Therefore, if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Amplified Bible
Our Identity As Saints
The shed blood of Jesus Christ covers our sins.
It covers the wrong things we’ve done in the past and the wrong things we’ll do while continuing to live in this body.
His death deals the final blow to who we were—that old person that existed before He gave us new life.
The recognition of this truth is something I call ‘2:20 Vision” from Galatians 2:20.
Paul’s words in that verse speak to the fact that our old self was crucified with Christ on the cross.
The death He died He died for us.
The life we now live is the one He lives in us.
So we now have a new life.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul also says that whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old has gone away, and the new has arrived.
That’s real life—true life that never is to die, never to be separated from Him.
So we’ve become saints (that’s who we are, our true identity), yet in this life, we still sin.
We’re no longer just sinners (that’s who we were, our old identity); we’re saints transformed by God’s grace.
And that word saved is past tense—accomplished once and for all by what Jesus did for us.
We have a new identity.
We live the life we live now by faith in Jesus Christ, the One who saved us and keeps us.
We’re no longer our old selves (“the old man,” Ephesians 4:22, nkjv), trying to be good on our power, but new people (“the new man,” 4:24), trusting in the power of the life of Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit to keep us and lead us in living a truly holy life.
Our role is not to try to do better because we can’t do that alone; our role is to surrender to God's power and live out His life through us.
We’re to live out our inheritance now—rather than thinking of our inheritance as only in the future.
We already live in eternity, not just waiting to live with Him in heaven.
Heaven will be the place where we no longer need His power within us to conquer the sin residing in our earthly bodies.
We’ll have new, glorious bodies and live in the total presence of our heavenly Father, doing only His will—for there will no longer be any sin within us or the opposition that always arises from that.
Knowing our true identity in Christ allows us to live in the freedom He has already claimed for us and in His power at work within us.
His blood removes the penalty of sin; His life frees us from the power of sin.
Recognize who you already are in Christ, and experience the power of Christ in you to live out the newness of His own life within you.
This is the freedom He has given you to fulfill the destiny He has called you to.
Give up trying in your power to live out His calling.
Surrender—and let His power work through you for His glory, not yours.
“We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
How has trying harder to be a Christian worked out for you?
How does knowing who you are in Christ change your thinking and behavior?
What does having the freedom to love others as God loves you look like in scripture?
What does freedom look like in your life and those you are called to love?
Lord, how we long to be accessible to love others as You love us. Show us the heritage of love You have written in our DNA, which we received from Your life in us. Amen