Your Identity In Christ

YOUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST

HEBREWS 3;1 TELLS US, ‘THEREFORE, HOLY BRETHREN, PARTAKERS OF A HEAVENLY CALLING, CONSIDER THE APOSTLE AND HIGH PRIEST OF OUR CONFESSION CHRIST JESUS’. THIS SINGLE VERSE OVERFLOWS WITH ASSURANCE FOR THE BELIEVER.

FIRST, NOTE THAT IT’S ADDRESSED TO THE ‘HOLY BRETHREN.” THIS REFERS TO ANYONE WHO HAS TRUSTED JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND SAVIOR. THE WORD HOLY SIGNIFIES THAT BELIEVERS HAVE BEEN SET APART FOR GOD. BECAUSE OF WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST, GOD SEES YOU AS UNIQUE. NEITHER YOUR PROFESSION, YOUR SALARY, YOUR APPEARANCE, OR YOUR NATIONALITY DEFINES YOU. ONLY YOUR STATUS AS A CHILD OF GOD GIVES YOU THE SPECIAL IDENTITY YOU ENJOY.

AS ONE OF THE “PARTAKERS OF A HEAVENLY CALLING, “ YOUR DESTINATION IS HEAVEN. YOUR HEART RESIDES WITH CHRIST, WHERE YOUR HOME IS. KNOWING WHERE YOU HOME IS MEANS YOU AREN’T SEARCHING FOR THIS TEMPORARY DWELLING=EARTH-TO SATISFY YOU. REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENS AROUND YOU, YOU CAN REJOICE, BECAUSE THIS LIFE DOES NOT HOLD YOU;GOD DOES.

BY KNOWING WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST, YOU CAN DENY ALL THE FALSE MESSAGES OF THE WORLD. MANY VOICES WILL TRY TO CONVINCE YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT PRETTY ENOUGH, NOT SMART ENOUGH, AND NOT SUCCESSFUL ENOUGH. BUT YOUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST ALONE COMPLETES YOU! YOU CAN ADD NOTHING TO IT, AND THIS WORLD’S DETRACTORS CAN TAKE NOTHING FROM IT.

THE FINAL PHRASE OF HEBREWS 3;1 REMINDS US THAT JESUS IS OUR “APOSTLE” AND “HIGH PRIEST”. THE FIRST TITLE SIGNIFIES THAT JESUS REPRESENTS GOD TO US. WHEN WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT GOD IS LIKE OR HOW GOD WOULD ACT IN A GIVEN SITUATION, WE LOOK TO JESUS. THE SECOND TITLE SIGNIFIES THAT JESUS REPRESENTS US TO GOD. GOD LOOKS AT HIS CHILDREN THROUGH THE EYES OF HIS BLAMELESS AND HOLY SON.

THE COMMAND IN THIS VERSE TELLS BELIEVERS TO ‘CONSIDER CHRIST JESUS”. THE WORD CONSIDER MEANS TO OBSERVE OR THINK. WE ARE TO OBSERVE CHRIST, MEDITATE ON HIS WORD, AND IMITATE WHAT WE SEE.

LET THE ASSURANCE OF YOUR IDENTITY, HOME, AND LORD INSPIRE YOU TO EXPLORE NEW DEPTHS OF GOD AND SERVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART.