Identity

Introduction

[Illus] Imagine never knowing who you are.

In 1997 there was a story about a woman named Inge Kraus, but she didn’t know if that was her real name. She only knew that people called her by that name. She was just four years old in April, 1945, when Russian troops attacked Konigsberg, the capital of what was then East Prussia. Inge remembers a strong man lifting her onto a wagon filled with people as Soviet artillery rained down upon the city she knew as home. She survived but was separated from her family and placed in an orphanage in Germany. In 1997, Inge attended a gathering of war exiles from her city, tearfully hoping that someone might recognize her—but no one did.

[Illus] Imagine living your whole life thinking you are a certain someone and then discovering that you are actually someone else.

10,000 Sermon Illustrations War Orphan

Inge Kraus doesn’t know who she really is; she only knows that people call her by that name. She was just four years old in April, 1945, when Russian troops attacked Konigsberg, the capital of what was then East Prussia. Inge remembers a strong man lifting her onto a wagon filled with people as Soviet artillery rained down upon the city she knew as home. She survived but was separated from her family and placed in an orphanage in Germany. Inge recently attended a gathering of war exiles from her city, tearfully hoping that someone might recognize her—but to no avail.

Today in the Word, November 8, 1997

Kimberly Mays gained nationwide attention in 1988 when it was discovered that she had been switched at birth with another baby at Hardee Memorial Hospital in Wachula, Florida. Kimberly went home with the Mays family while Regina went home with the Twigg family. When Regina died of a congenital heart defect at 9-years-old, it was discovered that she had a different blood type from the parents she had always known. DNA testing proved that Kimberly Mays was the Twigg’s biological daughter with almost 100% certainty.

At first, Kimberly visited and enjoyed her biological family, but soon everything crumbled. She legally divorced her biological parents (the Twiggs) and remained with her father, Robert Mays. (Her mother had died of cancer when she was two.)

About 7-months after divorcing the Twiggs, however, Kimberly moved in with them. She stayed with them about a year and a half and then moved out on her own.

Today, Robert Mays is dead, the Twiggs are divorced, and Kimberly is estranged from them all.

Q: How does knowing where you came from affect who you understand yourself to be?

Q: How would it affect your understanding of who you are if you found out that you weren’t really your mother’s child or didn’t really belong to the family you grew up in?

Stories like these about Inge Kraus and Kimberly Mays show us just how important our identity is. Identity is made up of who we came from; it tells us who we are; and in many ways its shapes who will become.

This is most especially true when we are talking about our identity in Christ.

[TS] We want to discuss a few passages of Scripture tonight related to our identity.

Major Ideas

First, let’s discuss .

Genesis 1:26–28 ESV

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Q: What does this passage tell us about our identity before sin and death entered the world?

Q: What does it mean to be created in the image of God according to this passage?

There are three words that summarize what it means to be created in the image of God.

Resemble - Human beings are made to resemble God, not in physical appearance, but in characteristics that distinguish humans from animals—characteristics like reason, morality, language, creativity, etc.

Represent - We see in this passage that human beings are to rule over, have dominion over, or subdue creation. That authority is an authority delegated to human beings by God. As His representatives, human beings wield God-given authority over creation.

Relationship - The “us” and “our” in v. 26 refers to the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Human beings reflect the image of the God as they interact with one another in healthy, God-honoring relationships just as Father, Son, and Spirit interact with one another in perfect harmony. The is true not only in marriage but also in community in general.

Q: Thinking about these ideas—resemble, represent, and relationship—which of these do you think it under attack in our society today?

Q: Which of these are you most tempted to disregard today?

Anytime the distinction between male and female is disregarded or even erased, the image of God is under attack. Anytime we view humanity as the slave of creation rather than the steward of it, the image of God is under attack. Anytime we are tempted to devalue the God-ordained role of husbands and wives in the family or men and women in society, the image of God is under attack.

Sin—rebellion against God—is always the attacking force. From the beginning it sought to mar the image of God, and it continues to do so today.

Second, let’s discuss .

Genesis 3:16–19 ESV

To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Q: How do you see the image of God marred because of the sin of Adam and Eve?

A part of the image of God mentioned in is being fruitful and multiplying. The image of God is not totally lost in this regard but it is damaged as the woman will now bring children into the world through significant pain. (And then the children will be a pain!)

Also, the relationship between husband and wife is damaged. A woman’s desire should be toward (i.e., contrary to or against) her husband, but the husband will still rule (i.e., be head of household) over her. (Thus, the friction in our marriages!)

Humanity’s dominion over the earth is also affected. Whereas in humanity is to subdue the earth, now it seems as if the earth is fighting back. The ground is now cursed and only in pain will it bring forth the produce necessary to sustain life.

And then, of course, there’s death. We were taken out of dust and to dust we shall return. In the image of God we were made to live forever, but because of sin, we die.

Q: Which of these things concern you the most? Pain in childbirth? Relationship with your husband? Difficulty in providing for yourself or your family? Death? How have you handled these worries in the past?

Probably at different times, we’ve all worried about these things. You probably worried about the pain of childbirth when the contractions started, about your relationship with your husband when you had your first married fight, etc. All of this is because of the marring of the image of God due to sin.

But where sin is the problem, Jesus is the Answer.

Let’s discuss .

Colossians 1:15–20 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Q: What does this passage say about Jesus as the Image of God?

Notice that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is the firstborn or first in rank of all creation. He is Ruler and exercises dominion everywhere including the church. In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

Q: What does this passage say Jesus has done about the marring of the image of God in the rest of humanity?

Colossians 1:20 ESV

and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

says that He has reconciled to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Colossians 1:

[App] The only way to undo the marring of the image of God caused by our sin against God is to be reconciled to God through faith in Christ.

says, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold; the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself...”

[App] If we have been/are being made new—the image of God restored/and being restored in us through the work of Christ—then we are to engage in new creation living.

tells us to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Q: Why do you think these verses mention “the spirit of your minds”? Why is your mind important in understanding your true identity in Christ and living in light of it?

[App] If the image of God has been/is being restored in us through faith in Christ and we’re striving to take up that new creation living, then we can rest in knowing that God will see to it that work gets done.

says...

Philippians 1:6 ESV

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

says...

1 John 3:2–3 ESV

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Q: How can we strive for holiness as we leave here tonight? How can we strive for holiness as we face a new week tomorrow? How can we strive for holiness in our relationships, in our work, and in the face of death?

Conclusion

Your identity is not wrapped up in your family history. It’s not wrapped up in your previous mistakes. It’s not wrapped up in your children, your husband, or your job. It’s wrapped up in Christ who reconciled you to God through His cross and empowers you to live as image bearer in every circumstance. The very Image of God died for you so that the image of God could be restored in you. So live as an image bearer of God. That’s your identity.

{Prayer}