I KNOW WHO I AM IN CHRIST!

One major reason why many Christians do not experience breakthroughs in their lives is because they don’t even know who they are in Christ – your IDENTITY.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Pet. 2:9-10).

What do you think of yourself? What opinion do you have of yourself? Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as a person thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

Most times people define you based on the circumstances surrounding you at the moment. For instance, the mother of Jabez defined him based on the fact that he was born in sorrow (1 Chron. 4:9-10).

But the truth is that you are not who people say you are. You are who God says you are. God who knows the end from the beginning says, “Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end should greatly increase” (Job 8:7).

Therefore today, I want to show you from the Scriptures “WHO GOD SAYS YOU ARE” so that you can really know who you are in Christ. Concerning who you are in Christ, God says you are:

1. A Believer (Mk. 16:16; Jn. 20:30-31).

In the Epistles, the Church is called Christ! The Church has not yet realized that we are Christ. We are His Body sent forth to work in the earth on His behalf (2 Cor. 6:14-16).

The believer is told not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Then the believer is called righteousness, and the unbeliever unrighteousness. The believer is called light; the unbeliever is called darkness (v. 14). Now, notice the next statement, "And what concord hath CHRIST with Belial?” (v.15). The unbeliever is called Belial (the devil), and the believer is called Christ! We are identified with Him!

The Church is called believers. The Church is called righteousness. The Church is called light. The Church is called Christ! That’s who we are! We are His representatives on the earth. Christ, with His resurrected flesh-and-bone body, is at the right hand of the Father. We are here as His representatives, not only collectively, but individually.

The Scriptures say that “…as He is, so are we in this world” (1 Jn. 4:17). As who is? As Jesus is now in heaven! So are we, where? When we get to heaven? No! In this world! Hallelujah! As Jesus is so am I in this world! And Jesus is the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). Jesus is the same right now as He was when He walked the shores of Galilee. As He is, so are we in this world! Let that soak through to your inner consciousness. It is an absolute Bible fact.

2. A New Creature (2 Cor. 5:17). You are a New Creature created by God in Christ Jesus. You are a New Creature with the life of God, the nature of God, and the ability of God in you. You have new interests and new desires. Your priorities have changed. The moment you accepted Christ as your Saviour and confessed Him as Lord, you were recreated. That was when the legal aspect became a reality in your life.

Today, you have in your spirit man the very life and nature of God. This is not an experience, it is not a religion, nor is it joining a Church. It is an actual re-birth of your spirit-man. Some think that when they were saved, God simply forgave them their sins. No, you are not just a forgiven sinner. You are a New Creature. All your old sinful ways have been put away. To understand this better, look at it together with verses 2 Corinthians 5:16-20.

3. Now a covenant child of God (1 Jn. 3:2; Jn. 1:12).

4. An adopted child of God (Eph. 1:5). Adoption is the act of God by which those who believe in Jesus Christ become members of “God’s family.” As with human adoptions, believers receive all the privileges and obligations of family membership. The very moment you believe in Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour, you are instantly adopted into the family of God. And instantly you receive the power to become a child of God (Jn. 1:12).

5. A joint-heir with the Lord Jesus. Believers in Christ become the heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ to all that God the Father owns (Rom. 8:16-17; Gal. 4:6-7).

6. A Saint (Eph. 1:1). A saint is a person of great holiness, virtue, or benevolence.

7. Bought with a prize (1 Cor. 6:19-20).

8. Righteousness (2 Cor. 6:14).

9. Light (2 Cor. 6:14).

10. The light of the world (Matt. 5:14-16).

11. Forever free from condemnation (Rom. 8:1-2).

12. Free from any charge against you. (Rom. 8:33-34).

 13. The salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13).

14. A partaker of the inheritance of the Saints (Col. 1:12).

15. A god (Ex. 7:1-2; Ps. 82:6; Jn. 10:34-35; Acts 14:11).

16. A person (people) of God (2 Chron. 7:14).

17. God’s own special person (1 Pet. 2:9).

18. Called by His Name (2 Chron. 7:14). Your name is not complete if the name of the Lord Jesus is not there. Your surname is the name of the person that gave birth to you. You have no identity without His name being appended to yours as your surname. You have no descent without the name of this person being appended to yours as your surname.

