According to a secular AI search on Google, Identity is defined as:
“The complex, evolving sense of ‘who you are,’ built from personal values, beliefs, experiences, roles (like parent, friend), and how you and others perceive your unique traits, creating your distinctive self-concept and sense of belonging, though it’s never fully fixed and develops throughout life. It’s your internal compass and your external ‘brand,’ influencing choices and providing confidence.”
Interestingly, the search went on in further detail, including the statement that identity isn’t static; it changes and develops over your lifetime.
In contrast, an AI search on Google regarding Biblical identity provided the following definition:
“In the Bible, true identity is not self-determined but received from God, rooted in being created in His image and, for believers, completely transformed, ‘in Christ.’ This new identity replaces shame and failure with being a chosen, loved child of God, a new creation, and a masterpiece created for purpose.”
Additionally, “Identity is secure because it is based on God’s faithfulness, not personal performance.”
_____
Paul (in his letter to those in Corinth) and Peter, in his first letter to the diaspora (those dispersed through Asia Minor), both speak to a believer’s new identity in Christ and collectively who we are as the body of Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)
1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light … (NKJV)
And to the believers in Ephesus, Paul exhorts them with reality that they were known in the mind of God and created in Christ Jesus before they were born.
Ephesians 2:10: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (NKJV)
_____
I have long believed that the two most important questions (and answers to said questions) in life’s journey are:
What do I believe about God?
In light of what I believe about God, what do I believe about myself? (intimately tied to identity)
Belief constructs the lens / filter for our thought life.
Beliefs shape our attitudes.
Belief forms the tone in our words.
And beliefs fuel our actions.
What do you believe about God?
Make space … be honest with yourself, He is safe – you are safe …. And be honest with Him. He can handle it. In fact, He already knows. And He wants to dialogue with you, hear your heart, and share His heart with you.
What do you believe about yourself?
Do you see yourself as chosen, or abandoned? Do you know that you are loved unconditionally, in Christ, or do you believe that being loved and accepted is dependent upon your performance? Are you confident that He supplies all of your need; or burdened with the mindset that your provision is your responsibility? Do you rest in the truth that you are forgiven or struggle with condemnation? Do you rejoice that you are redeemed or do you live enslaved to sin?
How do the answers to these questions influence the lens / filter of your thought life?
____
Proverbs 4:23: Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (NKJV)
… “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” Matthew 12:34-25 (NKJV)
Both in Proverbs and in Matthew, these scriptures address the importance of our heart condition.
Our thoughts are intimately intertwined with and born out of our heart.
2 Corinthians 10:5 encourages us to bring every thought captive; and Romans 12:2 instructs us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
Our thoughts are formed in our mind; therefore, renewing our mind is both foundational and the ongoing, daily discipline imperative for a vibrant, relational walk with God.
So ….. What do you think?
