Identity in Christ

For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.

Roman Toga

[clothing is a way for us to express ourselves] Story of the Roman Toga

Picta – deep purple and elaborate and extremely ornate, worn by generals in their triumph

Pulla – dark toga worn for mourning

Candida – Brilliant white, worn by officials in public office

Praetexta – white toga with purple border worn by freeborn adolescence children to mark their innocence before they have come of age

Virilis – toga of manhood: represents adult male citizenship and its inherent rights, freedoms, and responsibilities

Like our clothing today, each was meant to portray an image or identity

Read Galatians 3:27-29

Context of verse

Galatians in a nutshell is grace vs. law, mainly due to the Judaizes trying to force Gentile believers to be circumcised and follow the Mosaic law, but there is another, significant thread in this passage that I want to pull on

Jews trying to obtain righteousness through the law, yes, but they had also wrapped themselves tightly in their national identity and ancestral heritage in Abraham. Their identity was wrapped up in being a Jew and all the traditions and customs that it came with it

Paul first corrected their thinking by proclaiming justification through faith, but he also went straight for their identity jugular. Follow the logic of ch3:

Abraham was the Father of the faith

He was established that way and declared righteous because of his faith not by works

If you try to be righteous by works, you are under a curse (Dt. 27:26)

That is the current state of every Jew

The law, then, was a light to show the slavery chains of sin, which didn’t have the power to save. What can be done?

Jesus came to be that curse (Dt. 21:23)

Now, faith in Christ (the same simple faith that Abraham had), makes anyone, even Gentiles, heirs of the promise

Paul is calling on them to trade in their old toga showing their status of slave and the guardianship of the law and receive a new toga expressing sons/daughters and heirs of God!

But he doesn’t stop there. Paul also breaks down the big 3 identities in all cultures for the sake of unity:

Jew/Greek = social status

Slave/free = economic status

Male/female = status based on gender

This does not mean Paul eliminates them!

It does mean that being clothed in Christ is a superior identity

APPLICATION & TAKEAWAY #1: Their hope and identity cannot be in Abraham, Moses, the law, or their worldly station, but IN CHRIST.

So here, Paul draws a line in the sand of what is vs where God intends for us to be and this matters, because the very nature of clothing is that it is external and visible to the world around us, projecting a message about our value in something and/or someone. We may not wear Togas anymore today, but make no mistake: we are clothing ourselves in something.”

TRANSITION STATEMENT: So, for the remainder of our time, we will apply this to our own lives. We will take a look at 3 types of old clothing to cast off and 3 types of new clothing to put on.

Casting off our old clothing

1 – THE OLD SELF (pre-salvation – clothes we had no choice but to wear)

scriptural References (easy for the reformed mind)

BEFORE CHRIST, we were:

Fallen nature (Gen. 3 / Romans 5)

We are dead in trespass and sin (Eph. 2)

Enemies of God who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Col. 1 / Rom. 1)

[lion & rabbit story] Like the lion and the rabbit, we will choose sin because we like our sin. It is our nature. We are unable to come to God until he draws us.

This reminds me of Forky from Toy Story 4, wanting to crawl back into the trash can because he was trash. But, his creator (the little girl) crafted him into something new.

We see this of full display in our world today, don’t we? You can’t turn on the news today without seeing something about gender identity and sexual orientation. There is SUCH a push to defy any semblance of normalcy or traditional definitions in an effort to be unique, different, and lavishly sinful. They want their own, unique identity without any pushback or consequence.

Similar to the Emperor’s New Clothes, we think we have glamorous clothing projecting an image we want people to think we are, but in reality, we are only exposing our shame.

2 - LIES FROM THE ENEMY (post-salvation)

I am timid, broken, introverted and therefore uninteresting….

Or how about the opposite- I am the best ever. No one is as amazing as me! I am… [fill in the blank]

TRANSITION STORY from my testimony

3 - LIFE EXPERIENCE (better can be the enemy of best)

Career

Ability (athletic / artistic / intellect)

Political leanings

Denomination (corporate level)

Tribe: Sports Teams & affiliations (individual level: Paul in Phil. 3:4-8)

Parenthood (even something beautiful and godly can become an idol)

Calvin: the human heart is an idol factory

It doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy these things, but they are things we do, groups that we are a part of, responsibilities we can delight in, but not WHO WE ARE.

