Category: Adoption

My New Identity in Christ

God wants us to know that we are far more than what we have been told by Satan and other people. No one has the power to define us but the One Who created us and redeemed us. [1] God takes a lot of time in the Bible to tell us who we are when we become His children through faith in Jesus (John 1:12; I John 3:1; 5:1). The phrase “in Christ” or “in Him” is used 120 times in the New Testament and refers to how God sees us after we become children of God by believing in Jesus. Seeing ourselves through God’s eyes is what I will refer to as our new identity in Christ. To begin to understand your new identity in Christ, review the list of entries below that describe how God sees you from the moment you believed in Jesus for His gift of everlasting life (John 1:12; 12:36; 2 Cor. 5:17; Ephes 1:13-14):

I am never alone (Deut. 31:6, 8; Isa. 41:10; Heb. 13:5)

I am the apple of my Father’s eye (Ps. 17:8; Matt. 6:26; 10:29-31)

I am a delight to God (Ps. 18:19; Zeph. 3:17)

I am cherished and loved by God (Ps. 27:10)

I am hope-filled (Ps. 27:13; Jer. 29:11; Rom. 5:5)

I am helped, not helpless (Isa. 41:10, 13)

I am always loved no matter what (Jer. 31:3; Rom. 5:8; 8:38-39)

I am precious to Jesus Who gave up everything to redeem or purchase me (Matt. 13:45-46; I Cor. 6:19-20; I Pet. 1:18-19)

I have everlasting life and will not be judged for my sins (John 5:24)

I am free from bondage to sin positionally (John 8:31-36)

I have the power of the Holy Spirit inside me (Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:11; Gal. 5:22-23)

I have peace with God through faith in Jesus (Rom. 5:1)

I have hope because the love of God was poured out in my heart through the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5)

I am dead to sin (Rom. 6:2, 11; I Pet. 2:24)

I am set free from the power of sin (Rom. 6:2-11)

I have the Spirit of adoption by whom I cry out to God, ‘Abba (Daddy/Papa), Father.’” (Rom. 8:15)

I am free from accusation in Christ (Rom. 8:33)

I am free from condemnation in Christ (Rom. 8:34)

I have an eternal inheritance from God (glorified resurrection body/eternal dwelling on the New Earth) that cannot be taken from me (Rom. 8:17a; Gal. 3:26, 29; Ephes. 1:14; cf. John 14:1-3; I Cor. 15:35-58; Phil. 3:21; Rev. 21-22)

I am more than a conqueror through Christ Who loved me (Rom. 8:37)

I can never be separated from God’s love (Rom. 8:38-39)

I have the mind of Christ (I Cor. 2:16)

I am a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17)

I am reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18)

I am an ambassador for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20)

I am good enough in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21)

I can change because Jesus now lives inside me through His Spirit (Gal. 2:20; cf. Rom. 8:11)

I am redeemed from the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13; I Pet. 1:18-19)

I am a saint (one declared righteous) at the core of my being, not a sinner (Ephes. 1:1; I John 3:9)

I am chosen or wanted by God (Ephes. 1:4a; Col. 3:12a)

I am holy and without blame before God (Ephes. 1:4b)

I am totally accepted by God in Christ (Ephes. 1:6)

I am totally forgiven in Christ (Ephes. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14)

I am sealed by the Holy Spirit Who guarantees my safe and secure delivery to God in heaven (Ephes. 1:13-14)

I am seated in a position of authority and victory next to Jesus in the heavenly places far above all other authorities (Ephes. 1:20- 21; 2:5-6)

I am God’s masterpiece, not a mistake (Ephes. 2:10)

I have been brought closer to God through the blood of Christ (Ephes. 2:13)

I have instant access to the Father by one Spirit (Ephes. 2:18)

I am a holy temple where the Holy Spirit now lives (I Cor. 6:19; Ephes. 2:21-22)

I am defined by the light of Jesus Christ, not by the darkness of my sin (Ephes. 5:8; cf. John 12:36)

I have what it takes in Christ (Phil. 4:13)

I am delivered from the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Col. 1:13)

I am complete in Christ, lacking nothing (Col. 2:10)

I am safely & securely hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3)

I am dearly loved by God (Col. 3:12a; I John 3:1)

I am credited with Christ’s holiness and therefore I am accepted by God (Col. 3:12a)

I am God’s child born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God that stands forever (I Pet. 1:3, 23)

I am a special person to God (I Pet. 2:9)

I have the Greatest One in me because greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world (I John 4:4)

I overcame the world when I believed in Jesus (I John 5:1, 4)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] Retrieved on June 13, 2023, from Hanna Wong’s excellent devotional, “Greatly Loved,” on the YouVersion Bible app (www.youversion.com). Download Hanna’s excellent 5-day plan entitled “Greatly Loved” at https://www.hosannawong.com/greatlyloved to unlock who you truly are in Christ.

I am adopted by God

I AM ADOPTED BY GOD

“Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” Ephesians 1:5

Have you ever felt you did not belong to anyone? That you were all alone? You do not have to be an orphan to feel this way.

If you do not have a sense of belonging, look no further. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 1:5 that God offers a way to meet our need to belong. The word “predestined” means God determined beforehand that all who would believe in Christ alone for salvation would be adopted into God’s family. God did this “according to the good pleasure of His will.” Just as parents are thrilled to be able to adopt a boy or girl into their family, so too, it made God very happy to mark me out beforehand to be adopted into His family. I brought God much pleasure when He decided to adopt me. That is how special I am to God!

At the time that the apostle Paul wrote the book of Ephesians, adopted children in Rome had all the rights and privileges of a natural born child in the new family and completely lost all their rights in their old family. In the eyes of the law, the adopted person was a new person. So new that all the debts and obligations connected with the previous family were abolished as if they never existed.

When I believed in Christ, I was adopted into God’s family where I can now enjoy all the rights and privileges that God’s only Son possesses. All my sin debt has been cancelled as if it never existed! And I now have many new brothers and sisters in Christ who love me and whom I can love. I now belong to God and His family forever.

Prayer: Father God, I praise You for planning my adoption into Your family through the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for revealing how special I am to You – I brought You much pleasure when You chose to adopt me. And now I have all the rights and privileges that Your only Son possesses. Thank You that I now have a family that loves me for who I am, not for what I do or don’t do. I belong to You and all my brothers and sisters in Christ. This makes me so happy! In Jesus’ name. Amen.