Our Identity in Jesus Christ.

First of all, Jesus Identified With Us.

He entered humanity through a miraculous conception (Matthew 1.20), but was born in lowly conditions. His mother laid him in a feed trough in a stable. He didn’t come to identify with Kings, though the King he was; he came to identify with all of lost humanity, the rich and poor, the great and the small, the powerful and the humble, those within the family and the outsiders, male and female; people of every heritage, skin color and background.

The bible says that though he was God, he humbled himself far beyond what anyone could imagine. 

Christ Jesus… made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2.5, 7 and 8) 

He lowered himself below his own creatures (the angels) for a time, identifying with our suffering, even our dying. He is unashamed to call the redeemed his brothers and sisters. 

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren. (Hebrews 2.9-10). 

He became flesh because he wanted to come to us and be one of us.         

Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2.14-15). 

This sinless man even identified with our sinful condition so that he might save us from our sins. 

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5.21).

Secondly, Our Identity is Now in Him.

We do not belong to ourselves but to him. 

Know ye not that … ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6.19-20). 

We now identify with him in every aspect of our lives. “In him we live, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17.28)

·         His righteousness is now our righteousness.

·         His Father is now our Father.

·         We have no worth of our own but are worthy in him.

·         His name is now our name – we are called Christians.

·         His will is now to be our will.

·         His purpose has become our purpose.

·         His desire is now our desire.

·         We now love what he loves.

·         We now hate what he hates.

·         We identify with his suffering.

·         His death is our death.

·         His resurrection life is now our life.

·         Apart from him, we can do nothing.

·         We have a new family – his.

·         His glory is now our glory.

·         His story is now our story.

·         His home is now our home - heaven.

The End of Hope

Photo by Torsten Dederichs on Unsplash

The end of hope: I know that sounds like a bad thing, but in reality, it will be good.

We who believe in Jesus Christ are people of hope. This is not the kind of hope that guesses or wishes but the kind of hope that knows. It is built upon faith which is built upon the promises of God. Our hope is sure and steadfast. It is real and certain.

We hope for things that we cannot see with our eyes or feel with our fingers; things like heaven, a perfect glorified body, a state of existence that is without sin, where there is no violence, no pain, no grief, no death. We hope and long to be reunited with other believers who have passed away from us and to see the face of Jesus our Savior.

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. (Romans 8.24)

It is possible to have peace that comes from hope because we know it will come. To borrow from the blessings of tomorrow is better than borrowing from tomorrow's troubles. That's called worry.

What happens to us when all hope is gone? Well, praise God, that is when everything we ever hoped for will be seen: 

Let's imagine that we are way out on the sea on a small ship in the midst of a great storm. The wind is blowing fiercely, the cold rain is pelting down upon our skin, the waves are rising above our vessel and it is being tossed up, down and sideways. The sky is dark but for the bright lightening which loudly cracks with thunder.

We hope and pray for the dawn and for the end of the violence. We long with expectancy for peace and serenity. In hope, we trust for that state of blessedness which is yet to come. 

And then it comes: a new day of calm, rest, and relief. Now the storm is over, the wind has ceased and the waves have subsided.

In life, as in our story, we live with expectancy for "that day." When "that day" comes, we no longer hope for a state of rest; we enter into it. We see it with our eyes and experience it in our bodies. This is the end of hope, not because we've given up but because hope is no longer needed. Our hope has become substance and we can take that hope, fold it up and put it away. It has been our friend but a better friend has arrived, that for which we always hoped.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11.1)

So, let us one day be prepared to welcome the end of hope, for when all hope is gone the fulfillment and fruition of everything we hoped for will have come.