Identity Crisis: The Struggle is Real!

Identity Crisis: The Struggle is Real!

-Many of us struggle with identity and are especially misled in that we think we can find it in the world and what it offers.

-Discussion: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? How have your goals and dreams changed over the years?

*Deep down we have a desire to do something and make a difference in the world because God has wired us for significance.

-How are you defining yourself? i.e. performance, income, popularity, education, success, sexual desires, etc.

-Identity (ī-ˈden-tə-tē): the truth of who I am (including who I myself to be) that alerts me to my personal value, directs my personal choices, and determines the direction of my worship.

*Who  we are (or think we are) dictates our every step forward.

-If our identity is founded upon who we have built ourselves to be or who we perceive someone else thinks us to be, our identity will eventually and devastate us.

-When we anchor our identity in Christ, the shifting winds of change that inevitably happen won’t sink our ship.

-The Epistle (letter) the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers at Ephesus has particular focus upon a Christ-centered identity in a me-centric world.

-We were never designed to determine our own identity.

*Key thought: Who God has declared you to be is more powerful than who you you are.

-Where your eyes are fixed reveals the source and object of your identity.

-Paul’s opening greeting reveals his view of identity (1:1):

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus

*The very basis for God-intended identity for our lives is Jesus Christ and His Gospel (1:3)

Blessed be the God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ

Four Identity-Setting Truths from Ephesians 1:

1. If your identity is not in Christ, you will be because you were made for fellowship with God and that fellowship is only available through faith in Christ (1:1-2).

-Paul is writing to believers in Jesus Christ—his assumption is that these people are already rightly related to God through faith in Christ.

-Man was created to be in right relationship with God, but sin inhibits man’s connection to God.

-Fellowship with God is until sin is eliminated.

-It was Jesus Christ Who made the ultimate atonement so that man can be reconciled to his Holy Creator. (2 Cor. 5:21)

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

–In Christ/In Him, etc. appears 36 times in Ephesians and 11 times just in the first 14 verses!

-Chapters 1-3 focus almost entirely upon we are in Christ because of what God has done for us in Christ.

-Chapters 4-6 then focus upon how we are to live as we are identified as in Christ.

-To be certain of our identity in Christ presents us with God’s alternative to a life lived apart from Him and thus, a life of hopelessness.

-Everything else leaves us utterly dissatisfied, because we were made for this identity. (Stop now and confirm whether you are in Christ.)

2. When you become a Christian, you become a new person with a new identity. (1:3-14)

1. I am chosen by God. (1:4)

2. I am by God. (1:5)

3. I am accepted by God. (1:6)

4. I am redeemed by God. (1:7a)

-This means that we are:

A. free from the Law (Gal. 5:1),

B. free from slavery to sin (Rom. 6)

C. free from the power of Satan & the world (Gal. 1:4; Col. 1:13-14).

5. I am by God. (1:7b).

6. I am privileged to know and accept God’s plan of reconciliation. (1:8-10).

7. I am eternally endowed by God. (1:11-12).

8. I am eternally by God. (1:13-14)

3. We must keep feeding our souls with truth and constantly remind ourselves of the privileges of being “in Christ.” (1:15-22)

-Your quest for identity goes awry when you move away from the of Christ. (Col. 3:16)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom…

-Paul prays in at least 4 ways for the souls of the Ephesian believers to be fed with the truth of who they are in Christ:

A. Knowledge of God leading to a life God (17-18) That [God] may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened;

B. Constant reminder that God pursued us to be reconciled to Him (18b) that ye may know what is the hope of his calling,

C. Life lived with a view of heaven in focus (18c) what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

D. in God’s power that leads to faith-motivated choices (19-22) And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe…

4. Embracing your identification in Jesus Christ will affect every aspect of your life.

-We need to live what God has already made us to be in Christ.

-3 ways Your Identity in Christ transforms your life:

A. Keeps you informed of your

B. Affects your choice-making process

C. Directs your heart to worship

*Adapted from  Ephesians: Your Identity in Christ by Tony Merida