Knowing who God says we are—our true identity in Christ—is another key foundation when it comes to our relationship with God.
There are so many incredible truths about our identity in Scripture. We’re brand new creations in Christ, we’re heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, we’re ambassadors of Christ, we’re dead to sin, we’re free from accusation. So many mind-blowing truths that I struggle to get my head around. To keep things simple, I want to focus on just one truth: the fact that we have been adopted and we are sons and daughters of the God of the universe!
I remember, years ago, spending time with God and moaning to Him about not knowing what title I should be aiming for as a leader in the church. I would see others being given titles, but I was frustrated that I couldn’t work out what mine should be. God spoke to me very clearly in that moment. He told me that the only title He wanted me to focus on—in my life and my calling—was the title of daughter. He said that if I focused on learning to be and live as His daughter, He would sort out everything else. God has been true to His word, and I am still on a journey of discovering what it looks like to live as His beloved daughter.
Knowing our sonship and daughterhood goes hand in hand with knowing who God is as our Father. They are two sides of the same coin. The more you grow in revelation of God as a Father and experience Him fathering you, the more you can grasp what it means to be a son or daughter. And the more you learn to be a son or daughter in your relationship with God, the more you’re able to recognise and receive His fathering.
Jesus’ Example of Sonship
Jesus modelled the importance of this revelation for us. He lived His life as a dearly loved son in a wonderfully dependent relationship with His Father. He received affirmation from His Father before He’d done any ministry (Matt 3:17), He regularly took Himself off to spend time with His Father alone (Mark 1:35), and He consistently taught His followers to see themselves as sons and daughters too (Luke 11:2).
The reality is that knowing our identity as adopted sons and daughters changes everything. It changes how we relate to God, it changes how we see and think about ourselves, and it also changes the way we relate to others. The more we know how loved we are, the more we’re able to give that love away. The more we comprehend our adoption, the more security and confidence we have to be who God’s called us to be and reveal Him to the people around us.
The Lifelong Journey of Identity
Understanding what it means to be a son or daughter is a lifelong journey. There will always be more for us to discover. So, how can we go about growing in this revelation and increasingly living out of our true identity? This isn’t rocket science, but let me just give you a few simple things you could try.
1) Spend Time with the Father
Take time to sit with God and listen to Him speak truth to you about how loved, valued, and cherished you are—through His word, through worship, through His still small voice. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. He’s the Spirit of adoption, and He is the one who testifies with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8).
2) Meditate on the Good News of the Gospel
When we look at the cross and what Jesus achieved through His death and resurrection, it first of all helps us understand the extent of our value to Him. The value of something is determined by the price someone is willing to pay to purchase it. Did you get that? Jesus gave His life to bring us back to the Father. You and I have incredible value to Him.
Meditating on the gospel also helps us grow in humility and security—two tracks I believe it’s important for us to move along simultaneously in order to grow in our identity.
The truth is that without Jesus, we are completely lost. We have done nothing to earn God’s love or deserve our adoption. We are only sons and daughters because of God’s amazing grace toward us. Growing in our identity isn’t about trying really hard to believe the truth. It’s about recognising we absolutely don’t deserve it. Remembering the centrality of God’s grace helps us grow in humility. It’s all about Him.
It’s also true that even though we’ve done nothing to earn God’s love, and we never could, He loves us anyway—with a steadfast, extravagant, abundant, and unconditional love. Because of what Jesus has done, we HAVE been adopted, we ARE brand new creations, we HAVE been chosen, and we ARE dearly loved sons and daughters. It is finished. Knowing this truth helps us grow in security.
We see these two tracks play out so much through the writing of the Apostle Paul. Let me give you just one example:
1 Timothy 1:12-14 – I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me trustworthy, appointing me to His service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Take time to meditate on the good news of the gospel and, as you do, let it reveal your value, increase your humility, and deepen your security in Him.
3) Pay Attention to How You Think and Speak About Yourself
There is a very real battle going on for our identity. The enemy doesn’t want us to believe the truth because he knows how unstoppable we’d be if we did.
Far too many of us are listening to and agreeing with the lies the enemy tells us rather than living in the truth. We are quick to be self-critical—thinking and speaking about ourselves in ways we would never dream of doing with others. It’s so important that we re-train our minds so that our internal narrative increasingly matches up with the truth that God speaks. How are you doing at being kind and compassionate with yourself?
Final Thoughts
I’ll share some resources with you soon that will help you identify lies you might be believing about yourself and how to begin to replace them with the truth. For now, I want to encourage you to take this month to focus on the life-changing reality of your adoption. You are a son or daughter of the God of the cosmos. He says you have inherent value, and He has welcomed you into His family with open arms. Take time to sit with the Father and let His truth sink into your heart, and as it does, let humility and security in your identity grow. We did nothing to earn our adoption and nothing we do can change it!
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Wendy Mann Equip | www.wendymannequip.com
Building Family, Prioritising God's Presence, Extending God’s Kingdom
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