Our new identity in Christ

229 our new identity in Christ

Martin Luther called Christians "simultaneous sinners and saints". He originally wrote this term in Latin simul iustus et peccator. Simul means "at the same time", iustus means "just", et means "and" and peccator means "sinner". Taken literally, it means that we live in both sinfulness and sinlessness at the same time. Luther's motto would then be a contradiction in terms. But he was speaking metaphorically, wanting to address the paradox that in the kingdom of God on earth we are never entirely free from sinful influences. Although we are reconciled to God (saints), we do not live a perfect Christlike life (sinners). In formulating this saying, Luther occasionally used the language of the apostle Paul to show that the heart of the gospel is double counting. First, our sins are imputed to Jesus and to us his righteousness. This legal jargon of imputation makes it possible to express what is legally and thus actually true, even if it is not visible in the life of the person to whom it applies. Luther also said that apart from Christ himself, his righteousness never becomes our own (under our control). It is a gift that is ours only when we accept it from Him. We receive this gift by being united with the giver of the gift, since ultimately the giver is the gift. Jesus is our righteousness! Luther, of course, had much more to say about the Christian life than just this one sentence. While we agree with most of the sentence, there are aspects where we disagree. J. de Waal Dryden's criticism in an article in The Journal of the Study of Paul and His Letters puts it this way (I thank my good friend John Kossey for sending me these lines):

[Luther's] saying helps to summarize the principle that the justified sinner is declared righteous by the "foreign" righteousness of Christ and not by the individual's own indwelling righteousness. Where this saying does not prove helpful is when it is viewed—whether consciously or unconsciously—as the foundation for sanctification (of the Christian life). The problem here lies in the continuing identification of the Christian as a "sinner". The noun peccator indicates more than just a deformed moral will or propensity for forbidden actions, but defines the Christian's doctrine of being. The Christian is sinful not only in his activities but also in his nature. Psychologically, Luther's saying allays moral guilt but perpetuates shame. The self-explanatory image of the justified sinner, while also openly proclaiming forgiveness, undermines that very forgiveness when it presents an understanding of the self as a deeply sinful being because it categorically excludes the transformative element of Christ. The Christian would then have a morbid self-understanding which is reinforced by common practice and thereby presents this understanding as a Christian virtue. In this way, shame and self-loathing are fueled. ("Revisiting Romans 7: Law, Self, Spirit," JSPL (2015), 148-149)

Accept our new identity in Christ

As Dryden says, God "elevates the sinner to a higher station." In unity and fellowship with God, in Christ and by the Spirit, we are "a new creature" (2. Corinthians 5,17) and transformed so that we can “share” in “the divine nature” (2. Petrus 1,4). We are no longer sinful people who yearn to be delivered from their sinful nature. On the contrary, we are God's adopted, beloved, reconciled children who are made into the image of Christ. Our thinking about Jesus and about ourselves changes radically as we accept the reality of our new identity in Christ. We understand that it is not ours because of who we are, but because of Christ. It is not ours because of our faith (which is always incomplete), but through the faith of Jesus. Notice how Paul sums this up in his letter to the church in Galatia:

I live, but now not I, but Christ lives in me. For what I now live in the flesh, I live in faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me (Galatians 2,20).

Paul understood Jesus as both the subject and the object of saving faith. As a subject, he is the active mediator, the author of grace. As an object, he responds as one of us with perfect faith, doing so in our stead and for us. It is his faith and his loyalty, not ours, that gives us our new identity and that makes us just in him. As I noted in my weekly report a few weeks ago, in saving us, God does not clean our vest and then leave us to our own efforts to follow Christ. On the contrary, by grace he enables us to joyfully participate in what he has done in and through us. Grace, you see, is more than just a glimmer in our Heavenly Father's eyes. It comes from our Father who chose us, who gives us gifts and promises of perfect salvation in Christ, including justification, sanctification, and glorification (1. Corinthians 1,30). We experience each of these aspects of our salvation through grace, in union with Jesus, through the Spirit given to us as adopted beloved children of God who we indeed are.

