Who am I in Christ
Intro: When Maddy and I led a pilgrimage to Israel in January this year, we met a Roman Catholic priest at the Parable house in Taybeh, the only Christian village in the Occupied Territories.
The priest started his talk to us by saying:
I am, first of all, a Palestinian
I am then an Arab
I am then a Christian and
I am an Israeli
Which got me thinking
How would you have described yourself?
Imagine, if you would - if you had never met me before and I was to get on the train with you at Watlington and have to get off at Downham Market 10 mins later. We strike up a conversation and I ask you about yourself
What would you tell me about yourself?
I would if asked the same question start off I hope by saying I was a Christian, then that I had become Swiss and finally that I was also British.
The most important thing for me is that I am a Christian.
And so I am an adopted Son of God.
I have heard preachers expound on the story of the Prodigal Son explaining that the Prodigal Son relates to a person who finds Christ for the first time and so becomes an adopted Son of God.
But actually the story is about two Sons of the Father.
In a sense King Mannesah whose story with God is reported in 2 Chronicles 33 is an OT version of the Prodigal Son.
When he repented and changed his ways, God was gracious and restored his State. His standing remained that of being one of the Children of God.
Please note that the Prodigal Son in the story does NOT become a son by returning to the Father.
Throughout the story he has been a son of his Father.
That was the one thing that didn’t change in the story
In other words, his STANDING never changed.
His standing was that HE IS A SON OF HIS FATHER. Who am I in Christ?
His state was that he was so hungry he would have eaten pigs swill!!
HIS STATE was fallen.
Jesus original audience would primarily if not exclusively have been 1st Century JEWS – and the Jews at that time were the CHILDREN OF GOD.
So I would like to suggest to you today that the Prodigal son teaches us two things
i. FIRSTLY that if we have received Christ into our lives WE ARE SONS OF GOD.
Jesus said this in John 1:12
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
If you have done that you are and you will remain a Child of God regardless of the STATE you get into.
YOUR STANDING remains that of a Child of God.
ii. SECONDLY, being a Child of God does not mean that if you sin there will not be consequences.
Your State may change.
Story: At the end of the 2nd World War, Joachim von Ribbentrop became a Christian as he awaited trial for War crimes for his role in starting World War II and enabling the Holocaust.
On 16 October 1946 he became, due to Hermann Göring's suicide moments before, the first of those sentenced to death to be hanged.
His Standing was that of a Child of God but his State led to his execution.
In other words, the story of the Prodigal Son is all about our Identity
And based on the letters of the word Identity, I would like to suggest we have eight responsibilities CHILDREN OF GOD
1. The first letter of the word IDENTITY is the letter I.
I stands for
Identify with Christ Mt 10:32
"Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.
Identify is I think more than simply saying: I am a Christian.
It is allowing the Holy Spirit to change our lives DAILY.
2. The second letter of the word IDENTITY is the D
D stands for
Devoted to Christ Luke 16:13
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the
one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one
and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and
money."
Only you can really tell if God is number one.
It is a decision not an emotion.
3. The third letter of the word IDENTITY is the letter E
E stands for
Eternal Life Jn 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life.
I take many funeral services and I always remind the
Congregation that there is life after death.
And I often leave them with the question:
Where you will spend eternity?
4. The fourth letter of the word IDENTITY is the letter N
N stands for
New Creation 2 Cor 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
old things have passed away; behold, all things have become
new.
When you become a Christian you STANDING with God is cemented by becoming a new creation.
5. The fifth letter of the word IDENTITY is the letter T
T stands for
Temple of the Holy Spirit 1 Cor. 6:19-20 New King James
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
I don’t know if it astounds you but it does me.
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT lives in you when you are a Christian.
And there are thousands of consequences.
If your faith is real, you will change. People will recognise it
Story: When I became a Christian my housemaster at school asked my Heed of House what has happened to Martin. He is changed.
I only heard the story 10 years of so after it happened. I didn’t see any change but others did.
5. The fifth letter of the word IDENTITY is the letter I. This I stands for
Inheritors of the Kingdom 1 Peter 1:3-5 ESV
Peter wrote this:
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.
When we go through rough times, it is important we remember that it is God’s promises we can stand on and not our feelings.
6 The sixth letter of the word IDENTITY is the letter T
T stands for
Transformed by the Power of the Holy Spirit
St Paul put it well when he said:
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.(Rom 12:1-2)
Being a Christian is WORK in progress as we allow God to transform our lives
7. The final letter of the word Identity is Y.
Y is
Yoked with Christ
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Jesus never promised a trouble free life. He does promise to be with us Mt 11:29
A Yoke is a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plough or cart that they are to pull. And often a more experienced Ox is put in the yoke with a young ox to teach him what to do. Jesus is that senior ox in our yoke if we let him train us
A yoke talks to me of a mission we have in life.
What are we called to do?
We are not called to do it alone – we do it in harness with Jesus.
CONCLUSION
Thank God that our STANDING safe and secure in God's hands - regardless of what we do.
However God wants to work on us – to mould us so we learn to follow him and have a STATE that reflects our standing