Now that the God of Heaven and Earth is your very own Father because He has begotten you in Christ, His name automatically becomes your surname (Jn. 1:12; Gal. 3:26; 1 Jn. 3:2).

19. The righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).

20. An Over-comer (1 Jn. 4:4; Rev. 12:11; 1 Jn. 5:4-5).

21. Always triumphant (2 Cor. 2:14).

22. More than a conqueror (Rom. 8:37).

23. A success (Jer. 29:11; Ps. 1:3; Josh. 1:8).

24. A king (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 19:16).

25. A lord (1 Tim. 6:15).

26. A chosen generation (1 Pet. 2:9). Before the foundation of the world, God called out your name as “holy and without blame.” From the foundation of the world, He has seen you through His eyes as righteous and holy.

27. A royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9).

28. A holy person (1 Pet. 2:9).

29. A peculiar person (1 Pet. 2:9; Tit. 2:14).

30. His elect (Col. 3:12).

31. A good soldier of the LORD Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:3).

32. An ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20).

33. His workmanship created unto good works (Eph. 2:10).

34. Of great value to God (Matt. 6:8).

35. Beloved of God (Jn. 3:16). God loves you unconditionally (Eph. 3:19; 1 Jn. 3:1-3). And nothing can separate you from this love of God (Rom. 8:38-39).

36. The apple of God’s eye (Deut. 32:10). God sees you as the apple of His eye (Zech. 2:8).

37. A special treasure (Ex. 19:5).

38. Fearfully, wonderfully and skilfully made (Ps. 139:14-15).

39. A partaker of divine nature (1 Pet. 1:3-4; 2 Pet. 1:4).

40. Carved into His palms (Isa. 49:16). God thinks about you always. God said, “…thy walls are continually before Me” (Isa. 49:16; Jer. 29:11).

41. A stranger and a pilgrim in this world (1 Pet. 2:11; Col 3:1).

42. Not natural but supernatural. You are not normal but abnormal. You don’t belong to this realm. You belong to the supernatural realm.

43. Complete in Him (Col. 2:10).

44. A fellow citizen with the saints. You are a member of God’s household/family (Eph. 2:19). To join this family, you MUST be born into it (Jn. 3:3-7). How? (1 Pet. 1:23; Rom. 10:9-10).

45. A member of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27).

46. A citizen of Heaven (Phil. 3:20).

47. A friend of Christ (Jn. 15:15).

48. United with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17).

49. A personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8).

50. A minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor. 5:17-21).

51. Seated together with Christ in Heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).

52. Established, anointed, and sealed by God the Father (2 Cor. 1:21-22).

53. Assured that all things will work together for you because you love God and you are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28).

54. Chosen and appointed to bear fruit (Jn. 15:16).

55. A branch of the true vine, a channel of His life to humanity (Jn. 5:1-5).

56. The temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16).

57. Hid with Christ in God the Father (Col. 3:3).

58. Justified from all things because of your unshakable faith in Christ (Rom. 5:1).

59. God’s co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor. 6:1).

60. God’s workmanship (Eph. 2:10).

61. Confident that the good works God has begun in you will be brought to a flourishing finish (Phil. 1:6).

62. God’s property (Eph. 1:3). You are sealed with the Holy Spirit, God’s own personal stamp of approval. This means that you are the personal property of God and no one else (namely Satan) can touch you. Any unauthorized touch will invoke the personal wrath of God on Satan if he dares tamper with you. You are sealed until Jesus comes back for us at the rapture of the Church. You are simply a “Touch Me Not” entity.

Do you now know who you are in Christ? 

Until you see yourself as God sees you, you’ll never be able to make a difference in life. So allow this truth to sink deep down into your sub-conscious mind, believe it and act like it, and you will be amazed at the results it will produce in your life – the issue of Inferiority Complex will disappear from your life.

Watch out for the next edition of Good news from the Pulpit!

• Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor)                       Aug. 12^th, 2017