Identity is critical for living the victorious Christian life. Our identity in Christ defines who we are. Our identity in Christ empowers us to minister.
Jesus needed three things before He could minister to others (see Luke 3:21-22). And we need those same three things before we can minister:
1- Open Heaven – Revelation
2- The Holy Spirit – Power!
3- Sonship – Authority!
Christ’s authority comes from His Sonship – His identity with The Father. And that is where our authority comes from; our identity with Jesus Christ and His Father. The church has an identity crisis. We see ourselves as “sinners saved by grace.” And while that is true; we cannot get stuck wallowing in our sin and brokenness. We have to take off our filthy rags and put on His robe of righteousness.
The enemy wants to steal our identity just as he tried to do with Jesus. In Luke 4:3, the enemy said, “If You really are the Son of God. . .” He tried to get Jesus to question His Sonship. The enemy wants us to question our sonship too because that is where our authority and power come from. Jesus didn’t fall for the enemy’s tricks. He stood on the promises of God. But you and I fall for it all the time. So we lose our power and authority, in Him.
In Christ, we are adopted, as sons (Eph. 1:5). We have His authority! We have His power! We have got to know who we are!! We have got to know our identity!!
We have the great privilege, because of Christ's sacrifice, to have a personal and intimate relationship with God (Eph. 3). God wants us to be so rooted and grounded in His love, that it becomes our identity. God is looking for those who will pursue a greater revelation of His love . . . and find their identity there! God is calling us into our identity! God is calling us into our destiny. . .in Him!
We were created to live before the face of God - in great blessing - so that people will see who He is in us. They will see His great love. We love because He first loved us. We heal because we are filled with His Spirit. We give because we live in a privileged position in heaven. We are the gates that release healing, forgiveness, love, joy and all the other blessings of God's Kingdom. This is who we are! This is our identity, in Christ!!!