Thinking about God's grace in this way changes our perspective on everything ultimately. For example: In my usual daily routine, I may be thinking about where I just drew Jesus. As I reflect on my life from the perspective of my identity in Christ, my thinking is shifted to an understanding that this is not something I want to drag Jesus to, but that I am called to follow Him and do what He does . This shift in our thinking is exactly what growing in grace and knowledge of Jesus is all about. As we grow closer with him, we share more of what he does. This is the concept of abiding in Christ that our Lord speaks of in John 15. Paul calls it "hidden" in Christ (Colossians 3,3). I think there is no better place to be hidden because there is nothing in Christ but goodness. Paul understood that the goal of life is to be in Christ. Remaining in Jesus brings about a self-assured dignity and purpose in us that our Creator devised for us from the beginning. This identity frees us to live in freedom from God's forgiveness and no longer in debilitating shame and guilt. It also sets us free to live with the secure knowledge that God changes us from within through the Spirit. That is the reality of who we truly are in Christ by grace.

To misinterpret and interpret the nature of God's grace

Unfortunately, many people misinterpret the nature of God's grace and see it as a free pass to sin (this is the fault of antinomianism). Paradoxically, this mistake mostly occurs when people want to bind grace and the grace-based relationship with God into a legal construct (that is the mistake of legality). Within this legal framework, grace is often misunderstood as God's exception to the rule. Grace then becomes a legal excuse for inconsistent obedience. When grace is understood in this way, the biblical concept of God as the loving Father rebuking his beloved children is ignored. Trying to legalize grace is a terrible, life-consuming mistake. Legal works contain no justification, and grace is no exception to the rule. This misunderstanding of grace typically leads to liberal, unstructured lifestyles that are in contrast to the grace-based and gospel life that Jesus shares with us through the Holy Spirit , stand.

Changed by grace

This unfortunate misunderstanding of grace (with its wrong conclusions regarding the Christian life) may appease the guilty conscience, but it unwittingly misses the grace of change - the love of God in our hearts that can transform us from within through the Spirit. Missing this truth ultimately leads to guilt rooted in fear. Speaking from my own experience, I can say that a life founded in fear and shame is a poor alternative to a life founded in grace. For this is a life that is driven by the changing love of God, who justifies and sanctifies us through our union with Christ through the power of the Spirit. Notice Paul’s words to Titus:

Because the healing grace of God has appeared to all people and takes us into discipline, that we reject the ungodly nature and the worldly desires and live prudently, justly and piously in this world. (Titus 2,11-12)

God did not save us just to leave us alone with shame, immaturity and sinful and destructive ways of life. By grace he has saved us, that we may live in his righteousness. Grace means that God will never give us up. He continues to give us the gift of sharing in union with the Son and fellowship with the Father, as well as being able to carry the Holy Spirit within us. He changed us to become more like Christ. Grace is exactly what our relationship with God is about.

In Christ we are and will always be beloved children of our Heavenly Father. All he asks us is to grow in grace and knowledge of the knowledge of him. We grow in grace by learning to trust Him through and through, and we grow in the knowledge of Him by following Him and spending time with Him. God not only forgives us by grace when we live our lives in obedience and reverence, but also changes us by grace. Our relationship with God, in Christ and through the Spirit, does not grow to the point where we seem to need God and His grace less. On the contrary, our lives are dependent on him in every way. He makes us new by washing us clean from the inside out. As we learn to stay in His grace, we get to know Him better, love Him and His ways altogether. The more we know and love Him, the more we will experience the freedom to rest in His grace, free from guilt, fear, and shame.

Paul sums it up like this:
For by grace you were saved through faith, and that not from yourselves: it is God's gift, not from works, so that no one should boast. For we are his work, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2,8-10).

Let us not forget that it is Jesus' faith - his faithfulness - that redeems and changes us. As the writer of Hebrews reminds us, Jesus is the beginner and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12,2).    

by Joseph Tkach


pdfOur New Identity in Christ (Part 1)