Identity in christ

Introduction

For those of you who have been Worshiping with us for the past year or so, you will hopefully remember how we did quarterly topical Sermons on Salvation, and the last one of the year was on our identity in Christ.

In that sermon, we talked about how we were pardoned, adopted, and made secure by God.

Pastor Rick suggested we do another sermon on our identity since it important that we as Christians understand what being a Christian even means and what it does to our life.

for today’s message, I didn’t want to repeat too much of that previous sermon, but wanted to maybe give a slightly more practical view of our identity instead.

What actually happens when someone becomes a Christian?

What changes?

What does it mean when the Bible says that we are now in Christ?

There should be a lot here however that sounds quite familiar.

Again and again in Romans, we saw that Christianity is not simply believing some new things and then trying harder to follow some new rules.

We talked about being united to Christ.

We talked about dying with Christ and being raised with Christ.

We talked about the fact that what Christ has done changes who we are,

and because it changes who we are,

it also changes how we live.

And today I want us to think more about what that means for all the different parts of our lives.

Begin putting out the boxes.

All of us have many different things that are true about us.

We have a nationality.

We have families.

We are male or female.

We have our work.

Our education.

Our financial situation or social status.

Our friendships.

Our plans for the future.

And these things are real.

They are not meaningless.

They affect our lives.

They give us responsibilities.

They give us opportunities.

They affect our relationships with other people and often the way we think about ourselves.

But what happens to all of these things when we become Christians?

Does following Jesus mean that these things no longer matter?

Or Does being a Christian simply become another part of my life that I add beside all the others?

What hat happens when one of these things comes into conflict with following Christ?

Which one wins?

Or What happens when these things do not conflict with Christ?

What do I do with all these other aspects of who I am when I become a Christian?

Am I no longer any of these things?

I think Colossians 3 gives us a very clear answer to these questions.

And as we work through this passage, I want us to see three things.

I. Christ Raises

II. Christ Demands

III. Christ Reorders

So let us begin by first examing how Christ raises you to new life.

I. Christ Raises:

I. Christ Raises

Paul begins in verse 1:

Colossians 3:1 ESV

1 If then you have been raised with Christ…

But what does it mean to be raised with Christ?

If you were with us through our study of Romans, hopefully this sounds familiar.

In Romans 6, Paul told us that when we are united to Christ,

what happened to Christ changes what is true about us.

Christ died,

and Paul says that we died with him.

Christ was buried, and Paul says that we were buried with him.

Christ was raised from the dead, and Paul says that we have been raised with him to walk in newness of life.

Of course, Paul does not mean that we physically died on the cross with Jesus or physically came out of the tomb with him.

He means that through faith we have been united to Christ.

His death has changed our relationship to sin.

I am no longer a slave to sin.

Sin no longer has dominion over my life.

In Christ, I can say no to sin.

I can actually please God with my works now because sin no longer has power over me,

And because His resurrection has brought us into a new life.

His future is now our future.

Becoming a Christian is not simply learning some new information about God.

It is not simply agreeing with a list of Christian beliefs.

And it is not simply saying a prayer and then trying harder to follow some new rules.

If you are in Christ, you have been brought into a new life with Christ.

You are a new creation.

Where you were once dead in your sins, unable to please God, where even your good deeds were like filthy rags,

You are now United with Christ as a new creation.

how does this happen though?

Well take note of the order that Paul writes this.

He does not begin by telling us all the things we need to do so that we can become Christians.

He begins by reminding us what God has already done.

You see, Christian obedience flows from Christian identity.

What I mean by that is, we do not obey Christ so that we can become his people.

We obey Christ because,

through him,

God has already made us his people.

So because we have been raised with Christ, Paul continues:

Colossians 3:1 ESV

…..seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

And then in verse 2:

Colossians 3:2 ESV

2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Now, we need to understand what Paul means by that, because he is not telling us to stop caring about life here on earth.

He is not saying that your work does not matter.

Or that your family does not matter.

Or that your education does not matter.

He is not telling us that you should spend all day thinking about heaven instead of paying attention to the responsibilities God has given you here.

In fact, if we continue our reading Colossians 3 past where Alex read for us, Paul talks about some very ordinary parts of life.

He talks about how we are to handle each other in the Church,

in our families,

and even our relationships and responsibilities we have in our social and work lives.

So if we use our “interpret scripture with scripture” principle I am always telling you,

“seek the things that are above”

cannot mean,

“Ignore everything happening here on earth.”

So what does it mean? I think we get a hint at the end of verse one…

Colossians 3:1 ESV

…. seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

The focus is Christ.

Christ is above.

Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Christ is King.

Christ reigns.

So setting our minds on things above does not mean escaping life here on earth.

It means learning to live our life here on earth under the rule of the Christ who reigns above.

That begins to answer some of the questions we were asking a few minutes ago about all of these boxes.

What do I do with my family?

What do I do with my work?

What do I do with my nationality?

My education?

My money?

My future?

Paul is beginning to show us the answer.

I don’t just get rid of them or ignore them.

I learn to see them and live them under the rule of Christ.

