God’s Love Gives Us a New Identity

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—” Ephesians 1:4-5 NIV

I am a dearly loved child of the Most High God.

That is who I am, and who you also are if Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

However, it’s one thing for us to casually acknowledge our identity as loved children of God and another to “live and move and have our being” through our identification with Jesus Christ (Acts 17:28).

As a teenager and young adult, I struggled with low self-esteem, and I will admit that even now, there are times when I overcrave approval, acceptance, affirmation, and acknowledgement. (Yes, all four ‘A’s.) The difference between my past and present is that I now know who I am. When I am denied the affirmation I crave, and I am tempted to “lose it,” I meditate on Scriptures that affirm my identity, and we all know the Word of God works. I have learned and continue to learn to base my identity on nothing other than my personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Ephesians Chapter 1: The Identity Chapter

Ephesians chapter 1 is one of my favorite chapters because it is power-packed with truth about who we are in Christ.

As we read through verses 1 through 14, we learn that we are:

Holy/Saints (verse 1)
Blessed (verse 3)
Chosen (verses 4, 11)
Holy and blameless (verse 4)
Loved (verse 4)
Adopted into God’s family (verse 5)
Lavished by God’s grace (verses 6,7)
Redeemed (verse 7)
Forgiven (verse 7)
Created for God’s glory (verse 12)
Included in Christ (verse 13) and
Sealed with the Holy Spirit (verse 13)

This is how God sees us, and this is who we are!

God loves us so much that He not only saved us from death to life, but He also gave us a new identity and equipped us with everything we need to live victoriously.

Therefore, we respond to these truths by releasing our faith and accepting them as who we are. We keep them before our eyes, pray through them, and speak them from our lips so we don’t forget.

We ask God to reveal the lies we have been believing that have prevented us from walking in the fullness of our true identity in Christ. And we consistently make room for the Holy Spirit to direct and guide our thoughts, affect, and responses.

Transformation does not happen overnight. It is a day-by-day experience fueled by the grace of God. So, we give ourselves and others grace as we commit to be changed into the image of Christ from glory to glory.

Respond

Make regular declarations from the truths found in Ephesians 1:1-14 over yourself and your loved ones.

Prayer

Thank You, Father, for making me a blessed, chosen, holy, loved, adopted, redeemed, and forgiven saint through my union with Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for creating me for Your glory, lavishing me with Your grace, and sealing me with Your Spirit as a guarantee of Your eternal promises. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

If this devotional encouraged you, my new book, Loved: Transformed by God’s Love, Empowered to Love Others, invites you to continue the journey of receiving God’s love deeply and learning to love others through the power of His transforming love. Click below to find it on Amazon.

Footnotes

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

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God’s Love Gives Us a New Identity