By: Gerard Jampies
In the last blog post we explored the issue of “identity.” We noted that God has created us in his image, and an aspect of that means we are created for relationship with God and others. The Gospel is the good news about God’s plan to restore the relationships we were created for under the Lordship of Jesus. While each and every person in the world needs to make an individual decision about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must not forget that in God’s story of the world he is saving and gathering together a group of people called the church. Jesus’ church is not about a building or an institution but about a group of people. The entire Bible is a story of God working out this plan. At the end of God’s story in the last book of the Bible, we get a glimpse of the end of God’s plan from Revelation 21:3-4.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.
They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation tells us that world history (which includes your day- to-day life) is moving towards the end of God’s plan for mankind. The end result is that we would be gathered in God’s place under God’s rule and in God’s presence – together! If we have faith in Christ, our identity is not merely individualistic but defined in relation to other Christians called the church. This people of God will one day dwell together for all eternity under the rule and reign of God. In this post, I want to explore two Biblical identity markers of the church, which impact us all as individual members who make up the church.
WE ARE FAMILY
The Christian life is a family affair: 1 John 3:1 says, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.” When we place our faith in Christ we are born again; God becomes our Father, we become children of God; other believers become our brothers and sisters; the church becomes our spiritual family.
In Ephesians 2:19-21 Paul puts it like this,
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure,
being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.”
Our spiritual birth into God’s household means our identity is now shaped by the family name, the family values, and the family characteristics. We are not estranged and unknown, but belong to a spiritual family, the Church. As a son ought to bear the image and values of his father we too, as sons and daughters, should bear the image of our heavenly Father.
A Family Name
The first identifying marker is the family name, which is superior to any other family
name. This does not mean our cultural name is not important. Unlike some of the western
missionaries who encouraged African converts to abandon all African cultural markers, I
encourage you to embrace your cultural markers such as language, dress, ceremony and
music style, as long as they don't contradict the Word of God.
The point to note here is that the Bible places a lot of value on your Christian family, which
transcends our culture but does not necessarily change it. When we are born again we inherit a family name, a family seal that cannot be broken or lost. No matter how you feel about yourself or your walk with God. If you are born again you have an unchangeable,
sealed, and stamped identity –a name that cannot be lost and a father that will not leave nor abandon you.
In Ephesians 1:13 the Bible says,
“And you also were included in Christ
when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,
the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance
until the redemption of those who are God’s possession
—to the praise of his glory.”
The family name and seal is God’s Holy Spirit -- He guarantees our inheritance and guarantees that our family name is not lost. Our identity is secure and sure as God is faithful.
A Family Inheritance
God’s children have a place in God’s house, which means we have a share in the Father’s
inheritance. 1 Peter 1:4 says God’s children have "an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”
Because we have a family inheritance, we do not need to be defined by the stuff we own or
the material possessions the world says we must accumulate. We are free to ground our
identity in something that is unchanging and everlasting. Designer brands, the latest
gadgets and shiny new phones will never give us lasting significance and worth. Thieves may steal our stuff, phones will age, changing circumstances or a global crisis may wipe out our fragile belongings or life savings. This does not mean that Christians should not buy new things or acquire life savings but it does mean that if we place our identity in these things
we are trusting in sinking sand.
The Bible warns us in Matthew 6:19-21,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where moths and vermin do not destroy,
and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
Family Values
God is, in his very essence, love (1 John 4:8). For all eternity the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have been in a perfect love relationship. We the church are redeemed and saved into the family of God where God is now our Father, Jesus the Son is our brother and the Holy Spirit is our comforter. We are called to reflect and image our heavenly family. As Christians, we should take on the family value of love. A love that extends beyond any culture, language, race, or gender. A love that marks us out as the children of God.
1 John 4:7 says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”
WE ARE MISSIONARIES
The word “missionary” may conjure up images of people going across distant lands to take the Gospel to a far away place. While many Christian do take the Gospel to far away places, the Latin word for “mission” actually means “to send.” While some people are called to be full-time missionaries in distant lands we are all called to be missionaries; we are all sent ones. Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me so I send you.” (John 20:21)
Likewise, the apostle Paul tells us that all Christians have this responsibility. In 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 Paul teaches that being part of God’s family means we are all missionaries,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come,
The old has gone, the new is here!
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting people’s sins against them.
And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors,
as though God were making his appeal through us.”
Do you notice that Paul begins by saying, “If anyone is in Christ?” This is Paul’s way of saying, “Anyone who is a Christian.” God has given everyone in Christ the ministry of reconciliation. The primary task of reconciliation is the restoration of relationship. To reconcile the broken relationship with God and with each other. God calls us to be “ambassadors” who bring the message of reconciliation. An ambassador represents a nation and acts on behalf of the sovereign ruling government. Likewise, Christians are called citizens of God’s household represent the family of Christ and act on behalf of God. Therefore, to be a Christian is to be a missionary.
University is a unique and short period in your life. You have moved away from home, you are
more independent. This is a defining period in your life. Remember that you are a child of God, gathered and called into his family, marked with love. You are at UCT for a reason, God has placed you here. So take hold of who God has made you. Begin to see yourself as a
missionary to the campus. May the Lord help you live out who he has made you to be.
- Gerard Jampies
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