If Christ reigns above, then his rule should shape how I live here below.

It changes what I desire,

,my priorities,

,my ambitions,

And even

, the decisions that I make.

I now desire to be obedient to Christ.

Because I have been raised with Christ,

I am now learning to live under the rule of Christ.

And then Paul gives us the reason in verse 3:

He says:

“You have died.”

Past tense. If you have repented and believed, your old self has died with Christ.

and as we continue in verse 3..

Colossians 3:3 ESV

…..and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

There are many things about us that are very easy to see.

The first thing most people see as I walk down the street is that I am a 外国人。 I hear it almost daily from strangers.

People can easily see a lot of things about me.

My ethnicity

My job

My age

My marriage

And because those things are so visible, it is easy for us to begin believing that those things tell us ultimately who we really are.

That is one of the reasons people in the west today have started making their whole identity,

the fullness of who they believe they are, around their sexuality,

their disabilities,

or other aspects of their life.

These things are more visible and obvious than what we are talking about this evening.

But Paul says there is something deeper that the world cannot see just by looking at you.

Your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Your circumstances are real, but they are not your life.

Pick up boxes and say…. “____ is real, but it isn’t my life.”

“____ is real, but it isn’t my life.”

“____ is real, but it isn’t my life.”

But what, or who rather, is your life?

Paul answers that for us in verse four.

Colossians 3:4 ESV

4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Christ who is your life.

That is an incredible way to describe what it means to belong to Jesus.

Paul does not merely say Christ is important to your life.

He does not say Christ is one part of your life.

He says:

“Christ is your life.”

Does this start to challenge the way we think about who we are?

Are we starting to see that all of these aspects of us on the table here can’t possibly the the ultimate answer to what is my identity?

I hope so…

Pick up small Christ box

Because if Christ is my life, then Christianity cannot simply be one more identity sitting beside all the others.

no, there must be something much bigger going on with my identity.

I have died with Christ.

I have been raised with Christ.

My life is hidden with Christ.

Christ is my life.

And one day, when Christ appears, the life that is already ours in him will be fully revealed in glory.

but that doesn’t mean we hold no responsibility for this while on this earth.

If Christ has raised us to new life,

then there are things belonging to the old life that must be put to death.

And that is exactly where Paul goes in verse 5 which brings us to our second point

II. Christ Demands

The Christian life is freedom, but that doesn’t mean free from responsibility.

Our freedom allows for obedience and we must take that serious.

Explain the tension between God’s sovereignty in salvation and our responsibility.

And God holds us responsible for how we respond to those demand.

So let’s not take this command from God in verse 5 lightly.

We are to Put to death what is earthly in us.

Paul is not saying,

“Put your sin to death so that Christ will give you new life.”

He is saying,

“Because Christ has given you new life, put to death what belongs to the old life.”

Our obedience does not create our new identity.

Our obedience flows out of our new identity.

that is why we are to out to death these earthly evils.

We have a couple of lists in the text with examples of these earthly things we should put to death.

Colossians 3:5 ESV

….sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

And then in verse 8…

Colossians 3:8 ESV

8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Bring out the sin boxes.

These things are different from the other boxes we are going to talk about in a few minutes.

But often times, even these can begin to be seen as who we are.

But may that never be with us Hutong.

Paul says that these things aren’t just to be made smaller or ignored, he says PUT THEM TO DEATH!

Remove the boxes.

The sins belonging to the old humanity in Adam cannot be allowed to stay.

This is a hard teaching though because we are not just talking about the big sins like murder and adultery.

He certainly talks about sexual immorality and evil desire.

But he also talks about what are often seen as more respectable sins. Uncontrolled anger

The way we speak about people.

The words that come out of our mouths.

Lying.

These sins,

that we often even as Christians continue to struggle with,

also belong to the old life and must be put to death.

Why?

Well Paul answers that, at least in part, in verse 6.

Colossians 3:6 ESV 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.

That should sound familiar after our study of Romans 1 and 2.

Sin is not just a collection of unhealthy habits.

Sin is rebellion against God.

These sins belong to the old world,

the old humanity,

the life that stands under God’s judgment.

But we need to be careful here.

Paul is not saying that Christians who are in Christ are still under God’s condemning wrath.

Romans 8:1 is still true.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Paul is not saying to Work hard at killing sin so you are not under God’s wrath.

Instead, Paul is saying, “Look at what these sins belong to.”

They are all under the old life.

They are all sins that belong to the world under God’s wrath.

And they are what we once lived in.

Colossians 3:7 ESV

7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.

Before you repented and Believed in Christ Jesus,

you belonged to sin,

it was your master,

and you were under the wrath of God.

But for those who have repented and believed, that is not the life you belong to anymore.

That is no longer the ultimate truth that defines you.

That is no longer your identity.

Then in verse 9 Paul says that we have…

Colossians 3:9 ESV

9 …. put off the old self with its practices

And again, this should sound familiar after Pastor Rick taught us about Adam and Christ in Romans 5.

In Adam, we belonged to the old humanity.

A humanity marked by sin and death.

But if you are united to Christ, that is no longer where you belong.