APPLICATION: Is it possible that we are more like the Judaizers than we would like to admit? Even with Jesus, we find the temptation to dress up in old clothes in the form of lies and experiences. We exhaust ourselves by finding ways to express who we are, or at least, who we think we are, don’t we? Somewhere deep down, we know we are made in the image of God and were once something grand, but that image is marred because of sin and we know deep down that things aren’t right, so we strive to fill that void with anything we possibly can. TAKEAWAY #2 – Sin has marred our true identity.

TRANSITION STATEMENT: The truth of scripture tells us that we are not to operate in these old clothes. They are either filthy rags or good things that cover up the best thing. There is something more we get to live up to.

Accepting Our New Clothing

If we are firmly convinced of the truths of our old self, total depravity and all that, we must also be equally dedicated to the truth of the identities God has given to us.

Our new garment is being IN CHRIST. We are clothed in Christ. It is a done deal. We have taken the old off and put the new on (Eph 4:2-24). That sounds fantastic, but what does it really mean?

It means we have been incorporated into God’s family [adoption example]

We’ve already seen in our text today is found in v. 29: Abraham’s seed & heir according to the promise:

Promise of Gen. 12:7 / 13:15 / 17:8 / 24:7 that we are the spiritual offspring of Abraham, meaning we are God’s chosen people – sons, daughters, and heirs of his Kingdom. At the moment of conversion, we are incorporation into His Kingdom.

There are too many God-given identities in scripture to fit in today’s sermon, but I do want to offer 3 that God has been showing me lately:

1. Ambassadors (2 Cor 5) - we embody the values and culture of our King & Kingdom

Character Qualities: Jesus also often turned our ideas on their head

LOVE

The first will be last

The humble will be exalted

The poor blessed with the Kingdom

The leader will be a servant

Bless your enemy, don’t curse them or be vengeful

Give and you will have abundance

If you want to truly find your life, you just lose it

Wherever you go, you are a representative

2. Ministers of Reconciliation (2 Cor 5) - we proclaim the solution the gospel brings because we have been reconciled and know its value

3. Royal Priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) - we take the mantel and responsibilities of pointing others to Jesus’ perfect sacrifice.

APPLICATION: Being clothed in Christ is a truth we must walk in each day. Grace through faith alone is the glorious truth of salvation, but here, we are given the responsibility to walk in a manner worthy of the clothes we are now wearing. How can we help each other do this in our daily lives? Takeaway #3: We are already incorporated into God’s family & Kingdom, but we must make the decision to walk in it.

TRANSITION STATEMENT: Clothing ourselves in Christ means doesn’t mean that we become perfect people. It means we strive to embody and act upon the values and commands of our King and His Kingdom while proclaiming the good news that others are invited to do the same, but if all this is just a pep talk, then we have got this all wrong.

The Motivation for the Switch

So, we have discussed the wrong identities and discovered together a few elements of our new identity, and now finally, we come to the motivation for why we are making the switch

This is not a man-centered sermon. Yes, we have a magnificent purpose to fulfill and we do have the responsibility to walk in it, but again, if that is where we leave it, I’m afraid we have missed the mark completely. We do this because we want to fulfill the chief end of man, which is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Takeaway #4: We clothe ourselves in Christ for the glory of Christ. It’s about Him, not us.

Wearing this tunic does not mean only good times ahead. As you wear this tunic in a fallen world and culture, you will be persecuted. It will invite challenge and hardship. That is why we have to understand our WHY.

APPLICATION: What does this mean for us? How can the call to cloth ourselves in Christ strengthen us individually AND as a body of believers?

Listen to Paul’s words to the Colossian believers:

SUMMARIZE WITH SCRIPTURE

And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. 14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him. Colossians 2:13-15……… If you died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations: Colossians 2:20……… So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3