New Identity...

Tomorrow, I’m starting a study series on Philippians. Here’s how that letter starts:

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons…”

Here are two groups of people who are living under a new identity. For a great reason, a great cause, and a tremendous God, these have been transformed.

Paul and Timothy are now “servants of Christ Jesus.”

People in Philippi are now “saints in Christ Jesus.”

Without God, most people are left to serve themselves. Paul is now a servant of Christ Jesus.

Without God, the people in Philippi would have continued in human pride, just glad to be Romans in a proud city. Because of the Cross, they are now “saints.”

A saint is….

holy.

set apart.

chosen by God.

called out of the general population for the purpose of investing in eternity.

dearly loved.

forgiven.

made pure, released from the bondage of the sin-stained life.

The “old” identity was drowning in sin, pride, and deceit. The “new” identity is defined as “saint.”

- Is that me? Is that you?
- Why do we so often prefer the “old” identity?
- Why do we let our jobs, our friends, our finances define us instead of Christ?
- What would it look like for me to realize and act upon the reality that I’m a “saint” in God’s eyes?
- Why does it often seem like a downer to think of being a “servant” of the most High God? We all serve something or someone anyway…

Just a few thoughts… thoughts from a saint struggling to grasp his new identity.