You now belong to a new humanity in Christ.

That does not mean Christians never struggle with these sins again.

Obviously we do.

If Christians never struggled with them, Paul would not need to tell Christians to put them to death.

But there is now a fundamental difference.

These sins may still tempt you.

You may still fall into them.

You may still have to fight them again and again.

But they no longer have the right to tell you who you are.

By the power Christ has given us, we put them to death.

We daily fight against these temptations by the Power of the spirit and flee from them.

but Paul doesn’t leave us there. No, he now turns in verse 10 from what must be put off to what has been put on.

And that brings us to our final point.

Because Christianity is not only about what must die.

It is also about understanding who we now are.

III. Christ Reorders

Colossians 3:10–11 ESV

10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Paul says that we have put on the new self.

Christ has not simply improved one part of our old life.

He has given us a new life, and that new life begins to reorder everything else about us.

The extent of this is seen in the extreme wording of verse 11.

Paul says that here there is not…

Greek and Jew.

Circumcised and uncircumcised.

Barbarian, Scythian.

Slave and free.

These were very real differences between these people.

But what did he mean by “there is not”?

In a literal sense…

The Greek was still Greek. The Jew was still Jewish. The circumcised person was still circumcised. The slave was still a slave.

In fact,

later in this same chapter,

Paul speaks directly to slaves,

because that reality of their life had not disappeared.

And the same is true for us.

There are true things about us that do not disappear when we become Christians.

I am still an American. I am still a husband. I am still a pastor.

Those things are real, and they affect how I live.

Paul himself was a Roman citizen,

and there were times when he used his Roman citizenship.

So the point is not that every other major thing about who we are becomes meaningless.

So what is it that he is saying?

Because Paul ends verse 11 by saying:

Colossians 3:11 ESV

…..but Christ is all, and in all.

This is where I think we often misunderstand what it means for our identity to be in Christ.

Bring out the identity boxes.

We have all these different things that are true about us.

Our nationality. Our family. Our work. Our education. And then maybe we have our Jesus box.

And we know Jesus should be important, so maybe we say,

“Well, Jesus just needs to be the biggest box.”

Replace small Jesus box with medium Jesus box.

What I am afraid we often do is try to make Jesus our most important identity.

But I don't think that goes far enough.

Our identity in Christ is not simply one part of our life that happens to be a little more important than everything else.

It is the controlling reality through which everything else about us must now be understood.

Place the other boxes inside large J box

Yes, I am still an American.

But my being an American now exists inside the much greater reality that I am in Christ.

Yes, I am still a husband.

But even my marriage must be understood and lived within the reality that I belong to Christ.

etc. etc.

These things are still true about me.

But they pale in comparison to who I am in Christ.

these things are real but they are not ultimate.

In The ocean of my life, they are mere drops while Christ is the fullness of the waters.

Everything about me is now placed underneath the authority of Christ.

And that means that when one of these identities conflicts with Christ, Christ rules.

If my culture tells me one thing and Christ tells me another, Christ rules.

If my work demands something that would require me to disobey Christ, Christ rules.

When these identities do not conflict with Christ, Christ still determines how I use them.

Paul could use his Roman citizenship, but his Roman citizenship was always under Christ.

We absolutely use our jobs, but our jobs should always fall under christ.

work/study as worship

Marriage as image of our salvation to the world

Raising kids to fear God and be a light

Going on vacation seeing our created need for rest and being thankful for the means.

That is what it means for Christ to reorder our identity.

And this also changes how we see one another.

Greek and Jew,

slave and free,

could no longer determine who mattered more or who belonged more.

Why?

Because Christ is all, and Christ is in all of his people.

And if you keep reading the rest of Colossians 3, Paul begins showing what this reordered life looks like.

It affects how we treat one another,

how we forgive,

how we love,

our families,

and even our work.

We do not have time to go through all of that today.

But the point is this:

Being in Christ does not stay in one part of your life.

Christ reorders every true thing about you because every part of who you are now belongs under who you are in Christ.

Conclusion

As we begin to come to a closing, let’s return to the questions we started with.

What happens when we become Christians?

Christ raises us to new life.

What happens to the sin of the old life?

Christ demands that we put it to death.

And what happens to all the other true things about us?

Christ reorders them under himself.

Your nationality,

family,

work,

education,

friendships,

and future still matter.

But none of them can stand beside Christ as an equal answer to the question, “Who am I?”

Christ is your life.

So ask yourself:

Is there something Christ says must die that you are still protecting?

Is there some good part of your life that you are refusing to place under Christ?

When these identities conflict with Christ, Christ wins.

And when they do not conflict, we use them under Christ and for his glory.

But maybe some of you are realizing today that you are not yet in Christ.

If so, the answer is not to rearrange the boxes in your life.

You need new life.

You are a sinner before a holy God, but Jesus Christ died for sinners and rose from the dead.

So repent of your sin and believe in him.

And if you do, you are not simply adding Jesus to your life.

You are united to Christ.

You die with him. You are raised with him. Your life is hidden with him.

And Christ becomes your life.

That is the identity that orders everything else.