Your Identity In Christ: Day 13 - Pastor Paul Looney
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“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him
we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”
1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV)
At first glance, these two passages of Scripture written by the same apostle, Paul, have the appearance of a striking contradiction. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, he writes that we, who are sinners, have become the righteousness of God. That is a whole new identity of who we are in Christ. But then in 1 Timothy 1:15, he calls himself the worst of sinners! Which is it?
There’s the paradox and the tension in which we live. The answer, to me, is that this is not a problem to be solved, but a tension to be managed. We manage the tension between our new identity in Christ with the reality of living in a sinful world with a fleshly nature that can not and will not ever conform to the image of Christ. How do we resolve it? We must die daily to our old sinful nature. In Romans 8:13 (Amplified), Paul explains, “For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever.” This is part of the discipline of discipleship. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23 (NIV) Though we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ, the potential for evil still resides in our lower sinful nature. Recognizing that reality will enable us to walk humbly before God and lean on His power and our new identity in Him.
To the Galatians, Paul once again uses his own testimony to illustrate how to live in his new identity in Christ by actively and intentionally dying to his old self. In Galatians 2:20 (NLT) he writes, “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
When you put your trust in Jesus you receive a whole new identity as a forgiven child of God. His righteous nature indwells you transforming your character to reflect the character of Jesus. You are no longer condemned. You are made right with God and have peace with God! Yet at the same time, you will find you wrestle with temptations of the flesh, sins of the past that want to creep up and usurp your newfound freedom, to enslave you again. When that happens, you appropriate the presence and power of the Holy Spirit through prayer and faith, trusting Him to put that old nature to death so that the resurrection life of Jesus may clothe Himself with your redeemed humanity. He alone is your righteousness and has set you free from the sins of the past. Those sins and the potential of them in our lives keep us humbly dependent on God. We cannot live the Christian life apart from Him. He never said we could. But He can, and always said He would as we remain in Him.
Another important part of your daily devotional is spending time with God in prayer. The Woodlands Church Prayer Board lists prayer requests submitted by our members and provides a way to send them some encouragement by using a button on the page to let them know that you prayed for them. Whether you use the Prayer Board, or pray from your heart, the goal is to build the habit of incorporating prayer into your quiet time.
Need prayer yourself? Let us know by submitting a prayer request on the Woodlands Church Prayer Board.