What does “identity in Christ” actually mean?

“Identity in Christ” is one of those phrases you hear a lot in church. Hear it enough and it can start to sound like a slogan. It is worth slowing down to see what the Bible actually says.

What identity means

Your identity is your answer to the question “Who am I?” It is easy to answer it with the things you can point to: a job, a family role, a talent, how you look or what has happened to you. All of those can change. Some of them can be taken away.

The Bible gives Christians a different place to start. Paul often describes believers as being “in Christ”, joined to Jesus by faith. He writes that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, and old things have passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Hidden with Christ

“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3, NKJV)

Paul is writing to people who are still very much alive. He means their old way of life ended when they came to Christ. Their life is now kept with him, and something hidden with Christ is kept safe. That is why, in the verses before, he tells them to seek the things that are above, where Christ is, and to set their minds there (Colossians 3:1-2).

What the Bible says about who you are

Here are some of the things the New Testament says about people who are in Christ:

• You are a child of God. John writes that everyone who received Jesus and believed in his name was given the right to become a child of God (John 1:12). Paul says the same in Galatians 3:26.
• You are loved. John is amazed at the great love the Father has shown in calling us his children (1 John 3:1).
• You were chosen. Paul writes that God chose his people in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).
• You are saved by grace. Salvation is God’s gift, received through faith. Nobody earns it, so nobody can boast about it (Ephesians 2:8-9).
• You are made with a purpose. Paul says God made us, in Christ Jesus, for good works that he planned ahead of time (Ephesians 2:10).
• You are free from condemnation. Paul writes that those who are in Christ Jesus face no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
• You have put on Christ. Paul says that everyone baptised into Christ has put on Christ (Galatians 3:27).

Paul puts it most personally in Galatians 2:20. He has been crucified with Christ, he says, and now Christ lives in him. He lives by trusting the Son of God, who loved him and gave himself for him (Galatians 2:20).

Jesus heard it first

At Jesus’s baptism, a voice from heaven called him the Father’s Son, whom he loves and is pleased with (Matthew 3:16-17). In Matthew’s account, Jesus begins to preach in the next chapter (Matthew 4:17).

He heard who he was before his public work began. Ephesians 2 follows the same order for us. Grace comes first, and the good works follow.

What changes day to day

Life in Christ still has hard days. What changes is where you stand when they come.

• When you fail, you are still God’s child.
• When you succeed, you are no more loved than you were the day before.
• When someone rejects you, their verdict is not the final word on you.
• When you compare yourself with others, you can remember that God made you with a purpose. Read How to stop comparing yourself to other people for practical steps.

Why it can be hard to believe

Other voices are loud. Shame and other people’s opinions both speak into how we see ourselves. In Genesis 3, the first people hid from God after they listened to a different voice. Read Who told you that you were naked? for more on that.

It also takes time. Paul himself said he was not yet perfect and kept pressing on (Philippians 3:12).

Where to start

1. Pick one verse from the list above. Write it somewhere you will see it every day.
2. When a harsh thought about yourself comes up, ask where it came from. Then hold it up against what God says.
3. Pray the verse back to God in your own words.
4. Tell someone you trust which one you find hardest to believe.
5. If you are wondering what God made you for, read How do I know what God is calling me to do?

The Restoration of Identity

Episodes 6 and 8 of Tea Time With Thandie form a two-part series called The Restoration of Identity. Part 1 looks at Genesis 3:21 and the things we hide behind. Part 2 looks at Jacob in Genesis 25 and 27. You can read about the same passages in Covering is not healing and Jacob, Esau and the danger of a borrowed identity.

Listen to both parts on the podcast page.