My Identity: Righteous, Sanctified, & Redeemed

At the Youth Encounter we had last month, I was reminded/encouraged to get back into reading the Word on a more daily basis. I definitely could relate to some of the "church kids/pastor's kids" who shared that they felt lackadaisical about reading the Bible since they had read through it so many times and I realized I was approaching it with a wrong attitude. I remember being so excited about getting my new Bible after I got married--so it had my RIGHT name on the cover--because it was FRESH and NOT UNDERLINED so I could read it (and re-underline) the verses that touched me NOW and not the ones that touched me in high school. (Not that there's THAT much of a change, but when certain Psalms are underlined in 3 different colors, it can be hard to read it without going "Oh yeah, I love that verse" and move on. Anyone else do that besides me???

So anyway, as I've been hearing ever since the Encounter, the IDENTITY/NEW NAME segment of the week was probably the MOST meaningful for several of our youth, guys and girls, with the possible exception of the Holy Spirit segment. Or I guess I should say the combination of the 2. :) And, especially considering some of what is happening in the youth ministry the last couple of months, I decided to start my revitalized appetite for the Word on a study of Acts and the Epistles, mainly in search for verses and information on the workings and operation of the HOLY SPIRIT.

So Acts was quite good...probably the best part concerning the HOLY SPIRIT was the repeated fact that with the Early Church the Spirit moved among them WHEN THEY WERE IN ONE ACCORD. Unity = POWER. So last night--which is actually the PURPOSE of this blog...Don't ya'll just LOVE my LOOOONG introductions??? :)--Anyway, last night I started reading I Corinthians. I don't remember right now why I skipped Romans, but it must have just been an urging to read Corinthians. :) And I decided to write down the verses that jumped out at me, instead of simply underlining them.

So for the sake of time and to get to the point, I'm going to share some of the verses and what they made me think of--which relates to IDENTITY and the HOLY SPIRIT. :) I'll just be using chapter & verse #s, so its up to you to remember that they are all in 1 Corinthians. :)

1.2 "To the church of God...to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints"...


I used to have an identity issue. I hesitate to say "used to" when I say that, cause I think it is a weak spot in my armour that I have to continue to be vigilant about...but I can say without a doubt that I have experienced victory in this area since high school and college. A huge part of that was in discovering that God sees His Church as SANCTIFIED. We stand before His throne not in tatters, but clothed in WHITE. No longer are we "just sinners saved by grace"...but we are SAINTS. Not slaves, but CHILDREN. Acting as less-than is not humility, instead I think real humility is knowing we are pure princesses and treating others as though they are as well, not as if we are somehow better-than. This is echoed in I Corinthians in a couple places:

1.30-31 "...of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God-and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption...He who glories, let him glory in the Lord (Jer. 9:24)".

3.21-23 "Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours...the world or life or death, or things present or things to come--all are yours. And you are Christ's and Christ is God's."

4.7-8 "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us--and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!"

6.11 "You were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

Look back at 4.7-8 for a minute. THAT'S humility. Knowing that GOD is who makes us different. Unique. And GOD has given us ALL that we possess. Our job, our family, our money, our other possessions...ALL is from GOD. NOTHING have we gained through our own power, unless it be our stubbornness to realize it. But I also got something else out of 4.7...It reminded me why princesses rarely seem to have an identity complex. Sure, there are exceptions--I have a Max Lucado book about a princess who can't stay in the castle and has to experience to lows "for herself" until she can appreciate what her Father has given to and for her. Even though I don't have children of my own, I can sympathize with the parent-heart here...The desire that the children accept the blessing and safety of the parents' boundaries and not fight against them in the warped mindset that "I need to experience life for myself and make my own choices and my own mistakes." Honestly, looking back, I'd rather stay in the castle and be obliviously naive, thank you. :)

But going back to the princess-mentality. Knowing who she is. I wrote about this before. What I love about Princess Sara and Princess Irene is that they KNOW WHO THEY ARE BECAUSE OF WHO THEIR FATHER IS. Sara Crewe is not British royalty, but she probably had a clearer identity than most titled princesses. *For the record, I prefer not to use the word "real" or "actual" in reference to princesses-as-recognized-by-the-popular-press. I shall from now on call them "titled princesses". These include, but are not limited to, the modern titled princesses: Diana of Wales, Beatrice of York, Eugenie of York, Alexandra, formerly of Kent, and Anne (the Princess Royal, daughter of Queen Elizabeth II), just to name a few.*

If you prefer a non-book princess who knew who she was, I have a perfect example. Princess Alexandrina Victoria, daughter of Prince Edward of Kent. Yes, Queen Victoria. Poor thing, she only got to be Princess for less than a full 18 years, but she had the transition thing down. She didn't let her mother or her advisor Sir Conroy, to bully her into making her mother regent, but instead ruled in her own right beginning soon after her 18th birthday. Since Victoria never really knew her father, and most accounts don't make him sound all that wonderful, I will instead say that Victoria knew who she was--even after a childhood of alienation from the majority of her family--because of who her father's FAMILY was. She knew she was a royal, she knew she was a princess, and she knew--from age 11 I believe--that she was Heir to the British Throne. So she ACTED like it and she didn't let anyone tell her she was less-than. She had many flaws, some of which were only corrected after her marriage to Prince Albert, but I think the basic example is appropriate.

Now there's some verses in I Corinthians about the Holy Spirit.

Starting in 2.9, a quote from Isaiah, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him". In the same way...

2.11 "...no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God" --BUT vs 12--
"Now we have received...the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God"... (vs 16)..."we have the mind of Christ".

We have the MIND OF CHRIST and we can KNOW the mind of God, because the Spirit that is in HIM is in US! The Spirit of God--the Holy Spirit--is not just a spirit through which we worship God in an amazing way. He is not just a translator between us and God. He knows the very MIND of GOD. He is our HELPER when we are confused. When we feel lost and aren't sure what step to take. The Spirit is there to help us communicate with our Father. Because we have the Spirit in us, and we are sanctified because the blood of Jesus, we can approach the Father's throne, crawl up on our Daddy's lap, and pour out our hearts with no question of whether or not He hears us. He does! We have the same Spirit! Just the thought of this puts my heart in awe. I HAVE THE SAME SPIRIT AS THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. I CAN APPROACH THE THRONE OF MY ADA*/ABBA/FATHER AND HE HEARS ME! I CAN KNOW THE MIND OF GOD! This does not mean I will always UNDERSTAND it...Nor does it necessarily mean He will always REVEAL more than I can handle, regardless of whether or not I think I can...but think on it. GOD, the CREATOR, the KING OF KINGS, LOVES YOU SO MUCH that He PLACES HIS VERY OWN SPIRIT inside of YOU so that YOU CAN HAVE AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.


A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out
Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out

From the Inside Out: Hillsongs UNITED. c. 2006