are in Christ and why a perfect God would craft us, knowing He’d eventually have to save us.
If you missed ‘Who You Are’ - Identity Series Part 2, you can listen here.
2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul says this in the NIV:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
“The word Creation here is actually ktisis in Greek which is a word based on the root form, ktizo. Why this is important is the word Ktisis refers to being formed or created and Ktizo means original formation. Essentially, when Christ came and died for us, we have become clean, new, and fresh again back into our original form of how we were created.”
Wrapping our minds around the fact that in Christ we are restored and made new, can be a challenge, especially if we are aware of our recent shortcomings. However, rooting ourselves in this truth is the foundation to our identity. Once we can fully embrace the reality of our newness in Christ, we can begin to step into our true identification.
“Why were we created? Each of us has our own role in the participation of God's will being done. But back in the garden, we were created because of the overflow of love from God. God's love is so much - so much - that that overflow of love spilled out and created the universe because He wanted us and His creation to be. He wanted, and still wants, for us to enjoy His creation every day and to be fully satisfied and trusting in Him knowing that we have everything we need.”
How valuable and loved are we if our Heavenly Father created us to experience His love and to give His love, even to the point of having to punish His Son to restore us? Shouldn’t we find our worth and identity in this truth instead of in the short-term and false identities we label ourselves?
“When we become new creations or ktisis in Christ, we have now accepted the fact that we have intentionally or unintentionally walked away from trusting in God. We then accept the fact that we need God. We accept that Jesus' death and resurrection is the only way to salvation because Something had to die for those orientations away from God. We accept the fact that we need to continue to allow God to work in us with His Spirit to bring us back to how and why we were created.”
God has given us this beautiful and true identity but it is up to us to acknowledge it and put it on. We must trust in who He says we are, even when/if it doesn’t feel true. Part of stepping into this identity is moving forward with Christ, accepting his gift of redemption and allowing the Holy Spirit to shape our hearts on this earthly journey with Him. Through the work of the Holy Spirit we will surely come to rest in the truth of who we are and why we were created.
Ask yourself this week: In what ways have you become a new creation in Christ?
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