GRACE & HOPE—Where our “Identity” is Found!
“Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see.
Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved . . .”
“Amazing Grace”
GRACE & HOPE walk together in tandem, placed together, gifted to us through the blood of God’s only Son, Jesus, when He laid down His life upon Calvary’s cross.
The man, John Newton, who penned the lyrics to “Amazing Grace” knew what it meant to be a slave and what it meant to have his identity forced upon him because of the color of his skin. As we remember, Newton was a slave, a man who walked through life with black skin during a time when the world cried out “slavery” is allowed, accepted, and the right way to live & think. Newton knew the truth; he was indeed a slave (to sin) until he knew Jesus Christ as his Savior & Redeemer. I too, was a slave (to my own sin) until I knew Jesus Christ as my Savior & Redeemer. What about you? Are you Free or are you still Enslaved to the lies and deceit of the father of lies—to the devil?
No one wants to speak the truth about our enslavement while we are still enslaved. In fact, we would rather ignore who and what we are before we know Jesus as Savior & Lord. Our identity is what the “world” calls us, and we can become swept up in the world’s definition of our identity; yet the Lord God Almighty speaks something totally different. God’s Word speaks the truth about our identity.
Won’t you see with me, yes, read with me the only truth about our identity, found secure and forever true within the Scriptures.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved.”
(The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 1: 3-6 NASB)
Do we see from Whom GRACE comes?
Do we see from Whom HOPE arrives?
Do we see from Whom our IDENTITY is given?
- God, our Father & the Lord Jesus Christ—“who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing”—once we know the salvation found through Jesus Christ.
- God, our Father—“He chose us in Him.” That’s right, God chose each one of us BEFORE He even made the world—calling us to be HOLY & BLAMELESS of our sin—once we know the salvation found through Jesus Christ.
- God, our Father loves us so extremely much—“He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters”—through the salvation found through His Son Jesus Christ.
- God, our Father, yes Almighty God—gives us our IDENTITY—“to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself”—through the salvation offered to us only through Jehovah God.
- God, our Father—”favored us in the Beloved”—the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
The enslaved man, Newton, who was bound in chains at the time he penned (within his mind) the words to one of the most wonderful hymns that speaks of GOD‘S GRACE & HOPE. In Chains! Bound! His Identity as a man had been striped away by another man who claimed authority over him. Nevertheless, Newton knew the TRUTH of Where his “identity” is found!
It is also Newton who once said these words. “My memory is nearly gone. But I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour.”
May we NOT listen to what the world states about our identity. It is the lies of the devil.
May we NOT listen to what others claim about our identity. It is total falsehood.
May we NOT listen to what our head thinks about our identity. It is naturally untrue.
BUT . . .
May we ALWAYS LISTEN to what our Creator, Redeemer, Savior, Redeemer, & LORD—our God speaks within HIS WORD!
The TRUTH of our IDENTITY is only & can only ever be—found in Christ Jesus!
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace
which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He set forth in Him,
regarding His plan of the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.”
(The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 1: 7-10 NASB)
Where is our “Identity” Found? In the AMAZING GRACE & HOPE—of Jesus Christ!
The only “Identity” we ever need to claim—Is in Him! In JESUS!
“In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will,
to the end that we who were the first to hope in the Christ would be to the praise of His glory.
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise,
who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
(The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 1: 11-14 NASB)
“Amazing grace. . .
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
[I once] Was blind but now I see.”
“Amazing Grace”
We are now a child of the King of Kings because we believe & receive Christ Jesus’ offer of salvation.
Who we really are—in God’s eyes—those whom He loves so much that He sent His son to die for us.
May we shut out the noise of the world &
May we cling to the Word of God’s Truth!
Who we really are—in God’s eyes—God’s Children—Our Identity Can Only Be Found in JESUS!