Cultivate a Life of ImpactSample

CULTIVATE YOUR NEW IDENTITY IN CHRIST

The gospel means good news. It can only be good news if it is good news. If you’ve won a huge amount of prize money, it is good news for you. Now if you include me in that prize money, then it is good news for me too. The gospel is good news because we have been included in Christ’s redemption.

Romans 3:23-24 (ESV) explains it like this –

‘For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.’

This means that each one of us was implicated in the fall of Adam, not because we sinned but because we were included in the bloodline of Adam. In the same way, we have been declared righteous, not based on our own righteous deeds but because we were included in Christ’s perfect sacrifice and victory on the cross. Now daily we can choose to live from this reference.

Romans 5:17-19 (ESV) clarifies it even further –

‘For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.’

The basis of our new life in Christ is established in the divine exchange that took place on the cross. Our guilt, shame, and pain have been replaced by the grace, righteousness, and authority found in Christ. Christ chose to fully identify with man on the cross. With His one act of obedience, he repositioned mankind. We have now been included in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Jesus is not just the example for man but of man.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV) reminds us –

‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.’

As we behold Jesus we are being changed. Like a mirror, He reflects who I truly am. Jesus is the definition of who I am. Now I see my identity in Christ Jesus. I become addicted to what the Word reveals concerning me. I discover my identity by beholding Him. I see myself fully associated in Christ. Daily I align myself with this new reality in Christ.

2 Cor 5:16-17 (ESV) highlights the fact –

‘From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.’

Two questions to ask yourself today:

1. Do you live from your reference in Adam or your new identity in Christ?
2. In what ways will you align yourself with your inclusion in Christ today?

Our prayer –

Father, thank You that I have been included in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Because of that, I approach life from the victory established in Christ Jesus. I fully associate with what Christ has accomplished on the cross. By grace, I am a new creation.