WHO?

“…Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” – Matthew 16:13b

As we reflect further on Life’s Greatest Questions, let’s examine the Question of WHO – the Question of IDENTITY. This is one of the most life-transforming questions you can ever ask. Identity was central even to the Lord Jesus as He asked His disciples two questions: “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” and “But who so you say that I am?” (Mt. 16: 13, 15).

Jesus took a survey, asking the disciples what they had heard about him. He listened to their answers, and then got close and personal as He asked them: “It is not sufficient for you to know who the public consider me to be…who do you say that I am?” Good old Peter responded for the group of disciples: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt.16:16b). In this answer, Peter was saying a whole lot about Jesus: that he knew He was more than John the Baptist, more than a prophet like Elijah; that He is the Son of God Himself. Peter called Him Saviour, Lord, and Son of God. He knew Jesus was unique; more because this Man, who manifested the virtues of God, had changed him. Peter was coming to trust and believe in Jesus more profoundly. He saw past the man and saw the divinity hidden in Jesus and cried: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

The question of Identity is equally important to us as Christ’s disciples. Over the course of our lives, each of our identities is being formed and shaped through individual experiences, education, relationships, culture, media, and the world around us. We often feel the pressure to define ourselves through our appearance, grades, jobs, financial status, successes, what other people say about us, and other means. But our true identity is in Christ: being defined by the way God sees us. Every other means of identity is subject to change. A stable sense of identity cannot fully stand when we place our identity in external things. Discovery of Identity is the revelation and realization of your real, but hitherto hidden identity. For the believer, this discovery is in two dimensions: Who you are by creation (the kind of person God intended you to be when He created you as human and not beast); and Who you are by redemption (the kind of person you become in Christ, having received Him as Saviour and Lord).

On the authority of Scripture, the following describe WHO you are, irrespective of your specific, unique, personal or professional identity as an individual:

• You are a First-class creation and masterpiece of God’s workmanship: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

• You are a unique personality and person of great destiny: “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8:29-30).

• You have unlimited potential: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works IN US” (Eph. 3:20). God’s divine power is working IN YOU!

• You are a recreated spirit: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely’ and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1The. 5:23). You are a spirit being, with a soul, packaged in a body in order to function maximally on earth.

• You are a child of God: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (Jh. 1:12).

• You were designed for Dominion: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).

• You are an Overcomer: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1Jh. 5:4).