As followers of Jesus, our view of God is very important. It is also essential for us to understand how God views us.
If God were to introduce you to a group of people, what do you think He would say about you?
Why do you think He would say that?
Some of the deep questions in life are about our identity: “Who am I?” and “What value do I have?” Our identity or self-image is shaped largely by our background, experiences, and how others view us. Sometimes we limit our lives by how we feel about ourselves or what other people say about us. Instead, our identity and worth should come from what our Creator says about us.
WE HAVE VALUE AS GOD’S CREATION
God places value on each person. Consider Genesis 1:27 and Psalm 8:4-5.
Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Psalm 8:4-5
. . . what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
Discover: What gives us value and sets us apart from the rest of creation?
Reflect: What do these verses tell us about God’s heart and how He feels about us?
Of all creation, only people bear God’s image. Psalm 139:13-14 speaks about our God-given uniqueness.
Psalm 139:13-14
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
Discuss: What are some ways that society gives a different message about the value of people?
We have a great responsibility to teach children about their uniqueness and value based on this truth, but do we believe it about ourselves? Re-read Psalm 139:13-14.
Discuss: Do you see yourself as “wonderfully made”? If not, what causes you to think differently?
Share: How do you imagine God views you? How closely does it line up with what these verses say?
God sees each person in the world as a precious creation with value, even before we believe in Him. Our worth to God is not dependent on our merit, our lifestyle, or even us knowing Jesus. His love for us as His unique creation led Him to provide a way of salvation so that we could know Him and be with Him throughout eternity. Read Romans 5:8.
Romans 5:8
. . . but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
OUR NEW IDENTITY AS ONE OF GOD’S PEOPLE
When we put our faith in Christ, our relationship to God changes and we become more than a special creation. We receive a new identity as one of God’s people. Colossians 3:12 calls us “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved.”
Discuss: What might cause us to feel that this description does not or could not apply to us?
We have the privilege of discovering in God’s Word how God sees us and what is true of us as one of His people. His Word says that we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), we have been born again as children of God (John 1:12-13), and we have received eternal life (1 John 5:11-13). God considers each of us a cherished member of His family. If He were to introduce you to people, He would say, “This is my dearly loved child, (your name).”
Some other terms that are true of God’s people are: heir (Romans 8:17), friend (John 15:15), saint (1 Corinthians 1:2), beloved (Jude 1), temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16), and ambassador (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Share: Which description means the most to you, and why? Do you know any other titles God has given you?
Let’s look at 1 John 3:1; Isaiah 43:1, 4, 7; and 1 Peter 2:9 to see what is behind God’s choice to give us this new identity.
1 John 3:1
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Isaiah 43:1, 4, 7
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine . . .
“Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life . . .
“. . . everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
(Read more)”
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Discover: How does God describe who you are?
Discover: What do these passages reveal about God’s heart?
Reflect: On whose love does your new identity depend – His or yours?
Discover: For what purpose did God create you and give you this new identity?
Reflect: How is God receiving glory through who you are?
Reflect: Are there things about you that make you feel that you do not bring glory to God?
OUR NEW IDENTITY IS “IN CHRIST”
The New Testament describes our new lives as “in Christ.” See 2 Corinthians 5:17. We have a new identity THROUGH CHRIST that continues WITH CHRIST because we are IN CHRIST.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
As a new creation, we are now united with Christ and our identity comes from Him. Colossians 3:3 says: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Now God only sees us in our new identity and position in Christ.
THROUGH CHRIST: How God sees us is different from how we see ourselves. The moment we began our relationship with Jesus Christ, God accepted us based on what Christ did for us rather than on what we do. Look at this more closely in 2 Corinthians 5:21.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Discover: How does God describe who we become “in Him”?
[NOTE: “Righteousness” means that in God’s sight we are approved and accepted without any blame or barrier of sin. When Jesus took our sinfulness on Himself and paid the penalty for us, He gave us His
righteousness in exchange.]
When God looks at us, He accepts what was accomplished through Christ as what is true of us. Now consider Colossians 1:21-22.
Colossians 1:21-22
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him…
Discover: What was true of us before we came to Christ?
Discover: How does Christ now present us to God?
Reflect: How does this compare with your view of yourself?
We feel tension because we know this does not describe our actions or the condition of our hearts. How can God say we are holy when we know we are not? Hebrews 10:10 and 14 help us understand this.
Hebrews 10:10, 14
And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all . . . For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Discover: What does verse 10 say that Jesus’ death completed? Is this a past, present, or future action? How long does it last?
Discover: What two terms does verse 14 use to describe us? Are these past, present, or future actions?
Discuss: How can “perfected” and “being sanctified” both be true of us?
[NOTE: “Sanctified” means set apart for God as holy. God sees us as “perfected,” sanctified, or made holy, because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. But, in our daily experience we are still “being sanctified,” becoming more like Jesus. God is committed to transforming us and will continue to work in our lives. See Philippians 1:6 and 3:20-21.]
Philippians 1:6
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.
Philippians 3:20-21
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
By declaring us perfect, nothing else is needed to make us acceptable to God. We meet all His expectations. What an amazing truth!
Reflect: If you were asked, “Do you measure up to God’s expectations?” how would God want you to answer?
Reflect: From which perspective would God want us to get our sense of worth – from what He says about us, from what others say about us, or by how we view ourselves?
WITH CHRIST: Our identity “in Christ” also enables us to live differently in this growth process because we are united with Christ. He chooses to share His position, privilege, and power with us instead of us trying to achieve them ourselves. Look at Ephesians 2:4-7, 18.
Ephesians 2:4-7, 18
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus . . . For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
Discover: What does being in Christ provide for us?
We may struggle with accepting our identity in Christ – feeling either unworthy or that we need to try to earn God’s favor. Remember Isaiah 43:7 says that God created you for His glory.
Reflect: Which brings glory to God: what we do, or our acceptance of what He has done for us in Christ?
Our new identity in Christ is incredible! Let’s thank and praise God for the truths of how He sees us. Read through Ephesians 1:3-6 in your Bible and make it a prayer of thanksgiving for who we now are in Christ.
GOING FORWARD
Clarify: What thoughts or questions do you have?
Summarize: How would you answer the question: “How does God see you?” What does this tell you about God’s
heart?
Apply: What changes do you think this should make in your life?
Pass it on: With whom you could share some of these truths?
Reinforce:
This week, read these verses and reflect on the amazing truth of your identity in Christ.
• Ephesians 1:3-23
• Isaiah 43:1-7
• 1 Peter 1:3-9
• Philippians 1:6; 3:20-21
• 1 John 3:1-3
• 1 John 4:7-21
Ephesians 1:3-23
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Isaiah 43:1-7
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
1 Peter 1:3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Philippians 1:6; 3:20-21
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 . . . But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
1 John 3:1-3
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 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.
1 John 4:7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
